Stop calling the 2012 Tour de France ‘The Ashes’
Roar Guru By tourdecouch, 5 Jul 2012 tourdecouch is a Roar Guru
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As a cycling fan, no mixed sporting metaphor irks me more at the moment than calling this year’s Tour de France ‘The Ashes’. Anyone who uses it either understands practically nothing about our sport or is appealing to a mainstream audience.
Of course, this year’s tour has everything for an Australian mainstream audience; English Bradley Wiggins versus Australia’s Cadel Evans who just happens to be defending champion. There is also an Australian team to cheer on and as a result more support among media outlets whose names don’t start with SBS.
But let me explain why using this metaphor is wrong.
Firstly, Evans is surrounded by a multicultural team. Wiggins is too, including Australians Richie Porte and Rogers. Howzat?
Secondly, there are other strong contenders for the title this year: Canada’s Ryder Hesjedal, Russia’s Denis Menchov, Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali, and Netherlands’ Robert Gesink just to name a handful.
Thirdly, anything can happen in a Tour and while I pray nothing happens, Wiggins and Cadel could easily crash out of contention. This is no Blues versus Maroons game. The Tour for Sky and BMC would practically be over.
Ultimately however, this metaphor expresses minimal understanding of cycling culture and the cycling fan.
Don’t get me wrong, as an Australian, I’m patriotically proud to cheer on Cadel. I cried last year and each time I see footage of him rolling down the Time Trial start ramp the day before he rolled into Paris triumphantly.
I am also delighted to cheer on GreenEDGE as they scoop up victories on and off the road.
I also know many cycling fans who follow other sports and sweat Collingwood coloured blood or hate Chelsea. But when it comes to cycling, most of us don’t get too fiercely tribal. The Flemish cycling fan may tell a different story, however, on the whole we are one big global tribe, warts and all, with our own culture and our own language.
We may be living in Japan or Sydney, but we dream of drinking Belgium beer and eating frites and mayo, in Belgium. We speak a mixture of French and Italian cycling words and have started to ‘speaket’ Fabianese.
Our spiritual cycling home is the narrow lanes of northern France, or the forest of Arenberg, or the high mountain peaks of France and Italy.
It does not delight me when Wiggins loses a team mate or to see him isolated in the chaos of the final 10 kilometres of a sprint stage.
Neither am I delighted to see Australian Matthew Goss lose, but I grin from ear to ear when I see Cavendish cross the line.
I cheer on GreenEDGE rider Matthew Albasini, but jump off the couch and fist pump the air when Slovakian ex bricklayer Forrest Gumps it over the line. (I even secretly cheered on Andy Schleck when he broke away on Stage 18 last year, but shhh, don’t tell anyone).
My name’s Rachel, and I’m an Australian cycle-holic. To whoever crosses the line in Paris wearing the yellow jersey in a few weeks, I will yell chapeau. And probably cry.
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July 5th 2012 @ 2:24am
Al-Bo said | July 5th 2012 @ 2:24am | Report comment
Wise words. I’m a cricket writer by trade, so Anglo-Australian antipathy is by definition part of my job. I’ve previously joked that it’s hard to forget such habits when following the Tour, but it isn’t.
You can support who you like, but it seems to me that cycling’s more about lauding whoever crosses the line first, no matter what their nationality. In fact, quite often it’s about lauding the guys who do the dirty work and exhaust themselves, finishing nowhere near the front.
And yes, you’re right, it’s also about eating moules frites washed down with a tripel karmeliet.
July 5th 2012 @ 11:54am
Tinea Pedis said | July 5th 2012 @ 11:54am | Report comment
I wish I saw more of the “lauding” for the guys who do the dirty work. To me, as has always seemed to be the case, the mass media focus primarily on the winner.
Us ‘true fans’ can look at a race and see precisely what is going on, the rest don’t.
Otherwise you’re spot on. As is Rach. Fantastic piece mate!
