The Tour de France 101, v.0.13
The Tour de France 101 began in 2004 as a plain English guide to following the Tour. I really enjoyed putting it together and it seemed a lot of my flist found it helpful, too. This year's 101 is primarily the same, but there are new little tidbits here, too. I hope you enjoy!
The Tour de France 101
Simply put, the Tour de France is an annual bicycle race around France, covering no less than 2000 miles/3218 kilometers over mountain ranges, across flatlands and through fields, over a course of a month. In the cycling world it is considered the ultimate race. In the athletic world, it is considered the greatest challenge of human physical endurance.
Cycle racing of itself is a sport of endurance, strength, character, chivalry, and strategy. It is, in fact, the only sport in the world in which athletes must help their opponents in order to win (stick with me -- I'll explain later how that works). Given that, what seems outwardly simple can be confusing. This is my attempt to simplify the basics so that anyone can watch the Tour de France -or any cycling race- and understand what's going on.
The Teams
It's important to first know that each cycling team is made up of nine riders: one captain and eight support staff. The captain (also called a "leader" or "team leader") is the one person per team whose goal it is to win the Tour de France; everyone else on the team is there to support the captain throughout the Tour. What that breaks down to is that having twenty-one teams in the Tour de France, for a total of 189 riders, and it's all technically* a race of twenty-one riders.
The captain's eight teammates are divided into two groups: supporters and domestiques.
The supporter has essentially two duties. The supporter's main duty is to take turns riding in front of the captain, cutting wind resistance the same way gaggles of geese travel: several riders at the team front breaking wind resistance for the captain tucked in behind them. Supporters at the front of the group tire, drop to the back of the team, and the next supporter moves forward and takes wind resistance duties. Repeat to the finish line.
Supporters expend their own energy to ensure their captain has the strength to finish the day's race ahead of the other captains. Captains are able to conserve approximately one third of their energy output using this system. The supporter's other main duty is to ride behind or beside the captain, protecting the captain in the event of a crash, and preventing other cyclists from "accidentally" bumping him (wheel rubbing as a form of intimidation is legal but frowned upon). Supporters are usually the bigger guys on the team. They're also the guys who break a lot of bones.
As the title suggests, the domestique is responsible for fetching drinks and foodbags for the captain and supporters during the race. If the captain or a supporter run out of food or water between feeding stations, the domestique will drop back in the pack and meet up with the team car, get the required sustenance, and then pedal like mad to catch back up with the captain to make the delivery. The domestique must do this without ever leaving their bike. Keep in mind that the captain hasn't slowed at all to wait for the domestiques, and that the domestiques are now attempting to catch back up with their captain while carrying the added weight of food and/or water, usually for multiple riders, and sometimes up steep mountain climbs. When domestiques aren't fetching food or bandages or whatever is needed, they act as supporters by riding in front of the team captain (and his supporters) to cut wind resistance for them. These rider are in many ways the backbone of the team.
* It should be noted that while most teams utilize this system, not all do. Some sponsors collect the best riders they can buy, toss 'em all onto one team and let them rip with very little plan of attack. The teammates on these sorts of teams support each other throughout the race to some extent (breaking wind resistance, grabbing the occasional drink here and there), but in the end they each race for themselves and compete against each other.
The Race
Now that it's understood how the teams work, we'll apply that to the race. First, here are some need-to-know cycling terms:
abandon - When a rider quits during a race, most often due to injury or exhaustion.
attack - A sudden acceleration to move ahead of another rider or group of riders, often for points/bonuses.
bonk - Total exhaustion, usually due to lack of hydration or food. Domestiques make all the difference in preventing bonking.
breakaway - A rider or group of riders who attempts to go out on their own and pedal ahead of the peloton, foregoing the advantage of drafting within the peloton. Riding tucked behind another rider conserves approximately one-third of the energy output a rider would use to ride alone. For this reason, breakaway riders tire much sooner and are rarely successful. However, winning a stage in the Tour de France brings much prestige in the bicycling world and so riders take the chance to go out on their own for the sake of glory. Sometimes breakaways will also happen as riders attempt to earn bonuses. This is explained below under Points.
drop - When a rider has been passed by another, or left behind, he has been dropped.
General Classification (G.C.) - The overall leader board in the race, representing the cumulative time of each rider in the race. The rider with the lowest time is number one in the G.C. and wears the yellow jersey.
gruppetto - The group of riders that forms at the back of the race. Riders in this group are often the sick and injured, or those struggling not to be eliminated.
peloton - The largest group of riders. The main pack.
riding tempo - Also, "keeping tempo". The strongest riders wil lead teams, captains, and even the peloton to set the pace that other riders will keep.
stage - A stage is a leg of the race, one stage per day.
train - A fast moving paceline of riders.
