A test of the mind and body: The story behind AP's stage to stage coverage of the Tour De France

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The Tour de France is not only one of the biggest sports races in the world, it's also a test of the mind and body. On this episode of The Story Behind the AP Story, correspondent Gethin Coolbaugh explains how the race works, as well as some iconic moments. On the ground, AP photographers Thibault Camus and Mosa'ab El Shamy share the energy and mood at this year's race.
Gethin Coolbaugh, correspondent: Well, the Tour de France is the pinnacle of global cycling. This year is the 112th edition of the men's race that was first held in 1903.
Haya Panjwani, host: This three-week-long race will bring over 180 riders together for 2,000 miles.
COOLBAUGH: That's the equivalent of riding from Manhattan to about Western Nevada, nearly California.
PANJWANI: Some consider the Tour de France the world's most difficult cycling race. I'm Haya Panjwani. On this episode of The Story Behind the AP Story, we're talking about the Tour De France. We'll hear from correspondent Gethin Coolbaugh. Also on the ground photographing the Tour de France, AP photographers, Thibault Camus and Mosa'ab El Shamy.
PANJWANI: This race, as Gethin explains, is a test of the mind and body.
COOLBAUGH: It's the treacherous terrain that makes this race one of the most challenging in the world and I would say among any sport in any athletic feat. Cycling 2,000 plus miles would be difficult on any surface, but it isn't comprised of only flat surfaces. The course fluctuates from flat surfaces to hills to mountains. The estimated change in elevation this year is about 52,000 meters. That's nearly 17,000 feet or 32 miles. That means that each section poses its own challenges, not just in terms of physical terrain, but also changes in oxygen levels.
This year's route runs through 11 regions and 34 departments of France, beginning in Lille in the north and it ends in Paris. It winds all through the country, comprising of 21 stages. The 21 stages are seven flat stages, six hilly stages, six mountain stages, and five mountain finishes. That includes two time trials, which riders start in intervals and their times are recorded individually. The race runs from July 5th through July 27th. The first week is comprised mostly of flat terrain and progresses to a lot of climbing in the last 10 stages. The final week has three mountaintop finishes at the Mont Ventoux, which features the highest point of this year's race at just over 2,300 meters.
PANJWANI: Mosa'ab has been following this route. It's his first tour de France.
Mosa'ab El Shamy, AP photographer: It's been very exciting. Been a lot of diversity in terms of the places we've covered. It's a really thrilling experience for me. It's obviously a very festive occasion. The mood is very joyous. We pass through big and big cities and small towns and people are out. You can tell they've been waiting. They've been standing for a very long time, waiting for the racers. Everyone's really excited. You can tell that some places, tour is passing for the first time, so it's very special for those towns and there's a lot of decorations, there's lots of flags, people on top of their cars or camper vans and they're constantly waving to not just the cyclists but to the cars and to the photographers and to the caravan, so, it feels like a very long party, would you say?
PANJWANI: Thibault is with Mossab, it's his fifth Tour de France.
Thibault Camus, AP photographer: It's a tradition that every year, many person come on the side of the road race to see the cyclists. Sometimes they come maybe three days before the race with camping cars and constantly along the race are some people waving, as I said, picnic or something like this. And some of them follow the race all along the tours.
EL SHAMY: And it's a French race, so obviously they're very excited about French races. They have banners and they cheer on the French racers, even though the top, you know, two racers are not French, but when French racers pass, there's extra energy, there is extra support. Whenever one of them collects, you now, one of the jerseys at the end of the, at the end of day, like Thibault said, it's like seeped in tradition. And also there is lots of nationalist mood that's dominating the race.
PANJWANI: The further the race progresses, the more renowned moments happen.
CAMUS: Iconic moments often happen during mountain stages because it's getting harder and harder for the cyclists.
COOLBAUGH: The battle between Jacques Anquetil and Ramon Poulidor in 1964, where Anquetil won for a record fifth time. There was the tragic collapse and death of British cyclist Tom Simpson in 1967. The badger Bernard Hinault, his dominant five-title run between 1978 and 1985. In 1989, Greg LeMond overcame a 50 second final day deficit to claim his famous 8-second victory. Miguel Indurain's five straight wins from 1991 to 1995. There was Chris Froome's crash in 2016 where he ran up the mountain in his cycling shoes. Mark Cavendish breaking and surpassing five-time winner Eddy Merckx's record of 34 stage wins from the highs of the highs to the low of the lows, this race has featured so much, so much diversity.
CAMUS: What affects me the most during the Tour de France is the energy that we talk about around the race on the roadside. There's so many people, it's sometimes crazy. And especially during the mountain stages where all the people are on the roads and the cyclists must, you know, open a way to reach the top of the climb. So that's very special. And sometimes people run after the cyclist by miracle, nothing happened. When you're on the bike and you see all those people and all the bikers, in the middle of that, it's very special.
PANJWANI: To get photos of those bikers, Thibaut and Mosa'ab, ride on a motorcycle with their cameras in hand.
EL SHAMY: We have a biker, an experienced person who knows the roads very well, he knows the rules, he is constantly getting briefed and communicated to by the race management. We alternate, one of us gets on the back of the bike one day with our cameras and our helmets.
CAMUS: And when we're on the bike, we have to make pictures of the peloton, of the riders, but also we have a kind of postcard that means to put the peloton and the racers into the landscape here, which is everyday different and sometimes very beautiful. So that's a double challenge because we have be here for the action. We have two jobs when we are on the bike.
PANJWANI: Of course, no mention of the Tour de France is complete without hearing a name most sports fans recognize - Lance Armstrong.
COOLBAUGH: Lance's story was everything that you would ask for in an American sports hero. He overcame adversity, being diagnosed in 1996 with testicular cancer that spread throughout his body. He underwent treatment and surgery and was declared cancer-free in 1997. He founded the Livestrong Foundation.
COOLBAUGH: He returned to cycling in '98 and went on his record run only for it all to come crashing down in 2012 when a U.S. anti-doping agency investigation concluded he had used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career. They called it 'the most sophisticated, professionalized, and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.' He was subsequently stripped of all seven tour titles, his Olympic bronze medal, and was banned from cycling for life. Armstrong denied the accusations early on. But in 2013, in an Oprah Winfrey interview, admitted that he had used a number of PEDs and engaged in blood doping. It remains an incredible story of triumph and tragedy.
CAMUS: There's many things to see, many things that will allow us to be creative. I mean, there's no end to this. So it's very good to be on this road and to be as much as we can creative, because we have this opportunity with AP to be creative.
EL SHAMY: I think that Tour de France is a very special race to cover. It's the biggest in the world. It's kind of an adventure around France to cover it for AP. It is a really fun experience to go through.
PANJWANI: This has been the story behind the AP story. I'm your host, Haya Panjwani. The executive producer is Ron Vample. Special thanks to sports freelancer, Gethin Coolbaugh, and AP photographers, Mosa'ab El Shamy and Thibault Camus for their contributions. For more on the AP's coverage of the Tour de France, visit apnews.com.