Photo by By scarlatti2004
It was a great tour de France. The best I can ever remember. As I said recently in (Tour)- how quickly you can forget the past problems of pro-cycling when watching a new edition of the tour!

Cadel Evans was a worthy winner. His final time trial was awesome. He was clearly strongest and most consistent rider of the Tour. And dare I say it that I’m even glad for my friends in Australia to have a good old Aussie win the Tour de France.

Andy Schleck will be gutted to be second for third time in a row. But, it is no small compensation that he won perhaps the greatest stages in modern memory. It is so rare for a serious contender to be able to attack 60Km from finish and hold off the rest of the chasers on two climbs. Perhaps he deserved the King of the Mountains, but S.Sanchez was also a worthy winner.

The Schlecks helped to make it a really great race, but I wonder if they fear whether they can ever win? In future tours there could easily be more than 42Km of time trials, and if there is – they know it will be even harder to win.

Thomas Voeckler was simply marvellous. It’s great to have an underdog fighting so hard, defying predictions and holding on for so long. I did get slightly frustrated on last mountain stage where he was wasting so much energy in the middle of no-mans land 30secs behind Contador, but if he made a few tactical mistakes, he more than made up for it in sheer determination.

Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar was also great helping Voeckler in the mountains and to gain a stage win on Alpe d’Huez and white jersey (for best young rider) was a good return.

Mark Cavendish is one of those people I can’t help but like – whatever he does or says. He has a childlike enthusiasm for cycling. He rides on emotion and he speaks his mind, but I’m happy to see such great characters in the sport. He is quite simply the fastest man on two wheels. He deserves the green jersey for not just being consistently the fastest sprinter but also dragging his sprinters frames up so many Alpine passes.

Many other riders had great tours and helped to make it a special tour. As much as I love Mark Cavendish and was glad to see him win 5 stages, I was actually glad a few other sprinters could occasionally get in on the act – A. Griepel (former team mate and big rival). E.Bosan Hagen and T.Hushovd for Norway.

The only downside to the tour was seeing so many crashes in the first week, especially gutting for Bradley Wiggins who would have been up there with the other contenders.

And the best thing about this tour? The racing was so good no time for hardly any mention of Lance Armstrong.

Andy Schleck rode to a magnificent stage victory in today’s stage of the Tour de France. I’m not often inspired to blog about the tour, but it is quite something to attack from 60Km out and hold out for so long. It was a real gamble and I think the favourites let him go because they probably thought it was too ambitious. But, its great to see fortune favouring the brave – and great team tactics by Leopard Trek. They put two guys in the break so when Andy attacked they could wait and help with the pace making. In particular his team mate Maxime Monfort did a great job on the descent and long approach to the final climb.

Strange that the big favourites were a bit slow to respond. But, it’s great to see a rider take such a big risk rather than leave it to small calculations.

Andy may not even win the overall Tour de France. Cadel Evans still has a chance to overturn his deficit in the final time trial – as long as he doesn’t lose more time tomorrow. I’m sure the Schlecks will be attacking tomorrow on the stage to Alpe d’Huez.

This is one of the best tours I’ve ever seen.

Stage 18 – Galiber

1 Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek 6:07:56
2 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek 0:02:07
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:02:15
4 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:02:18
5 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 0:02:21

General Classification

1 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 79:34:06
2 Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek 0:00:15
3 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek 0:01:08
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:01:12
5 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre – ISD 0:03:46
6 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
7 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Saxo Bank Sungard 0:04:44

Related

• The Tour
• FAQ on the tour

A follow up to questions on the Tour de France. I’ve been watching the Tour de France with various family members whose knowledge of the Tour ranges from the very limited to the non-existent. If you’re watching a sport like rugby – it can be frustrating to get asked questions right in the middle of the action, but with the tour, there’s at least usually plenty of time.

Why are there so Many Crashes?

There are frequently crashes in the tour. You have 180 riders jostling for position and riders close behind each other. A slight lapse of concentration and you can touch wheels and bring each other down.