Stage Profiles
Stages are categorized into one of four profiles.
flat stage - a stage where terrain is fairly flat, with hills but no mountains. Sprinters and flatlanders excel here.
mountain stage - A stage which where terrain is almost entirely mountainous. In these stages, those who excel in the flatter stages will be working hard to finish within the day's time limit (a varying percentage of the stage winner's time). Mountain stages are defined by grade, height, and length, and put into one of five mountain stage categories: Grade 4 (the "easiest") through Grade 1, or the dreaded Hors Catégorie (H.C.), meaning "above category". H.C. mountains are the toughest of the tough.
individual time-trial - A stage where riders are successively timed and race against the clock over a set course. Every man for himself, pedal like mad. Riders can pass each other on the course but they are not allowed to draft off of each other.
team time-trial - The same as individual time-trials, only it is teams who race against the clock. In team time-trials, the entire team receives the finishing time of the fifth team member to cross the finish line. Team time-trials challenge the team's ability to work together.
The Route
The 2013 stages have the following profiles:
Flat stages: 45, 35, 30, 26, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4 and 2
Medium mountain stages: 30, 25, 22, 19, 17, 15, 13, 11, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2
High mountain stages: 20, 17, 15, 13, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.
Individual time trials: 20, 17, 15, 13, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1
Intermediate sprints: 20, 17, 15, 13, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1
POINTS
Points, also called "bonuses", can be the most confusing part of cycle racing, so I'm going to give just the basics here.
Along the route of each stage are checkpoints, lines riders will cross to earn points. The first rider to cross the checkpoint gets the largest number of points allotted for that check point, the second rider the next largest number, etc. How many points are awarded, and how many riders are recipients, is dependent upon on the level of difficulty in each stage. Category 1 and 2 mountain stages allot for high points and will award up to 25 riders. Likewise, minor hills within flat stages will also allot for higher points for sprinters.
At the end of the stage, points are "cashed in" for seconds taken off the riders' times. The mountain, hill, and flat/sprint points are used to calculate the winner of the King of the Best Climber and Best Sprinter jerseys (jersey details in the FAQ below). Bonuses are a major reason for breakaways from the peloton.
FAQ
With domestiques and supporters doing all that grunt work, what makes the captain so special? It sounds like he's not doing any of the hard work.
It can appear so, but in truth the captain works the hardest of all. Domestiques and supporters each have their specialties, either being sprinters on flat terrain or good climbers in the mountain stages. The type of terrain to be covered each day indicates which supporters will be staying close to the captain for the duration of the stage. The captain must be a stronger, more balanced rider to excel in all types of terrain and weather in order to win.
What happens if the captain is injured and cannot finish the race?
Each captain has a chosen second (called the first lieutenant) and third amongst his supporters in the event of just such a situation. The first lieutenant steps into the captain's role and the support staff readjust accordingly.
Can a rider win the Tour if he never wins a stage?
Yes, and it happens often. In fact, stage victories most often go to supporters and domestiques. Captains are in it for the big win; once the supporters and domestiques have escorted their captain most of the way through each stage, when (and if) the captain feels confident that he can finish the stage safely on his own, he will give the signal to his support crew and they're free to make a break for the stage's finish line. Given the insanity of the mad sprint of support riders for every stage's finish line -stage wins are the support riders' only chance for glory in the Tour, after all- captains maintain a safe distance and cross the finish line shortly after the rush. Keeping in mind that only the support riders trained for that day's terrain type (flat or mountain) will be with the captain upon finishing the stage, the captain is the only member of the team who will make good time every stage. Thus a captain can win the Tour without ever having won a single stage.
Why do opposing teams have to help each other in order to win?
Opponents help each other by sharing duties in cutting air resistance. As a stage goes on and supporters tire and drop back, the peloton is whittled down to the leading captains and their strongest supporters. These remaining supporters take turns working for each other and their captains cutting wind resistance. Cutting resistance for an opponent today earns a return of the favor in another stage. Not to return the favor is considered a faux pas, unless it's down to the wire at the end of the Tour; even chivalry has it's limits. While the competition remains strong, so does the respect for fellow riders. Cycling, after all, has endured as a professional sport for more than 100 years. Some of the unwritten rules from The Old Days which may appear overly-chivalrous in today's sporting world still stand.
