Tour de France shows the way: Diverse Marseille

Tour de France shows the way: Diverse Marseille is written by Stefan Slothuus.

Cycling is a passion

Every now and then everyone needs to be inspired. Fortunately, there are endless possibilities for this. It can be interest in art, fashion or gastronomy. Ever since I was little, sports have always fascinated me - and especially cycling.

There is something inspiring about witnessing how physics, teamwork, tactics, and almost inhuman hard training and preparation go up into a higher entity when the finish line is crossed first. In that moment, I become almost happy on behalf of the triumphant - and thus inspired and confirmed that hard work pays off.

Tour de France is one of the world's biggest sporting events, and the TV producers really manage to produce spectacular images of France magnificent nature.

The bike race itself can occasionally be drowned in an abundance of views from a helicopter perspective, where the country's distinctive diversity really comes into its own.

While the TV images are certainly watchable, one of the best things about following cycling is that I can kill two birds with one stone by combining it with another great hobby: travelling. Come with me to Marseilles.

Marseille: Colonizations and the Mafia

France second largest city, Marseille, is one of the places the cycling field has taken me to. Only in 2007 to Tour de France, where Michael Rasmussen was wearing the yellow leader's jersey.

Ten years later, I was also present when the city, which is slightly larger than København, was shut down for the crucial single start in that year's edition of the Tour. Here was the start and finish in the middle of Marseille's big and proud football stadium, Stade Velodrome.

The route took the riders past historic palaces and museums, reminiscent of Marseille's role as the center of France's colonization in Africa, Middle East and Southeast Asia in the 19th century.

Here you also get an impression of a city that was later ravaged by the organized crime of the French mafia when the French colonial empire began to fall apart. Thank God that is a thing of the past.

Fish soup and basil

Afterwards, the riders were taken down to the popular and beautiful old harbour. In addition to many beautiful ships, the port of Marseille is full of cozy restaurants and cafes, where especially the well-known and delicate fish soup, bouillabaisse, should be experienced. A good round of freshness mold fries can then also do the trick.

From here, the percentages of ascent rise towards perhaps Marseille's most famous landmark: Basilica of Our Lady of the Guard. Although the hike up there is hard enough to make top athletes gasp, it is undoubtedly worth the effort. From the church at the city's highest point, you can enjoy the impressive view over the beautiful Mediterranean city.

In the summer of 2022, it was not necessary to travel far away, as the Tour had Grand Départ i Denmark with three stages leading the field across boats Zealand, Funen and Jutland. It was indescribably huge. Fortunately, major cycling races are organized in most places in the world, so the possibilities are many. I look forward to the future journeys where the field shows the way.

Read more about France here