However, this year, there has been one of the highest rates of crashes ever due to:

• Riding on small narrow roads where there is greater competition for places.
• Some unfortunate accidents between vehicles and riders with either vehicles or riders taking down riders. Also spectators getting in the way.
• Rain. Obviously when it is wet, you are more likely to come down.
• Very competitive race. Without any time trial to give favourites a solid advantage, there have been many people fighting for top spot, this means there are more people fighting for position.

Riders will be hoping that it is not extremely hot in the Alps, as when the road surface is very hot, the tarmac can actually start to melt making the roads slippy. Melting road surface was blamed for the horrific crash  in 2003 which brought down Joseba Beloki (when Armstrong famously bunny hoped over field to rejoin race) Beloki was in 2nd place and the crash effectively ended his career.) More famous crashes from Tour

 
Why Do they Race on small narrow roads?

You might like to ask the director of the tour. Though last year they raced on the cobbled roads used in Paris-Roubaix. The directors will probably be glad, they don’t have a stage of more cobbled madness, given all the crashes this year.

Other questions which arose after watching tour with family members.

Do they stop for lunch?

No, not unless they get very hungry and see a nice cafe. Though in the old fashioned 12 hour time trials, which were very popular in 50s and 60s, I believe there was a scheduled lunch stop where riders would take a break and have a nice snack by side of the road – a very civilised kind of race, but not quite as competitive as the tour.

Seriously, they will be eating on move through energy drinks and energy bars. In every stage, there will be a ‘feed station’ riders pick up a small bag on the move. In these bags there will be a few high energy snacks – perhaps banana sandwich and energy bars.

Why do the Breakaways always get caught so close to the line?

They don’t always get caught. Though in the first week of racing, they invariably do get caught. The reason is that sprinters teams will work hard to bring the breakaways back together so that their sprinter has a chance of winning.

If you’ve been in a breakaway for 200Km, you will have used much more energy than someone resting in the bunch (saving upto 30% of their effort by benefitting from slipstream of other riders.

Sprinters team will be making calculations to try and catch the break without about 10Km to go. If they bring it back too early, there is a chance there will be another breakaway in last part of race, so they will have to work even harder. They will try to use minimal effort to bring breakaway back. If they leave it to the last few KM, they are more likely to get help from other teams (e.g. team of yellow jersey)

Why not breakaway in last 4Km?

Occasionally riders make a breakaway in last few Km and succeed, but it is very difficult unless you get some good luck like a crash in main field or very narrow roads. In the last 4KM, the pace will be kept very high, you almost have to be sprinting to keep up. For the final sprint, the peleton may be moving at 40-50mph. You can’t maintain this pace time trialling on your own, so you need a big gap to hold off the sprinters.

Related

• FAQ on Tour

photo: stijnvogels Flickr CC

I don’t think I’m the only one to have a love-hate relationship with the Tour de France. Under the stewardship of Henri Desgrange, the early tours were supposed to test riders to their absolute limits. For years Desgrange prevented the use of dérailleur gears on the basis it would make it easier for the riders. The motto of Desgrange was – make it as long, painful and difficult as possible. The more pain, the better theatre. Either Desgrange really enjoyed watching other people suffering or he was a very astute businessman – knowing the kind of race that would help sell newspapers.

Unsurprisingly riders often rebelled against this pugnacious organiser. In 1910, after slogging his way up yet another interminable Alpine pass (remember no gears, heavy steel bikes and rough tracks in those days) the great Octave Lapize started berating the tour officials with the greatest vigour – “You’re assassins! All of you!”

Riders were attracted by the fame and money the race offered, but at the same time suffered copiously to earn it.

I’ve long had a love-hate relationship with the tour, ever since the early days of being mesmerised by the sight of riders climbing the Alpine passes in the early 1990s. These were the days of epic duels between Tony Rominger and Miguel Indurain. I don’t think Rominger could ever beat the super-cool Spaniard but it was edge of seat stuff. It seemed there could be no purer sporting contest than relying on your own stamina and efforts in dragging yourself up 2000 metre passes and 250Km stages for days on end. The only downside was the rest days when you had no cycling to watch; once you’ve got your drug of watching the tour, you feel something is missing when it stops.

