The Tour De France, The First Extreme Sports Event

These days, with skateboarders and BMX bikers doing backflips and covering 50 foot gaps from giant ramps, it's probably hard for youngsters to think of the Tour de France as a dangerous sport. However, in the golden tradition of the Tour de France, there have been three tragic deaths due to injuries sustained while racing. While it's not very pleasant to talk about the tragedies that have occurred during the most prestigious cycling race in the world, it does highlight the dangers that cyclists face, the amount of skill that is required by the sport of cycling, and the importance of safety measures in the sport itself.

The first cyclist to die during the Tour de France didn't actually perish as a result of the race itself. Instead, French rider Adolphe Heli

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