July 5th 2012 @ 2:30am
Darryl Kotyk said | July 5th 2012 @ 2:30am | Report comment
What a wonderful piece, Rachel. I agree with you 100% and will celebrate the win no matter who crosses the finish line in Yellow. We are all cyclists and we are all champions. Well done.
July 5th 2012 @ 4:39am
tourdecouch said | July 5th 2012 @ 4:39am | Report comment
Thanks for the comment Al Bo.Yes,we cheer on the domestiques,the doomed breakaway and the Lanterne Rouge. We love it all. It is surprising cricket fans aren’t liking this metaphor either -The Ashes are just as sacred the yellow jersey.
July 5th 2012 @ 5:16am
@edgariglesias said | July 5th 2012 @ 5:16am | Report comment
Very good job!
As Spanish, I especially remember the tour when Carlos Sastre got the yellow jersey and won the tour that was not scheduled for him.
We had a good run of great cyclists and now we have a drought of good riders. ‘Purito’ Rodríguez is the exception as we saw in the Giro, and Valverde and Samuel Sanchez are not good enough in order to win Le Tour…
Who cheer as Spanish?
Well, it’s very complicated. Both Bradley/Cadel as postulated as favorites.
In 2008 I remember Carlos Sastre was not favourite. His compatriot Cadel – who I admire- and Denis Menchov were one of the few candidates. Also Frank Schleck, Carlos’ mate.
No clear favorites always win, that’s for sure, but without a clear cyclist to be supported, I think the fight for the yellow jersey this year is open and that’s what fans like.
Aside from where we are, what matters is that you respect and enjoy the show.
Kind regards!
PS: Sorry for my English…If you don’t understand it correctly, please, forgive me.
July 5th 2012 @ 5:23am
Sean Lee said | July 5th 2012 @ 5:23am | Report comment
I thought it was just me who hated that term! Even the world track cycling championships in Melbourne earlier this year were promoted as ‘The Ashes on Wheels!’ Arghhh!
July 5th 2012 @ 6:09am
ian said | July 5th 2012 @ 6:09am | Report comment
Bloody oath. Damn right.
I’m kind of anti sky in revolt of the bandwagon and potential ashes related things. But really, it comes down to more individuals I think. I want Cav to win, but Cadel also, not wiggo. Last year was great for the wins, but i didn’t want wiggo to crash of course…
“National” teams are ok for me when they are from france, Belgium or Italy, but not England or Australia. I’m aware of my hypocrisy based on tradition…
I don’t care where people are from, put the flags away, if they ride well, are characters, brilliant.
Great article…well done Rachel.
Ian
(Yorkshire, Manx lived in Australia for ten years now freelance photographer in Barcelona…so nationalistic tendencies are kind of neutralised…)
July 5th 2012 @ 7:08am
semiotiq said | July 5th 2012 @ 7:08am | Report comment
You are absolutely correct about the term “The Ashes” – those using it with reference to this Tour not only understand nothing about cycling, they understand nothing about cricket either! As for “The Ashes on Wheels” – I hadn’t heard that and I never want to again! (Cricket Fan here)
July 5th 2012 @ 7:25am
tourdecouch said | July 5th 2012 @ 7:25am | Report comment
Hey Edgar,no totally understand and get what you mean. No Sean,you aren’t the only one! There is a friendly rivalry on the track with GB v Oz and fans but beyond that it gets annoying and frustrating. Ashes on Wheels – blech! Thanks everyone and Ian and semi for the comments.
July 5th 2012 @ 11:04am
onedamo said | July 5th 2012 @ 11:04am | Report comment
Great article. As an Aussie cycle-holic like yourself, I had tears in my eyes when Wouter Weylandt crashed and passed away. Same tears when last year, Hoogerland ploughed through the barbed-wire fence, and yet more tears when Cadel paraded down the Champs Elysee. (Get me my Kleenex…yeah I’m a big sook). I like others, also have a massive grin when Cav pumps his fist when crossing the line.
