The Harsh Reality of Tour de France: Why It Devastates the Body

Imagine running 21 marathons one per day for three weeks. It consists of riding a bike over a variety of terrains at a high power output for hours at a time day after day. It may tax muscles, the cardiovascular system, digestion, and parts of the body that bear the load. It drains energy stores, dumps tons of metabolites into muscles, causes chafing and saddle sores, and everything from allergies to eye irritation. And that doesn’t even include the crashes and the mental stress of riding with 200 other world-class competitors.

Why is the Tour de France so devastating to the body?

The Tour de France is a grueling race of 2200 miles of 160 pulse in 23 days. For non-professional riders, this is undoubtedly a severe challenge. However, for the General Classification, while less intense, it still takes a toll. As an avid cyclist, the Tour de France is devastating to the body due to the significant physical demands placed on riders. They are often required to ride over 100 miles per stage for several days, maintaining very high speeds and averaging 25 mph each stage. They sit on a narrow saddle for several hours, hunching forward to be aerodynamic, which is tough on the neck and back.

Is "devastating" the right word? Maybe not, but the Tour de France is undoubtedly hard on the body. The race covers about 3500 km (2200 miles) in twenty-one one-day stages with only two days of rest. This means riders cover about 170 km or approximately 105 miles per day. Some days require sprinting, others require climbing, and many require both. Additionally, there are time trials that require consistent high speed for the length of the course. The competition is always intense, and each stage has a minimum acceptable time based on the winning time for the day. This means that faster the winner goes, the faster you have to go just to stay in the race.

To remain competitive, riders need to produce about 6 watts of power per kilogram of body weight. This is about two to three times the power a recreational rider would produce. To achieve this kind of power, the heart rate needs to be in the eighty percent range and higher for extended periods of time. Respiration needs to be at about the limit of how much oxygen the body can absorb. To understand this, hop on a treadmill and set it for an incline and speed that prevents you from talking comfortably, and is just a bit more than you can maintain. And then stay there for about five hours. This effort translates to about 6000 calories a day. Consuming these calories during four to five hours of riding while producing high watts is incredibly challenging. The line is thin between sustaining performance and collapsing due to energy expenditure.

The body must operate under conditions of high effort with almost insufficient nutrient replacement. High performance requires less body fat, water, and other excess weight, and it demands near-limit performance with limited energy intake. The combination of high exertion and minimal energy intake stresses the body to its limit. However, riders have to push through this hardship, almost relying solely on force of will the next day and the day after that.

In conclusion, the Tour de France is not just a physical challenge; it is a mental and emotional challenge as well. It tests and expands the limits of human endurance and achievement at the point where it takes the force of the mind to make the body go. This unique combination of physical and mental exertion makes the Tour de France a true test of human willpower and endurance.