_{top three photo by Numerus CC}

But, as soon as I was hooked on this pure sporting contest the issue of doping started to rear its ugly head. At first it was marginal, whispers and suspicions from failed former ex-pros, but nothing concrete; cycling closed ranks and issued calm official denials – ‘there’s no problem here’. But, the epic 1998 tour and Festina scandal blew the lid off doping and it seems the tour has been struggling to put it back on ever since. The Tour became a test not just of cycling but, who was doping? who to trust? which excuses to believe? (my favourite btw: is  R.Rumsas’ wife stating she was taking around 100 phials of EPO for her own personal use. I think the joke turned sour when the French police accepted her confession and had her arrested.)

Then there’s the problem of drug cheats who are welcomed back into the peleton. To some commentators it’s just feels like doping is part of the course. You take your chance and if you get caught, bad luck – next time just make sure you don’t get caught and embarrass the sport. I think my height of disenchantment with the Tour occurred when Richard Virenque was welcomed back into the peleton a year after his doping escapades. It was the flimsiest of bans for the most extravagant of doping careers. True, at the time, many were doping, but Virenque had really stretched it to the limits – of course vigorously denied until the final, inevitable tearful confession in a French courtroom. Yet, his pathetic denials and confessions only seemed to endear him to the French public who praised him as great champion for 7 Polka Dot Jerseys (presumably the Polka Dots symbolising needle points all over his body). To myself, still attracted by a mythical, Olympic ideal, dopers are like frauds who cheat their way to their top and deserve no place in the sport at all. Yet, the return of Virenque and others was greeted with a suspiciously stony silence – the classic sweeping under the carpet.

Just to complicate matters even further, there are those who dope, repent and claim to be now whiter than white. How can you not want to give people a second chance? Are perhaps cyclists just victims of the pervading culture and pressures from commercial sponsors? Definitely some have turned over a new leaf, though there are plenty of others who manage to get caught a second time.

But, no matter how disenchanted you get with all the excuses of ‘contaminated cows‘, ‘I felt under pressure for results‘ and ‘tainted supplements’, it can never quite overshadow the overwhelming spectacle which is the Tour. Even if every single current pro failed a test and got banned for life, there would be more riders willing to take their place, and we would still turn out to watch them pedalling ‘a tempo’ through the glorious French countryside and Alpine scenery.

As soon as I see those images of the peleton gliding along the French countryside, I’m hooked. It doesn’t matter most stages are as boring as watching paint dry, there’s something aesthetically pleasing about seeing 180 riders passing serenely through fields of sunflowers. And of course, you can always tell yourself that maybe this is the stage where something really exciting will happen.

But, another problem with the tour is that a ‘quick 5 minute glance to see what’s happening’ can become several hours viewing. You can always try and justify to yourself why it’s OK to spend all July glued to the TV – the educational benefits of learning a few French words, learning about tactics for a race you’ll never be able to enter, (and if you watch Eurosport, learning the best local Burgandy of the region). But, no matter how hard you try you can’t avoid the fact that you know deep down you should be doing something more productive than watching a four hour stage destined to end in a bunch sprint.

_{A blurry Mark Cavendish By F.d.W.}

For some reason, the Tour brings out the hopeless optimist in me. I spent the entire 1990s expecting someone, anyone to be able to attack and drop Lance Armstrong in the mountains. I think it happened about once. Jan Ullrich finally got the better of Armstrong for all of about 2 miles because Armstrong was severely dehydrated. It was exciting stuff, but how many hours I watched to see that tiny little attack. At least I got my reward a few years later, when a relatively unknown Fillipo Simeoni attacked Armstrong on the Champs Elysees – breaking all Tour etiquette and getting spat on for his troubles. That’s another story (and unsurprisingly it has doping at it’s heart) But, that was one of the great moments of the tour for me.

