I’m a big fan of the Tour. Watch and follow it closely every year. Not that I’m a bike jock. Not even close. I watch the Tour for its alarming abundance of beauty. Stunning landscapes and the colorful serpentine motion of the peloton. A sports photographer’s dream. Someday I’d like to be there.

One thing I’ve noticed over the years is how few overhead wires can be seen. Many roads and small towns have none. Does France require power lines to be buried?

I've been watching the Tour as well and have noticed the lack of overhead wires. Certainly helps the photographer. One thing I hate is phototshoping power lines!

Yes. Many cables are run underground. Most likely out of aesthetic concerns.

I think the real reason lies in reliability and safety, much less chance of damage by weather, falling trees, traffic etc.
Just imagine how much quicker the Houston area would have restored power after Ike if only the main 100KV/30 KV lines were overhead.
I think Europe figured out it's false economy to put them above ground, and as a photographer I can surely appreciate that.

Hi Paul...the team time trial this year started from the small town where I currently live, in a square called the Comedie about ten minutes on foot from home, so I headed out in the morning to check out the set up and then in the afternoon to watch the riders...here's a slideshow if you're interested...no pp work on these, pretty much straight from camera...

Team Time Trial - Montpellier 2009

France =/ Europe. Plenty of overhead wires outside France.

Thanks Momo,
Fun shots. And no wires! I think the Tour is the best international sporting event in the world. And a great public relations event for France. Better than the Olympics, better than an F1 race, and better than the World Cup (football/soccer). I've got the Tour on my Bucket List.

Having many many times driven across France from the south-east up to the north at Calais I can tell you that France does indeed have huge pylons on display and also that many valleys have these things straddle them with hanging markers to alert low-flying aircraft. But villages and towns may be different: I would be fibbing if I pretended to have noticed either excess or lack of wires; what I noted above all was the lovely way the French spend money on flowers to decorate their living places, town or village. It is something to behold.

Spain does nothing like that, at least, not here in the Balearics! Wires festoon buildings, poles rise from pavements at odd angles, even "tourist" villages, quaint old inland spots that boast stone houses that sell for zillions, make no attempt to hide the ugly things - maybe it´s because they are just too pleased to have the services! Also, unlike many parts of Europe, the land is basically rock: think of the cost of digging channels for all these services.

But, in the end, I think it comes down not to economics but aesthetics and a sense of, or not. Or perhaps it´s the price of too much growth too quickly to catch the boom years...

Rob C

The Tour de France is just like the Olympics coming to town for the day. I used to race (not professionally) until just a few years ago until I broke my jaw (amongst other bones) and it really is a great sport to both watch and take part in.

It's the largest free sport in the world to view and the mountains and sprints can be very exciting (Lance won't win this year though).

I went to Paris in 1994 to watch the final stage of the tour and it was truly spectacular. Photogenically it's also superb as the modern peloton especially is so colourful and full of some great characters.

No, there's no law that requires to bury power lines. In fact, there are discussions about that "issue". During the last ten years, power lines in France (and Europe) were heavily damaged by storms and it took an awful amount of time to have everythig running again. So the discussions are not about landscape preservation but about resistance to natural elements.

Sorry, maybe Europe was an overstatement, but NWE for sure, as Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and many surrounding countries all have buried powerlines outside the main high voltage transport grid.

Sorry, Paul... I think you're a bit too old for the Tour.

While I know exactly what you mean, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the highway between Barcelona and Alicante was decorated by very generous bushes of flowers. These quite frequent bushes were dispersed along hundreds of kilometers - quite a sight. This was five years ago.

After 4 trips to rural France in the past 4 years, I've seen overhead wires disappear in most areas.

When I asked one of the local residents about the wires, the reply I got was something along the line of "The French government needs to keep citizens employed...."

"When I asked one of the local residents about the wires, the reply I got was something along the line of "The French government needs to keep citizens employed....""

Seems like a pretty damn good reason. My first house, I spent the money to bury the power line, for the view. France is still the "high bar" for how to live in a small, rural environment.

The motorway that runs from Palma through Inca and now almost to Alcudia (Mallorca) also boasts (ed) a lot of oleander bushes along the central reservation; these, unfortunately, were also meant to serve as cheap crash barriers! Imagine, combined legal speeds of 240kph and a bush to separate you from the oncoming missile!

This has been corrected over the years and some colour remains along with the new barriers. The basic problem is lack of rainfall. Water tankers are employed to give life to these shrubs, causing much traffic chaos. You can´t win - not without hugely expensive irrigation solutions.

France is a beautiful country that has the sense to make the most of what nature has given it; could be said of French women, too... love that Italian "first lady"! You see what photography has given to France? Gotta say, when you see Carla standing alongside the other official wives, wow, la difference vives indeed!

Rob C

I don't know of legal requirements (sounds probable), but here in France, it's standard practice indeed to bury lines whenever possible in urban (inhabited) areas.

This does not apply to real rural areas (isolated houses or no house at all).
There have been a recent trend to bury some power lines in the wild though, mainly for conservation reasons (landscape value and/or birds protection afaik). A few power lines can still be seen even in National Parks (eg the Breche du Perier in Ecrins), just to remind us we don't live in a perfect world.

If you're a fan of The Tour, have a look at Brent Humphreys' project at www.projectletour.com

Some great shots as well as deft use of fill flash in landscape shots.

re: projectletour.com

Thanks Tyler,
I clicked through every shot. The man knows what he's doing. Viva la Tour!