Cycling April Fools

uberwolf

this story was bandied around Thurs, the context is the rumoured start the Tour will have in London in 2007 and the logistics of the transfer. Plausible at first, ludicrous by end.

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Although definite confirmation of the Tour de France's start in London in 2007 has yet to be given, details are beginning to trickle through about some of the route options being considered. The most startling envisages a London city centre prologue and two subsequent road stages being followed by a team time trial transfer from southern England back to France via the Channel Tunnel.

The plan would be to start the team time trial stage in Dover and send off each of the 22 teams in turn to the entrance of the Channel Tunnel near Folkestone, where they would enter the service tunnel that runs between the two rail tunnels under the English Channel. The 25-mile-long tunnel is reported to be wide enough to allow nine-man teams to negotiate it easily.

Once through the tunnel the teams would continue down the French coast to the stage finish in Boulogne, which hosted the equivalent stage in 1994 before the race made its last visit to England. An initial proposal to send the whole bunch through the tunnel as part of a road stage has been rejected because of the difficulty of accommodating a large group of riders within the service tunnel.

The team time trial option has one or two snags to overcome however. No one has yet ridden through the tunnel and the climb back up to the French side is believed to be quite steep. Although easily negotiable for a pro rider, the run back up into France is likely to be classified as a fourth-category hill, making it the first time in Tour history points have been awarded for the King of the Mountains jersey while riders are below the Earth's surface.

Another gremlin to be worked out is the lack of height in the tunnel, which mean that team cars following the riders may not be able to be fitted with the racks that carry their spare bikes. Flat-bed trailers hitched to the back of team cars are being considered as an option for this one stage.

Team directors may also be told to remove the loudspeakers they use to communicate with their riders during the team time trial. Planners believe some riders could be rendered temporarily deaf by the hectoring shouts from their team boss behind them, with riders being encouraged along by Liberty Seguros boss Manolo Saiz felt to be in particular danger.

A proposal for each rider's bike to be fitted with front and back lights has been shelved in favour of an option to fit halogen lights to each rider's helmet with a red reflector fitted to the back of each bike.

The stage would certainly be one of the most eye-catching in Tour history and would guarantee a massive TV audience, making it more than likely that the gremlins involved will be worked out.