The Tour de France is the most famous cycling event in the world and one of the oldest sporting events in the world. The Tour de France started in 1903, just a few years later than the modern Olympic Games.
Cycling is still very popular in European and American countries. When domestic people began to travel by car, Western Europeans and even Americans felt that cycling was a very fashionable and environmentally friendly sport. Therefore, there are many road cycling races in Europe. In addition to the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the Tour of Spain are also very famous.
The Tour de France is held once a year, and the schedule is different every year. This year, the starting point is the Vendée province in France, and the end point is still the Champs Elysees in Paris, with the middle route passing through Italy. A total of 22 teams participated in this Tour de France, including 18 qualified teams and 4 foreign truck teams.
The registered teams of the International Cycling Union are divided into four levels: professional teams, intercontinental professional teams, intercontinental teams and national teams. Among them, professional teams automatically lock in the Tour de France participation spots, so there are only a dozen or so in the world that can meet the standards of professional teams, while other intercontinental professional teams can only fight hard for wild card spots. As for the continental team and the national team, they are not even qualified to participate in the Tour de France.
Teams at the Tour de France level generally disdain to participate in small competitions, such as the Tour of Qinghai Lake held in China. Although it is the top cycling event in Asia, it is not on the same level as the Tour de France. The average intercontinental professional At most, the team can only send members of the second team to compete, but at the level of the Tour of Taihu Lake, the Intercontinental Professional Team is not even willing to send the second team.
The threshold for participating in the Tour de France is not low. Generally speaking, if you want to participate in the Tour de France, you must first have a sponsorship fee of 8 million euros, plus the investment in various equipment and normal expenses during the competition. There is little to say about participating in the Tour de France. It requires 10 million euros, which is considered the minimum standard. However, considering that the Tour de France only lasts for one month, other events such as the Tour of Italy and the Tour of Spain also require money. Drivers need to be paid and daily training requires money. Therefore, a team burns 20 to 30 million euros a year. The cost is normal.
Formula One is known as the most expensive sport in the world, but a road bicycle that relies on two legs to pedal does not cost much less money than F1 that steps on the accelerator. The expenses of top cycling teams are higher than those of some of the weaker teams in Formula One.
None of the teams that could participate in the Tour de France were poor. The organizers invited 10 celebrity guests to help out. When the quotas were auctioned, the teams were also quite enthusiastic. After all, he can afford 20 to 30 million euros a year, and he doesn't care about spending more money to buy a good reputation.
The ten guests also come from different fields, four of whom are athletes. In addition to Zhang Guan and Zidane, there are also French star Tony Parker and retired five-time Tour de France champion Andurin.
In addition, there are Tom Cruise, "Elf Prince" Orlando Bloom, Justin Timberlake, JAY-Z and two business people.
…
"Ninety thousand euros! Is there more than ninety thousand euros? Ninety thousand euros! Ninety thousand euros for the first time! Oh, ninety thousand, ninety thousand euros! Katyusha team paid ninety thousand euros! Nine Twelve thousand euros! Rabo Bank offers ninety-two thousand euros! Is it higher than ninety-two thousand euros!"
The auctioneer held a small hammer and kept selling like a market vendor.
"One hundred thousand euros! The Belgian Lotto team has offered a price of one hundred thousand euros! One hundred thousand euros once! One hundred thousand euros twice!" The auctioneer prolonged his words, and then suddenly dropped the hammer.
"Deal! We thank the Lotto Team for its contribution to charity! Then in the first stage of the Tour de France the day after tomorrow, Zhang Guan will wear the uniform of the Belgian Lotto Team to compete!"
The Belgian Lotto team was founded in 1985. It is a veteran team in the Tour de France and a long-established professional team. One of the characteristics of this team is that it is very good at building a fan economy. Therefore, it is very popular in Europe and even around the world. There are many fans.
The equipment and racing cars of the Belgian Lotto team can be purchased on their official website. Some domestic cycling fans will also go overseas to buy the equipment of the Belgian Lotto team. Although the price is not cheap, it is a serious Tour de France after all. equipment. Moreover, fans can also spend 50 euros on the official website to become shareholders of the Lotto team. Of course, such shareholders will not receive any dividends, but they can have a seat at the shareholders’ meeting and can show off in their circle of friends. At the same time, A coupon will also be given, and you can also get discounts when shopping at Lotto.
For a team that is good at attracting attention, it will definitely take one of the guest spots. In the end, they chose Zhang Guan, the most famous athlete in the world. Perhaps they felt that the European market was saturated and wanted to open up a new Asian market.
