Bleu, Blanc, Rouge

Today's the day .................... to salute

We're flying the French flag - as we always do at this time of the year - to celebrate Le Tour de France, the iconic cycle race happening now in France, which we love to watch.

This year has been particularly special because Mark Cavendish, the British sprinter from the Isle of Man, is taking part in what will be his last Tour de France appearance.  At the present time, he has won an incredible 34 stages of the race, spanning an illustrious career as a professional cyclist that started in 2005.  That total ties him for first place on the all-time list with the Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx.  This year's Tour presented him with the possibility of winning another stage and becoming the out and out winner of that prestigious title.

Yesterday however, we watched him become involved in what seemed like an innocuous crash - no-one's fault and at low speed.  But he fell heavily and it was soon obvious to see that the consequences for him were dire - a broken collar bone and the end of the race for him.  Along with most of his fellow riders, now and in the past - and indeed, anyone that has followed his progress over the years, we were so sorry that this was how his professional career would end.

But as Christian Prudhhomme, Director of the Tour de France has already said 'he is the the greatest sprinter in the history of the Tour and of cycling' and many would add to that  - 'one of the greatest road sprinters of all time' .....................