Sylvainian Family

Here's a poser or you could regard it as a bit of a dilemma.

What would you prefer to do out of the choice of spending,

1) a year in France or

2) a year on a bicycle?

You may find the wording of that question a bit strange and I would understand perfectly if you requested some clarification as part of the consideration of your answer.

Well, part 1) is quite straight forward.

What would you think to the prospect of having a year in France? It is in my own experience a wonderful country. The people, history, food, customs and landscape are amazing. I have had three separate visits which have certainly not nearly long enough but have seen the Normandy and Brittany coastal areas, Paris, the eastern area of the country and the battlefields of the first world war at Verdun.

The first excursion was a school exchange trip during which, I am convinced, that my host family kidnapped me and took me to the Atlantic Coast for a week, that being in the days before mobile phones, or in that remote location, any sort of phones. My second trip was solely on my bike and the third in a nice Ford Capri hire car, into which my bike fitted nicely.

There is a catch to my two parter, or this is where the dilemma comes in.

The year in France would not be a pleasurable one and also it would involve being on a bicycle for the whole of the time.

Confused?

Well, this situation is one that a professional cyclist, Sylvain Chavanel has had first hand experience of.

He is of course French and to my knowledge has spent most of his 39 years in his home nation although an illustrious career has seen him competing all around the world at the Elite level.

He is taking part in this years Tour de France and those watching the live television coverage of Stage 2, a couple of days ago, will have seen his exertions as he took part in a three rider break and then solo'd for around 80 miles before being caught by the race field with a handful of kilometres to go.

His combativity is a particular trait of his riding and he is right up there with the best of his generation in this type of aggressive but controlled activity at the front of a race.

What is remarkable about this year's Tour de France is that it is Chavanel's eighteenth appearance since a debut at the age of 22.

That gives him the position of highest number of participations just pipping the household names of Stuart O'Grady and Jens Voight.

The physical and psychological toll exerted by the world's toughest three week competitive race did lead to abandonments in 2007 and 2012 but his fifteen finishes on the Champs Elysees are an indication of his tremendous stamina and determination.

It is unlikely. given the demands on professional cyclists today, that anyone else will get near this record.

The attainment of the greatest number of  appearances is therefore assured and barring accidents or mishaps, when Chavanel rolls across the line later this month, he will also equal the record of Joop Zoetemelk for the most finishes which currently stands at 16.

So, in full circle we are back at my original question.

A year in France or a year on a bike?

Sylvain Chavanel has already done this in that the aggregated duration of 18 Tours de France amount to a staggering 52 weeks.

Oh, and in that time he also had three stage wins. Quite an achievement and a unique record.