A tidbit: Bicycle racing is in the Guinness Book as the only sport in the world in which opponents must help each other in order to win.
So what's the obsession with yellow?
Leaders in different categories of the Tour all wear different colored jerseys to indicate their leadership, but the yellow jersey of the Tour de France is the most desired of all. The yellow jersey (maillot jaune in French) indicates the rider with the best time in the Tour. Think of the rider in the yellow jersey as "the overall Tour winner so far." Times are recorded separately for mountain and flat stages, along with the above mentioned points bonuses, and the time leader in each of these stage types will wear the jersey according his stature: the green jersey for the Best Sprinter or rider with the best cumulative times in the flat stages, the polka-dot King of the Mountains jersey for the rider with the best cumulative mountain stage times, and the white with blue jersey for the Best New Rider -- a rider in his first year at the Tour de France (or a rider under the age of 23) with the best cumulative time. Times for each of these categories are tabulated daily and jerseys are awarded at the end of each stage to the category leaders.
Tour Leader
Sprint Leader (flat stages)
King of the Mountains (mountain stages)
Best New Rider
Recognition is also given for the Most Aggressive rider, the rider who shows the most sportsmanship and effort throughout the Tour. The rider is selected by a panel of judges headed by the race manager. Rather than a colored jersey, this rider wears a red and white bib. Again, a throwback to more honorable days in sports.
Also recognized are team standings, which are decided by the combined times of the top three riders of each team. The leading team can be seen wearing yellow helmets.
Who to watch in 2013
Chris Froome (Team Sky) - Took second place overall in 2012 and is standing in this year for Bradley Wiggins, who won it all. Chris is a solid overall rider who has been on fire in 2013 so far.
Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) - On his good days, he ascends mountains like they're minor inconveniences. *le yawn* Winner of le Tour in 2007 and 2009. Won in 2010 but was stripped of his title due to a very controversial drugging incident.
Andy Schleck (Radioshack) - Took second overall in 2010 but was awarded the overall after Contador's loss of title. Tenacious as hell. His bff brother kills himself every year to support him - you can't ask for better than that.
Cadel Evans (BMC) - The first Australian to win le Tour in 2011. He finished third at the Giro d'Italia this year (Italian equivalent of TdF) but due to pushing himself very hard in that race may be a bit wasted for le Tour this year.
Tejay van Garderen (BMC) - Actually riding as Cadel Evans's domestique this year, but he came in fifth overall last year, placing ahead of Evans. Tejay won the white jersey last year (Best Young Rider). If Cadel Evans tires (as is rather expected), if Tejay is well-placed as he was last year, he could be taking the reigns for the team, a massive undertaking for a 24-year-old.
Not in it for the overall but...
Jens Voigt (Radioshack) - At 41yo, he's an "elder statesman," but don't think that excludes him from some action. Just watch this man lead his team up a mountainside. Amazeballs. He's known for shouting at his legs that they aren't tired when he climbing up them mountains.
Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) - An absolute wildcard in the race - soooo fun to watch. Always does the unexpected. Team leader on a breakaway? Must be Thomas. Wearing the yellow jersey for twelve days, splintering other teams, yet little hope of winning the overall? Must be Thomas. If he doesn't win a Tour in his career I would be heartily disappointed.
Mark Cavendish (Team Sky) - The Manx Missile. Sprint specialist (polka-dot jersey). Has won a record 23 stages of le Tour. Can reach flat-out speeds of nearly 50mph in the final stretch. Frakking. insane.
Peter Sagan (Team HTC) - Stole the Sprinter's jersey in 2012 from Cavendish. Few humans have the speed capacity of Cavendish (have you seen those thighs? TREE TRUNKS) but Sagan is a master strategist with a top-notch lead-out team. Sprint jersey's gonna be a good fight again this year, kids.
Helpful Links:
NBC Sports page (American/Canadian viewers)"
Official Tour de France site (U.S. English edition)
Tour de France at Wikipedia
Velo News Tour de France site
Anyone with link suggestions, please leave them in the comments. Merci!
___
Thanks for reading! I try to change the 101 up just a little bit every year, so if you're actually reading this again, thank you. *G* And if this is your first time to watch the Tour or try to understand, welcome! There are lots of fangirl cycling fans and we'll be happy to corrupt you absolutely welcome you to the fold.
