| The Tour de France: The First Extreme Sports Event? |
The Tour de France: The First Extreme Sports Event?
These days, with skateboarders and BMX bikers doing backflips and covering 50 foot gaps from giant ramps, it’s probably hard for youngsters to think of the Tour de France as a dangerous sport. However, in the golden tradition of the Tour de France, there have been three tragic deaths due to injuries sustained while racing. While it’s not very pleasant to talk about the tragedies that have occurred during the most prestigious cycling race in the world, it does highlight the dangers that cyclists face, the amount of skill that is required by the sport of cycling, and the importance of safety measures in the sport itself.
The first cyclist to die during the Tour de France didn’t actually perish as a result of the race itself. Instead, French rider Adolphe Helière drowned during a rest day. The site of the tragedy was the French Riviera, where Helière was resting and relaxing before heading back out on the course to finish the race.
It was 1935 before the sometimes treacherous, always challenging Tour de France saw the death of a rider during the actual event itself. In a tragic and terrible twist of events, Spanish cyclist Francisco Cepeda passed away after falling down a ravine in the Col du Galibier stage. His skull fractured, Cepeda sadly died three days after the fall.
We often think of performance enhancing drugs and other methods of cheating as a problem of modern sports exclusively, but the next death at the Tour de France was directly related to the issue, and it happened way back in 1967.
English cyclist Tom Simpson died of heart failure that was brought on by the combination of the conditions, the stress on his body from the demanding race, and his use of amphetamines. Simpson was the first English rider to ever wear the yellow jersey, and his determination showed through even on the day he passed away.
Exhausted, dehydrated, and suffering from the heat and his amphetamine use, he fell against an embankment as he couldn’t go on during the climb of Mont Ventoux. Even though he was barely conscious, he insisted on being put back onto his bike, and he managed to ride on for several hundred meters before he feel unconscious. He passed away when he arrived at the hospital.
The only silver lining after Simpson’s tragic death was that it accelerated concern over substance abuse by riders. Eventually, more knowledge of nutrition, hydration techniques and the dangers of many substances helped to ensure that others would not suffer the same fate as Simpson.
The most recent death in the Tour de France is also perhaps the saddest. Fabio Casartelli of Italy, a former Olympic gold medalist, was descending a dangerous part of the Portet d’Aspet when he crashed, along with several other cyclists. Unfortunately for Casartelli, his injuries were much more severe than those of the other riders. Casartelli slid and hit his head on a concrete railing area and didn’t live long enough to reach the hospital. The next day, the entire group of Tour de France participants dedicated the stage to Casartelli, as Casartelli’s team was allowed to finish first and as a group, with the rest of the field finishing behind, riding slowly. A fund was also set up to help out Casartelli’s wife and infant son, and riders donated their day’s purses to the fund, with the Tour de France organizers matching the donation.
Like Simpson’s unfortunate death, Casartelli’s led to change within the Tour de France. Helmet rules were established and consistently made stricter, until recently where it has gotten to the point that riders must wear helmets at all times or be fined.
As you can see, cycling is not a sport for the faint of heart. Each year, heart stopping crashes occur at speeds of 40 or even 50 miles per hour. Even with helmets, it’s clear that cycling is a dangerous sport, especially in events like the Tour de France, where steep mountain climbs and descents demand tremendous skill and resilience from the athletes competing. Even if you’re not a cycling fan, you should definitely respect the great athletes of the sport, who bravely risk their well-being and ride with the determination and passion of champions.
PPPPP
Word Count 718
|
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Philippe Thys Philippe Thys, one of the better Belgian cyclists of all time, ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Philippe Thys Philippe Thys, one of the better Belgian cyclists of all time, ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Jacques Anquetil Jacques Anquetil is famous for being the first cyclist to ever ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Jan Ullrich Jan Ullrich was one of the great riders and personalities of ...
read more
The Route of Champions: The 2008 Tour de France Race Route Every year, hundreds of French towns dream of being ...
read more
Variety is Everything: Stage Types of the Tour de France One of the things that makes the Tour de France ...
read more
Understanding the Rules of the Tour de France To the uninitiated, the world of cycing and specifically, the Tour de ...
read more
Tragedy at the Tour de France Fabio Casartelli, like many young cyclists, dreamed of achieving infamy in the Tour de ...
