| Tour De France Questions |
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Tour De France Questions
The tour is one of the biggest sporting spectacles in the world. No matter how many scandals and allegations of doping, we can’t resist the allure of watching 180 Lycra clad men, cycling their lightweight bikes around France.But, if you’ve ever wondered at the range of seemingly strange tour vocab, hopefully, this will explain the mysteries of echelons, bidons and the white jersey with red polka dots. How Long is the Tour?Modern versions are roughly about 3,600 kilometres (2,200 mi) spread out over three weeks. Early Tours were longer. In 1926, riders had to cover 5,745 km over 17 stages. How Fast do the Riders Go?In 1926, the tour winner averaged 24Kmph over the whole 5,745Km. By comparison in 2010, the average speed was just under 40Kmph for the 3,642Km What Does the Yellow Jersey Mean?The yellow jersey is worn by rider at the top of the overall classification. (the quickest time over combined stages so far). The yellow jersey was introduced in 1919 several years after the Tour started. It was chosen it was felt the yellow jersey would help identify the leader to spectators on the road. Yellow was chosen because the newspaper L’Equipe which sponsored the Tour was printed on yellow paper. The first yellow jersey wearer was Eugène Christophe in 1919. (see: birth of yellow jersey) Some riders said they were offered a yellow jersey in previous years but they didn’t want to wear it. What is the King of the Mountains Competition?A separate competition within the Tour. Riders are given points for being the highest placed rider over the summit of mountains. The best climber was first recognised in 1933, and the distinctive white and red polka jot jersey was introduced in 1975 to show person with most points in the King of the Mountains. For example, on the most difficult climb (hors category) e.g. Alpe d’Huez a rider is given 20 points for being 1st and 16 points for being second. For smaller and easier climbs less points are available. What is the Green Jersey for?Another points competition. Points are awarded for placings in stages. e.g. in a flat stage finish 1st place gets 45 points, second place gets 35. You can also pick up points during intermediary sprints during a stage. The green jersey ignores overall time and just the number of points you pick up at end of stages. What is the White Jersey for?For the young rider (under 26) who has the highest placing on overall classification. Winners of the white jersey who went onto win overall include:
Why do the riders spend most of the time in the Peleton (big bunch?)Riding behind another rider saves unto 25% of your energy. If you ride ahead of bunch you will need much more energy. Therefore it is very difficult to ride off on your own away from the bunch. However, some riders will try to win the stage and get into a break ‘a group of a few riders’ trying to get to finish before peleton. What is the Autobus?Riders have to finish within a certain time frame, otherwise they get eliminated. This is calculated by a % slower than winners time (e.g. 40 minutes on big mountain stage). On tough mountainous stages, riders may join together to try and make sure they are not eliminated. The autobus is usually the last big group on the road. Also by being in a big autobus, riders hope that on really hard stages, even if they finish outside the time limit the Tour organisers won’t dare eliminate half the field. In exceptional circumstance the organisers can increase time limit to make sure they don’t eliminate the whole autobus. Why Don’t they do every Stage as a Time Trial?A time trial or contre-la-montre, (“against the clock”, or literally against the watch) means riders rely solely on their own efforts. There is no chance of race tactics or hiding in bunch. Arguably, this is truer sporting test as the strongest rider wins. However, it is not the most spectator friendly event. The race tactics and speed of bunch sprint is much more exciting than repeated time trials. Therefore, they are usually limited to one or two. What is a Domestique?Most riders in the tour have no chance or expectations of winning. Therefore they act as ‘servants’ or ‘support riders’ for their team leader. They will drop back to pick up water bottles ‘bidons’ from their team car and then bring them back to their leader. If a break needs chasing down, ‘domestiques’ will work on the front enabling the team leader to save his energy for later. In some circumstances they will be expected to give up their wheel or even their bike to save their leader time. It is hard to win