For the Tour de France, the lack of French winners hasn't hurt business
Does this lack of French victories in the Tour's final overall standings harm the health of the event? Not at all. For four decades, the Tour's economic model has continued to boost the finances of Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO).
"The Tour de France is a phenomenon in itself, synonymous with happy summers," said Jean Durry, author of La Véridique Histoire des Géants de la Route ("The True Story of the Giants of the Road," 1973). According to the sports historian, the Tour's economy does not depend on strong performances from French riders. "The public is ecstatic if a Frenchman is in contention, but for them, it's a celebration no matter what happens."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
EU probes far-right political group over alleged misuse of funds
02:08 08/07/2025 France wildfire shuts down Marseille airport France 08/07/2025 UK-France: The tide of realpolitik rises as the sea of rhetoric fades on both sides of the Channel UK 08/07/2025 Why are French police struggling to curb migrant Channel crossings? France 08/07/2025 'Restatement of that historic commitment: Renegotiate important Franco-British bilateral agreements' UK 06/07/2025 The Seine closes for a day due to bad weather in Paris. France 05/07/2025 Tour de France gets under way on home soil for first time in five years France 05/07/2025 Title contenders Pogacar, Vingegaard eye Yellow Jersey France 05/07/2025 French cognac brands sales to China fell 70% France 05/07/2025 Seine reopens to Paris swimmers after century-long ban France
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
France wildfire shuts down Marseille airport
04:50 08/07/2025 UK-France: The tide of realpolitik rises as the sea of rhetoric fades on both sides of the Channel UK 08/07/2025 Why are French police struggling to curb migrant Channel crossings? France 06/07/2025 The Seine closes for a day due to bad weather in Paris. France 05/07/2025 Tour de France gets under way on home soil for first time in five years France 05/07/2025 Title contenders Pogacar, Vingegaard eye Yellow Jersey France 05/07/2025 French cognac brands sales to China fell 70% France 05/07/2025 Seine reopens to Paris swimmers after century-long ban France 05/07/2025 Pogacar and Vingegaard looking to repeat their victory at the Tour de France France
LeMonde
5 hours ago
- LeMonde
Pogacar credits 'big adrenalin' for explosive Tour de France stage and 100th career win
Tadej Pogacar blew past his rivals in an "explosive" finish to take Tour de France stage four at Rouen on Tuesday, claiming his 100 th professional victory. "That was really pure, classic Tour-de-France-style explosive," said an elated Pogacar. The win did not quite bring him the overall lead. Dutch powerhouse Mathieu van der Poel finished second to keep the yellow jersey. Pogacar attacked on an incline to the line to finish just ahead of Van der Poel with Jonas Vingegaard third. It was the 26-year-old Slovenian's 18 th Tour de France stage win as he seeks a fourth overall triumph on the Tour. "There was big adrenalin and a big field of contenders," Pogacar said. Fans were treated to another Pogacar-Vingegaard head-to-head duel as five hills made the final 40 km a rollercoaster. Van der Poel also entered the fray and kept the overall lead he took from Alpecin teammate Jasper Philipsen, who quit the Tour injured after a nasty fall on Monday. On the day's final real climb, Pogacar dropped all his rivals with only Vingegaard offering a real fight. But the big Dutch rider and the slender Dane both came back at Pogacar, making him fight all the way to the line in a thunderous finale. The same trio top the overall standings, with Pogacar second and Vingegaard in third. Van der Poel took the overall lead on stage two but risks losing it on Wednesday's time trial. "I should be happy to have the jersey again," said Van der Poel. "I was surrounded by climbers out there, you know. Tadej was stronger, and it's as simple as that." Plenty of falls Unlike the opening three stages, there was hardly a puff of wind and not a drop of rain, but there were still plenty of falls. There was also a knifing incident with a man at Rouen slightly injuring a police officer before himself being shot as he tried to escape. Neither the police officer nor the alleged culprit suffered life-threatening injuries. Stage five will shake up the overall standings with a 33-km individual time trial around Caen. The stage is being billed as the day Remco Evenepoel will finally slip into the overall leader's yellow jersey. To do so, the 25-year-old Belgian world and Olympic champion will need to cover the course 59 seconds faster than Pogacar and Vingegaard. "But tomorrow will be the big day, the real test of how good everyone is," said Pogacar. "Don't count Remco out," he added. "He's the best in the world and he'll be going full gas, like me." The first mountains come as late as stage 10 over the volcanic landscape of the Puy de Dome, with two more colossal climbing days in the Pyrenees before the blockbuster final week in the Alps.