…
At the opening ceremony of the Tour de France, all teams and riders will appear on stage. The main riders of the team will be interviewed, and ten guests will also appear at the scene. In addition, there will be some fancy bicycle performances and French characteristics. Some performances.
In the lounge, most of the contestants are here. Officials have prepared drinks and desserts for them. It has become a small gathering of the drivers.
"Yesterday's auction was very lively. My idol Tom Cruise was here, and I even took a photo with him!" A young driver said excitedly.
"The old car king Andurin is also here. When he dominated the Tour de France, I was only a ten-year-old child. I never thought that I would be able to compete with him tomorrow!" another person said.
"They are just riding a part of the way for a performance. Do you think they really ride the whole distance like us?"
"It's okay to ride for a while, that's Andurin, the five-time winner of the Tour de France! Let's see if there is a chance tomorrow. Andourin and I will go hand in hand. Find someone to take a photo of us as a souvenir!" Said for longing.
"Although Andulan has retired, he should have never stopped exercising. Maybe he will complete the entire distance like us!"
"It's impossible. Even if Andulan can ride the entire distance, it will still be at our speed. He is already 46 years old! Among these guests, only Tony Parker and Zhang Guan are probably able to complete the distance! The two of them They are all active athletes.”
"Maybe Zhang Guan can catch up with our speed!" The young rider continued: "Don't forget that Zhang Guan is Chinese. China is the kingdom of bicycles. I heard that Chinese people are born to ride bicycles."
"Zhang Guan? Who is he?" An inappropriate voice sounded. Everyone looked back and saw a brown-haired man in his early thirties.
"It's Cadel Evans from the American BMC Racing Team!" Several young drivers looked in awe, obviously the other driver was a well-known player.
I heard Evans say with disdain: "Cycling Kingdom? If the Chinese were really that powerful, they would have won the Tour de France long ago!"
"But I heard that Zhang Guan is proficient in many sports, and maybe his cycling skills are also very good." A young rider interrupted.
"No matter how good he is, he is only at the amateur level. How can he be compared to professional riders!" Evans continued with a disdainful expression: "Thanks to him not being a cyclist. If he were a cyclist, he would always have to follow. Behind my butt! Troops, maybe he can’t even catch up with my back! Haha... "
"Kadel, you talk too much!" said a person next to him. It was Kadel Evans' teammate named Boghart.
"Why, am I wrong?" Evans snorted coldly: "It's not their turn for the Chinese to be arrogant when they play with bicycles!"
"Kadel, stop talking!" Boghart grabbed Evans with his hand, and then said something to him.
Evans followed Boghart's eyes and found Zhang Guan standing there behind the crowd. At this time, Zhang Guan had already put on the uniform of the Belgian Lotto team and was looking at Evans with a frown, obviously having heard what Evans had just said.
"Zhang Guan is here. When did he arrive? He is wearing a Belgian Lotto uniform. I really didn't pay attention to him. Judging from his expression, I must have heard what Evans just said!"
"It's so lively now. Evans is scolding Zhang Guan in front of him!"
"Will the two of them fight? The driver and the guests started fighting before the race. This is the first time in the Tour de France!"
"If a fight really breaks out, we have to stay far away. Don't forget, Zhang Guan has killed more than a dozen heavyweight boxing champions in a week. He can probably knock out Evans with one punch!"
"It's not you who reminded me, I really forgot about it. I don't think we should wait for a while. Let's step aside now, lest the fight really breaks out and affects Chiyu, and we still have to compete!"
While the riders were talking in low voices, they involuntarily made way for Zhang Guan.
However, after Cadel Evans saw Zhang Guan, he did not apologize or even feel a little embarrassed. Instead, he raised his voice: "The Chinese are not even qualified to participate in the Tour de France. They can only They rely on guests to show off their faces, but don’t look at the fact that they have more than a billion people who can ride bicycles. Even if they were given 100 years, they still wouldn’t be able to win a Tour de France championship! I heard that the Belgian Lotto spent 100,000 on Zhang Guan Euros, let me see, this money is wasted, China doesn’t even have an intercontinental car, and they don’t understand a high-level event like the Tour de France at all!”
Zhang Guan's brows furrowed more and more tightly. At this time, he could tell that Cardel Evans' words were aimed at him.
"When did I offend this person? Cadel Evans, I don't seem to know him! There is no grievance or enmity, why did he openly target me?"
The first chapter has been delivered, please give me a guaranteed monthly ticket!
(End of chapter)