read more
The Tour de France: The First Extreme Sports Event? These days, with skateboarders and BMX bikers doing backflips and covering ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Lucien Petit-Breton Lucien Petit-Breton was not only one of the first dominant riders ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Laurent Fignon Laurent Fignon was a two time winner of the Tour de ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Bernard Hinault One of the legendary personalities and riders in the history of ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Miguel Indurain Miguel Indurain will always be known as one of the greatest ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Lucien van Impe Lucien van Impe was one of the better cyclists of ...
read more
The Tour de France: A Beginner’s Guide The Tour de France is an incredibly exciting event that is followed by ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Greg LeMond Greg LeMond was the first American to ever win the Tour ...
read more
Understanding the Rules of the Tour de France To the uninitiated, the world of cycing and specifically, the Tour de ...
read more
Variety is Everything: Stage Types of the Tour de France One of the things that makes the Tour de France ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Bernard Hinault One of the legendary personalities and riders in the history of ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Joop Zoetemelk Joop Zoetemelk was a cyclist from the Netherlands who is widely ...
read more
Controversy at the 2006 Tour de France The 2006 Tour de France was set to be another of a long ...
read more
Tragedy at the Tour de France Fabio Casartelli, like many young cyclists, dreamed of achieving infamy in the Tour de ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Laurent Fignon Laurent Fignon was a two time winner of the Tour de ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Gustave Garrigou Gustave Garrigou was one of the first great riders in the ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Louison Bobet Louison (or “Louis”) Bobet was one of the great post-war French ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Lucien van Impe Lucien van Impe was one of the better cyclists of ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Eddy Merckx Eddy Merckx is regarded by many to be the best cyclist ...
read more
Controversy at the 2006 Tour de France The 2006 Tour de France was set to be another of a long ...
read more
...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Jan Ullrich Jan Ullrich was one of the great riders and personalities of ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Gustave Garrigou Gustave Garrigou was one of the first great riders in the ...
read more
The Yellow Jersey: A Standard of Excellence When you think of the most iconic trophies in all of sport, you ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Louison Bobet Louison (or “Louis”) Bobet was one of the great post-war French ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Lance Armstrong Even those who are relatively unfamiliar with the ins and outs ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Miguel Indurain Miguel Indurain will always be known as one of the greatest ...
read more
The Tour de France: A Beginner’s Guide The Tour de France is an incredibly exciting event that is followed by ...
read more
The Tour de France, Explained Millions of people worldwide are transfixed each and every year as the annual Tour de ...
read more
The Yellow Jersey: A Standard of Excellence When you think of the most iconic trophies in all of sport, you ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Lucien Petit-Breton Lucien Petit-Breton was not only one of the first dominant riders ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Lance Armstrong Even those who are relatively unfamiliar with the ins and outs ...
read more
The First Tour de France: A Humble Beginning The Tour de France is undoubtedly one of the most iconic and ...
read more
The First Tour de France: A Humble Beginning The Tour de France is undoubtedly one of the most iconic and ...
read more
Cyclists of the Tour de France: Greg LeMond Greg LeMond was the first American to ever win the Tour de ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Eddy Merckx Eddy Merckx is regarded by many to be the best cyclist ...
read more
The Route of Champions: The 2008 Tour de France Race Route Every year, hundreds of French towns dream of being ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Joop Zoetemelk Joop Zoetemelk was a cyclist from the Netherlands who is widely ...
read more
Planning the Route of the Tour de France For a race with the tradition and amazing legacy of the Tour ...
read more
The Tour de France: The First Extreme Sports Event? These days, with skateboarders and BMX bikers doing backflips and covering ...
read more
Planning the Route of the Tour de France For a race with the tradition and amazing legacy of the Tour ...
read more
The Tour de France, Explained Millions of people worldwide are transfixed each and every year as the annual Tour de ...
read more
Great Cyclists of the Tour de France: Jacques Anquetil Jacques Anquetil is famous for being the first cyclist to ever ...
read more
|
|
|
Disclaimer:
The Publisher has strived to be as accurate and complete as possible in
the creation of this website, notwithstanding the fact that he does not
warrant or represent at any time that the contents within are accurate
due to the rapidly changing nature of the Internet.
This site
is a common sense guide to The Tour de France: The First Extreme Sports Event?. In practical advice websites,
like anything else in life, there are no guarantees of income made.
Readers are cautioned to reply on their own judgment about their
individual circumstances to act accordingly.
This site
is not intended for use as a source of legal, business, accounting or
financial advice. All readers are advised to seek services of competent
professionals in legal, business, accounting, and finance field.
Any
perceived slights of specific people or organizations are unintentional.
|