Nationality plays no part in cycling; Olympics and Worlds excluded
July 5th 2012 @ 1:22pm
HardcorePrawn said | July 5th 2012 @ 1:22pm | Report comment
Great article Rachel,
It’s refreshing to see so many others agree with your opinion regarding the overuse of the term ‘Ashes’ too. It seems to be a peculiarly Australian thing to do; the English certainly don’t apply the term to anything other than Cricket (obviously), and the occasional Rugby League encounter, of which fervent interest is only generated in some regional pockets of the UK so they’ll use any excuse to promote the sport to the rest of the country.
As far as I can tell, referring to a sporting event as the ‘Ashes on Wheels’, or the ‘Ashes of Snooker’ seems to be a media invention designed to whip up some antagonism between the 2 countries, and a bit of nationalistic fervour, prior to a sporting event. It probably isn’t something that even the participants adhere to. Maybe Victoria Pendleton and Anna Meares at one stage, but they seem to have dropped their animosity to one another and now afford each other a grudging respect.
It should also be noted that Team Sky are a British-based team, not English. As you rightly say, they’re a multinational squad too, as are pretty well every team at this year’s tour (bar only the Basques of Euskatel-Euskadi and the French team Saur-Sojasun). Of their highest profile cyclists, Bradley Wiggins has Australian heritage, something that seems to have been forgotten in the Wiggo v Cadel hyperbole, and anyone who has ever referred to Cav as an Englishman in the man’s presence can certainly testify to the fact that he is not English, but a very proud Manxman. And while he’s not racing at this year’s tour, Geraint Thomas, one of Sky’s other high profile riders is Welsh. Cadel, meanwhile, is BMC’s only Australian riding this year’s tour. It hardly makes for an Australia-England match up in the vein of a rugby international or a test match does it?
Going back to your comment about support for the tour coming from media outlets other than SBS. Was anyone else wound up to see the likes of Karl Stefanovic – who, as far as I’m aware, had previously never shown any interest in the sport – suddenly becoming Cadel’s biggest fan once he got onto the podium in Paris last year? I also found the backlash against journalist Mia Freedman, for having the audacity to retain her disinterest in cycling after Cadel’s victory, quite astounding too. The fact that she was bullied and abused for being “un-Australian” by probably the very same people who hurl abuse at cyclists on the road, but who became very vocal Cadel supporters, left a really nasty taste in my mouth.
July 6th 2012 @ 8:20pm
tourdecouch said | July 6th 2012 @ 8:20pm | Report comment
Sorry about calling the Team Sky English and not British. As for Wiggins’ Aus heritage, I thought about using it in this post but I didn’t want to go there and be one of those Aussies that claim him as our own, but it is a good point. As for Stefanovic, he actually had interviewed Cadel just after he became World Champion so there was at least some history and I don’t mind cycling getting new fans. As for Freedman, well, she certainly didn’t deserve the comments that were personal towards her, and at any other time of the year, it would be a good point but not the morning after what is a great achievement in sporting history. However, it was suspicious that her Mamma Mia site had turned to a pay per click business model only a few weeks before she said those comments. How do you say “trolling.”
July 8th 2012 @ 12:13am
HardcorePrawn said | July 8th 2012 @ 12:13am | Report comment
No apologies required, I am in total agreement with you and was merely offering some more reasons for why the whole ‘Ashes’ concept does not apply in this case.
While I’m always pleased to see cycling attract new fans, I got the impression that Stefenovic was more interested in lauding an Australian victory rather than having any vested interest in the sport or Cadel. But I’m willing to be corrected on that.
I wasn’t aware of Mia Freedman’s fortuitous change to her website just prior to her proclamations last year. If it is the case that she had hoped to capitalise by irking cycling fans, and the ‘oi oi oi’ brigade, then she did pick a pretty inflammatory way of going about it. Even so, I’m sure that she probably didn’t expect such a reaction.