Le Tour – so far

I watched Friday and Saturday’s stages in the company of a cycling aficionado and 2 wine experts – a  fruitful combination.

Normally the first week of the Tour can be dull as the riders traverse the flatland of northern France before hitting the more demanding mountain stages.

This week has been more testing and already surely thrown up the winner Tedej Pogecar and his fellow Slovenian Primoz Roglic as loser.

It all started eventfully with a multiple pile-up on the first day.

It’s sad that a fan ran before Tony Martin as the proximity of the peloton and absence of any stadium is one of the features of this iconic cycling event and the Giro and Vuelta.

Thereafter one can only congratulate the organisers for making the first week so intriguing with key mountain stages on Friday and Saturday – Saturday’s finishing with three tough climbs.

My cycling friend regards Pogecar as the best rider since Eddy Merckx and I could not disagree.