The great sport not known by America.

Professional cycling is an incredible sport. There is something about watching these riders push themselves to their absolute limits that never gets old. Every race is different, and every season is full of magnificent victories and heart-wrenching defeats. One of the most accessible and relatable sports in the pantheon of sports, you are missing out if you don’t give another shot to professional cycling. Not as popular as it should be in America, you are really missing out if you don’t give the sport a go. With races and personalities of all types, there is something for everyone. 

If you like watching a slow build-up into an explosion, there are “sprint stages” right there for you. In these races, the cyclists ride for a few hours and wait in position until the last quarter mile to play tactics and try and overpower each other for a mad dash to the line. These “bunch sprints” often have 5 or 6 favorites battling it out to the line with the margin of victory often so small cameras are used to distinguish the winners. 

If you like watching the underdogs, stages primed for the breakaway are perfect. They play the ultimate game of cat and mouse, with often the group of 4 or 5 getting out to an early lead and trying to hold off the entire peloton(rest of the race) all the way to the finish line. These riders leave it all on the line and battle the whole way trying to keep their lead for what is often over 100 miles. They don’t win often, but whenever one of the riders in the breakaway gets underestimated by the peloton and makes it all the way to the finish line, the tears of joy are inevitable. Never the favorites, these wins are career-defining for almost every rider, and you can feel their energy through the screen when they pull one out.

If you love a good-ole-fashioned knockdown drag out then one-day races called “the classics” are the races for you. Often over 150 miles, these races have ~170 riders at the start and only the premier riders in the sport at the finish. The peloton in these races slogs through all terrains and weather conditions losing riders at a blistering pace until, by the end only the strongest riders are able to hang on. Then these riders battle it out until the bitter end. Uphill attacks,  blistering descents, sudden breakouts or desperate sprints, these riders leave it all on the course purely for our entertainment.

For a person that loves to watch other people struggle, most stage races include a time trial as well. Anywhere between 5-30 miles, These are solo endeavors by each rider racing against the clock. Full of suspense, time trials never disappoint and make or break the hopes of riders trying to win the stage race in its entirety.

And those are just individual stages. The three biggest races of the year, the Giro D’Italia, the Tour De France and the Vuelta a Espana have around 20 each. Three weeks of riding over 100 miles a day for riders trying to win the overall(general classification or GC), every second matters. Winning these GC’s is what makes you a household name and makes you millions. The GC at a grand tour is the most grueling event in any sport. With over 85 hours of riding over three weeks, in all three 2020 grand tours last year, the winner earned first place by under one minute. In the Tour De France, the winner cycled 5240 minutes over 21 stages and won by 59 seconds. If that doesn’t seem like the most brutal and unforgiving sport event ever, I’m not sure what would be. By the way, the winner, Tadej Pogacar, a 21-year-old from Slovenia, was in second place by 57 seconds going into the last day, which was a time trial for the ages. 

I understand the history of Americans in the sport coloring your view on the sport, but it’s time to get past that; you are only missing out if you don’t. The Lance Armstrong steroid era is long behind us, and the new age of cycling is more exciting than ever; it is just missing our participation. A country like ours should be one of the top competitors in the sport, but lately, we’ve been faltering. We need to remember the joy we’ve gotten from cycling and get back into it.

Anyone can ride a bike, you included. There is something about riding your bike out in nature and just taking in the air and the scene around you that is hard to find anywhere else. The feeling of bliss you get from watching the scenery cycle by and the wind push you forward. The feeling of elation from stomping on the pedals and going the fastest you have ever gone with just your own power can only be found on a bike. Rekindling our joy in the sport comes from just taking your bike out for a spin and cheering on others, whether it’s the person you go by on the way to class or the pro on your screen. Just spend some time outside on your bike and watch a few of the highlights linked all through here. I promise you you’ll be glad you did.

Note: This was an earlier draft of “America needs to reinvest in Pro Cycling” that I really loved and want people to see, but didn’t achieve the goal and stance I wanted to opine when writing my column, leading me to writing a different more targeted piece. Enjoy!