Sports Can someone explain the Tour de France?

[Miqar_Baqfhied]

Wanna get into watching it but I just dont get a lot of things about the race and the sport!

I get how the overall leader (yellow guersey) is the cyclist who completes the course the quickest and their times are carried over, but the sprinters guersey and pokadot guersey - do they start from different positions or something?

Also the concept of teams and strategy - at the end of the day the riders are riding by themselves, so how does a team play part in helping someone win? Like the other day i heard that an American from Cadels team went back to get Cadel but couldnt reel him in to the leader. Is it about motivation and blocking?

 

[La Dispute]

Partly motivating an blocking. Staying in clusters to push each other, providing slipstreams to make the ride easier for the leader.

 

[djrossie16]

It's been fairly tame viewing this year i've found. Been watching for about 5-6 years.

 

[Miqar_Baqfhied]

Countryside looks amazing

 

[Caesar]

General classification jersey (yellow) is determined by the rider with the lowest cumulative time for the race. To prevent chaos at the finish with 150 riders rushing for position, all riders in the same group get the same time. So when you see the main peloton finish, all of them will get the same time even though it will take the riders at the back a fair few seconds longer to cross the finish line than the guys at the front.

Young riders jersey (white) is determined the same as the yellow jersey, except only amongst riders under 25 years of age.

Sprinters jersey (green) is determined by points based on over-the-line placings for an intermediate sprint point (usually about halfway through the race) and a sprint to the line. The first 15 (?) or so riders get points.

King of the Mountains jersey (polka dots) is determined by points for reaching the summits of climbs. I think the first 5 (?) or so riders across the top get points. Mountains are graded from 4 to 1 in inverse order of difficulty, plus a hors categorie (HC) or 'uncategorised' climb which is basically a mofo that is harder than a class 1. Harder the climb is, more points its worth. Where a stage finishes on a climb, that climb is worth double points.

The team classification (leading team wears yellow numbers) is determined by the lowest cumulative times of the 3 best riders from each team.

The Combativity prize (holding rider wears a red number) is decided by a race jury and is given to the most aggressive rider of the day. Generally it goes to somebody who has attacked and led a breakaway. At the end of the tour, the most aggressive rider during the whole race is given the overall prize.

Teams do all sorts of things. They motivate, they block, they protect their rider from crashes, they bring him food and water and tactical instructions. They provide a slipstream for him to ride in and conserve energy. On mountainous stages they can control the pace of the group and set a cadence that suits their leader (some like to pedal fast uphill, others prefer slower). If their rider is a poor bike handler/descender, they can lead him down the mountain and show him the best racing lines and speeds through treacherous bends, allowing him to ride faster than he'd be comfortable doing on his own. Teams can also initiate breakaways and force opponents to expend energy by trying to catch them. Alternatively, if an opponent makes a breakaway, they can chase them down for their leader.

The thing I love about cycling is that it's such a wonderfully tactical sport, with all sorts of things happening at any one time. Right now the yellow jersey is all but decided, but there is still an exciting race for the polka dot and white jerseys. And of course, every day has people racing to win that stage.

 

[Miqar_Baqfhied]

General classification jersey (yellow) is determined by the rider with the lowest cumulative time for the race. To prevent chaos at the finish with 150 riders rushing for position, all riders in the same group get the same time. So when you see the main peloton finish, all of them will get the same time even though it will take the riders at the back a fair few seconds longer to cross the finish line than the guys at the front.

Young riders jersey (white) is determined the same as the yellow jersey, except only amongst riders under 25 years of age.

Sprinters jersey (green) is determined by points based on over-the-line placings for an intermediate sprint point (usually about halfway through the race) and a sprint to the line. The first 15 (?) or so riders get points.

King of the Mountains jersey (polka dots) is determined by points for reaching the summits of climbs. I think the first 5 (?) or so riders across the top get points. Mountains are graded from 4 to 1 in inverse order of difficulty, plus a hors categorie (HC) or 'uncategorised' climb which is basically a mofo that is harder than a class 1. Harder the climb is, more points its worth. Where a stage finishes on a climb, that climb is worth double points.

The team classification (leading team wears yellow numbers) is determined by the lowest cumulative times of the 3 best riders from each team.

The Combativity prize (holding rider wears a red number) is decided by a race jury and is given to the most aggressive rider of the day. Generally it goes to somebody who has attacked and led a breakaway. At the end of the tour, the most aggressive rider during the whole race is given the overall prize.

