Cycling enthusiasts are already digging through the route of the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes to see which obstacles will be decisive for the 2024 winners. But at the same time, a team of geologists is digging deeper, to tell the stories of Earth’s history that led to those obstacles through blogs and television clips: the enthusiasts of the Geology of the Tour de France team, who developed the www.geo-sports.org web page, and a suite of related social media channels.

For nearly a month each summer, 20 million cycling enthusiasts (including me) watch the live stages of the Tour and a multitude of them will hear or read about it in newspapers, magazines, podcasts, and blogs. Viewers are watching for hours on end in anticipation of the action that will end every stage, but for most of the time, 150 riders are chasing 5 others in a temporary status quo. And that time is filled by TV commentators and analysts explaining everything about almost everything you can see on screen.

Organizations of cycling races therefore provide the commentators with a ‘lonely planet’-style route book with information about castles, cities, or individuals. And then it struck me: we are not only watching potential holiday destinations, but also geological excursions! All we must do is provide the commentators with geo-information. And the Geology of the Tour de France initiative was born.