Next Week: Mini Page Hero: Mary McLeod Bethune Issue 26, 2017 Founded by Betty Debnam

Mini Fact: The British rider Christopher Froome was Tour de the winner of the 2016 Tour de France.

photos courtesy ASO/A. Broadway Do you dream of riding in, and winning, An evolving race an important bike race? For more than 100 In 1910, race organizers added years, the has captured the mountainous stages to the tour. The diffi cult map Mini Page imaginations of bike riders around the world. climbs required a different kind of strength What to expect The 2017 Tour begins this week and and stamina that changed the race forever. continues through July 23. The Mini Page Running from Saturday, July 1, to While early competitors were mostly Sunday, July 23, the 104th Tour de France learned more about the history of the race and individuals, some riders would team up to take how it works. will have 21 stages (one per day) and will care of each other during the diffi cult race. cover a total distance of 3,521 kilometers, A publicity stunt Bicycle makers sometimes sponsored a “trade” or 2,187 miles. It will start in Düsseldorf, In the late 1800s in Paris, bicycles were a team, but starting in the 1930s and until the Germany. Look for: popular means of transportation. Cyclists raced 1960s, only national teams were allowed. • nine fl at stages each other on tracks, but then road races began Today, trade teams again sponsor riders. • fi ve hilly stages to take over. When a French journalist sponsored The race was suspended during both World • five mountain stages, including high- a race from Paris to the town of Brest and back, War I and World War II. altitude fi nishes his sports newspaper sold many copies. • two individual time-trials stages In 1903, another paper, L’Auto-Velo, • two rest days organized an even larger race, the Tour de The tour will visit three neighboring France Cycliste. It would be a six-day race on countries — Germany, and roads around France. Luxembourg — before fi nishing on the The fi rst race consisted of six stages Champs-Élysées in Paris. averaging about 400 kilometers, or about 250 miles, each. Sometimes riders would race long into the night. Organizers had trouble Resources This year, racers will ride over the fi ve main getting people to sign up, mountain ranges of France: the Vosges, the but when the race started, Jura, the Pyrenees, the Massif Central and about 60 riders lined up to the . On the Web: compete. Most of them were Winning the race • letour.fr/le-tour/2017/us/history/ Frenchmen. • letour.fr/le-tour/2017/us/overall-route. Maurice Garin, The winner of each stage is designated as html Maurice Garin, a former winner of the the leader and gets to wear the yellow jersey in chimney sweep who had fi rst Tour de At the library: France in 1903. the next stage. Special jerseys are also awarded recently won other big races, for climbing and for points gained in various • “The Science of Bicycle Racing” by was the victor in the 1903 Tour de France. stages and sprints. Suzanne Slade The Mini Page® © 2017 Andrews McMeel Syndication

Try ’n’ Find Mini Jokes Words that remind us of the Tour de France are hidden in this puzzle. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, Greg: What does a bicycle and some letters are used twice. See if you can fi nd: call its dad? Gina: Pop-cycle! BICYCLE, CLIMBING, N R E T E M O L I K Z R O A D FRANCE, JERSEY, A I V Q O N S E L C Y C I B J KILOMETER, MOUNTAINS, T G A A B U W N R E N N I W E NATIONAL, RACE, I E B N J C R A I K C A R T R Eco Note RIDE, ROAD, SPONSOR, O C L I M B I N G A S R M P S SPRINT, STAGE, STAMINA, N N R M Z E C F R O T C I V E When millions of cars burn STRENGTH, TOUR, A A A A T R A D E S W N H D Y up gas, they produce exhaust TRACK, TRADE, VICTOR, L R C T N K T N I R P S U R E — one of the worst things for the Earth. WINNER. Y F E S S P O N S O R L I O N Exhaust contains invisible gases such as T S T R E N G T H E G A T S M carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides that add to global warming and air pollution. Bikes don’t make exhaust — they don’t pollute. If you ride a bike, you’re saving Mini Spy Classics the Earth! Check out this incredible bike parking garage in Tokyo, Japan: bit.ly/ Mini Spy and her friends are pretending to be Lewis and Clark MPbikes and Sacagawea. See if you can fi nd the hidden pictures. Then adapted with permission from “The New 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the color the picture. Earth” by The Earthworks Group, Andrews McMeel Publishing (andrewsmcmeel.com)

For later: Look for news about the Tour de France in the sports section of your newspaper.

2017 Andrews McMeel Syndication Teachers: For standards-based activities to accompany this feature, visit:

The Mini Page® © bit.ly/MPstandards Mini Spy Classics appear in the fi of each month. issue rst appear in the fi Classics Mini Spy Hey Mini Spy Fans! Order your Mini Spy Booklets (Volumes 1, 2 and 3) with 48 Booklets (Volumes Mini Spy your Order Fans! Mini Spy Hey to or call 844-426-1256 MiniPageBooks.com, puzzles! Visit favorite of your $4 plus $1 shipping. Just order. Based on materials originally produced and/or created by Betty Debnam. • fi sh • word MINI • question mark • exclamation • canoe • letter I • ruler mark • letter E • dolphin • letter T • snake • number 8 • letter A • letter u • banana