In celebration of America’s birthday, and its relevance to the Tour of America, it seemed like a good time to re-post a short meditation on why America is still a great example for the world and how we can help express it. In a time of great disunity, what better time to remember and celebrate what still unifies us. Happy 4th of July!!
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Woman on a Podium
The Tour of America is an elite women’s cycling race with the vision of becoming the women’s counterpart to cycling’s ultimate test, the Tour de France.
But it is also an American effort to lead the world by example. It is an event that will not only showcase these compelling athletes, it will also show the hundreds of thousands of people who have gathered to witness and celebrate these women. Along the way, thanks to the most advanced technology – streaming video, high definition broadcasts and virtual reality – the world will see America and its people like it never has before.
The young woman in Saudi Arabia who isn’t permitted to drive a car; the Hindu girl who is oppressed by her culture; the young African girls in Nairobi or Kinshasa who believe their path in life is predetermined; the American girl who watches the Tour de France and wonders why they won’t let women race – these are our prime targets for inspiration. The Tour of America won’t end poverty or overthrow dictatorships, but if it inspires a girl just enough to know that she deserves better – that she should lean in to every opportunity available to her – then we will have succeeded.
The Tour of America, unlike any sports event in history, will present America at its best, in the spirit of history’s great female revolutionaries – the women who fought for just and moral values for humanity. Through powerful messaging and imagery, the Tour of America will deliver an example . . .
- of a land and its people that are united, diverse and prosperous;
- of a culture that believes in women’s empowerment and gender equality;
- of a country that is free and resolute about the importance of allowing and celebrating a triumphant woman as she stands alone at the top of a podium.
As a marketplace of ideas, influencing the world through our culture, creativity, innovation and values, this is how America leads most effectively; this is our example of humanity in a state of freedom. And this is the time to set and share that example in a way that we never could have in the past.
We owe a debt of gratitude to the nation of France for their role in making cycling one of the most popular sports in the world. That gratitude echoes our thanks for the statue they gave to America 130 years ago, standing in the harbor of our nation’s greatest city – a statue that stands for liberty.
It is a statue that features a woman on a podium.