Over the years I've had a lot of help refining the Tour 101. Many thanks for info, editing, link sharing, and cheering to frau_flora, darththalia, kajicarter, thepouncer, sensine, rahalia_cat, and crimsonquills.
Vive le Tour!
The Tour de France 101
Simply put, the Tour de France is an annual bicycle race around France, covering no less than 2000 miles/3218 kilometers over mountain ranges, across flatlands and through fields, over a course of a month. In the cycling world it is considered the ultimate race. In the athletic world, it is considered the greatest challenge of human physical endurance.
Cycle racing of itself is a sport of endurance, strength, character, chivalry, and strategy. It is, in fact, the only sport in the world in which athletes must help their opponents in order to win (stick with me -- I'll explain later how that works). Given that, what seems outwardly simple can be confusing. This is my attempt to simplify the basics so that anyone can watch the Tour de France -or any cycling race- and understand what's going on.
The Teams
It's important to first know that each cycling team is made up of nine riders: one captain and eight support staff. The captain (also called a "leader" or "team leader") is the one person per team whose goal it is to win the Tour de France; everyone else on the team is there to support the captain throughout the Tour. What that breaks down to is that having twenty-one teams in the Tour de France, for a total of 189 riders, and it's all technically* a race of twenty-one riders.
The captain's eight teammates are divided into two groups: supporters and domestiques.
The supporter has essentially two duties. The supporter's main duty is to take turns riding in front of the captain, cutting wind resistance the same way gaggles of geese travel: several riders at the team front breaking wind resistance for the captain tucked in behind them. Supporters at the front of the group tire, drop to the back of the team, and the next supporter moves forward and takes wind resistance duties. Repeat to the finish line.
Supporters expend their own energy to ensure their captain has the strength to finish the day's race ahead of the other captains. Captains are able to conserve approximately one third of their energy output using this system. The supporter's other main duty is to ride behind or beside the captain, protecting the captain in the event of a crash, and preventing other cyclists from "accidentally" bumping him (wheel rubbing as a form of intimidation is legal but frowned upon). Supporters are usually the bigger guys on the team. They're also the guys who break a lot of bones.
As the title suggests, the domestique is responsible for fetching drinks and foodbags for the captain and supporters during the race. If the captain or a supporter run out of food or water between feeding stations, the domestique will drop back in the pack and meet up with the team car, get the required sustenance, and then pedal like mad to catch back up with the captain to make the delivery. The domestique must do this without ever leaving their bike. Keep in mind that the captain hasn't slowed at all to wait for the domestiques, and that the domestiques are now attempting to catch back up with their captain while carrying the added weight of food and/or water, usually for multiple riders, and sometimes up steep mountain climbs. When domestiques aren't fetching food or bandages or whatever is needed, they act as supporters by riding in front of the team captain (and his supporters) to cut wind resistance for them. These rider are in many ways the backbone of the team.
* It should be noted that while most teams utilize this system, not all do. Some sponsors collect the best riders they can buy, toss 'em all onto one team and let them rip with very little plan of attack. The teammates on these sorts of teams support each other throughout the race to some extent (breaking wind resistance, grabbing the occasional drink here and there), but in the end they each race for themselves and compete against each other.
The Race
Now that it's understood how the teams work, we'll apply that to the race. First, here are some need-to-know cycling terms:
abandon - When a rider quits during a race, most often due to injury or exhaustion.
attack - A sudden acceleration to move ahead of another rider or group of riders, often for points/bonuses.
bonk - Total exhaustion, usually due to lack of hydration or food. Domestiques make all the difference in preventing bonking.
breakaway - A rider or group of riders who attempts to go out on their own and pedal ahead of the peloton, foregoing the advantage of drafting within the peloton. Riding tucked behind another rider conserves approximately one-third of the energy output a rider would use to ride alone. For this reason, breakaway riders tire much sooner and are rarely successful. However, winning a stage in the Tour de France brings much prestige in the bicycling world and so riders take the chance to go out on their own for the sake of glory. Sometimes breakaways will also happen as riders attempt to earn bonuses. This is explained below under Points.
drop - When a rider has been passed by another, or left behind, he has been dropped.
General Classification (G.C.) - The overall leader board in the race, representing the cumulative time of each rider in the race. The rider with the lowest time is number one in the G.C. and wears the yellow jersey.
gruppetto - The group of riders that forms at the back of the race. Riders in this group are often the sick and injured, or those struggling not to be eliminated.
peloton - The largest group of riders. The main pack.
riding tempo - Also, "keeping tempo". The strongest riders wil lead teams, captains, and even the peloton to set the pace that other riders will keep.
stage - A stage is a leg of the race, one stage per day.
train - A fast moving paceline of riders.
