Cycling in europe: there?s more to the tour de france than lance - in the open air

For the 92nd time, the Tour de France has started. This three week cycling race is one of the chief generous dealings in the world and undoubtedly the toughest on the characteristic participants. No certified cyclist wants to be over his career lacking having "made it to the Champs Elys�es". And every lone one of them has had dreams of captivating the Tour. Very few will. In the flow journal of La Grande Boucle two participants have tasted victory ahead of and hope to do so again. Favorite, and background property six times champion Lance Armstrong from Austin, Texas will be facing Germany's Jan Ullrich and 187 other riders from 28 altered countries. On July 24 the winner of the Blond Pullover will be known. When asked who would win Ullrich answered: "The Best".

The Tour de France wouldn't be as big as it is exclusive of it's millions of fans about the world. Most watch the Tour on TV and of classes one can see all the listeners by the side of the road calming on their favorites, above all in the climbing stages, where one wonders why not many more accidents happen. Fans crowding the road, not in need to miss any of the riders and often not stepping back until the very last minute have on some occasions influenced the outcome of a stage.

Not seen on small screen are the thousands of energetic cycling enthousiasts who admire in de Tour's wake. From all over the world colonize come to France and on their bicycle they ride the same stages the professionals have traversed only days, at times hours before. Some of them come back every year. The complete year they spend training, not disparate the professionals, in order to ride the more than 2200 miles of the Tour. And for them there are no flora or Fair Pullover in the end, but there is the appreciation of their peers and their sense of accomplishment. And of avenue they have gotten to enjoy the gorgeous scenery, the awesome French cooking and wines and an committed vacation. A side note for newbies, the small Inn's and restaurants in out of the way chairs often give the best bang for the buck.

Most of the dynamic Tour followers don't have the time or aspiration to cycle about France for three weeks. They cliquey a number of parts of the race to hook up with it, depending on their appeal in surroundings or strengths in what ground suits them best. Not all and sundry can ride rising and still enjoy him- or herself. The rest of their feast is spent discovery their own routes, camping out, enjoying lots of what France and the rest of Europe have to offer to biking lovers.

One of the main reasons Lance Armstrong has won six times is the just about fixated perfection in his preparation. Armstrong said in his press association on Thursday prior to the Tour de France 2005: "For me �t's not a boardwalk about France". If you take a cycling holiday, be it in France or everywhere else in Europe or the world, and to you it is a promenade, a diminutive but critical and well-informed homework goes a long way.

Rob Bout is a long time Tour de France and cycling enthousiast. For more in a row on cycling vacations and the Tour de France visit http://biketravelinfo. com/