Le Tour (and racing in general)- For Beginners

[Iceblink]

This is a request for information...

I actually really enjoy watching the tour, but I can never catch much... so I'm usually at a loss for some of the goings-on of the whole thing.

I know it has a bunch of stages that are flat and mountainous, etc.

What I never seem to understand is this:

- The yellow jersey is for the person who's leading overall or...?
- The green jersey is for what?
- Is there another jersey I'm forgetting about?
- How do they know the positions through the stages?
- How does the team system work? They say that people get help from their teammates, etc., but what happens?
- What is the time trial thing all about (if I have that term right)?
- Who should I be watching?
- What is different about the helmets that the racer wear over those that most people buy for 50 bucks at the bike shop?
- What are the other really big races in the world?
- How much do the bikes weigh on average?
- Do they use the same bike for the tour unless they crash, or do they use different bikes for going up mountains?
- What else should I know that I'm forgetting to ask?

I know I could probably look this stuff up in various places or on wikipedia, but I kind of like the human discussion and better answers I get from forums.

P.S. I taught my son how to ride a bike on Tuesday, and I'm excited!
P.P.S. My bikes are coming back from the shop this afternoon, and I'm excited about that too!

[Dead Fingers]

Can probably help with some of this.



- The yellow jersey is for the person who's leading overall or...?

Yes. The rider with the best overall time in the General Classification wears the Maillot jaune.


- The green jersey is for what?


Goes to the rider with the most points, but is usually known as the sprinters jersey. During a stage, there will be several points (intermediate sprints), including the finish line, where riders can pick up points.

Note: the green jersey is the King of the Mountains jersey for the Giro and the Vuelta.


- Is there another jersey I'm forgetting about?


Polka dot jersey for the King of the Mountains
White jersey for the best young rider under 25


I am going to stop there for now. The other questions will take some time..:p

[Dead Fingers]

- How do they know the positions through the stages?
During a stage, the riders are helped by a few things, such as radios,which will be banned for a couple stages this year, the race officials also give time checks to riders on the road. So if there is a break away, they will let the break away know how far back is the main group (peloton). Also, the team cars usually have race radio and tvs in them, so they can inform the team of where other riders are at.

- How does the team system work? They say that people get help from their teammates, etc., but what happens?
How to put this in a few sentences? :p

Usually, a team will have a Leader or co leaders, who they think will have the best chance of winning the entire race (GC) or certain stages. For that day or for the entire race, other members assist that leader or other rider (usually sprinters), by getting water and food to them, letting them ride in their draft and thus they use less energy. They can also come together as a group at the front and control the pace of the peloton, slowing it down if they have a rider in the break or speeding up to catch a break. These riders are known as Domestiques.


- What is the time trial thing all about (if I have that term right)?
Rider, individually against the clock. There is usually one or two individual time trails and/or one team time trial. Short answer here, and hopefully someone will chip in a discuss that more.

- Who should I be watching?
There are a LOT of great racers and it depends on what interests you. Are you concerned just about the overall GC? Then you have a few riders who may interest you

Alberto Contador (I think is the odds on favorite)
Levi Leipheimer
Lance Armstrong
Denis Menchov
Frank Schleck
Andy Schleck
Carlos Sastre
Cadel Evans
Christian Vandevelde
Kim Kirchen

However, there are a few other riders that might surprise a few people.

As for Sprinters

Mark Cavendish
Tyler Ferrar
Fabian Cancellara
Thor Hushovd
Oscar Freire

King of the Mountains?

Not sure who I would go for here.

And just remember these are the ones off of my head. NOT a complete list. Other exciting riders include Juan Antonio Flecha, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Filippo Pozzato, Heinrich Haussler, etc...Again, I am sure someone will chime in here and more names for you.


- What is different about the helmets that the racer wear over those that most people buy for 50 bucks at the bike shop? Weight, aerodynamics, and comfort.


- What are the other really big races in the world?

Stage races

Quite a few, but the other two Grand Tours would be the
Giro (Italy)
Vuelta (Spain)

The Spring Classics
Paris Roubaix
Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen)
Liege - Bastogne- Liege
Milan-San Remo
Ghent-Wevelgem
La Flèche Wallonne
Amstel gold

There are more Spring Classics, but these would probably be the most famous.

[Dead Fingers]

- How much do the bikes weigh on average?

The bikes the pros use can not weigh less than 6.8 kilograms (14.96 pounds) IIRC.


- Do they use the same bike for the tour unless they crash, or do they use different bikes for going up mountains?

