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Article: Cycling's enduring Tour de force; On the Tour de France's centennial, fans turn out in droves to follow one of the closest races in a decade.(WORLD)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- July 21, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Peter Ford Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
GARIN, FRANCE -- The traffic signs on the steep mountain road, leading to this sleepy Pyrenean hamlet, warn motorists of two hazards: switchbacks and cows.
Soon after dawn on Sunday, however, a more unusual danger crowded the route: thousands of people tramping up the slope, loaded with picnic gear, seeking out a shady spot from which to view the biggest annual sports event in the world.
The Tour de France was coming, transforming a back road through forgotten villages into the backdrop for a competition watched by nearly one billion television viewers worldwide.
One ...