RIDING AT THE SAME PACE

One stage of the Tour de France, an unexpected change of plans, and a tradition that, year after year, strengthens the bond between a father and his daughter.

The plan was perfect.

Ride up to Les Angles, have dinner there, sleep out under the stars and wake up the next morning to watch the Tour de France pass by. The kind of small adventure that David Rovira and his daughter Mariona have shared for years, becoming more than a tradition over time. It has become something they simply cannot imagine missing.

Because it isn't David who insists on going back every summer. It's Mariona who asks when they'll go and watch the Tour again. Although she competes in ski mountaineering, she has grown up surrounded by cycling and loves the sport just as much as her father does. Few sporting events allow you to get so close to the athletes you admire. You can hear the wheels, see the pain on their faces and feel the incredible speed of the peloton in a way television can never capture.

But the Tour, like the mountains or cycling itself, has a special way of reminding you that plans are made to change.

Wildfires in southern France forced the local authorities to restrict public access. Suddenly, the village that should have been packed with cycling fans felt strangely quiet. Just a handful of people. Hardly any atmosphere. Far too calm for one of the biggest celebrations in cycling.

They finished dinner, looked at each other and barely needed to say a word.

They loaded their bikes, switched on their headlamps and changed course towards Collada de Toses.

That spontaneous decision gave them an adventure they had never planned for: a long night ride with fully loaded bikes, the road illuminated only by their lights and the feeling that the best stories usually begin the moment your plans fall apart.

The following day, they finally found what they had been looking for.

Families waiting by the roadside since early morning, bikes everywhere, amateur cyclists and that unmistakable buzz that only exists before the Tour arrives. When the peloton finally appeared, it was over in seconds. The expressions of effort. The speed. The noise. And then, just like that, it was gone.

Strangely enough, though, that wasn't the highlight of the weekend.

David has three children, and he has built a different relationship with each of them. With Mariona, that relationship also happens on two wheels. Going to watch the Tour, embracing unexpected changes of plan, riding through the night or sleeping under the stars are the kinds of adventures that, over the years, have created a bond that goes far beyond cycling.

Years from now, Mariona may not remember who won that stage of the Tour de France. But she will almost certainly remember the hours they shared, the road lit only by their headlamps and the comforting feeling that, no matter what happened, her father would always be riding by her side.

Because, in the end, that's what inspires us most at Tactic. We believe cycling is more than a sport—it's a way of living, of sharing experiences and of creating memories that last far beyond any finish line.