I usually follow the Tour de France. I did some biking when I was younger.
The Tour got off to a rocky start today, with some drama toward the end: massive pile-ups in the peloton, etc.
The TV coverage is fantastic, especially when you can record it and skip through the commercials.
There are cameras on motorbikes, in support cars, in helicopters. You see a great deal of the scenery, which is fascinating and beautiful. The aerial shots of the French towns show how so many of them were built around the Catholic Church. The announcers talk about the more interesting buildings. Not rarely they explain that something was rebuilt after having been burned during the French Revolution.
At the end of today’s race, there was an aerial shot of some fans touting their pride in the Vendée, which has a place in history that every Catholic should know about.
And I believe that is a papal stemma, the crossed-keys and tiara.
Appropriate for the Feast of the Immaculate Heart.