They will have a Time Trialing bike and probably a few bikes for other stages. The teams will also have mechanics that can adjust their bikes for the individual stages as well. As for problems with the bike...it depends. Who the rider is, whether they are a GC candidate or going for points, etc... For a flat tire, the team car will bring out a new wheel. If the team car is not around, a domestique might give the other rider his tire or even entire bike, especially if they are contention for points or a jersey.

YouTube - Denis Menchov wins Giro Italia from Universal Sports

This is what happened at the Giro this year. See how the team mechanic got an entire new bike out to the rider (Menchov).


- What else should I know that I'm forgetting to ask?

Think of anything else and there are plenty of great voices here. There are quite a few magazines out right now, which will have some of this information and reviews of each stage for the TDF. Doesn't hurt to take a glance at them as well.

P.S. I taught my son how to ride a bike on Tuesday, and I'm excited!

Excellent! I would imagine that is a great feeling and I am looking forward to teaching my daughter the same thing in a couple years.


P.P.S. My bikes are coming back from the shop this afternoon, and I'm excited about that too!

Ride it like you stole it! :)

[Dead Fingers]

I am going to flesh this out a bit more as well.



- How does the team system work? They say that people get help from their teammates, etc., but what happens?


I think my first answer was more geared towards the TDF A quality team is usually has riders for just about every race. Riders who specialize in stage races, single day races, the cobble classics, time trialling, climbing, etc... A leader/captain at one race may be a domestique for another rider in another race. Now, lets take Team Astana, which has Leipheimer, Contador and Armstrong. The controversy is over who is going to be the captain and who will sacrifice for who. All three are potential podium contenders, with Contador being the current favorite. A lot of people are wondering if Lance will sacrifice himself so Contador can win the TDF. Adding to this, the team director, Johan Bruyneel, can be considered either crazy for what looks to be a conflict of interests OR a genius for creating a "controversy" to throw off other squads, as they will be looking to focus in on one rider. Now, Team Astana are in a great place, as teams just can't focus on one rider, as they might then get burned by allowing other riders to escape.


Other facets of team stage racing in the tdf. Some squads like Columbia, might focus on making sure Cavendish gets the green jersey. They do have some quality GC candidates, like Kirchen, and I would even say he might be a top 10 GC contender, but will they try and focus with Cavendish? A team like Rabobank is quality as well and will be sending in a team to compete for both GC and the green jersey in Menchov and Freire. OR Cervelo test team with Sastre and Hushovd.


I am sure others will throw in their $.02

[HuntKop]

Iceblink - welcome to this crazy obsession! I had many of the same questions about 2 months ago when I started following the Giro d'Italia. Since, I have really come to understand a lot more about the sport, and a lot more about what I don't understand as well. DF did a nice job answering your questions I think, and one of the most interesting replies had to do with team strategy. As someone who is getting to be known amongst his friends as a cycling fan, this is the most common question I am asked....and I struggle to answer it succinctly, and quite honestly because I am still learning, I struggle to answer it at all!

Anyhow - enjoy the Tour, I know we all will have plenty to talk about!

It's my opinion that you should check out the Cervelo test team as a team to follow - a very cool approach, and attitude toward the team concept. Plus, Sastre has a good shot at the Tour, so there's that as well.

Also, I think Levi Leipheimer is a cool guy, so I'd advocate for checking him out as well.

[HuntKop]

I think my first answer was more geared towards the TDF A quality team is usually has riders for just about every race. Riders who specialize in stage races, single day races, the cobble classics, time trialling, climbing, etc... A leader/captain at one race may be a domestique for another rider in another race. Now, lets take Team Astana, which has Leipheimer, Contador and Armstrong. The controversy is over who is going to be the captain and who will sacrifice for who. All three are potential podium contenders, with Contador being the current favorite. A lot of people are wondering if Lance will sacrifice himself so Contador can win the TDF. Adding to this, the team director, Johan Bruyneel, can be considered either crazy for what looks to be a conflict of interests OR a genius for creating a "controversy" to throw off other squads, as they will be looking to focus in on one rider. Now, Team Astana are in a great place, as teams just can't focus on one rider, as they might then get burned by allowing other riders to escape.

The Astana situation is riveting. Personally, I'd like to see Leipheimer be the guy that gets all of the support, and quite frankly I think Lance would be much more likely to step into a supporting role for him than he would for Contador. I don't see Contador supporting anyone but himself. I think it's going to backfire on them to be honest. I mean your point about other teams not know on whom to focus is a good one, but that could be accomplished with two top tier riders. Having three....well that just seems insane to me. I suppose we'll see.

