Post by James Purvis

What if one of the world's greatest sporting events came to one of the world's greatest scientific laboratories? 🚴 In 2029, CERN hopes to welcome a stage of the Tour de France. The proposal is for an individual time trial starting at CERN's Science Gateway and following a 27 km route across France and Switzerland, tracing the circumference of the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator. A beautiful piece of symbolism, with cyclists racing above the machine that has helped unlock some of the universe's biggest mysteries. If selected, 2029 would already be a landmark year. 🔬 75 years since CERN was founded. 🌐 40 years since the birth of the World Wide Web at CERN. 🚴 And perhaps, millions of cycling fans discovering that innovation has a home on the Franco-Swiss border. I love the idea because it brings together two worlds that have more in common than we often realise. Precision. Endurance. Teamwork. International collaboration. Pushing beyond what we think is possible. On a personal note, 2029 would also mark 40 years since I first joined CERN. To celebrate that milestone while watching the Tour de France roll through the campus would be something very special indeed. The final decision is expected in 2028. Until then, fingers firmly crossed that the peloton gets the chance to ride above 27 kilometres of groundbreaking science. https://lnkd.in/eyXCiyHF #CERN #TourDeFrance #Cycling #Science #Innovation #WorldWideWeb #LHC