Unsurprisingly, however, France does it best. I once cycled across the country as part of a trans-European bike ride and only ever heard screams of “allez!” (go on!) or “chapeau!” (well done!).
It’s not uncommon across the Channel to look behind you on a silent country road and see a queue of half a dozen cars, waiting patiently. Or for baskets of fresh fruit to be left on porches. And as for café owners? They see this mostly caffeine-obsessed subculture as a goldmine worth keeping on side. An extra Sablé Breton (French butter cookie), monsieur? It would be rude not to.
In 2019, French local authorities invested €500 million into the country’s cycling infrastructure. More than nine million cycling holidays take place in France each year, and by 2030, the nation will boast more than 16,000 miles of cycle routes.
In Europe, they just do it better. Especially in countries where the professional Grand Tours contribute billions to the economy. That’s why the precarious future of the Tour of Britain must be ring fenced. Protect the cycling roads broadcast on television, and you help safeguard the fragile ecosystems they pass through. The North York Moors, the Brecon Beacons, Sherwood Forest – advertised to the world in HD, like the Pyrenees, Alps, or Dolomites.
In Mallorca, the continent’s cycling nirvana, the roads are paved with bikers in mind, not drivers. The Coll de Sóller, for example, is a climb of mouth-wateringly smooth switchbacks. It’s not uncommon for local roads to be shut for hours on end, just so that bicycle tourists can ride safely. Around 300,000 of them pitch up every year. Meanwhile, hundreds of nearby hotels and restaurants prosper in the shoulder months of spring and autumn when the island would otherwise be deserted.