Inside The Tours

Each year, the three cycling events that make up the European Grand Tour – the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and La Vuelta attract a global television audience of more than 100 million. The annual events are regarded as the pinnacle of road race cycling, and have transcended the traditional lycra-clad audience to become a must-watch event for people from all walks of life. The expert television coverage that delivers three weeks of spectacular scenery and two-wheeled thrills and spills has become a mix of tourism, sport and entertainment rolled into a moving kaleidoscope of colour. 

Yamaha Motor Europe supplies a fleet of motorcycles for these events as well as a host of related events. At any point in the television coverage, it would be hard not to spot a Yamaha motorcycle, and those watching can't help but marvel at the skills and daring of the motorcycle riders. 

The goal of the Yamaha-mounted riders is to get as close to the action as possible without impacting the race - it does not always go to plan. Medical assistance, communication, mechanics, and race coordination are all motorcycle-mounted, jockeying for the best position as the peloton roars along at 50-70km/h.

Yamaha Motor Europe recently released a collection of three short films, Inside The Tours, providing an opportunity to see the three major European races through the eyes of the Yamaha-mounted riders who mix it with the peloton.

Tour de France

"When I arrived, it was carnage; entangled bicycles and cars in all directions." Jerome - Regulator. 

Five Niken riders - known as Regulators - Jerome, Serge, Vincent, Francois, and Thiery take us inside the world’s most prestigious bicycle event. First held in 1903, the three-week road race attracts a staggering 25 per cent of the television audience in France and 25 million viewers worldwide. Inside The Tour Episode 1 reveals how the Regulators handle the stress of being in the thick of the action - sometimes it gets too close.  Watch the short film