If you watch most of the cycling season, you’ve probably caught onto a popular tradition, the champagne spray. While the image of a Tour de France winner showering their teammates with champagne may sound iconic, reality is a bit more nuanced. And podium drinks, from champagne to prosecco to beer and more, are far more varied and interesting than you might think!
Whether it’s sponsor obligation or regional tradition, let’s check out just what’s in some of those celebratory bottles.
Choosing the perfect victory sip… or spray.
The post-race celebration with a bottle of champagne looks a little spontaneous. However, the choice of drink handed to winners to spray on the podium is anything but random.
What makes the selection… or decision to do this tradition at all? As with a lot of things in cycling, sponsorship plays a huge role. Just like riders wear branded jerseys and helmets, the beverages they raise on the podium may be tied to an official race partner. Seeing a bottle of expensive alcohol on TV can be effective advertising. A brand’s presence on the podium ensures millions of viewers around the world will see their product associated with success and victory. That might translate into sales, too.
What else? Local and regional traditions can also be a major factor. For example, a race in Italy may feature a local sparkling wine. On the other hand, a race in Belgium might offer up a beer. Regionally famous drinks serve as a nod to the culture and history of the race’s host country or region. In some ways, they help make the podium ceremony about more than just the sport and give some credit to the host area. Because some of these drinks are a point of pride for the local community and fans, they may also feel a connection to the winner seeing them toast or spray with a local favorite.
The taste of victory at the Grand Tours.
There are three Grand Tours on the cycling calendar: the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France, and the Vuelta a España. Because these races are the pinnacles of the sport, each has its own unique podium traditions.
But many don’t know that not all three feature champagne or any other drink. It may come as a surprise, but let’s check out how these races reward their winners at the podium.
Embed from Getty ImagesGiro d’Italia
The Giro is all about love — amore infinito, as the tagline goes — and fans love it for its dramatic mountain stages and passionate winners. Its podium drink brings a splash of that passion, too.
Giro stage winners are typically given a bottle of Italian sparkling wine, such as prosecco. The Prosecco producer Astoria is the official prosecco sponsor of the race, a role they’ve been in since 2012. Astoria has a pretty long history in the cycling world. They typically make specially labeled bottles that fans can purchase to commemorate the race each year as well.
Why prosecco? This type of wine is a big part of Italy’s famous wine-making culture. As such, it’s a special local touch for the Italian race. Prosecco has light and fruity notes that feel right for spring. As such, it seems like a perfect choice for the Giro.
Next time you see the maglia rosa raising a bottle for a spray on the crowd, you can be pretty certain it’s Astoria prosecco inside.
Tour de France
It feels like the most famous of all cycling races, the Tour de France, should be synonymous with a good bottle of fancy champagne.
But did you know that the Tour de France podium does not feature champagne or any other alcoholic drink on the podium at all?
That’s because of French regulations about showing or advertising alcohol on television. You may see riders smiling and waving on the top step at the end of a stage, but there’s not likely to be a champagne bottle in sight.
That doesn’t mean that the entire Tour de France is devoid of a good toast. In fact, on the final processional stage of the Tour, it’s common to see riders and team staff toasting with champagne flutes — even while riding! However, they still don’t spray on the podium, so that’s a tradition which is missing from the modern Tour.
Embed from Getty ImagesVuelta a España
In Spain, the Grand Tour is brutal with hot weather and rampas inhumanas. But the podium celebration is pretty standard issue. Each stage’s podium will feature cava, a Spanish sparkling wine, for the winner.
The Vuelta’s position at the end of the season might influence the tone of the celebrations, as riders are quite exhausted after a year of racing. But some, like American rider Sepp Kuss, don’t miss a chance for a big swig from the bottle!
A celebratory drink at the classics.
The Grand Tours have their established traditions (and legal requirements), but so do some of the one-day classics and smaller races!
Amstel Gold Race is held in the Netherlands and named after a Dutch brewery. So this race has a very fitting podium drink: beer. All three riders standing on the final podium of this one-day are handed a large glass of Amstel beer. And they can drink it, too. On several occasions, some have chugged the beer in a single gulp — including Tadej Pogacar — which creates a pretty memorable podium moment! However, some cyclists who don’t drink, such as Tom Pidcock, are well within their rights to politely set the glass aside.
Embed from Getty ImagesParis-Roubaix is known as the “Hell of the North” due to its treacherous cobblestones, and like other French races, the riders don’t get a celebratory drink at the end. However, the fans drink plenty along the course. This year, controversy arose with a fan throwing a beer bottle at Mathieu van der Poel. The man turned himself in and may face legal consequences, making an important example for other rowdy spectators by the roadside.
Belgian classics go for, well, a classic: a big glass of Kwaremont beer. This brand is made by Brouwerij De Brabandere and is named after the Oude Kwaremont in the Flemish Ardennes. Races like E3 or Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne serve this on the podium, often in a really big glass for the winner. If you’d like to try it but you’re not a drinker, they also make an alcohol-free version… but both kinds are very difficult to get outside of Europe. For now, we’ll all live vicariously through the winner with the giant cup!
Embed from Getty ImagesWhat about other cycling disciplines?
Road cycling has the most high-profile podium celebrations, but other disciplines also have their own traditions.
In cyclocross, it’s not uncommon to see podium winners handed bottles of beer, especially at races in Belgium and the Netherlands where the sport is massively popular. A celebratory chug is okay, too! And some races will also provide the large glass of Kwaremont or another Belgian beer to the victor.
Embed from Getty ImagesMountain biking, particularly at the World Cup level, will sometimes do the champagne spray tradition, much like road cycling. However, it’s not common.
Traditions to do with alcohol on the podium still have to take shape for many areas of cycling. To some, they might seem archaic… sort of like the “podium girls” from pre-2020 cycling. But to others, the bubbly toast and the spray for the crowd are all part of the fun.
But at least for now, the winner of each race is free to shake it up, take a swig — and participate in this cycling tradition.
Embed from Getty ImagesShould cyclists continue the champagne spray tradition? Why or why not? Let us know what you think in the comments or on social media! ★
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