Eat, sleep, race. Repeat for three weeks. That's the simplistic summary of any Grand Tour, and once the race is underway, then what is happening on the other side of the barriers becomes – at least for the riders – a blur happening in the background.
Disruptions are rare but occasionally there's a local protest or nature intervenes with some catastrophic event, or, the most common one, the closed level crossing interrupts proceedings. Whatever the disturbance, it's a momentary blip, and the race soon returns to its detachment from the outside world, isolated but at the same time protected.
