The Wall Street Journal

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

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
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...

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