Tour de France: why we celebrate suffering in sport

By Michael Brady, Professor of Philosophy and Head of the School of Humanities, University of Glasgow

The Tour de France is one of the hardest sporting events in the world. This year 176 cyclists have started the Tour, attempting to race for 3,328km over 21 stages to the scheduled finish in Paris on July 24. The riders will push themselves to their limits up mountains and often carry on through pain and injury. This might lead us to question why anyone would voluntarily put themselves through such an arduous event. What’s more, why do we celebrate those who suffer in this way?

The first question is easier to answer. For the very…

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