{"id":308502,"date":"2025-08-01T06:00:20","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T06:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/308502\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T06:00:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T06:00:20","slug":"why-every-cyclist-secretly-thinks-theyd-win-the-tour-de-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/308502\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Every Cyclist Secretly Thinks They\u2019d Win the Tour de France"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIf I had time to train\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the universal mantra. If we just didn\u2019t have full-time jobs, kids, dogs, mortgages, creaky knees, or an insatiable need to watch Netflix every night \u2013 we\u2019d be right up there with Poga\u010dar.<\/a><\/p>\n

I mean, I personally train hard \u2013 two Zwift sessions a week, a Sunday caf\u00e9 ride, and regular strength workouts consisting of carrying shopping bags up the stairs. Surely that\u2019s enough to conquer the Alps?<\/p>\n

And let\u2019s not forget the ultimate justification: \u201cI just don\u2019t have the time to recover properly, otherwise I\u2019d smash it.\u201d Yes, Dave. Sleep is the only thing standing between you and yellow.<\/p>\n

Crushing that local segment<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every cyclist has that one segment they absolutely obliterate. It might only be 200 metres long and have a howling tailwind, but it\u2019s THEIR moment of glory.<\/p>\n

Last week, I KOM\u2019d a flat segment near Lidl at 45km\/h while drafting a recycling truck. Felt unstoppable. Tour de France<\/a> mountains? Pfft. Same thing, just longer\u2026 right?<\/p>\n

And let\u2019s be real, every group ride ends with someone sprinting for an imaginary line yelling, \u201cAND HE TAKES THE STAGE WIN ON THE CHAMPS-\u00c9LYS\u00c9ES!\u201d We\u2019ve all done it. Some of us twice in the same ride.<\/p>\n

Watching every stage makes us pros<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all sat on the sofa in bib shorts, eating spaghetti straight from the pan, watching Eurosport commentators dissect watts per kilo and thinking, \u201cYeah, I could totally do that.\u201d After all, tactical knowledge is half the battle. The other half \u2013 the fitness \u2013 is just details.<\/p>\n

Plus, we know exactly when to attack. Usually right after the bakery stop when everyone else is digesting almond croissants. Pure strategy.<\/p>\n

The bike is worth more than the car<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s science: the lighter the wallet, the faster the bike. Between the carbon frame, Di2, and aero wheels, our bikes are basically pro-level. Sure, the engine (legs) might wheeze uphill like an asthmatic goat, but at least we look Tour-ready in photos.<\/p>\n

And let\u2019s not ignore the moral boost from \u00a3200 shoes and a matching helmet. Marginal gains, right?<\/p>\n

We can suffer\u2026 briefly<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Tour is about suffering, and we\u2019re experts. Just last Sunday I held 300 watts for 10 minutes before seeing stars and dry-heaving into a hedge. Multiply that by 40 and I\u2019m basically Demi Vollering.<\/a> That\u2019s how maths works, right?<\/p>\n

Besides, pain is just weakness leaving the body. Or in my case, it\u2019s last night\u2019s pizza leaving my stomach at the roadside mid-interval.<\/p>\n

Because dreams are free<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the end of the day, we\u2019re all the same: lycra-clad dreamers, believing that with just a bit more training, a few gels, and the perfect marginal gains, we\u2019d be on that Paris podium, spraying champagne and waving to adoring fans.<\/p>\n

Until UAE Team Emirates calls, I\u2019ll keep wearing yellow socks for morale, chasing Strava segments behind buses, and telling anyone who\u2019ll listen:<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly mate, if I went full gas, I\u2019d drop Poga\u010dar. Easy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIf I had time to train\u2026\u201d This is the universal mantra. If we just didn\u2019t have full-time jobs,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308503,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5309],"tags":[2000,299,36],"class_list":{"0":"post-308502","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-france"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114951987321517091","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}