the Tour without a very committed team of domestiques willing to sacrifice themselves for their team leader. It is said Lance Armstrong’s dominance was built around a team with unflinching loyalty (though that loyalty didn’t extend to belated doping allegations). At the end of the race the prize money will be split amongst the whole team. What is an Echelon?Usually, you want to ride behind another rider to save energy. However, in a very strong side wind you want to ride by their side. Therefore in a strong side wind, everyone tries to ride to the side of another, leading to these diagonal looking ‘echelons’. This can be dangerous for leading contenders because the peleton is split up into different groups and they can drift away from main pack. What is the Lantern Rouge?The last rider overall on general classification. For a time the lantern rouge would carry a little red light under their saddle. It became paradoxically a cool thing to be. Lantern Rouge’s would gain more fame than person second to last. For a few years in the 1940s, organisers experimented with sending the last rider (lantern rouge) home to try and discourage this unofficial competition to be the lantern rouge. Even now some riders really don’t mind being lantern rouge as they are domestiques and it means at least they are still in the race. There can even be a little light competition to get lantern rouge. Kenny Van Hummel gained fame after being lantern rouge by a huge margin during 1999 tour (cycling news) As David Duffield once said: "De las Cuevas is so far down on GC you could time him in with a calendar!" Why is Mark Cavendish not in the lead despite winning so many stages?The overall leader of the Tour is based on time. In many stages that Mark Cavendish wins, he gets the same time as all the other riders. He is just the fastest sprinter. However, in mountain stages, he may finish 30 minutes behind the leader of the tour because although good at sprinting he doesn’t have a good build for climbing. The winner of the tour will have to be good at time trials and climbing. Why does Mark Cavendish not Get the Green Jersey despite winning the most stages.In 2009, Mark Cavendish won 6 stages but still didn’t win Green jersey. This is because the Green jersey competition rewards most consistent finisher. You can win Green jersey just by finishing high up in stages and sprinting for intermediate stages. He would probably have won green jersey if he hadn’t been disqualified during one sprint, which saw him relegated to back of bunch Can you Win the Tour De France Without Winning A Stage?Yes, this has happened 6 times, including Alberto Contador in 2010. The overall is just fastest time. Who Was the Greatest Tour de France rider of all time?Cue endless debate on cycling forums. You can really take your pick from any of the riders who won more than five times
In terms of number of victories Lance Armstrong (7) stands out 1999-2006 Lance Armstrong’s 7 consecutive victories stand out as most impressive, though recent ongoing drug allegations have tarnished his reputation somewhat. Other issues aside it was also quite something to make a comeback aged 37 and finish 3rd after two years off the bike. Who Was Least Well Known Rider to Win the Tour?In modern times Óscar Pereiro was undoubtedly a surprise in 2006. He befitted from Flloyd Landis’ disqualification. His only other major win was a stage in the Tour of Switzerland, and 10th overall in the Tour de France in 2005 and 2004. Who was the Greatest Tour de France rider never to win?Perhaps an easier one to answer. Most people would give Raymond Poulidor or ‘Pou Pou’. His nickname was also the ‘eternal second’ Despite an 18 year old career which involved winning 189 races he could never win the Tour. He finished second or third a combination of eight times. Perhaps he just had the bad luck to be riding in same generation as Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx. To make it even better he was an attacking rider, good in the mountains. In many ways we prefer a plucker loser to a ‘boring’ winner. ‘Pou Pou’ probably gained greater love than Jacques Anquetil or Miguel Indurain who ground out wins by dominating in time trials. The closest Tour de France?Everyone remembers the 1989 Tour. The American Greg Le Mond v the bespectacled Frenchmen, Laurent Fignon. On the last stage, a Time Trial on the Champs Elysees, Greg Le Mond managed to overturn a 50 second deficit and wins overall by a mere 8 seconds. Greg Le Mond made use of new technology – triathlon style time trial bars, leavin Laurent Fignon distraught at the side of the road. Most Popular Towns for Stages?