Lance usually evokes strong opinions. But, love him or hate him, you can’t deny Lance dominated the Tour for seven consecutive years. _{Photo By eugene}

Then there’s the time when I did actually watch a really exciting stage. Never will I forget the day I turned on the tour ‘for just 5 minutes’. But, because Flloyd Landis had gone on an attack, I ended up watching the whole stage for the next four hours. When he reclaimed the yellow jersey at the end of the mountainous stage, I thought I’d witnessed one of the world’s greatest sporting moments of all time. The euphoria lasted until a few weeks later when it was reported he’d tested positive for testosterone during the stage. Some will say in hindsight, it was inevitable he was doping, but I’m the hopeless optimist – always wanting to believe in pure sporting achievement. But, I guess that’s the Tour – liable to excite, disappoint, bemuse and confuse all in a single day.

And so we always seem to return to the seemingly unending undercurrent of the Tour – drugs, doping, cheating. Will it be possible to one day enjoy the Tour de France without spending 50% of the time trying to guess whose taking dope or not? I hope so, but given human nature, it might take a long time.

There are different approaches to the doping problem. At one extreme you can say why bother?, there probably all at it anyway. One type of cycle gan will unconditionally support anyone even if  a rider has raised their blood hematocritlevel to 60% and take enough chemicals to turn the sewage system radioactive. It’s one way to keep enjoying the sport.

Another point of view is to only support those who are unmistakably clean. The best riders are those who not only don’t dope but are willing to spit in the soup and testify against doping doctors. To some the real heroes of the tour are the Paul Kimmage’s – the guy who got spat out the back of the tour because he wasn’t good enough / not willing to take a few more stimulants. The heroic failure, the plucky underdog, I guess it’s something the British always have a soft spot for…  (BTW: I’m still trying to struggle with this new British cycling habit of actually being really rather good, and yes I do believe the team are clean.)

Well, the tour is back with us. I already have a book at hand to make notes on all the best local wines of the Bordeaux region. I don’t even drink alcohol, but you’ve got to get in the mood, after all it’s the tour and if you can’t spend 3 hours a day watching the Tour on telly, how can you call yourself a proper cyclist?

The 2011 Tour

Of course this is going to be the best ever tour, and I’m currently in love with the tour once more. I know somewhere it could all end in disappointment, but I also know whatever happens I’ll keep coming back for more…

Vive La Tour!

Do you have a love-hate relationship with the tour?

Related

• Questions on the Tour de France

See: FAQ on Tour De France

The tour is one of the biggest sporting spectacles in the world. No matter how many scandals and allegations of doping, we can’t resist the allure of watching 180 Lycra clad men, cycling their lightweight bikes around France.But, if you’ve ever wondered at the range of seemingly strange tour vocab, hopefully, this will explain the mysteries of echelons, bidons and the white jersey with red polka dots.

How Long is the Tour?

Modern versions are roughly about 3,600 kilometres (2,200 mi) spread out over three weeks. Early Tours were longer. In 1926, riders had to cover 5,745 km over 17 stages.

How Fast do the Riders Go?

In 1926, the tour winner averaged 24Kmph over the whole 5,745Km. By comparison in 2010, the average speed was just under 40Kmph for the 3,642Km

What Does the  Yellow Jersey Mean?

The yellow jersey is worn by rider at the top of the overall classification. (the quickest time over combined stages so far).

The yellow jersey was introduced in 1919 several years after the Tour started. It was chosen it was felt the yellow jersey would help identify the  leader to spectators on the road. Yellow was chosen because the newspaper L’Equipe which sponsored the Tour was printed on yellow paper. The first yellow jersey wearer was Eugène Christophe in 1919. (see: birth of yellow jersey) Some riders said they were offered a yellow jersey in previous years but they didn’t want to wear it.

What is the King of the Mountains Competition?

