It’s odd that a sport such as cycling with a long track record of cheating is able to strongly support the ethos of honorable racing in the elite peloton.
A few moments of honor draw our attention and are a hit with most cyclists. Do you remember Orica Green Edge rider Simon Clarke giving his wheel to fellow Australian Richie Porte (Team Sky) after Porte was injured during the Giro d’Italia? Both riders were sanctioned for the ‘honourable’ incident even though there was a stir among the cycling community and other riders on the course, which saw Clarke’s action as something to be praised and not punished.
Indeed, these kinds of unscripted examples of sporting courtesy between rival rider teams are very rare on the current World Tour professional racing calendar. Riders tend to be more inclined to be irritated by a perceived slight they have received or point fingers at another competitor in a way that is against the spirit of the Tour by attacking when the other rider has suffered a mechanical accident during an unintentionally steep descent, during race neutralization or even during the race feed area.
This is also odd to me.
Suppose you’re going to publicly protest over other riders doing something wrong by not observing the informal rules of etiquette in professional racing. Why shouldn’t you also make a statement about the vast majority of cyclists in the peloton, as well as elsewhere in cycling, who’ve surely committed the most obnoxious thing for cycling by doing drugs?
This pointy finger at the other riders who are attempting to be victorious smudges the tone and the appeal of the race, according to me. Also, this is why the Tour de France is a race, after all.
Cycling on roads in Europe was known as”the prisoners of road, and racing in the early days in Australia is often described as akin to boxing with wheels’. Based on its working-class roots, cycling is always a hard sport that has attracted a lot of tough people, and stories of ‘rough and tumble’ among the tough guys in amateur racing are numerous.
Perhaps those difficult days could have almost disappeared since the advent of professionalism. Also, there was the change of race events like the Tour de France that came from sponsorship of trade teams starting in the early 1960’s (leaving the national teams behind for good in the year 1969) and the worldwide marketing of racing in recent years – – all of which played a part in the sanitisation of racing.
There’s still a combativite class for the rider who is the most aggressive (awarded from 1952). However, it isn’t about a confrontation with a stranger or tackling with a style that doesn’t make you a popular choice. It’s usually reserved for those who have the most breakaways, who attacks in the worst way (in the foreseeable instances) or endures injury following an accident.
I’m a fan of the idea behind the most aggressive riders contest, and I think it would be more effective when it came with a uniform that was a part of it rather than only an orange race number. But, I’d prefer to that the racers abandon the show of honour and manners and actually remove the gloves. This brings life to this race, and it makes it more thrilling.
Tonight’s Tour de France stage 20 to the legendary Alpe d’Huez, where Chris Froome, the current leader of the race, is 2 min 38 sec ahead of the nearest competitor, Nairo Quintana. I’m anticipating the race, which could have a number of attacks against Froome. I hope that everyone has an enjoyable time.
I’d also be interested in seeing an opportunity to return to the old days of the Tour, where the race would still be decided at the end of the stage (e.g., Greg LeMond coming from 50 seconds behind to beat Laurent Fignon by 8 seconds in stage final Paris Stage ITT in 1989) Instead of results such as Cadel Evans coming second by only 58 seconds ahead of Carlos Sastre in 2008, and even more so with 23 seconds in the gap to Alberto Contador in 2007, or Pedro Delgado’s enticing 40 seconds ahead of the winner Stephen Roche in 1987.