Rivalries, crashes and meltdowns: Tour de France storylines to watch

Imagine speeding down a winding mountain road going 60 mph, protected by little more than carbon, spandex and a helmet, surrounded by nearly 200 competitors as thousands of stunned onlookers shout and jeer.

Imagine speeding down a winding mountain road going 60 mph, protected by little more than carbon, spandex and a helmet, surrounded by nearly 200 competitors as thousands of stunned onlookers shout and jeer. 

Now, imagine doing that for six hours a day for three weeks, with just two rest days to gather enough strength and wits to keep going.

Welcome to the Tour de France, the most elite bicycle race in the world and perhaps the most grueling endurance challenge undertaken by professional athletes.

For the first time in the race’s 111-year history, the Tour de France will begin in Italy and end somewhere other than in Paris, which is hosting the Summer Olympics. Cyclists will traverse nearly 2,200 miles of stunning European landscapes, departing from Florence on Saturday and snaking up to the Pyrenees Mountains, through the Alps and down to the Mediterranean Sea. It will conclude in Nice on July 21. 

It’s no secret that while the Tour de France draws tens of millions of viewers worldwide every year, American audiences have largely overlooked professional cycling after Lance Armstrong’s very public professional demise. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/tour-de-france-storylines-watch-rcna157878

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