As a cycling aficionado, Le Tour de France is one of my favorite sporting events. Although to many it seems like an individual sport, I find the strategies of the teamwork required to win the Tour intriguing. When it gets into the Alps, it’s inspiring to see who gets defeated by the mountains rather than the other riders and who can overcome the grueling climbs. It’s exciting to watch the time trial specialists race the clock. But there’s one part of the Tour that I dislike because it’s a spoiler: the final stage.
In Le Tour de France, we always (with rare exceptions) know who the winner of the race will be before the race is even over. The man wearing the Yellow Jersey after the penultimate stage is known to be the winner of the Tour when there’s still a stage to go. Even though the final stage of the Tour is tomorrow, I can already tell you that Chris Froome will win the 2015 Tour de France.
Instead of racing tomorrow, the entire peleton will be taking a leisurely 110 kilometer ride through the French countryside. No one will try to overtake Froome or even be riding hard. In fact, Team Sky will be drinking champagne and toasting their victory while still “racing.” If you’ll be watching a recording of the final stage, don’t bother avoiding news about who will win the Tour because it’s already decided. This celebratory end to the race is completely devoid of suspense and takes all the excitement out of it for me.
The Tour organizers should end each race the way they did the 1989 Tour de France. The race ended with a time trial on the final stage in which the riders rode as hard as they could instead of loafing off. Greg LeMond came back from almost a one-minute deficit to Laurent Fignon to win the Tour in the final stage. It was the closest race in the Tour’s history, with LeMond beating Fignon by only eight seconds after about 2,100 miles of racing. That’s an exciting way to finish Le Tour de France!
I won’t bother watching the final stage of the Tour tomorrow. I already know who will win. I find the ceremony of the ride into the Champs-Elysées rather boring.
The Progressive Zone 