Le Tour 2015: Le Grand Départ, Utrecht / Utrecht

Le.  Tour.  De.  France.

You know, if you end up in the same place you started from, does that count as a departure or what?  You did leave, but it’s kind of like going back to your house because you forgot your wallet or left the stove on or something.  Does it really count against your travel time?

Well, it sort of does in this year’s Le Tour.  Today is the only individual time trial stage and it’s very short, only a little over 8 and a half miles which, given a Tour of about 2088 miles is hardly a blip.

Why is it the only Individual Time Trial?  Could it be because the French contenders (and surprisingly they have a few this year) suck at it?

What?!  You impugn the integrity of Professional Bicycle Racing?!  You can hardly do that because it has none and doesn’t pretend otherwise.

Anyway, today will hardly prove anything unless someone falls off their bike and even so it’s not going to cut down huge chunks of the field as sometimes happens.  Competition-wise the race shapes up like this-

• Tour de France 2015: five contenders for the yellow jersey, by William Fotheringham, The Guardian
• Tour de France 2015: our team-by-team guide, by Barry Glendenning, The Guardian
• Tour de France 2015 Stage by stage, The Guardian
• Stage 1, Le Tour

TV coverage on continuous loop at Vs (NBC Sports) forever and ever and ever and ever…  Well at least until Stage 21 on July 26th.