I don’t want to be a contrarian. Normally I go with the flow of mainstream opinion. This is principally because when I disagree with the commonly held view, I turn out to be wildly, spectacularly wrong.
An example of this came last year at the Tour de France, when asked for my opinion about the newly re-worked Montmartre climb for the Paris stage. I railed against it. I didn’t like the break with tradition, especially coming so soon after the damp squib that had been the 2024 Nice time trial, and felt that it was overly harsh on those sprinters who had battled their way through the mountains to get to the final stage. Of course, in the end, I was totally won over by the spectacle of seeing Wout van Aert drop Tadej Pogačar in the yellow jersey and ride solo to victory. I had simply got it wrong.
Ned is a British sports journalist, television presenter and podcaster, best known for his Tour de France coverage for ITV Sport and his podcast, Never Strays Far. To sign up to news about “NSF – Live in France” visit www.neverstraysfar.com
This year, my false opinion relates to big city Grand Départs. Twice in the Tour’s recent history, the race had begun in two of the world’s top 5 tourist destinations (I have no idea whether or not this is true, but it sounds about right). In 2024 the team presentation and the race began in Florence, almost as an afterthought. The deal for the right to host the Grand Départ was struck between the ASO and the region of Emilia Romagna. But, as I understand it, ASO wanted Florence, which is of course in neighbouring Tuscany, and literally didn’t really want or need the exposure and the hassle of hosting the Tour. And that’s exactly how it felt.
The influx of cycling tourists barely moved the dial in a city that was always going to be rammed in July anyway. It felt like an encumbrance that Florence was glad to be rid of as they rolled off the start line towards kilometre zero of stage one.
Now, I’m not saying that Barcelona was a similar experience. The winding road to Montjuic is of course one of the great climbs in the cycling landscape, and the history of the Volta a Catalunya is ancient (it’s the fourth oldest stage race in the world). The crowds were predictably impressive, but they were seriously international. German, Norwegian, Danish and English voices outweighed and outshouted Catalan by a significant margin because, frankly, on any given July weekend they always would do; Tour or no Tour.
Barcelona is always rammed. That’s why the locals have started to protest, quite understandably, at how their city is being snatched from them and sold, brick for brick to the agents of global tourism. Do they need the Tour? Not really.
That’s why, for me, I always favour lower key Grand Départs, like last year’s stay in the Département du Nord. Places like Lille are exactly where the Tour should start, because it means everything. We need cities which embrace the race with all their heart and soul, rather than bolt it on to an already exhaustive list of Things To Do. In many ways, the less Grand, the better. Give the Tour space to breathe.
Own one of the few remaining (Green) Cav Road Books 2006-2024. A unique, personal, in-depth celebration of cycling’s greatest sprinter. Every one of Sir Mark Cavendish’s 165 career victories are analysed in intricate detail for the first time. Exclusively signed by the Editor, Ian Cleverly.
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