Politics with Michelle Grattan: Bridie O'Donnell on the ‘precarious business’ of the Tour de France

The Tour de France wrapped this week as its hottest edition on record. According to The Conversation Australia, riders faced average temperatures around thirty-three degrees Celsius, with radiant heat off the pavement climbing into the forties. That's sparked debate about moving the race out of July and August — even the champion, Tadej Pogačar, said he'd change the calendar if he could — but cycling commentator Bridie O'Donnell points out that more than a century of tradition, plus broadcast rights that fund the entire sport, make a change unlikely, even as climate change makes European summers hotter. There's a more serious concern beyond the heat: rider safety. Per The Conversation, cyclists face inadequate protection from head injuries because racing rules pressure them to finish each stage or lose the right to start the next day. O'Donnell recalls a two thousand twenty incident where a rider suffered a brain bleed mid-stage, rode another seventy kilometres, and only withdrew after a CT scan revealed the injury — evidence that the sport's safety protocols have badly lagged behind. Professional cycling's finances are equally fragile. The world's twenty elite teams combine for roughly one billion Australian dollars in annual budgets, yet the Tour's prize money totals just three point eight million dollars — a ratio unique to major sports. As a result, teams fold regularly when sponsors lose interest. On a brighter note: the women's Tour de France begins Saturday, August first at eleven forty-five PM Australian Eastern time, featuring seven to ten Australian competitors.

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