A separate competition within the Tour. Riders are given points for being the highest placed rider over the summit of mountains. The best climber was first recognised in 1933, and the distinctive white and red polka jot jersey was introduced in 1975 to show person with most points in the King of the Mountains.

For example, on the most difficult climb (hors category) e.g. Alpe d’Huez a rider is given 20 points for being 1st and 16 points for being second. For smaller and easier climbs less points are available.

What is the Green Jersey for?

Another points competition. Points are awarded for placings in stages. e.g. in a flat stage finish 1st place gets 45 points, second place gets 35. You can also pick up points during intermediary sprints during a stage. The green jersey ignores overall time and just the number of points you pick up at end of stages.

What is the White Jersey for?

For the young rider (under 26) who has the highest placing on overall classification. Winners of the white jersey who went onto win overall include:

• Laurent Fignon 1983 (FRA) (also won Overall that year)
• Greg LeMond 1983 (USA)
• Marco Pantani 1994, 1995 (ITA)
• Jan Ullrich 1996 (GER)
• Alberto Contador 2007 (ESP) (also won Overall that year)

Why do the riders spend most of the time in the Peleton (big bunch?)

Riding behind another rider saves unto 25% of your energy. If you ride ahead of bunch you will need much more energy. Therefore it is very difficult to ride off on your own away from the bunch. However, some riders will try to win the stage and get into a break ‘a group of a few riders’ trying to get to finish before peleton.

What is the Autobus?

Riders have to finish within a certain time frame, otherwise they get eliminated. This is calculated by a % slower than winners time (e.g. 40 minutes on big mountain stage). On tough mountainous stages, riders may join together to try and make sure they are not eliminated. The autobus is usually the last big group on the road. Also by being in a big autobus, riders hope that on really hard stages, even if they finish outside the time limit the Tour organisers won’t dare eliminate half the field. In exceptional circumstance the organisers can increase time limit to make sure they don’t eliminate the whole autobus.

Why Don’t they do every Stage as a Time Trial?

A time trial or contre-la-montre, (“against the clock”, or literally against the watch) means riders rely solely on their own efforts. There is no chance of race tactics or hiding in bunch. Arguably, this is truer sporting test as the strongest rider wins. However, it is not the most spectator friendly event. The race tactics and speed of bunch sprint is much more exciting than repeated time trials. Therefore, they are usually limited to one or two.

What is a Domestique?

Most riders in the tour have no chance or expectations of winning. Therefore they act as ‘servants’ or ‘support riders’ for their team leader. They will drop back to pick up water bottles ‘bidons’ from their team car and then bring them back to their leader. If a break needs chasing down, ‘domestiques’ will work on the front enabling the team leader to save his energy for later. In some circumstances they will be expected to give up their wheel or even their bike to save their leader time. It is hard to win the Tour without a very committed team of domestiques willing to sacrifice themselves for their team leader. It is said Lance Armstrong’s dominance was built around a team with unflinching loyalty (though that loyalty didn’t extend to belated doping allegations).

At the end of the race the prize money will be split amongst the whole team.

What is an Echelon?

Usually, you want to ride behind another rider to save energy. However, in a very strong side wind you want to ride by their side. Therefore in a strong side wind, everyone tries to ride to the side of another, leading to these diagonal looking ‘echelons’. This can be dangerous for leading contenders because the peleton is split up into different groups and they can drift away from main pack.

What is the Lantern Rouge?

The last rider overall on general classification. For a time the lantern rouge would carry a little red light under their saddle. It became paradoxically a cool thing to be. Lantern Rouge’s would gain more fame than person second to last. For a few years in the 1940s,  organisers experimented with sending the last rider (lantern rouge) home to try and discourage this unofficial competition to be the lantern rouge.

Even now some riders really don’t mind being lantern rouge as they are domestiques and it means at least they are still in the race. There can even be a little light competition to get lantern rouge.

Kenny Van Hummel gained fame after being lantern rouge by a huge margin during 1999 tour (cycling news)

As David Duffield once said:

De las Cuevas is so far down on GC you could time him in with a calendar!

