Tour De France for Newbies

Can you hear that? Paris is calling and soon, the Tour de France 2017 will officially begin!

The race starts off this year in Düsseldorf, Germany for the ‘Grand Depart’ where the riders will compete in 21 stages of tough cycling before celebrating at the end on the finish line in the French capital- aka my favourite city in the whole universe!

The riders cover around 3,500km in total, with each stage lasting around five hours. On top of the 21 stages, they also have 2 rest days dedicated to things such as recovery, preparing for the other stages and team meetings/interviews with journalists.

The Tour is compromised of five competitions in total: the general classification, points classification, mountains classification, team classification and best young rider.

The General Classification sees the winner of the TDF at the end of the race. Three-time TDF winner, Chris Froome will be looking to win his fourth title this year, along side his fellow riders in Team Sky after their success last year.

©Associated Press

The jerseys

YELLOW:

RIDERS: Chris Froome / Nairo Quintana

Also known as the maillot jaune, the yellow jersey is the most commonly known jersey and is worn by the overall leader of the race so far. The total time taken to finish each stage is added to previous stage times and the person with the lowest time then takes top spot on the general classification board.

WHITE:

This jersey is worn by the fastest overall rider who is under the age of 25, meaning they have the lowest overall time AND are 25 years old and under.

GREEN:

RIDERS: Mark Cavendish / Peter Sagan

This jumper is known as the sprinter’s jersey and is awarded to the rider with the most overall points  and they become the top of the points classification leader board.

At every stage, points are awarded to the first 15/25 riders that cross the finish line. The amount of points awarded depends on the particular stage.

RED POLKA DOTS:

RIDERS: Rafa Majka

Famously known as the ‘King of the Mountains’ jersey, this awards points to the first rider to reach the top of certain designated mountains. They are graded according to their steepness, length, and position on the course.

What is the peloton and why do they have it?

The peloton is the main group of riders and is formed to reduce any wind resistance which will conserve a riders' energy - this is known as 'drafting'.

Riders take turn at the front, though team leaders rarely appear there. For example, you will often see the Team Sky riders' at the front with Chris Froome behind. This means Froome saves energy and also has better visibility to react to attacks by other riders' on different teams. In turn, this also means that those riders at the middle/back of the group have more chance of winning the stage than those at the front and actually save around 40% of energy because of it.

In small groups, they can then breakaway early and even try to tease their opponents'. Sometimes they just do it to show their sponsors (such as the logos on their clothing).

Attacking

Attacks (which usually happen on the mountains) will see a rider suddenly breakaway from the group, causing the other riders to panic. By doing so, the rider who goes ahead has to chance (and hope) the other riders will not be able to ride along side him or worse, sprint ahead!

Team Support: On the day

Each team is followed around the course by their own teams' support car along with neutral services. A sporting director will be nearby and can instruct the rider on what to do or update them on a situation such as a crash. They can also refresh their water and food supplies as well as any mechanical help and bike replacements should they need them.

However, if there team car is not around when they need it (for example a crash or puncture), the neutral service will help them get back on track.

Some riders' actually carry food/water for their team mates - these are known as domestiques. They ensure their team leader is on the right plan to win and if the leaders' bike breaks, a domestique will usually give up their bike so the leader can carry on and not lose any time.

Time trials

During the 21 stages of the TDF, there are also a few time-trials as part of the stages. Here, riders race alone against the clock and therefore do not have any of their team mates with them. The time they take is then added on to their overall time - so the faster they are, the shorter the time and the more chance they have staying on top of the general classifications' leader board.

---- Terminology ----

A

Attack: When a rider suddenly accelerates to breakaway or open a gap on other riders.

Autobus: This is the group of riders who are typically sprinters or domestiques. Sometimes riders who can't keep up with others on the hard climbs through the Alps or the Pyrenees will fall behind. As the slower riders gradually drop off the pace, they gather together and form a group who ride to the finish together. This also saves energy and is a way of keeping up morale, helping to ensure that they don't get eliminated for being slower than the average rider.

B

Breakaway: This is a group of riders who have broken away to lead the race. These could be riders who are competing for a points category, or are keen to absorb some of the prestige which comes from leading the pack. A breakaway can backfire on riders who struggle to maintain the race speed for the duration of the stage.

C

Chase: A group of riders that attempt to catch the leaders of the race

D

Domestiques: Here, a rider works for the benefit of his team and the leader. Rather than trying to win the race, he acts as a "servant" essentially (which is Domestique translated from French). Pictured below is a rider carrying bottles of water to hand out to his team mates.

Drafting — when riders shelter behind each other in the other riders’ slipstream, which is called drafting. When behind another rider, less effort is required to maintain the same pace.

Directeur sportif: The DS is often a former professional rider and their office during the Tour is the team car. They decide on tactics and speak to the riders - and sometimes other teams' directors - about strategy. They can often be seen handing a bottle or shouting encouragement to a cyclist through the car window.

F

Flamme rouge (also red kite) — the red pennant hanging from an archway at the start of the final kilometre.

G

Grand Départ — the first stage/depart stage

L

Lanterne rouge — The rider ranked last in the general classification. This translates as "red lantern" (as that found at the end of a rail train).

Lead Out: A carefully organised routine before a sprint. Supporting riders take turns leading their main Sprinter, riding as fast as possible, creating a slipstream to keep their Sprinter in contention, before peeling away when their energy is spent. The next rider then takes the lead and repeats the process. The final rider should peel away just a few hundred metres from the finish line, leaving the main Sprinter to take the glory.

P

Peloton — the main group of riders during ordinary stages

Prologue — The time trial which is also the first stage of the tour.

S

Slipstream - The still air behind a rider. At racing speeds most of a rider's effort goes into overcoming air resistance, and it's therefore significantly easier to ride in the slipstream of another rider than to break the air yourself.

T

Teté de la course — The course leader or leading group at the head of the course.

Time bonus - Time bonuses are awarded in some stages for the top finish positions, and for intermediate 'bonification' sprints in stages. Time bonuses are generally only on offer in the first week of the Tour and the idea is to generate some more exciting racing, giving the sprinters a chance of wearing the yellow jersey even if they are a few seconds behind after the prologue.

U

UCI: Union Cycliste Internationale - the world governing body of bike racing, based in Switzerland.

---- A little message ----

Do you ever feel frustrated when watching TV and the spectators are practically part of the race? Remember when Chris Froome had to run up Mont Ventoux or that time a dog ran out on to the road and a rider crashed as the owner didn't put a leash on it?

Please take time to watch and share this video before leaving this blog post - especially if you are going to the Tour De France, Tour De Yorkshire or an event where the set up is this.

You'll see what I mean.