[Crimson Ace]

For that day or for the entire race, other members assist that leader... by letting them ride in their draft and thus they use less energy.
See: this guy (http://www.georgehincapie.com/)

I'm a fan.

[cleansheetbsc]

You guys almost forgot to mention the awesomeness that is Phil Liggett.

[aveslacker]

I think DF and others have done a good job getting the basics as far as answering your questions. I find team tactics in bike racing fascinating. Not every team comes to a grand tour with the objective of putting a guy on the podium. Some of them are quite content to place well, win a few stages, or maybe put a guy in the green or polka-dot jerseys. Mixing all these different agendas together makes for some very interesting tactics about 10 days in.

I am also amazed at the logistical effort that goes into this thing, both by the teams and the organizers. Being a mechanic or soigneur for a Tour team must be a rush.

Also, cycling has a very long season, which is great and there are important races throughout the year. There are four fall monuments (which are like the biggest classics): Milan - San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris - Roubaix and Liege - Bastogne - Liege. Two of those (Flanders and Paris - Roubaix) are largely contested on cobbled roads - they are totally different from races like the Tour de France and are amazing spectacles.

There are also classics in the fall, notably the Giro di Lombardia.

It's pretty awesome, except that my wife gets frustrated because the season is so long and I watch way too much sports (if such a thing were possible).

[HuntKop]

It's pretty awesome, except that my wife gets frustrated because the season is so long and I watch way too much sports (if such a thing were possible).

I have this problem too :D

[Iceblink]

Wow... thanks for all the answers. This is exactly why I didn't just look up "tour de france" on wikipedia or something.

I did watch a half-hour show on Versus tonight (recorded sometime today) about the Tour. Had some interesting stuff about the people to watch and some interesting stuff about teams... and a whole lot about Mont Ventoux... which sounds pretty scary.

Anyway, I'm psyched.

I did a few miles on my newly fixed up bike today. I got passed by old people on a hill. Though, I have to say that I had to adjust the wheel, as the tire was rubbing against the seatstay, making climbs really hard.

[Dead Fingers]

Mount Ventoux is a beast.

And that brings up anothing important part of cycling...grade/category climb

The mountains are given specific catgeories, such as 4 (easiest), 3,2,1 and HC (hors catégorie). hors catégorie just means "beyond classification". Now, it is not just the height of the mountain, but also its steepness and where it is on the stage which will determine its category.

Grade = takes a bit of Algebra. :p or how much rise in the road

had to go to wiki on this

as a percentage (also known as the grade), the formula for which is 100 \fraction rise over run, which could also be expressed as the tangent of the angle of inclination times 100.

Someone else could better explain grade.

[aveslacker]

Wow... thanks for all the answers. This is exactly why I didn't just look up "tour de france" on wikipedia or something.


Although the Paris - Roubaix (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_-_Roubaix) Wikipedia entry is very worth the read.

[Dead Fingers]

Although the Paris - Roubaix (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_-_Roubaix) Wikipedia entry is very worth the read.

And worth checking out youtube videos.

[KyleP]

Mount Ventoux is a beast.

And that brings up anothing important part of cycling...grade/category climb

The mountains are given specific catgeories, such as 4 (easiest), 3,2,1 and HC (hors catégorie). hors catégorie just means "beyond classification". Now, it is not just the height of the mountain, but also its steepness and where it is on the stage which will determine its category.

Grade = takes a bit of Algebra. :p or how much rise in the road

had to go to wiki on this

as a percentage (also known as the grade), the formula for which is 100 \fraction rise over run, which could also be expressed as the tangent of the angle of inclination times 100.

Someone else could better explain grade.

No idea how you work out the actual gradients of the climbs, think it's something to do with metres climbed divided by feet risen but I could be completely wrong.

To go into a bit more detail about climbs and their categories though, this is a rough breakdown:

Cat. 4 (climbs that rise between 70 and 150m)
Cat. 3 (150 - 500m)
Cat. 2 (500 - 800m)
Cat. 1 (800 - 1500m)
H.C. (1500m +)

As I said though, this is a very rough breakdown, for example Alpe d'Huez is an H.C. but only rises 1200m. Climbs can vary in category depending on their placing in a stage, their history or if they have any difficult sections.