Why is Mark Cavendish not in the lead despite winning so many stages?

The overall leader of the Tour is based on time. In many stages that Mark Cavendish wins, he gets the same time as all the other riders. He is just the fastest sprinter. However, in mountain stages, he may finish 30 minutes behind the leader of the tour because although good at sprinting he doesn’t have a good build for climbing. The winner of the tour will have to be good at time trials and climbing.

Why does Mark Cavendish not Get the Green Jersey despite winning the most stages.

In 2009, Mark Cavendish won 6 stages but still didn’t win Green jersey. This is because the Green jersey competition rewards most consistent finisher. You can win Green jersey just by finishing high up in stages and sprinting for intermediate stages. He would probably have won green jersey if he hadn’t been disqualified during one sprint, which saw him relegated to back of bunch

Can you Win the Tour De France Without Winning A Stage?

Yes, this has happened 6 times, including Alberto Contador in 2010. The overall is just fastest time.

Who Was the Greatest Tour de France rider of all time?

Cue endless debate on cycling forums. You can really take your pick from any of the riders who won more than five times

• Jacques Anquetil in 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1964;
• Eddy Merckx in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1974;
• Bernard Hinault in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985;
• Miguel Indurain in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995 (the first to do so in five consecutive years).

In terms of number of victories Lance Armstrong (7) stands out 1999-2006

Lance Armstrong’s 7 consecutive victories stand out as most impressive, though recent ongoing drug allegations have tarnished his reputation somewhat. Other issues aside it was also quite something to make a comeback aged 37 and finish 3rd after two years off the bike.

Who Was Least Well Known Rider to Win the Tour?

In modern times Óscar Pereiro was undoubtedly a surprise in 2006. He befitted from Flloyd Landis’ disqualification. His only other major win was a stage in the Tour of Switzerland, and 10th overall in the Tour de France in 2005 and 2004.

Who was the Greatest Tour de France rider never to win?

Perhaps an easier one to answer. Most people would give Raymond Poulidor or ‘Pou Pou’. His nickname was also the ‘eternal second’ Despite an 18 year old career which involved winning 189 races he could never win the Tour. He finished second or third a combination of eight times. Perhaps he just had the bad luck to be riding in same generation as Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx. To make it even better he was an attacking rider, good in the mountains. In many ways we prefer a plucker loser to a ‘boring’ winner. ‘Pou Pou’ probably gained greater love than Jacques Anquetil or Miguel Indurain who ground out wins by dominating in time trials.

The closest Tour de France?

Everyone remembers the 1989 Tour. The American Greg Le Mond v the bespectacled Frenchmen, Laurent Fignon. On the last stage, a Time Trial on the Champs Elysees, Greg Le Mond managed to overturn a 50 second deficit and wins overall by a mere 8 seconds. Greg Le Mond made use of new technology – triathlon style time trial bars, leavin Laurent Fignon distraught at the side of the road.

Most Popular Towns for Stages?

• Paris – 135 (most recent finish: 2010) (has finished on Champs Elysees on every year since 1975
• Bordeaux 80 (most recent: 2010)
• Pau 62 (most recent: 2010)

The Most Scandalous Tour de France?

It would be a mistake to think that scandal and drug taking are a modern phenomenon of the Tour. On the early tours, riders were specifically told they had to bring their own stimulants. Early tours were full of intrigue like riders being disqualified for taking the train or riders facing roads full of tacks to give their rivals an advantage.

It was only in the 1960s when drug testing came in, and even then it was sporadic and by all accounts quite easy to dodge.

However, for the sheer scale of scandal and upheaval it’s hard to forget the Festina Scandal of 1998.

During the tour, Willy Voet  a soigneur for the French team Festina, was found with a car full of doping products. The Festina team were sent home, and amidst drug raids by the authorities on other teams, the riders began to protest on mass. Only half the field finally made it to Paris, where Marco Pantani’s win was overshadowed by the massive drug controversy. (Pantani himself was later to tragically die young from drug related problems)

Has Anyone won the Tour de France without taking drugs?

