The 14th of July is a big deal in France, la fête nationale, better known in English as Bastille Day. It’s why the rest day was a day further away, why the riders were forced to race on the second Monday, and why there were quite so many fireworks on Sunday and Monday evenings. There were also fireworks on the road of the Tour de France, too, as Ben Healy forced his way into the yellow jersey on stage 10, similar to how Mathieu van der Poel did last week, and went into the rest day as the first Irishman since 1987 to lead the race.
Healy is Irish, to be clear, but he grew up close to Stourbridge in the West Midlands of England, hence his Brummie-adjacent accent. 14 July is also a big deal there, as Stourbridge is part of the Black Country, and Monday was Black Country Day. It might not be quite as historic as le quatorze juillet, but there is a flag and events, with the date chosen for the creation of the world’s first successful steam engine, invented by Thomas Newcomen in Dudley in 1712.
News editor at Cycling Weekly, Adam brings his weekly opinion on the goings on at the upper echelons of our sport. This piece is part of The Leadout, a newsletter series from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. As ever, email adam.becket@futurenet.com – should you wish to add anything, or suggest a topic.
