frtour1-5, Exercise 3: Why no French winner since 1985?

Model answer (check the details):

Possible reasons and evidence:

1. Globalisation: the Tour attracts the best riders from many countries, and French riders now compete against a far wider field than in the 1950s. Evidence: nationalities of top finishers over time, and the number of professional teams and riders from each country.
2. Team and funding structure: French teams may have lacked the budgets or the strategy of the best teams, and the best French riders may have signed for foreign teams. Evidence: team budgets, rider contracts and the nationality of leading team owners.
3. Training and development: other countries have invested in training systems, sports science and talent programmes, perhaps more effectively. Evidence: national federation spending, the success of young riders in other competitions and the career paths of French riders.

Other possible reasons: bad luck, the effect of doping scandals on French teams in the 1990s and 2000s, and a lack of a single dominant rider.

Care: several explanations may apply at once, and national explanations for results can be exaggerated. Treat claims about "French decline" as hypotheses to test.