Teams do all sorts of things. They motivate, they block, they protect their rider from crashes, they bring him food and water and tactical instructions. They provide a slipstream for him to ride in and conserve energy. On mountainous stages they can control the pace of the group and set a cadence that suits their leader (some like to pedal fast uphill, others prefer slower). If their rider is a poor bike handler/descender, they can lead him down the mountain and show him the best racing lines and speeds through treacherous bends, allowing him to ride faster than he'd be comfortable doing on his own. Teams can also initiate breakaways and force opponents to expend energy by trying to catch them. Alternatively, if an opponent makes a breakaway, they can chase them down for their leader.

The thing I love about cycling is that it's such a wonderfully tactical sport, with all sorts of things happening at any one time. Right now the yellow jersey is all but decided, but there is still an exciting race for the polka dot and white jerseys. And of course, every day has people racing to win that stage.

Thanks Ceasar thats great.

But just with the sprinting jersey - do all the sprinters line up on the line for the sprint leg and its first in best dressed? Do they complete the remainder of the legs/stages?

And for packs getting the same times - does that mean that contenders will generally break away to get better times?

 

[benz1]

Thanks Ceasar thats great.

But just with the sprinting jersey - do all the sprinters line up on the line for the sprint leg and its first in best dressed? Do they complete the remainder of the legs/stages?

And for packs getting the same times - does that mean that contenders will generally break away to get better times?

No, Sprinters generally find their way to the front of the pack when there is an intermediate sprint (one in the middle of the course) and of course at the end of the flat stages. Their teams protect them and ensure they get a good run at it. The sprinters still have to complete the whole course, but are generally well off the pace up the climbs. Different teams have different ambitions, either to win the yellow jersey, green jersey or just stage wins. They will plan the stages to attack accordingly.

The contenders are generally in one of the leading packs, the real time is made up in time trials and Mountain stages, on flat stages little time is generally made, as teams with sprinter generally try and force the pack to finish as a group so their men can out-sprint the others. But yes, contenders will attempt to break away to gain time, however contenders are generally watched very closely by other contenders, and therefore it is very difficult for them to get away.

Tonight's stage will be brilliant as there are several large climbs where plenty of attacks will come from contenders and king of the mountain aspirants.

 

[Caesar]

There aren't really 'sprint legs' per se. The flat stages are referred to as sprinter stages, because it is when they are in contention for the points. Sprinters tend to be big beefy guys with lots of fast-twitch muscle fibres, who climb really poorly. This means on the mountain stages they are not usually near the front of the peloton to collect points (it tends to be the GC guys, and the wiry little climbing guys). There are also less green jersey points available on mountain stages (e.g. on a mountain finish, you get 20 sprint points for winning while on a flat stage you get 45).

The sprinters still have to complete every stage within the cutoff time, otherwise they get bumped from the Tour. Generally they tend to be right to the back of the field and struggling on the big climbs.

And yes - if you want to gain time on the peloton, you need to break away and get ahead of them. It tends to be pretty hard if you're a GC threat (e.g. if Cadel Evans tried to break away, Brad Wiggins and Sky would chase him down), which is why they also have Time Trials to mix up the field a bit. In a time trial there are no pack finishes - everyone rides the course individually (for ITTs) or with their team (TTT), and you get the exact time you finish in.

 

[Gough]

Guys on drugs ride around France for 3 weeks. Such an implausible premise and yet a spectacular carnival. Love the tour.

 

[Caesar]

Guys on drugs ride around France for 3 weeks.

Sounds like spring break during my exchange semester.

 

[demonfan9]

Alternatively, if an opponent makes a breakaway, they can chase them down for their leader.

Great post Caesar, but can you please explain this sentence again (I'm a Tour novice).

Do you mean that the team will simply assist the leader by riding alongside him as they chase down an opponent? Or is there another meaning?

 

[bunsen burner]

My general understanding is you have teams sponsored by corporates (not unlike F1, sailing, polo etc). They assemble a team around a main rider. The goals is for that team to get their main guy to win the race. So one team will go out and get a Lance Armstrong, one will get Cadel Evans, the Shleks race in another team etc. The main dudes ride in a pelleton with with their homies who do all sorts of tactical stuff to help their man win the race.

 

[outabounds]

Vive le Tour

 

[Colin D'Cops]

Great post Caesar, but can you please explain this sentence again (I'm a Tour novice).

Do you mean that the team will simply assist the leader by riding alongside him as they chase down an opponent? Or is there another meaning?

