The Tour de France consistently is the toughest race in the world where humanity’s best is needed to win the coveted Maillot Jaunne or Yellow jersey. Usually, the colour represents cowardice but, in this case, it is the exact opposite. It makes riders in this 21-day, 3500km race go to every extreme to achieve the top step on the podium. It brings out the very best and worst in the cyclist.
I first got interested, when I was ill and heard about the infamous Lance Armstrong winning it for the 1st time after recovering from his testicular cancer. Suffering from my thrice weekly dialysis, I needed a pick-me-up, and this was just the thing. Watching the race on a stationary bike riding with them as I imagined myself free from illness, I quickly felt a kinship for this sport of pain and suffering.
This year as I celebrate 9 years post-transplant, I watched in awe as Mark Cavendish, the 35-year-old Manxman overcome Epstien Barr Syndrome that he was diagnosed with in 2017 to equal the legendary Eddy Merkx (pix below) who has won 4 stages and held that record since 1975.
It is no easy feat for anyone as racing in the TdF means riding at speeds up to 90kms for distances as far as 200km daily. On flat surfaces, on time trials and the ever-famous mountain stages where gradients as high as 14% for 20 kms are painfully climbed. A rider burns through about 6000 to 8000 calories per day, every single day for 21 days with only 2 Mondays break in between the 3 weeks.
Often, these gladiators on 2 wheels can only do this one race a year as their bodies need to recover soon after from this gruelling race. Just watching and following this race is exhausting enough so you can just imagine the riders.
It is in this group that Cavendish has found himself. Three months ago, he was without a team because teams were sceptical of his health, Cavendish kept at it as he loved the sport.
This year he has finished the 21-days, by winning the green jersey for Sprinting and picking up 3 hard earned wins in the stages. He was only just pipped to bagging the 4th stage win in Paris in the final stage. A fairy-tale ending eluded him but in real life sport this happens, and we hope that next year he will come back healthier and stronger to create a new record.
This year’s edition has already been historic in that the winner Tadej Pogacar a Slovenian has defended his title from last year when he won 3 jerseys, the Yellow for overall winner, the polka dot for mountain stages and the white for the youngest rider. 2 years on the trot, he is the youngest cyclist at 22.
More than anything though, this year’s edition has brought back some semblance of normality to our lives. On the tails of the Euro 2021 and Wimbledon, we now see a post Covid world almost normal now and its champions are people like Mark Cavendish, who after being almost side-lined by a terrible disease, comes back to triumph once again. It gives me hope for us. – The Vibes July 22, 2021
