Tour de France 101: Banana Hammocks and Jesus

What do these share? They were both spotted on the sidelines along the climb up the Tourmalet during stage 9 of the Tour de France on Sunday. The banana hammocks were extreme- of the thong variety- and were worn by a pack of shirtless Aussies sporting fluorescent green afro wigs and their country's flag draped about their shoulders. If not for the flag, I would have bet these were Americans, but I now have proof that frat-boy antics are universal. As for Jesus, I just don't know what was going on there.

Today is a rest day for the Tour cyclists, and somewhat of a rest day for me. I was out of town for a few days and missed all the action from the latest stages. So I've just been reading news summaries and thought I'd skip any form of cycling "lesson" or discussion of strategy to talk about something that doesn't have anything to do with cycling per se, but everything to do with the Tour de France: fans.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of watching the Tour during its mountain stages especially are seeing the legions of fans that line the route along the tough climbs, waiting for a glimpse of their cycling heroes, running alongside, and even touching them. In no other spectator sport can you get this close.

Ridiculous costumes and animated gesturing abound, and there are the requisite antler helmets and naked guy or two. I am dreaming of going to see the Tour in person, and part of that dream is to be included in the fan melee. I have this notion that it must be like a big, beer-tinged, international funfest- a sharing of the love of sport among loud brutes Americains, flamboyant Aussies, laddish Brits and crazy Euros alike.

Antler Guy- a US export

The flipside of this is how out-of-hand some of these fans seem to get. I often worry that one of them is going to push over one of the cyclists or let a stray beer bottle roll out onto the road. Seriously, I don't know how this doesn't happen, and I think it has in the case of a rider getting knocked over.

Dieter "Didi" Senft as El Diablo- a Tour regular

But this doesn't even compare to the avid fans of the original Tour de France races in the early 1900s. Below is an account of over-zealous fans in the 1904 Tour, who felled trees to hold back rivals and beat up others at night outside the city of St. Etienne.

In the climb of the col de la Republique, leaving St-Étienne, supporters of the regional rider, Faure, assault the Italian, Gerbi. He is thrown to the ground, beaten like plaster. He escapes with a broken finger... A bunch of fanatics wielded sticks and shouted insults, setting on the other riders: Maurice and César Garin got a succession of blows, the older brother [Maurice] was hit in the face with a stone. Soon there was general mayhem: "Up with Faure! Down with Garin! Kill them!" they were shouting. Finally cars arrived and the riders could get going thanks to pistol shots. The aggressors disappeared into the night. (1)

I'd like to think the modern-day fan, though at times idiotic in his or her fervor, has progressed to a more civilized state.

fandemonium in Basque country

1. Chany, Pierre (1986), La Fabuleuse Histoire de Cyclisme, La Martinière, France, p 60