{"id":160570,"date":"2017-07-21T12:17:09","date_gmt":"2017-07-21T12:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=160570"},"modified":"2019-10-11T08:40:55","modified_gmt":"2019-10-11T08:40:55","slug":"sweat-exhaustion-joy-contest-winners-experienced-letape-du-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2017\/07\/21\/sweat-exhaustion-joy-contest-winners-experienced-letape-du-tour\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweat, Exhaustion and Joy: Our Contest Winners Experienced l\u2019\u00c9tape du Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

The date the l\u2019\u00c9tape du Tour falls on is marked in every cycling enthusiast\u2019s calendar in a fat red marker. It\u2019s not the only occasion where you can get the real taste of how grand races treat pro cyclists, but it\u2019s undisputedly the most fabulous.\u00a0Our team of seven l\u2019\u00c9tape contest winners can not only attest to getting the royal pro treatment and enjoying every bit of it but also to actually taking some impressive results home, including a 9th place among all women\u00a0riders\u2019 ranking for one of our team members.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Maybe you\u2019ve always watched the pros struggle up the storied French climbs and sweat metaphorical blood at time trial stages, wondering if you could even beat it to the finish. Or you just unabashedly started comparing your racing times to theirs. Well, with this year\u2019s l\u2019\u00c9tape, which was already held on Sunday 16th, you can at least experience it vicariously through our report.<\/p>\n

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The Czech legend of Paralympic cycling, Ji\u0159\u00ed Je\u017eek, accompanied the team as a much welcomed support, advisor and mainly leader of our team.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BWj-4qil-7o\/?taken-by=jirijezek74<\/p>\n

The six-time Paralympic winner, who by the way ranked\u00a069th in the race, has a long-term history of cooperation with \u0160koda, and was therefore granted a special gift \u2013 a brand new \u0160koda KODIAQ, lent to him and his wife and manager So\u0148a so they could travel all the way from Prague in style (and bring some of the team’s equipment).<\/p>\n<\/lite-youtube>\n

As you might already know, l\u2019\u00c9tape replicated stage 18 of this year\u2019s Tour de France and, as already mentioned, offered every feat that pro cyclists enjoy \u2013 support cars, feeding stations, roads closed by police, and even the infamous but entirely necessary \u201cbroom wagon\u201d, picking up those who couldn\u2019t make it before the time limit.<\/p>\n

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This sporting tradition started in 1993 and the founding idea prevailed to this day \u2013 to let anybody with good enough physique and confidence to experience the killer climbs and adrenaline-rushing atmosphere of a genuine Le Tour mountain stage.<\/p>\n

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Just as last year, the 2017 edition of the race saw over 15,000 participants and We Love Cycling, along with \u0160koda, helped seven iron-legged and strong-willed amateur riders to be among them.<\/p>\n