Stage Profiles
Stages are categorized into one of four profiles.
flat stage - a stage where terrain is fairly flat, with hills but no mountains. Sprinters and flatlanders excel here.
mountain stage - A stage which where terrain is almost entirely mountainous. In these stages, those who excel in the flatter stages will be working hard to finish within the day's time limit (a varying percentage of the stage winner's time). Mountain stages are defined by grade, height, and length, and put into one of five mountain stage categories: Grade 4 (the "easiest") through Grade 1, or the dreaded Hors Catégorie (H.C.), meaning "above category". H.C. mountains are the toughest of the tough.
individual time-trial - A stage where riders are successively timed and race against the clock over a set course. Every man for himself, pedal like mad. Riders can pass each other on the course but they are not allowed to draft off of each other.
team time-trial - The same as individual time-trials, only it is teams who race against the clock. In team time-trials, the entire team receives the finishing time of the fifth team member to cross the finish line. Team time-trials challenge the team's ability to work together.
The Route
The 2013 stages have the following profiles:
Flat stages: 45, 35, 30, 26, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4 and 2
Medium mountain stages: 30, 25, 22, 19, 17, 15, 13, 11, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2
High mountain stages: 20, 17, 15, 13, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.
Individual time trials: 20, 17, 15, 13, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1
Intermediate sprints: 20, 17, 15, 13, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1
POINTS
Points, also called "bonuses", can be the most confusing part of cycle racing, so I'm going to give just the basics here.
Along the route of each stage are checkpoints, lines riders will cross to earn points. The first rider to cross the checkpoint gets the largest number of points allotted for that check point, the second rider the next largest number, etc. How many points are awarded, and how many riders are recipients, is dependent upon on the level of difficulty in each stage. Category 1 and 2 mountain stages allot for high points and will award up to 25 riders. Likewise, minor hills within flat stages will also allot for higher points for sprinters.
At the end of the stage, points are "cashed in" for seconds taken off the riders' times. The mountain, hill, and flat/sprint points are used to calculate the winner of the King of the Best Climber and Best Sprinter jerseys (jersey details in the FAQ below). Bonuses are a major reason for breakaways from the peloton.
FAQ
With domestiques and supporters doing all that grunt work, what makes the captain so special? It sounds like he's not doing any of the hard work.
It can appear so, but in truth the captain works the hardest of all. Domestiques and supporters each have their specialties, either being sprinters on flat terrain or good climbers in the mountain stages. The type of terrain to be covered each day indicates which supporters will be staying close to the captain for the duration of the stage. The captain must be a stronger, more balanced rider to excel in all types of terrain and weather in order to win.
What happens if the captain is injured and cannot finish the race?
Each captain has a chosen second (called the first lieutenant) and third amongst his supporters in the event of just such a situation. The first lieutenant steps into the captain's role and the support staff readjust accordingly.
Can a rider win the Tour if he never wins a stage?
Yes, and it happens often. In fact, stage victories most often go to supporters and domestiques. Captains are in it for the big win; once the supporters and domestiques have escorted their captain most of the way through each stage, when (and if) the captain feels confident that he can finish the stage safely on his own, he will give the signal to his support crew and they're free to make a break for the stage's finish line. Given the insanity of the mad sprint of support riders for every stage's finish line -stage wins are the support riders' only chance for glory in the Tour, after all- captains maintain a safe distance and cross the finish line shortly after the rush. Keeping in mind that only the support riders trained for that day's terrain type (flat or mountain) will be with the captain upon finishing the stage, the captain is the only member of the team who will make good time every stage. Thus a captain can win the Tour without ever having won a single stage.
Why do opposing teams have to help each other in order to win?
Opponents help each other by sharing duties in cutting air resistance. As a stage goes on and supporters tire and drop back, the peloton is whittled down to the leading captains and their strongest supporters. These remaining supporters take turns working for each other and their captains cutting wind resistance. Cutting resistance for an opponent today earns a return of the favor in another stage. Not to return the favor is considered a faux pas, unless it's down to the wire at the end of the Tour; even chivalry has it's limits. While the competition remains strong, so does the respect for fellow riders. Cycling, after all, has endured as a professional sport for more than 100 years. Some of the unwritten rules from The Old Days which may appear overly-chivalrous in today's sporting world still stand.
A tidbit: Bicycle racing is in the Guinness Book as the only sport in the world in which opponents must help each other in order to win.
