Today has seen the start of the 2012 Tour de France. We have two boys who are very intrigued by the goings on in the tour, so we’ve put together some Tour de France information for kids which we wanted to share.
It was also our school summer fête, so we only managed to catch the very end of the Prologue (a 6.4km time trial). This did however mean we got to see the winner, Fabian Cancellara, beating Bradley Wiggin’s into second place, plus the presentation on the podium.
Tour de France information for kids
Here are the (very sensible) questions that came as a result of the boys brief introduction to the Tour:
Q: Why does that man have hospital signs on this cycling shorts?
A: That man is Prologue winner Fabian Cancellara, from Switzerland – the hospital sign is the Swiss flag
Q: Does he have to pay for the yellow jersey?
A: No he doesn’t – it’s a prize. If anyone else wants one, then they would have to pay (about £60 at Evans Cycles)
Q: Why does that man have a cuddly toy?
A: Every day the winner of the yellow jersey gets given a toy lion by the jersey sponsor – the French Bank Crédit Lyonnais. This is because Lyonnais sounds a little bit like lion!
Q: Where is the Eiffel Tower?
A: In Paris. The Prologue is in Liége, in Belgium. The Tour doesn’t reach Paris until the final stage on Sunday 22nd July
Can’t wait until they start watching the stages – going to be interesting to see at what point I stop being able to answer their continual questions!
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