In spring, I’m always jealous of cycling fans, with their classics you can set your watch by. La Primavera, the Tour, Paris-Roubaix (my favorite) and LBL. Magnificent races, with the familiar views, mountains, cobblestone sections and rain showers.
But now it’s our turn! It’s late May, almost June, now come our classics, our milestones of the year. Races that are now so much more than just races. Rituals, stemming from bygone times, but they are still here!
It already started recently, with the Indianapolis 500. Yes, I know: always the same lap, four left turns. But whooo… that enormous speed, constantly, the sigh, the captivating nature of such a giant oval. The brutality of those machines, and the courage to go on the outside. Hopefully, you haven’t forgotten that sentimental build-up, the songs, the planes, and the balloons. For a moment, it’s allowed, USA.
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And this afternoon the Monaco GP follows. Yes, I know: an anachronism, a procession, a circuit where today’s cars no longer fit. That’s all fine. I love anachronisms, they make you realize that time is more than just a straight line. Moreover: how incomparably beautiful those cars are millimeters along the guardrail by the pool, through the tunnel, the turn through Mirabeau, and one strange twist and the whole race is turned upside down.
The last classic is the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Yes, I know: an endless drive, half of it in pitch darkness, but that’s precisely what’s great about it! It’s the race that doesn’t stop. The golden hour, the headlights through the twilight, and in the morning seeing who’s left. All those different, beautiful cars, but 300-plus on the Hunaudières, right?
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Our classics. A celebration every year.