The points you recieve that go towards the Polka dot Jersey for getting a placing over certain climbs breakdown like so:

Cat. 4: 3 Places - 5pts, 3pts, 1pt
Cat. 3: 5 Places - 10pts, 7, 5, 3, 1
Cat. 2: 10 Places - 20pts, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1
Cat. 1: 12 Places - 30pts, 26, 22, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1
H. C. : 15 Places - 40pts, 35, 30, 26, 22, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1

Also, if the climb is the last one of the day on a mountain stage and Cat. 2 or higher then all places recieve double points.

[Moishe]

It's pretty awesome, except that my wife gets frustrated because the season is so long and I watch way too much sports (if such a thing were possible).

I have this problem too :D

One of you must have married my first wife.:p:D My current wife hates sports but is the polar opposite. If you don't succeed, try......

Back on topic, you all have done a great job answering those questions. I may chime in a bit on a couple of things that may or may not clarify more you Iceblink.

The purpose of the TT's/TTT's is to shake up tables and set a bit of a pecking order. Races imho generally come down to the time trials. Climbers do most of their attacking when the road points up in order to minimize eventual time losses on the time trials. One of my favorite TT runs was this one.

YouTube - Le Tour 2007 - Stage 19 Time Trial Leipheimer win

One of the most dominating TT's in a while coupled with one of the closest finishes to the overall as well.

Touching on the bikes, while generally you have the aforementioned everyday rig and TT bike, some riders have somewhat stripped down bikes. As mentioned UCI has been trying to enforce minimum weight standards unlike in recent years past but a rider may have a bike solely for climbing that may have a different set of rims, bars, forks.....Using the Vuelta as an example, some riders have been known to change gearing to mountain bike gears due to the severity of the gradient.

The climb in question from the Vuelta was Angliru which has a length of 12.55 kilometres, so it has an average 9.9% slope. The last half of the climb, from the six-kilometre mark to the summit, the average gradient is 13.1%. The steepest part, which has a 23.6% slope, is known as Cueña les Cabres and is located about 3 kilometres from the summit. The climb is no easier from this point, as there are two later ramps at gradients of 18 to 21%

With that said, the explanations of the climbing grades while requiring too much math is pretty spot on. One thing to keep in mind is that while one may climb a much higher mountain, it may not be categorically harder than a shorter climb. The mountain days are never to be missed nor are the time trials. To me the rest of the race is just filler.

[aveslacker]

The climb in question from the Vuelta was Angliru which has a length of 12.55 kilometres, so it has an average 9.9% slope. The last half of the climb, from the six-kilometre mark to the summit, the average gradient is 13.1%. The steepest part, which has a 23.6% slope, is known as Cueña les Cabres and is located about 3 kilometres from the summit. The climb is no easier from this point, as there are two later ramps at gradients of 18 to 21%

With that said, the explanations of the climbing grades while requiring too much math is pretty spot on. One thing to keep in mind is that while one may climb a much higher mountain, it may not be categorically harder than a shorter climb. The mountain days are never to be missed nor are the time trials. To me the rest of the race is just filler.

Dear sweet Jesus. That's unreal. The only other climb I've heard of that has that kind of gradient is the Muur van Gerardsbergen - Kapelmuur on the Tour of Flanders, and that's only for something like 500 meters.

I agree. Sprinting is fun, the Classics are great (particularly the cobbled ones), but the mountains is what it is all about. I've never hidden my love for any form of climbing, from ladders to trees to boulders to rocks to mountains, and it's no different on bikes. It's like a gladiatorial contest or something - there's a few leaders, a small group with the main GC contenders all suffering immensely, and then everyone else. It's such a drama. Damn I love it.

[Moishe]

Dear sweet Jesus. That's unreal. The only other climb I've heard of that has that kind of gradient is the Muur van Gerardsbergen - Kapelmuur on the Tour of Flanders, and that's only for something like 500 meters.

I agree. Sprinting is fun, the Classics are great (particularly the cobbled ones), but the mountains is what it is all about. I've never hidden my love for any form of climbing, from ladders to trees to boulders to rocks to mountains, and it's no different on bikes. It's like a gladiatorial contest or something - there's a few leaders, a small group with the main GC contenders all suffering immensely, and then everyone else. It's such a drama. Damn I love it.

It's definitely all about the mountains. I've attached a video of this years TDF favorite climbing Angliru. It's scary how easy he makes it look. The kid is a pure beast.

YouTube - Contador conquista el Angliru

[cleansheetbsc]

New York Times preview:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/sports/cycling/01tourjerseys.html?ref=sports

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/sports/cycling/01tourriders.html?ref=sports

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/sports/cycling/01armstrong.html?ref=sports