A bit of a departure here from my normal 'it's all about me posts' :D
Whilst being at home I have been watching the 'Le Tour' with a new found interest. Purser bought me Lance Armstrong's book 'It's not about the Bike' (thanks Purser), which is actually a story of when he got cancer, his treatment, his recovery and his subsequent rides in the tour. I had no idea what was going on in the tour before with cries of - 'oh look, lots of guys in a group, what's that all about', and 'someone just went off out front, they're going to win'. However it's much more than that as I now understand.
It's actually a team game. They have different people with different skills (some are good at climbing, some good at sprinting, some good all rounders) and then each usually have a given task for a stage (like make sure our sprinter gets to the end near the front). So, depending on the stage, you get almost a game of chess going on, with teams taking the front to speed it up, or slow it down, depending on their objectives.
The other thing I never realised is how much of an effect draughting can have. This is where a cyclist cycles behind another. The first essentially punches a hole through the air, and tows the second guy behind. The second guy can then pedal with much less effort, saving his energy. This is why breakaway groups only rarely succeed - the guys in the peloton (the main group of cyclists) are draughting pretty much all the way, keeping their energy, and therefore can catch breakaways quite easily when they want to. The downside of draughting is that you are riding really close to guy in front (sometimes a cm or so) - you've got to concentrate!
Finally, the jerseys. Most people are aware of the yellow jersey - this is awarded to the person who has taken the least time in all the stages to date. The person who get to Paris with the lowest time (and seconds usually decide this) wins.
Then there is the green jersey, the 'sprinters' jersey. This is awarded on a points based system based on where cyclists finish at the end of a stage or at specified sprint points during a stage. So, you can win the green, without winning the yellow, by getting points.
Third is the king of the mountains - the red polka dot jersey (mmmm, nice). This is awarded to people who are good at climbing, and points are again given. There are different category climbs, so points are given depending on how difficult the climb is.
Finally is the best placed young rider - the white jersey. Same rules as for yellow, but for people who are 26 or younger on the 1st Jan in which the race takes place.
Anyways, there you go. A quick guide. Some stages are more exciting than others, some are slow and flat, some are full of mini races. Some are strewn with crashes and broken bones, others with safe and slow riding ready for a sprint. The great thing is, depending on team strategy, the weather and whether someone is 'feeling good', you never really know what you are going to get...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment