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USA Review For most Americans, the initial images that come to
mind when one mentions sports are group athletics on a field.
Football, baseball, and basketball are the holy trinity of sporting
events States-side, but to Europeans, older and more traditional
activities reign supreme. Even more important, those European sports
that might sometimes seem "wimpy" to Americans are actually
more more grueling and require more endurance. Bicycle races across
multiple countries and miles and miles run during soccer games are a
whole lot more of an effort, after all, than just running around a
baseball diamond, enjoying a whole lot of free time in the dugout.
One
of the biggest sporting events not just in France, but all over
Europe, is The Tour de France. A race that pits riders from countries
all over the world against one another, themselves, and the elements,
it is not a race for the faint of heart. Lasting over three weeks,
the race is broken down into day-long segments, known as stages,
which can involve anything from the final sprint into Paris to
climbing some of the most heart-popping sections of the Alps...on
nothing but one's own leg power.
One
of the most exciting parts of The Tour de France is the fact that,
every year, the route changes. In actuality, the distance for the
race can vary a great deal, with the shortest clocking in around
1,500 miles, and the longest somewhere around 3,570 miles. Riders
never know quite what they're going to get, and neither do the fans,
who line small mountain passes as well as city streets, ecstatic to
cheer their favorites on.
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