WHEN LE TOUR COMES HOME

Some events simply pass through a place. Others bring out everything that place has always been.

This summer, the Tour de France will set off from Barcelona. The world's greatest cycling race begins in Catalonia, surrounded by the roads, villages and landscapes that have shaped generations of riders. That is why we felt like looking back. Not out of nostalgia, but to remember the things time has never managed to change.

Long before helicopters filled the skies, technology transformed the sport and every stage was broadcast live, mornings already began the same way: a hearty breakfast, a newspaper and a bike waiting by the door. The Grand Tours always began long before the start line, when the news spread from village to village, when someone spotted a poster on a stone wall, or when heading out for a ride was the closest you could get to imagining the Tour passing by.

Some roads have forgotten what year it is. They have watched generations of cyclists roll by, yet they still recognise the same excitement in the eyes of every rider who sets off. Maybe that is the true spirit of the Tactic territory. Cycling didn't arrive here because of the big races. It was already here. It grew up in quiet villages, on winding back roads and across countless shared kilometres, long before Girona became one of the world's favourite cycling destinations.

For almost thirty years, Tactic has shared this same way of living cycling. From here, we design and manufacture cycling apparel inspired by these roads, these landscapes and the countless stories that have unfolded along them over the years. That is why this article is, above all, a tribute to the Tour de France coming home. But it is also a tribute to the land that inspires us every day, and to every cyclist who has shaped its story, one ride at a time.

Breakfast is over. The newspaper is folded away. The bike is waiting outside. All that's left is to turn the key, fire up the old Seat 127 and head down to Barcelona.

This weekend, a new edition of the Tour de France begins. Enjoy the ride. We've been living its spirit for many years.