The Most Scandalous Tour de France?It would be a mistake to think that scandal and drug taking are a modern phenomenon of the Tour. On the early tours, riders were specifically told they had to bring their own stimulants. Early tours were full of intrigue like riders being disqualified for taking the train or riders facing roads full of tacks to give their rivals an advantage. It was only in the 1960s when drug testing came in, and even then it was sporadic and by all accounts quite easy to dodge. However, for the sheer scale of scandal and upheaval it’s hard to forget the Festina Scandal of 1998. During the tour, Willy Voet a soigneur for the French team Festina, was found with a car full of doping products. The Festina team were sent home, and amidst drug raids by the authorities on other teams, the riders began to protest on mass. Only half the field finally made it to Paris, where Marco Pantani’s win was overshadowed by the massive drug controversy. (Pantani himself was later to tragically die young from drug related problems) Has Anyone won the Tour de France without taking drugs?Quite a few recent winners have either admitted doping (Bjane Riis, Floyd Landis), being dismissed whilst in yellow (M.Rasmussen) or being implicated in doping investigations (Jan Ullrich, L.Armstrong, Marco Pantani, A.Contador, Pedro Delgado). Greg Le Monde has always maintained a fairly consistent anti-doping position which I personally admire. I would like to believe in Eddy Merckx because he was just the greatest champion. At the risk of speculation, there may be quite a few others such as Carlos Sastre (2007) e.t.c. Suffice to say it’s a shame some clean athletes have been tainted because of the widespread nature of doping in cycling. Don’t they all just Dope – How Can anyone ride the tour without?I would say emphatically that you can ride and people do ride the tour without taking any illegal stimulants. Yes, the tour is difficult but it is feasible for professional athletes. Doping products just enable you to ride it at a faster average speed. Is the Tour Cleaner than Before?Perhaps subjective, but I would say it is cleaner and there is less doping. In the 1990s and 2000s, by all accounts doping was rife. However, regular doping tests and biological passports have made it more difficult to take drugs. I feel more teams are now sincere when they say they want to ride clean. Who has died whilst riding the Tour de France?
Most Bizarre Regulations in the Tour?In 1925 Herni Desgrange’s planned that riders should all eat exactly the same amount of food each day. Riders striked in protest and it was later dropped. In early editions of the tour, riders had to do their own mechanical repairs. In 1913, Eugène Christophe was on course to win when his fork broke on a mountain descent. He went to local forge and tried to repair his fork himself. As well as losing time, he was also fined 3 minutes, because a 7 year old boy helped push the bellows. What happens when a rider wants to answer a call of nature during a long six hour stage?Sometimes riders stop at the side of the road and many others will join them. There is an unofficial rule not to attack when riders are answering call of nature. Sometimes when racing is hoting up, riders will not stop but urinate on the move. A task not too easy. They are not allowed to do it in built up areas and preferably not when cameras are on. How Much Do they Eat during a stage?A Tour de France rider may consume something in the region of 6,000-8,000 calories (daily recommended is 2,000). If you think it’s difficult to consume 8,000 calories try doing it on a vegan diet like D.Zabirskie (Independent) When Are you Going To Ride the Tour de France?Tell a non-cyclist I’ve won a local club time trial against a collection of other amateurs, and the next question is often – so when are you going to ride the Tour de France? I guess it’s not quite like the London marathon where you can turn up with good intentions and promise to raise some money for charity. Only the top 20 pro teams will get invited to the Tour, and they will pick their best 9 riders. This means the field is limited to about 180 riders (which still many consider too many). But, there are huge commercial benefits to being in the tour, so there is always the pressure to allow some teams (mainly French) a wildcard position. What’s the Most Bizarre TV Commentary you heard whilst listening to the Tour de France?Let’s be honest, the tour is mostly dull, only watching the breakaway time come slowly down. Fortunately, we have commentators like David Duffield who can manage to get excited by the most trivial of incidents. “I am sitting here with my chin on the counter, my mouth open like a great big whale scooping up plankton. I am gobsmacked!” “This is like Wimbledon., Ascot and Silverstone all wrapped in together and plonked in the middle of Paris: amazing! But, to be fair, it’s a hard job commentating on cycling.
Stephen Roche: What are they doing there, Dave? – David Duffield: They’re riding their bicycles! (more quotes)
Why is there always a devil raising a trident by side of road?I’ve really have no-idea. You could always ask the devil himself but he seems to enjoy himself.
The Devil at the Tour de France – from Loving Photography Famous Quotes from the Tour de France“You’re assassins! All of you!” - Octave Lapize to Tour officials whilst half way up the Col d’Aubisque in the 1910 tour. In the days before tarmac roads, gears and heavy steel bikes. Tour Glossary
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