So what's the obsession with yellow?
Leaders in different categories of the Tour all wear different colored jerseys to indicate their leadership, but the yellow jersey of the Tour de France is the most desired of all. The yellow jersey (maillot jaune in French) indicates the rider with the best time in the Tour. Think of the rider in the yellow jersey as "the overall Tour winner so far." Times are recorded separately for mountain and flat stages, along with the above mentioned points bonuses, and the time leader in each of these stage types will wear the jersey according his stature: the green jersey for the Best Sprinter or rider with the best cumulative times in the flat stages, the polka-dot King of the Mountains jersey for the rider with the best cumulative mountain stage times, and the white with blue jersey for the Best New Rider -- a rider in his first year at the Tour de France (or a rider under the age of 23) with the best cumulative time. Times for each of these categories are tabulated daily and jerseys are awarded at the end of each stage to the category leaders.
Tour Leader
Sprint Leader (flat stages)
King of the Mountains (mountain stages)
Best New Rider
Recognition is also given for the Most Aggressive rider, the rider who shows the most sportsmanship and effort throughout the Tour. The rider is selected by a panel of judges headed by the race manager. Rather than a colored jersey, this rider wears a red and white bib. Again, a throwback to more honorable days in sports.
Also recognized are team standings, which are decided by the combined times of the top three riders of each team. The leading team can be seen wearing yellow helmets.
Who to watch in 2013
Chris Froome (Team Sky) - Took second place overall in 2012 and is standing in this year for Bradley Wiggins, who won it all. Chris is a solid overall rider who has been on fire in 2013 so far.
Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) - On his good days, he ascends mountains like they're minor inconveniences. *le yawn* Winner of le Tour in 2007 and 2009. Won in 2010 but was stripped of his title due to a very controversial drugging incident.
Andy Schleck (Radioshack) - Took second overall in 2010 but was awarded the overall after Contador's loss of title. Tenacious as hell. His bff brother kills himself every year to support him - you can't ask for better than that.
Cadel Evans (BMC) - The first Australian to win le Tour in 2011. He finished third at the Giro d'Italia this year (Italian equivalent of TdF) but due to pushing himself very hard in that race may be a bit wasted for le Tour this year.
Tejay van Garderen (BMC) - Actually riding as Cadel Evans's domestique this year, but he came in fifth overall last year, placing ahead of Evans. Tejay won the white jersey last year (Best Young Rider). If Cadel Evans tires (as is rather expected), if Tejay is well-placed as he was last year, he could be taking the reigns for the team, a massive undertaking for a 24-year-old.
Not in it for the overall but...
Jens Voigt (Radioshack) - At 41yo, he's an "elder statesman," but don't think that excludes him from some action. Just watch this man lead his team up a mountainside. Amazeballs. He's known for shouting at his legs that they aren't tired when he climbing up them mountains.
Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) - An absolute wildcard in the race - soooo fun to watch. Always does the unexpected. Team leader on a breakaway? Must be Thomas. Wearing the yellow jersey for twelve days, splintering other teams, yet little hope of winning the overall? Must be Thomas. If he doesn't win a Tour in his career I would be heartily disappointed.
Mark Cavendish (Team Sky) - The Manx Missile. Sprint specialist (polka-dot jersey). Has won a record 23 stages of le Tour. Can reach flat-out speeds of nearly 50mph in the final stretch. Frakking. insane.
Peter Sagan (Team HTC) - Stole the Sprinter's jersey in 2012 from Cavendish. Few humans have the speed capacity of Cavendish (have you seen those thighs? TREE TRUNKS) but Sagan is a master strategist with a top-notch lead-out team. Sprint jersey's gonna be a good fight again this year, kids.
Helpful Links:
NBC Sports page (American/Canadian viewers)"
Official Tour de France site (U.S. English edition)
Tour de France at Wikipedia
Velo News Tour de France site
Anyone with link suggestions, please leave them in the comments. Merci!
___
Thanks for reading! I try to change the 101 up just a little bit every year, so if you're actually reading this again, thank you. *G* And if this is your first time to watch the Tour or try to understand, welcome! There are lots of fangirl cycling fans and we'll be happy to corrupt you absolutely welcome you to the fold.
Over the years I've had a lot of help refining the Tour 101. Many thanks for info, editing, link sharing, and cheering to frau_flora, darththalia, kajicarter, thepouncer, sensine, rahalia_cat, and crimsonquills.
Vive le Tour!