One must truly love cycling to spend hours along the roadside, waiting for the stars of the tour to flash by and vanish in the blink of an eye. Here is a test of that devotion: from a distant bend, the red cars of the commissaires appear, signaling an upcoming classification. Soon motorcycles glide past, and a question forms—is so much machinery really necessary? The scene fills with riders, many wearing aprons on their backs, all pedaling in unison. Then three riders emerge: a yellow jersey wearer named Jonas Vingegaard, a white-jersey rider Tadej Pogacar, and ahead of them a young racer from Arizona, Brandon McNulty, rising as a standout in the final mountainous push of the Tour.
Do you measure the moments between the trio turning the next corner and vanishing from sight? It’s a test of patience and timing. If one has missed the chance to relive those moments live, or fail to snap a life-gram on a phone, the experience still remains. The Tour ends like a trigger pulled—photos run out, heroes of the Grande Boucle disappear, and the memory of the chase lingers with the spectator who stayed till the last bend.
Stage 18 of the Tour de France 2022: today’s route, profile and schedule
EFE
promotional trailer
Twenty seconds, not a full minute, twenty seconds—repeated for emphasis—while six hours are spent by the roadside. The day is cooler than the tropical route toward Foix, and the caravan of sponsors glides by, showering witnesses with trinkets and gifts. The number of cars circling the runners becomes a blur, along with the shouting from the previous bend announcing the arrival of Vingegaard and Pogacar. The moment passes in a heartbeat, leaving the crowd to count the breaths of the fans and the distance to the next rise.
For those twenty seconds of splendor, sleeping in a car overnight, braving traffic jams, and squeezing into a trailer or shoulder, there is a beauty in the chaos. Yet there is a sting in the speed—the road is narrow, the passage is tight, and there is no humane way to get around it.
bike buddies
The shared language is simple: everyone loves cycling. Betis, Seville, or any hometown, the Tour unites people who crave those twenty seconds of triumph. Friends are made, even if the night is spent in a sleeping bag under the open sky, watching as the procession moves by. A few beers, a hint of wine, and a late-evening conversation turn the event into a spirited gathering. The one hot topic: can Pogacar derail Vingegaard and seize the yellow jersey?
Another possibility exists when gendarmerie blockades loom on the early morning horizon. People travel long distances, waiting six hours to savor those moments, knowing that shouting a hero’s name might spoil the moment or a photo could fail. Still, the dream of witnessing the Tour in full life remains compelling.
This is the Tour de France’s overall classification after stage 17.
some fun
Later, Geraint Thomas, Nairo Quintana, and others appear in the mix, and the peloton’s pace disperses for a half hour until Fabio Jacobsen breaks through for a desperate 15 seconds. That fleeting surge becomes a story for the fans who signed up for the experience, something to tell when they return home.
Then the gendarmerie clears the way, a quick dash to be first, though the reality is often a bottleneck in the first town on the road to the highway. A long funnel forms, vehicles halt, time stretches—ten, fifteen, twenty minutes—an eternity before movement resumes. The convoy passes on the left, the gendarmerie doing their job, and spectators depart with a sense of having witnessed an untidy but magnificent moment.
The Tour is done, and a sense of bliss takes over. It feels like climbing a mountain on a bike, enduring the first steep ramp, and then, when the summit is reached, everything is forgotten but the pride of having spent hours waiting for the leaders to arrive. The love for the Tour remains, and many vow to return next year.
You have to love this sport so much to spend hours by the roadside watching the stars of the tour pass by and disappear in the blink of an eye. Let’s do the test. From the bend in the background, you start to see the red cars of the commissars and announce that the first classification of the scene is about to come. Then motorcycles come along, and you get to the point of asking yourself if that much is necessary and, counting them, there are almost more than just cyclists pedaling with an apron on their backs. And then three riders arrive: one dressed in yellow (Jonas Vingegaard), the other dressed in white (Tadej Pogacar), and in front of them is a boy from Arizona Brandon McNulty and emerging as a co-star in the final mountainous breath of this Tour.
Are we counting the time between the trio turning the next corner and disappearing? Betting! It doesn’t go any further! passed 20 secondsNo more, no less. On top of that, if you’ve been caught in the chaos of not reliving those moments live and directly, and you haven’t pressed the button to take a picture of your life on your mobile phone, then experience it. The tour ended like a trigger, turn it off and let’s go, because you ran out of photos and passed without seeing the heroes of the Grande Boucle.
Stage 18 of the Tour de France 2022: today’s route, profile and schedule
EFE
promotional trailer
Twenty seconds, not a full minute, twenty seconds—repeat for emphasis—while six hours pass by. The day is cooler than the tropical route toward Foix. The caravan glides by, gifts dropped along the way, while the count of accredited cars whip past the riders and the crowd’s cheers echo from the bend. The moment arrives, Vingegaard and Pogacar are announced, and then the noise fades as the riders disappear from sight. The next corner carries new shouts from the fans.
For those twenty seconds of splendor, sleeping in a car overnight, braving traffic, and perhaps hitching a ride in the back of a trailer, there is a beauty in the experience. Yet the drive ahead carries its own challenges; there is no ideal way to bypass the obstacles.
bike buddies
Friends form quickly because the shared love of cycling unites people from many places. Everyone hopes these twenty seconds could stretch to forever. Night settles in, a sleeping bag unrolled, and the crowd finds a good spot. Beers, wines, and stories are exchanged. The question remains: can Pogacar topple Vingegaard and claim the yellow jersey?
There is another possibility, as the gendarmerie blocks the road early, travelers set out long distances to relive the moment. A victory that doesn’t demand shouting the names of the heroes may be best left unspoken, yet the memory endures for those who witnessed it.
This is the Tour de France’s overall classification after stage 17.
some fun
Later the lineup shifts again, with Geraint Thomas and Nairo Quintana moving through the pack, and the route returning to its hectic tempo. The crowd disperses, cars part, and a long queue forms toward the highway. The tour leaves behind a sense of a moment captured in time, a story to tell another year. The ride, the chase, the cheers—these are the memories that keep fans coming back for more.