Shifting Lenses

My dad has been a huge cycling fan for as long as I can remember, so when we made the trip to Bilbao, Spain, in 2023 for the Grand Départ of the Tour de France, it felt like a dream come true for him. After years of watching the Tour on TV, I thought I had a pretty good handle on the culture of the event. I expected to see crowds lining the streets, and I knew the cyclists would speed by the crowds in tight packs with their team cars hot on their heels.

What I hadn’t fully understood was the sheer scale of the festival atmosphere that takes over the towns the Tour passes through. Before the race even began, there was this parade along the route. Cars decorated with statues and sponsor displays drove by, accompanied by dancers and loud music, all while tossing branded merchandise to the fans. Official Tour souvenir vans were strategically parked throughout the area, and at both the start and finish lines, huge TV screens and media trailers were set up alongside countless booths giving away free merchandise. People were dancing in the streets, and the atmosphere was absolutely electric.

This was hands down one of the most unique sporting events I’ve ever experienced. When you go to a typical game or match, you’re usually sitting in one spot for an hour or more. For the Tour, you find a good view of the road along the course and then you wait. The cyclists pass by incredibly quickly, and then… it’s done. But that brief moment is intense. You’re so close to the athletes you can literally feel the breeze as they whiz past. It’s a fast rush, but real a thrill.

Comparing it to other events, the Tour de France might just be the most family-friendly sporting event I’ve ever attended. Because the action is so fast, there’s no time for kids to lose interest, and there’s constantly so much to look at.

We even chatted with a few dedicated fans who planned to follow the Tour from town to town for the entire three weeks. While that might be a bit much for me, talking to them made me realize that cycling fans are just as obsessed in their sport as the most devoted fans in any other sport. I think many people view cycling fans as more casual, but after experiencing the Grand Départ firsthand, I learned that is definitively not the case.