VATICAN CITY, July 21, 2009 (AFP) – Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday sent “warm greetings” to Tour de France racers set to pass through Italy’s northwestern Val d’Aosta region where the pontiff is holidaying.

The pope “addresses his warm greetings to all the racers and the organizers of this competition,” the Vatican said in a communique.

Benedict used the occasion to urge all athletes to remain mindful of “moral … and educational values,” the statement said.

Tuesday’s stage of the Tour de France passes within three kilometers (two
miles) as the crow flies from the chalet where the pope is staying at Les Combes d’Introd.