THE NEXT STAGE …
The #TourdeFrance. The world’s top cycle race and 2024 marks the 111th edition.
So what’s it about? A lot of blokes in Lycra biking it around #France?
Well, the Lycra bit is true and yes, France plays a key role but there’s a lot more going on.
The race has 21 stages covering approximately 3,500 kilometres (that’s 2,200 miles in old money) through the Pyrenees and the Alps. A gruelling race!
Like the markets, #LeTour is always #changing, always challenging, always evolving. The route changes each year and although ‘de France’ is a clue where it’s heading, it starts in different countries. This year it started in Florence, #Italy and will finish in Nice, France. For the first time, the race will not finish in Paris due to preparations for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Why am I telling you this?
Well, just like the Tour de France, economic and market cycles have different starting points and no two routes are the same.
Think about it. How did we get here? A global pandemic, wars, geopolitical tensions all over the place, an on/off recession, a 44-day Prime Minister, sticky inflation, high interest rates and a #GeneralElection.
As exhausting for #investors as those 21 stages and 3,500 kilometres for #cyclists.
But investors or cyclists, you don’t have to win every stage. A #yellowjersey is great but keep your eye on the long-term goal. This year Mark Cavendish won stage five, his 35th stage victory at the Tour de France, breaking the record of 34 wins by Eddy Merckx. But in 1990, three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond won the Tour without winning a single stage.
So, what next? Moving to the next stage, the goal for cyclists and investors is the same: be ready; adjust when necessary; maintain the long view.
Want to know more? Perhaps a café au lait? A tête-à-tête?
Paul Edwards Chartered (MCSI)
Capital at risk
Photo: PCE Images 2014