# ask a stupid question



## up hill struggle (2 Jul 2014)

tour de France starts this weekend, got the sky+ box set to record it, but why does the tour de France start in Yorkshire?

forgive my ignorance


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## w00hoo_kent (2 Jul 2014)

It's common for it to start outside of France, or to pop out the edges. In fact I think the 100th anniversary one was a bit unique in recent years for being all inside France. It's all a mix of adding some spice to the event with something different, and spreading the costs for the people doing the hosting. I'd imagine it doesn't hurt advertising and TV sales revenue either. Not sure when they decided on Yorkshire, but doubt the Brit winners effected it. Utrecht has it in 2015 I believe.


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## bendanuk (2 Jul 2014)

I thought that, and its because they like to start it in neighbouring countries once in a while, no idea why! But am lucky as it goes straight past the bottom of my street


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## w00hoo_kent (2 Jul 2014)

bendanuk said:


> I thought that, and its because they like to start it in neighbouring countries once in a while, no idea why! But am lucky as it goes straight past the bottom of my street


Probably because the whole thing has always been a media circus. Its roots are in advertising for a sports paper and most of its history and customs come from that. As with most big sporting events, it's a huge commercial show, they do what is best for the bottom line. Being able to list other countries they've been through is part of that, hence the Giro starting in Ireland.


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## up hill struggle (2 Jul 2014)

ah i see, just normal for it then, thought it was just strange when setting the sky box to record that it said Yorkshire, thought id accidently set it to record one of those race events that i had been recording on itv where they went to different towns for races. Then thought it was something to do with you common wealth games.


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## bendanuk (2 Jul 2014)

w00hoo_kent said:


> Probably because the whole thing has always been a media circus. Its roots are in advertising for a sports paper and most of its history and customs come from that. As with most big sporting events, it's a huge commercial show, they do what is best for the bottom line. Being able to list other countries they've been through is part of that, hence the Giro starting in Ireland.


true, because its going through my hometown it's tempting me to buy the 'Yorkshire tour' merchandise, but as a typical yorkshireman its too expensive so I will wait until its being sold off


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## Apollonius (2 Jul 2014)

Because the Tour of Italy started in Ireland, of course. Sorry. You know what they say about a silly question getting a silly answer. 
The most obvious sensible answer is "money".
I believe Yorkshire paid around £3m to get the Tour. This money goes to pay the riders etc. After all, you don't pay to watch like you do for football and so on. Why? Well, it is a Tour and towns and cities (and of course counties) get to show off their delights and tourist potential. Look good to the helicopter folks!
From the interest being shown in the Yorkshire stages (and the difficulty I had finding accommodation a year ago) it was money well invested. Just look how much publicity Yorkshire has received. 
From a sort of evangelical aspect, you could say that it spreads the brand cycling and raises its profile. I'll go with that too.
There is a theory - which I will subscribe to - that the Tor de France created the idea of a French nation. We tend to assume that nations go back a long way, but this is not so. In a post-national age, it is politically interesting that events like this are going supra-national.


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## w00hoo_kent (2 Jul 2014)

Agreed, when you watch the footage, see how much is long shots of the countryside or establishing shots of the various villages and towns rather than some sweaty guys on bicycles. The hosts pay for the privilege as a huge tourism advert and offset it with the increased revenue from the influx of spectators. Putting it somewhere new increases the number of spectators that can come for that once in a lifetime experience...


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## up hill struggle (2 Jul 2014)

I went to belfast to see the racers on the 1st day of the giro, spent 2 hrs getting parked finding s spot to watch.

all bikes & support cars passed in under a minute i blinked & missed half of them, hope you better luck or a longer view of them if you get to see them than i did


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## GrasB (2 Jul 2014)

I've already got my watching spot picked out  & most people won't have a clue how to get there  The only issue is I won't get to see the procession pass really closely, but I get to see it for longer.


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## classic33 (2 Jul 2014)

GrasB said:


> I've already got my watching spot picked out  & most people won't have a clue how to get there  The only issue is I won't get to see the procession pass really closely, but I get to see it for longer.


Restricted airspace over the race, so the microlight won't be much use!


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## Big Nick (2 Jul 2014)

Most people move to rural Yorkshire to get away from it all so the masses of spectators coming to the area who may discover our green and pleasant lands and come back is not good news for the queues in our tea rooms!


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## GrasB (2 Jul 2014)

classic33 said:


> Restricted airspace over the race, so the microlight won't be much use!


No, this is actually the roof of a building near the route. You get a really good view for a long stretch, you're just about 50-75m back from the road.


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## oldroadman (10 Jul 2014)

Apollonius said:


> Because the Tour of Italy started in Ireland, of course. Sorry. You know what they say about a silly question getting a silly answer.
> The most obvious sensible answer is "money".
> I believe Yorkshire paid around £3m to get the Tour. This money goes to pay the riders etc. After all, you don't pay to watch like you do for football and so on. Why? Well, it is a Tour and towns and cities (and of course counties) get to show off their delights and tourist potential. Look good to the helicopter folks!
> From the interest being shown in the Yorkshire stages (and the difficulty I had finding accommodation a year ago) it was money well invested. Just look how much publicity Yorkshire has received.
> ...



Spot on with money!
The money Yorkshire paid to host the depart does not go to pay riders, it all goes in a big pot somewhere at ASO. Then the costs come out including prize funds. So you are partially right. Riders get paid contracts by the teams, prize money is an extra and is shared out on a split between riders and team staff.
The TdF started in the early 20th century, and maybe helped to bring the French nation together a little more, but they did have a big sort out in the late 1700's..
What is different - and good - about France (the Hexagon) is that different regions have different food and cultures, but still remain very French. Maybe with the exception of Bretagne and Alsace, where the character is very distinctive, but still French in essence.
2015 the TdF starts in Netherlands, so no Channel Tunnel problems!


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