Editorial

The eleven months separating us from the next Tour de France will surely not be sufficient to stop people raving about the 2011 edition which turned out to be one of the most spectacular races of the modern era.

Straight from the start, Philippe Gilbert gave the perfect answer to the challenge of a route favouring the ambitious, who were not timid in showing themselves during the rest of the race. World champion Thor Hushovd lived up to his role as an ambassador for the profile of the complete cyclist, by winning two stages after wearing the Yellow Jersey for seven days. His successor at the head of the general classification, Thomas Voeckler, brought pride and appetite back to French cycling by wearing the Yellow Jersey for ten days on the roads of France, including the slopes of the Col du Galibier pass. At the highest finish in Le Tour’s history, the hero of France in July gave it his all to hang on to the lead in the race, whilst Andy Schleck was completing an Eddy Merckx style accomplishment of a 60 km breakaway. In spite of this magnificent feat, it was not sufficient to take the jersey from Voeckler’s back, or to distance Cadel Evans, whose master-piece was programmed for the time-trial in Grenoble. In the meantime, the Luxembourger took the opportunity to spend a day in yellow, after a finish on a high note at Alpe d’Huez for the French clan. On the climb of 21 bends, Pierre Rolland shook off the elite climbers to write his name on the roll of honour for this prestigious finish.

This little moment of history captured the attention of almost 8 million viewers on France Télévisions, whereas other countries, such as Belgium, Great Britain or Norway, saw their audience figures increase as their representatives picked up stage wins (Gilbert, Cavendish, Hushovd, Boasson Hagen). For the stage finishing on the Champs-Elysées, it was on the other side of the world that a viewing peak was recorded during the middle of the night, as Australian cycling fans settled down in their masses in front of their TV screens to watch the entry of their country into the Big Loop’s roll of honour, thanks to Cadel Evans.

Christian PRUDHOMME
Director of the Tour de France