Slipstream (смешанная)

Примечания автора:
I’ve been toying with the idea of writing at proper Tour de France AU with the boys as professional cyclists ever since sending them cycling up a pass in the French Alps in my fic Over Hill and Under Hill. So here we are. For those waiting for the next installments in my Over/Under or Summer Boy series, I still have plans to continue these, particularly the latter one, but I have to get this story out of my system first.
As for writing about the Tour de France, I’m no professional cyclist, and will certainly be taking some artistic liberties in depicting the life of these folks. I did, however, research quite thoroughly. An avid cyclist myself, I’ve even cycled some parts of the route the boys are going to take. I deliberately opted against including any presently active pro-cycling teams, nor any riders. There will be references to real-life persons who are either dead or retired from cycling, but this is an alternative universe, meaning the 2018 Tour de France will not be won by Geraint Thomas ;).
I’ll try to explain most of the technical or organisational stuff about the Tour if they are relevant for the story, such as the various classifications the riders compete in. Mostly, these explanations will occur in-story, but sometimes I may add a little extra information in the form of footnotes. Also, feel free to ask if things lack explanation or are confusing. While I try to do the world of professional cycling justice and will add the odd critical remark as well, this story is mostly supposed to be fun. So yeah, glad to have you on this ride and I hope you’ll enjoy it.