Reality television and cycling would seem to appeal to very different audiences.
One is a desperate endorsement-driven world of devil-take-the-hindmost scrabbling for success, drama, scandal, tears, designer outfits, matching accessories, fawning press coverage, all the latest expensive things, travel, honed bodies, people being dicks, an obsession with weight and frequent illegal drug use.
The other is reality television.
The two worlds have collided on the small screen in the United Kingdom.
The first episode of Tour de Celeb aired this week. It tracks eight "celebrities" as they train to ride the 2016 L'Etape du Tour gran fondo, including the Hors Catogerie climb the Col de Joux Pane, which has broken some of cycling's greats.
The participants are coached by ex-pro Rob Hayles, Paralympics champion Dame Sarah Storey, and sports scientist Asker Jeukendrup.
A classic FTP test on trainers kicked things off before the riders were let loose on a track with predictable results as some of them dealt with clipless pedals for the first time — cue laugh track as TV presenter Angellica Bell topples over.
Later in the hour, reality star Lucy Mecklenburgh falls for no apparent reason while out training on the road and almost has her head taken off by a passing car. "It's made me realise you have to concentrate" she revealed.
"There's a good chance you'll get seriously hurt or die," declared former England rugby player Austin Healey, in no way melodramatically, just one minute and 15 seconds into the show.
The crashes and accompanying tears, as well as the frequent references, like Healey's, to the dangers involved were the main drivers of the negative component of mixed reaction from the UK cycling press.
The counterpoint was a general sense that it was good just to see cycling on the television and the obvious love for cycling shown by most of those involved even the novices.
The division pretty much mirrors the debate on cycling generally about striking the balance between an emphasizing safety and putting off newcomers.
Episode 1 concludes with the celebs riding the Bostin' Peaks Sportive, a relatively gentle introduction to the world of gran fondos at 63 miles in length with 3,000 feet of climbing.
Fellow athletes, cricketer Darren Gough and Winter Olympics gold medallist Amy Williams are among the stronger riders behind Healey while the consensus is that Bell is the weakest.
Hugo Taylor from Made in Chelsea, West End dancer Louie Spence and model Jodie Kidd, who has already picked up an injury, round out the peloton.
To no one's surprise, Healey was the fastest to finish the Bostin' Peaks, but the highlight is an emotional Angellica's sense of achievement when she rolls over the finish line after some eight hours in the saddle. For someone who'd barely ridden a bike just a couple of weeks previously, it's an impressive feat. Who knows, it might even inspire viewers to give cycling a go.
L'Etape du Tour
The 2016 Etape was 146km/95 miles and 3,335 meters/ 11,000 feet of climbing between the Alpine ski towns of Megève to Morzine. There were four main climbs:
The COL DES ARAVIS — 11.5km at an average of 5%, but with about 600 metres at 11.8%.
COL DE LA COLOMBIERE — 11.7km climb at an average of 5.9%, ramping up toward the end with the final kilometre at 9%
COL DE LA RAMAZ — 15.5km at an average of 6.5%*
COL DE JOUX PLANE — 11.6km at an average of 8.5%
The Col de Joux Plane is a tough old climb. The slopes face south so the full force of the sun beat down on you and there is pretty much nowhere to hide. 2016 was the 12th time the Tour de France has used this climb.
It is a climb that has broken some top riders, including Laurent Fignon in 1983 and Lance Armstrong in 2000, who described the day in which he climbed the Joux Plane as "the hardest day on my life - on a bike". It was also the climb where Floyd Landis so memorably destroyed his rivals in the 2006 Tour, four days before he tested positive for doping.
*Rockfalls cause a late route change that bypassed the Col de la Ramaz
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