Politics with Michelle Grattan
Jul 29, 2026 · 26 min · 11 segments
The ex-champion cyclist turned commentator explains why heat is a growing risk to the annual summer event, and points to some Australian women to watch this weekend.
Bridie O'DonnellGuest
Michelle GrattanHost
Bridie O'Donnell, just tell us something about the Tour de France, this iconic race, a little of its history, how it works, these races within the race, and also some of this particular year's race.
It's an extraordinary event because it started way back, um, in the early 20th century as a way for a newspaper owner to promote his newspaper, and it was a grueling literal lap of France that riders undertook, sometimes 300-kilometer stages.
And, you know, they battled their way through all sorts of terrain and weather and terrible roads and awful equipment.
Now, 120 years or so later, it's evolved into the biggest annual sporting event in the world, and a huge business, amazing opportunity for sponsors.
So rather than like a football team or a cricket or netball team here in Australia, sponsors pay to have their names and logos on the jerseys of riders, and it's still huge business for them in terms of riders promoting those brands on TV to an audience, a television audience of somewhere between two and three billion people every single year in July.
And so, um, it's over, held over 21 stages, and each day or each stage is a race in itself, but the cumulative time at the end of those 21 days means that one leader gets allocated and presented with the maillot jaune, or the yellow jersey.
And so whilst someone will win the Tour every year, there are also 21 riders, or, or those that vie for 21 stages, depending on the terrain.
And each team is a team of eight riders, and those riders work for each other.
And, and when I was a pro cyclist, I was a domestique, and there's definite honor in that and, and they get paid handsomely for it.
But ultimately, we all end up knowing the name of this Tadej Pogačar, who won the race on Sunday, uh, won the overall by more than six minutes and joined a very elite club of men who've now won five Tours de France.
And he's pretty remarkable, isn't he? Because he's only 27, a Slovenian incidentally, and yet he's racked up this record at that age.
He really is one in a generation, and we talk about this not just because of his physiology or what his physical capabilities are.
He's got an amazing aptitude for cycling, as in his bike IQ, his descending skills.
Um, he very rarely gets sick or injured, but he also just loves racing, so he, he wants there to be a contest.
He wants there to be fun and be challenged, and you see that in the way he attacks groups and is so aggressive and opportunistic.
And then afterwards, he's jovial with not only his teammates, but his competitors.
Bridie O'Donnell, just tell us something about the Tour de France, this iconic race, a little of its history, how it works, these races within the race, and also some of this particular year's race.
It's an extraordinary event because it started way back, um, in the early 20th century as a way for a newspaper owner to promote his newspaper, and it was a grueling literal lap of France that riders undertook, sometimes 300-kilometer stages.
And, you know, they battled their way through all sorts of terrain and weather and terrible roads and awful equipment.
Now, 120 years or so later, it's evolved into the biggest annual sporting event in the world, and a huge business, amazing opportunity for sponsors.
So rather than like a football team or a cricket or netball team here in Australia, sponsors pay to have their names and logos on the jerseys of riders, and it's still huge business for them in terms of riders promoting those brands on TV to an audience, a television audience of somewhere between two and three billion people every single year in July.
And so, um, it's over, held over 21 stages, and each day or each stage is a race in itself, but the cumulative time at the end of those 21 days means that one leader gets allocated and presented with the maillot jaune, or the yellow jersey.
And so whilst someone will win the Tour every year, there are also 21 riders, or, or those that vie for 21 stages, depending on the terrain.
And each team is a team of eight riders, and those riders work for each other.
And, and when I was a pro cyclist, I was a domestique, and there's definite honor in that and, and they get paid handsomely for it.
But ultimately, we all end up knowing the name of this Tadej Pogačar, who won the race on Sunday, uh, won the overall by more than six minutes and joined a very elite club of men who've now won five Tours de France.
And he's pretty remarkable, isn't he? Because he's only 27, a Slovenian incidentally, and yet he's racked up this record at that age.
He really is one in a generation, and we talk about this not just because of his physiology or what his physical capabilities are.
He's got an amazing aptitude for cycling, as in his bike IQ, his descending skills.
Um, he very rarely gets sick or injured, but he also just loves racing, so he, he wants there to be a contest.
He wants there to be fun and be challenged, and you see that in the way he attacks groups and is so aggressive and opportunistic.
And then afterwards, he's jovial with not only his teammates, but his competitors.
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