Le Tour de France

Le Tour de France has not always been an institution that favored quick adoption of technological advances. As Henri Desgrange, an early founder of the le Tour de France said “the Tour is a test of muscles, not artifice.” The derailleur systems, a device that allows for easy changing of gears, had been around since at least the early 1900’s but was not legalized for tour use until 1937. Prior to this rule change cyclists had only one gear and actually had to dismount, and manually change their wheels when attacking mountains.

But fortunately for racing fans ubilabs is not as conservative in introducing new technology to traditional sports. Their Tour de France live tracker joins Goggle Maps and Street View to give fans a first person view of the race. This free site allows fans to follow rider positions on a detailed map or view a photographic street view.

And in case you need something to read between stages, here’s a list of books available from your local library.