Without falling into the trap of false nostalgia, I’m very drawn to the notion that the most captivating aspect of the early editions of the Tour de France is its rustic charm. When the race was created at the beginning of the 20th century, even the organizers were aware of the metaphysical distance between rural France and the bustling metropolises like Paris. From its inception, Tour de France was not merely a commercial enterprise, a special marketing tool to boost newspaper sales. It was also intended to symbolize national unity by involving small, local communities from the far-flung countryside.
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