I’ve never been to the Tour de France, but I did go to Geraint Thomas’s farewell finish at the Lloyds Tour of Britain last month. In place of crowds of polka-dot jerseys and rainbow bucket hats were hoards of supporters out to wave their countryman home. The national pride was palpable, not just in the form of countless monumental Welsh dragon flags, but in the fondness with which people talked about the rider they shared their home with.
The Tour de France is, albeit, a heftier affair. Watched by a peak domestic audience of 8.2 million, it’s one of the most watched sporting events in the world, after the football World Cup and the Olympics. It snakes its way through the country on a different course each year over four to six hour-rides, passing major towns and smaller ones wherever the stage race destinations dictate. But it might have an additional power we hadn’t previously realised, too.
