France gears up for the Tour de France 2009

The Tour de France is an annual three-week-long road bicycle race that takes place in France, with excursions into neighbouring countries too, each July. This year’s tour lasts from July 4th until July 26th. It will consist of 21 daily ‘stages’ and will cover a distance of 3450 kilometers, which means an average of 164 kilometers each day. Countries visited will be Monaco, France, Andorra, Switzerland and Italy. This year’s starting point is Monaco, and the race ends, as it does every year, in Paris. Here are the basic principles and rules for the Tour, which is rich in combinations and possibilities. In fact it is several races in one, as the reader shall see. The Winner. The winner is the rider who gets to Paris having taken the least overall time to cover all the daily races, called stages. He wins the coveted Yellow Jersey as well as his prize money. Riders and Teams. Riders in the Tour belong to teams, which are sponsored by various major companies. There will be about 200 riders and 20 teams this year, an average of around 10 racers per team. Stages There are several kinds of stages. This year there will be 10 general stages on flat open roads, 2 Time-Trials for individual riders against the clock, 1 Time-Trial for teams against the clock, and 8 for the most gruelling of all the stages, mountain stages. Mountain stages result in many riders abandoning, and the tour is often won and lost during them. Each stage begins around lunchtime, with all riders leaving together (Except for time trials of course.) Stages generally finish around 5pm. Abandon and Elimination If a rider is too tired to finish a stage and gives up, he is automatically disqualified from the Tour. There are no second chances. Also, any rider who finishes a stage over 40 minutes after the winner has crossed the winning line is also eliminated. Types of Riders. There are several different types of riders, who each have their own specialities. Climbers are good at mountain stages, but they rarely make good sprinters too. Sprinters get points for specific parts of races where they cover the specified distance the fastest. They don’t generally do well in mountain stages. 'Roulers' are those who do well on flatter stages, due to their stamina and ability to keep up a good pace for the whole stage. There are also exceptional riders, the all-rounders, who are quite good in all categories. They are always amongst the favourites. Races within a Race. The overall winner is just one part of the race. In fact, he can win the Tour without having won a stage and doesn’t have to be first over the line in Paris, because it’s his overall time which counts.The Tour isn’t just about the overall winner though. Far from it. There is a prize for the best rider in the following categories. Yellow jersey. The overall leader of the tour on any given day wears the yellow jersey. When his average time is beaten, the jersey goes to that rider. The Tour winner wears it when he steps up to the podium to receive his trophy. The green jersey is worn by the best overall sprinter on a given day. The best overall sprinter also wins it for good in Paris. The King of the Mountain wears a white jersey with red polka dots. The best overall climber wears it on a given day, and the best overall climber wins it for good in Paris. Here is Michael Rasmussen, a good climber.

Platform 3 King of the Mountain, Tour de France image:51947:3::0

So there are the individual races going over all the tour. Also, there is a prize for the best team. Any rider, even if he can’t win the tour, can still win a stage, which is prestigious in itself. Many riders put their all into a stage they think they could win. The overall leader doesn’t try to win those stages generally and saves his energy because the winner is ofter far behind him in overall terms. Many stage winners win by means of a breakaway, in which he and others who fancy their chances split from the main body of riders, the pack, and try to go it alone up in front. The pack monitors them and doesn’t let them get too far ahead if a jersey leader thinks his jersey is threatened by someone in the breakaway group. It's very cat-and-mouse stuff.

Skirolf Tour de France - The Pack image:51948:2::0

To sum up, the race is fascinating because any given day will favour one type of rider or another given the nature of the stage, and the overall leader has to judge and dose his daily efforts and tactics according to his abilities for the stage of the day. His challengers study his tactical changes and adjust theirs accordingly. All riders review their tactics constantly as the race physionomy evolves. An overall leader who isn’t good at mountain stages will see himself challenged on those stages by those who stand a chance of taking the yellow jersey and are good at climbing. So few riders try to win stages every day, particularly category favourites. Mountaineers dose their energy on other stages and go for it in mountains, whereas sprinters do the opposite. This means you won’t see the same riders up front each day. The Tour de France is the most attended sports event in the world, with millions of people lining the roads overall. It is also covered by national television, whose wonderful multi-helicopter aerial coverage, complete with historical explanations of the geography and towns and buildings seen each day, is a wonderful way to learn about France. All stages are broadcast live, from start to finish. I will be covering this year’s Tour de France for Digital Journal in regular reports. (Here is the Official Tour de France site, in English.)