CEBU, Philippines - Doping or no doping, cycling, especially the Tour de France, is as popular as ever.You should see the people lined up, 10 deep or more in some areas, along the routes in Yorkshire, England.
You might wondering why the Tour de France is starting in England but every now and then, the Tour brings the race to places who wants it.
Or pays for it.
You see, the Tour is more than just a travelling circus, its also big business. The event brings a lot of people together and when a lot of people converge in one area, they spend money.
That’s why Yorkshire and London is paying ASO, the Tour organizer and owner, an estimated £10M to host the first three stages. In return, they are expecting an infusion of £100M to the local economy.
Of course there are local oppositions, just like in any government, to hosting the Tour but I think that 10-fold return would be hard to argue. As an illustration of how the popularity of the Tour has trickled down to local businesses, a building owner, whose establishment is 450 meters from the finish of Stage 1, rented out the front of his building for £450!
This concept is not new. Some house owners around the Wimbledon area set up their homes for rent for two weeks, the duration of the Grand Slam, while they are out on vacation.
CROWD CONTROL
One problem encountered so far were fans encroaching on the road for the peloton. One SKY rider was seen slapping phones of fans extending their arms with cellphones to the peloton. While no serious injury had occurred to either rider or fan getting in contact, it still is dangerous and scary for the riders, since a crash could be potentially be career ending. (FREEMAN)