Mark 9:35 – “If anyone would be first,
he must be last of all and servant of all.”
Over the last
twelve years, the void the last Monday in July brings has become tough for my
wife Keira and me. For twenty-three days, we load coverage of the world’s
greatest bike race on the DVR and watch the exciting competition, unreal
physical effort, and sometimes-crazy drama that accompanies the Tour de France.
2018’s race had some very touching stories, and this year’s winner is a
surprising living embodiment of Jesus’ words.
Professional
bicycle racing looks like an individual sport, but winners truly depend on
their teammates. Because, like bird formations, the rider in front of a group
of cyclists does far more work than those in the peloton, riders who win grand
tours like the Tour de France have several teammates called “domestiques” (the
French word for domestic servants) who work as hard as they can so the team
captain can go on and win the race.
Geraint Thomas
was born and raised in the County of Wales (part of the United Kingdom). He
started bike racing at the age of ten, went pro at eighteen, and got 140th
place of 141 riders in his first Tour de France in 2007. He became a domestique
extraordinaire. He worked hard to help the first and second British riders in
history to win the Tour de France (Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome). Geraint
was set to work hard again in the 2018 Tour to help Chris Froome to win his
fifth Tour de France and hopefully go on to be only the second rider in history
to win all three grand tours in one year after winning Italy’s Giro d’ Italia
in May. Yet, Geraint Thomas won two stages in the second week of the Tour that
put him into first place, wearing the famed Yellow Jersey. Even after getting
to that lead spot, when asked if Team Sky was now going to work for him,
Geraint said, “No, it’s still about Chris. I’m here to help Chris Froome to
win.”
The third week
featured three hard days of riding in the Pyrenees Mountains near Spain, but
Chris Froome was not as strong as usual. Other teams’ riders threatened to take
away the Yellow Jersey, but Geraint would not allow Team Sky to lose. When
Chris was not able to keep up with the leaders in Stage 17, it was clear
Geraint, who had always ridden to serve others, now had his chance to shine.
Four days later, he rode into Paris in yellow and took his place at the top of
the podium, as the winner of cycling’s greatest race.
Geraint Thomas
never expected to win Le Tour in his life, but his selfless brutally hard work
was key to Team Sky winning seven of the last eight Tours de France. How do you
work? Do you serve diligently and selflessly? Do you put in your best effort
when someone else will benefit? Remember, even Jesus Himself “did not come to
be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:41)
