There simply is nothing else like it. And, as a test of physical and mental endurance it has no equal. Other sports may be as intense, as pressurized, as hard for short periods: But the Tour does on day after day after day. It's the only race in the world where you have to get a haircut halfway through.
By now, we have learnt that game-changing ideas do not come from experts, they come from people who haven't got a clue and ask stupid questions.
Suffering for eight hours...the most unpleasant experience I've ever had.