EDWARD PICKERING

The evenings are drawing in, and that can make cycling fans melancholy. But not this year. Instead of considering the steady diminuendo of the last third of the cycling year as August turns to September, we’re gearing up to watch the Tour de France. By the time you read this, many races will already have been contested, and we’ll be anticipating the belated but welcome start of the world’s biggest race.

Of course, we’re going to be on tenterhooks. We’re nowhere near through the covid-19 crisis, and cycling is no more immune to this fact than the rest of us. Just because the Tour is planned to start on August 29 and finish on September 20 doesn’t mean it will. The teams, organisers, fans and media each have their part to play in helping things go well. The race getting to Paris far outweighs the importance of anything on a sporting level.

All that said, I’m more excited about this year’s race than any for years. It could be that the prospect of losing something strengthens our bonds with it. It’s been a weird old July, without the Tour to follow, and we’re getting a second chance that was by no means guaranteed earlier in the year. But it’s also the narratives that are already emerging. Jumbo versus Ineos (and these teams’ intramural Roglic v Dumoulin v Kruijswijk and Bernal v Thomas v Froome battles). And these riders versus Pinot, Pogacar, Alaphilippe and Quintana. I’m also a huge fan of the route, which starts crazy and stays crazy, pretty much all the way through. Christian Prudhomme has said the Tour is being designed for the attention spans of the ‘zapping’ generation. If that means a more exciting race, then sign me up.

The Tour is almost here. And as we’re anticipating its start, let’s appreciate how lucky we are to have such an incredible event to watch at all.