You have to be crazy to ride the Tour de France. You have to be crazier to drive in it

Felix Gall of Austria is closely followed by a support car near Le Lioran during the Tour this month. (Image: Tim de Waele/Getty)

The Wall Street Journal

Sun, 21 Jul 2024

By Joshua Robinson In his two decades as a professional bike racer, Matthew Hayman always figured that it took a special kind of lunatic to do his job. Get on the bike, pedal to the brink of total exhaustion, maybe win once in a blue moon.Only after he retired and became a coach did Hayman understand that riding a bicycle wasn’t the craziest thing he could do on the Tour de France. For a real test of endurance, reflexes, focus and sanity, he could put his foot to the floor and drive a team car.These are the Tour’s dugouts...

Subscribe to BusinessDesk

Stay informed on business, government and financial developments across New Zealand.

Deeply researched, twice-edited and fact-checked news
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary subscription to The Wall Street Journal
Personalised email news alerts, plus gift up to 5 stories a month to non-subscribers

You can cancel anytime with two clicks, an email or a phone call.
Find out more.

We are serious about journalism.

Name {{ registerForm.errors.get('name') }}

Email address {{ registerForm.errors.get('email') }}

Phone Number {{ registerForm.errors.get('phone') }}

Job Title {{ registerForm.errors.get('title') }}

Password Minimum password length of 8 characters.
Require at least one upper and lowercase, numeric, and special character. {{ registerForm.errors.get('password') }}

Repeat password {{ registerForm.errors.get('password_confirmation') }}

We had trouble validating your card. It's possible your card provider is preventing us from charging the card. Please contact your card provider or customer support.

Credit Card

Cardholder's name

{{ __(plans[index].name) | capitalize }} {{ plans[index].attributes.old_price | currency }} {{ plans[index].price | currency }}

All subscriptions auto renew but are easy to cancel.

I Accept The Terms Of Service

{{ registerForm.errors.get('terms') }}

Tax: {{ taxAmount(selectedPlan) | currency }}

Total Price Including Tax: {{ priceWithTax(selectedPlan) | currency }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerSeat ? '/ '+ spark.seatName : '' }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerTeam ? '/ '+ __('teams.team') : '' }} / {{ __(selectedPlan.interval) | capitalize }}