About the Tour de France
Information courtesy of Tour de France official websiteAll Photos courtesy of Jesse Czelusta.
When: July 5 through July 27
Distance: 3,500 kilometers, or 2,211.8 miles
Format: 21 stages — 10 flat, five mountain, four medium mountain and two individual time trial stages with two rest days
First Winner: France’s Maurice Garin in 1903
Most Wins: America’s Lance Armstrong, a seven-time champion from 1999-2005
This Year’s Winner: Spain’s Carlos Sastre
Riders: 21 teams composed of 189 riders with 294 accompanying staff members
Media: 1,990 accredited journalists with footage being broadcast on 92 channels in 180 countries
Officials: 4,500 officials follow the riders in 2,400 vehicles, accompanied by 9,000 police and security officers
By Krista Smith ’09
Every odd was against him. Jesse Czelusta ’97 and ’99 was determined to complete the Tour de France, one of the most physically grueling races in the world. He had little training in France—the decision to ride was made a mere two months before the race’s beginning—and no support except from his friends, family and the kindness of strangers. Czelusta wasn’t even entered as a competitor in the Tour; he was only riding the course ahead of the riders by himself.
It was crazy, impossible even. But Czelusta did it—and all in the memory of a friend who was a cycling enthusiast and Czelusta’s training partner.
Rick Shelton and Czelusta entered into cycling at the same time. Shelton, a close family friend and a man Czelusta called a second uncle, became Czelusta’s regular training partner. The pair completed their first bike race together in 1989, a time trial won by 17-year-old Lance Armstrong. Later that year, Shelton and 13-year-old Czelusta crowded around a television to watch Greg Lemond capture the Tour de France title. It was the closest finish in the race’s storied history.
It was then that dream was hatched—one day, Shelton and Czelusta would travel to France. They would not only watch different Tour stages, but they would complete the Tour de France course ahead of the peloton, or the main pack of riders. It was a lofty goal, one that almost seemed too ambitious to come true.
And when 58-year-old Shelton died unexpectedly from a heart attack in April, the dream could have faded away. But as Czelusta and Shelton’s other cycling friends rode one of Shelton’s favorite routes, sprinkling some of his ashes after his memorial service, Czelusta knew what he would do next. He was going to Paris…he was riding for Rick.
Czelusta, an investment advisor who also holds a doctorate of economics from Stanford University, was in good shape. He is a former triathelete who raced with the Texas A&M Triathlon Team who graduated with a bachelor’s in agricultural economics and a master’s from the Bush School of Government and Public Service. Nevertheless, Czelusta immediately changed his weekly training routine. Instead of cycling, swimming and running, the 32-year-old focused on his cycling and began biking more than 300 miles a week.
The plan began to come together. Even though former professional cyclist Steve Bauer advised Czelusta to abandon his mission, he devised a list of gear he would need to carry with him. Since Czelusta was going to ride the course without a support vehicle, he was going to have to carry 25 pounds of gear with him on the ride. While Tour riders would spend each of their nights in a fine hotel, Czelusta would pitch a tent alongside the road on a soft patch of French grass. He would also seize the opportunity to raise money for the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program and Kinetic Kids, two organizations that aid disabled athletes, in honor of Shelton. For every kilometer he rode, Czelusta hoped to earn $5 for these organizations. He continued riding more and more each day in California, finally flying to Paris on June 18.
Tom Lee, a friend of Czelusta’s who had just completed Ironman France, volunteered to accompany Czelusta for the first four stages. After that, he would be on his own. The pair traveled from Paris to Brest two days before the start of the Tour. And in the wee hours of July 5, Rick’s Ride began.
“The wristwatch-alarm was typically set for 4:45a.m., and I was usually on the road by 5:30a.m., just before the sun came up,” Czelusta said. “The average day, excluding two rest days and two time trials, was over 225 kilometers. Given that I wanted to finish on the same timeline as the riders, staying ahead of the caravan was a big part of the challenge. I often had to race to the finish line.”
After completing a stage, Czelusta would sometimes watch the finish of the race unless he had to catch a train or ride his bike to the start of the next stage. Lee left him at the end of the fourth stage, and Czelusta continued on, conquering what he thought was the toughest stage alone.
“Stage 6 (Super-Besse) may have been the toughest,” he said. “I was sleep-deprived, alone, grocery stores were closed, the climbs had gotten ridiculously tough, and I knew that I still had 15 stages to go. At that point, I honestly didn't think Paris was possible. I decided to just keep riding until I fell off the bike or finished.”
But Czelusta kept riding. He would only stop once along the route, usually at a boulangerie, or bakery. He would purchase three pastries to eat along the ride. Czelusta knew that eating enough calories to support such physical activity would be key to his success, and so he piled on the food—baguettes, cheese, éclairs, croissants and even a cold Stella Artois beer a Dutchman held out as a joke.
Czelusta’s family and friends tracked his progress via his blog at www.ricksride.org. His brother CJ was scheduled to meet Czelusta in Toulouse at the end of Stage 8, but after reading about Czelusta’s ailing knees, CJ jumped a plane a day early. He met Czelusta at the end of Stage 7 in Aurillac.
Even though his knees were failing him and his body was exhausted, Czelusta kept pedaling. And during Stage 17 to L’Alpe –d’Huez, as Czelusta labored over the Col de la Croix de Fer, or mountain of the iron cross, he reached a moment where he knew he could actually finish his endeavor.
“The climb was tough, I was weighted down with camping gear, and my knees were in tremendous pain,” he said. “Near the top, a child whose family was camping along the route saw me laboring up the hill and yelled, ‘Allez, allez (Go, Go)!’ There were still several steep kilometers to go, but that was the first moment since my knees started hurting that I allowed myself to believe that I might finish. ‘This is for the kids,’ ‘this is for Rick,’ ‘Paris, Paris, Paris!’—these were the thoughts that went through my mind.”
Czelusta cried behind his sunglasses when he finally reached the summit. The stage ended up determining this year’s winner.
A joyful Czelusta, along with CJ, pedaled into Paris Sunday, minutes before Spain’s Carlos Sastre captured the title of Tour champion. It should have been impossible, but Czelusta beat the odds—and he knows why.
“I have the kind of support that puts the team cars in the Tour to shame,” he said. “I started every day with at least a couple of messages from friends or family (on his cell phone) tucked in my jersey pocket. I even reconnected with some old friends from A&M during the ride. This is not just my ride, not just Rick's Ride—this is their ride.”
To read more about Jesse’s journey or to donate to his cause, visit
http://www.ricksride.org.
To read more about this year’s Tour de France, visit
http://www.letour.fr.
Krista Smith ’09 is a student communications assistant at The Association of Former Students. To contact her, e-mail at KSmith09@AggieNetwork.com.