I suspect mainly due to giving a slipstream to their main man, thus reducing wind exposure and saving some energy. The leaders often are on different teams and can sometimes be disorganised and selfish- therefore making it quite achievable to chase down with some smart tactics from the peleton. If disorganisation happens in the peleton, where many riders are isolated; catching the breakaway can sometimes be tricky. No-one wants to bust a gut and empty their energy stores (besides team members of top few riders/teams), which is generally needed to catch the break-away. That's why Sky are happy to lead out the front in the stages thus far and control the tempo. If there is a threat, you can beat they'll go after them. This is also why BMC and the like are happy to wait and ride with the leader. No one wants to lose the yellow jersey.

Just from a different tactical viewpoint- the other night on the flat stage, the Sky team spread out across the road and blocked many a rider from changing the pace. They wanted to ease up and control the tempo as much as possible. Wiggins most likely didn't feel his best that day, and ordered his teammates to be pro-active rather than re-active. Not sure what the commentators stated, but you may want to watch some footage of it and listen in if you're eager.

 

[Colin D'Cops]

Just with the importance of a team, I think it is over-dramatised to a degree.

Using an example to back up this opinion, Cadel had all his teammates lined up for him up the mountain about 3/4/5 days ago, and therefore made an attack. Now his teammates were in on the move & ready for the move, but ultimately Cadel had to have the legs. He didn't end up having the legs, and lost considerable time. So they can't just magically pull him up the mountain with them, which is sometimes portrayed or insinuated by the commentators.

 

[Black Diamond]

I get how the overall leader (yellow guersey) is the cyclist who completes the course the quickest and their times are carried over, but the sprinters guersey and pokadot guersey - do they start from different positions or something?

The green jersey and polkadot jersey are races for points. Green jersey points are awarded as per finishing position on each stage. There are also intermediary checkpoints along the route where points are awarded based on finishing position. The green jersey typically goes to a sprinter. Australian's Robbie McEwen (2002, 2004, 2006) and Baden Cooke (2003) have won this in the past while Stuart O'Grady has come very close. The polkadot jersey goes to the 'king of the mountains'. Points are awarded at the summit of each classified mountain. The hardest climes, known as hors category, attract the most points. This jersey is typically won by a rider who breaks away from the pack on one or two occasions and collects a lot of points riding on their own. However, you shouldn't make the mistake of thinking the polkadot winner is the best climber in the race. This is because the very best climbers also tend to be in contention for the yellow and therefore focus on overall position. A good example is Lance Armstrong (lets put aside any drug issues) who was without a doubt the best climber in the sport, but didn't care to chase mountain points.

Re tactics, having teammates around you makes a huge difference. Riding in another's slipstream is called 'drafting' and when a small group rides together each rider can put in a harder effort at the front knowing they will only have to work at 80% or so when they drop behind and let others have a go. It also means Cadel can use his teammates to fight for position in the pack. You typically want to be in the front fifth of the peleton. This isn't easy to soon your own so Cadel's teammates can pace him up the pack when the need arises.

Edit: Just read Caesar above who has given a very good explanation.

 

[Plugger35]

It's basically a 3 week tourism ad for France with a bit of cycling thrown in.

 

[Strauchanside]

Don't forget the obligatory ads for Erectile Dysfunction and Swisse vitamins, by the way unless he crashes and has to pull out of the tour, Bradley Wiggins is a moral to win the tour from here.

 

[MarcusP2]

If disorganisation happens in the peleton, where many riders are isolated; catching the breakaway can sometimes be tricky. No-one wants to bust a gut and empty their energy stores (besides team members of top few riders/teams), which is generally needed to catch the break-away.

That's why I thought Evans chasing down Andy (?) Schleck last year was so awesome, I think in the last stage before the time trial. He dragged the entire pack up with him instead of the other way around.

 

[Admiral Byng]

Also the concept of teams and strategy - at the end of the day the riders are riding by themselves, so how does a team play part in helping someone win? Like the other day i heard that an American from Cadels team went back to get Cadel but couldnt reel him in to the leader. Is it about motivation and blocking?

It's about wind resistance. The rider at the front of the line makes a wind-break for the guys behind. The effect is very significant, and the guys behind use far less energy to keep the same pace. The team can organise themselves so that they always have a couple of riders in front of their main contender so he conserves energy in the early part of the course. Eventually, when the lesser team-mates wear themselves out and fall away, the leader emerges at the key point near the end, still with some reserves of energy. Or that's the theory anyhow.