Quite a few recent winners have either admitted doping (Bjane Riis, Floyd Landis), being dismissed whilst in yellow (M.Rasmussen) or being implicated in doping investigations (Jan Ullrich, L.Armstrong, Marco Pantani, A.Contador, Pedro Delgado).

Greg Le Monde has always maintained a fairly consistent anti-doping position which I personally admire. I would like to believe in Eddy Merckx because he was just the greatest champion. At the risk of speculation, there may be quite a few others such as Carlos Sastre (2007) e.t.c. Suffice to say it’s a shame some clean athletes have been tainted because of the widespread nature of doping in cycling.

Don’t they all just Dope – How Can anyone ride the tour without?

I would say emphatically that you can ride and people do ride the tour without taking any illegal stimulants. Yes, the tour is difficult but it is feasible for professional athletes. Doping products just enable you to ride it at a faster average speed.

Is the Tour Cleaner than Before?

Perhaps subjective, but I would say it is cleaner and there is less doping. In the 1990s and 2000s, by all accounts doping was  rife.  However, regular doping tests and biological passports have made it more difficult to take drugs. I feel more teams are now sincere when they say they want to ride clean.

Who has died whilst riding the Tour de France?

• Adolphe Heliére, France. Drowned while swimming during a rest day of the 1910 Tour de France.
• Francisco Cepeda, Spain, Tour de France, 1935. Died after crashing on the descent of the Galibier
• Tom Simpson, July 13, 1967 (combination of heat exhaustion, overuse of stimulants) amphetamines found in his back pocket)
• Fabio Casartelli,  Italy, Tour de France, July 19, 1995. Casartelli was the reigning Olympic Champion at the time of his crash and subsequent death

Most Bizarre Regulations in the Tour?

In 1925 Herni Desgrange’s planned that riders should all eat exactly the same amount of food each day. Riders striked in protest and it was later dropped.

In early editions of the tour, riders had to do their own mechanical repairs. In 1913, Eugène Christophe was on course to win when his fork broke on a mountain descent. He went to local forge and tried to repair his fork himself. As well as losing time, he was also fined 3 minutes, because a 7 year old boy helped push the bellows.

What happens when a rider wants to answer a call of nature during a long six hour stage?

Sometimes riders stop at the side of the road and many others will join them. There is an unofficial rule not to attack when riders are answering call of nature. Sometimes when racing is hoting up, riders will not stop but urinate on the move. A task not too easy. They are not allowed to do it in built up areas and preferably not when cameras are on.

How Much Do they Eat during a stage?

A Tour de France rider may consume something in the region of 6,000-8,000 calories (daily recommended is 2,000). If you think it’s difficult to consume 8,000 calories try doing it on a vegan diet like D.Zabirskie (Independent)

When Are you Going To Ride the Tour de France?

Tell a non-cyclist I’ve won a local club time trial against a collection of other amateurs, and the next question is often – so when are you going to ride the Tour de France? I guess it’s not quite like the London marathon where you can turn up with good intentions and promise to raise some money for charity. Only the  top 20 pro teams will get invited to the Tour, and they will pick their best 9 riders. This means the field is limited to about 180 riders (which still many consider too many). But, there are huge commercial benefits to being in the tour, so there is always the pressure to allow some teams (mainly French) a wildcard position.

What’s the Most Bizarre TV Commentary you heard whilst listening to the Tour de France?

Let’s be honest, the tour is mostly dull, only watching the breakaway time come slowly down. Fortunately, we have commentators like David Duffield who can manage to get excited by the most trivial of incidents.

“I am sitting here with my chin on the counter, my mouth open like a great big whale scooping up plankton. I am gobsmacked!”

“This is like Wimbledon., Ascot and Silverstone all wrapped in together and plonked in the middle of Paris: amazing!

Why is there always a devil raising a trident by side of road?

I’ve really have no-idea. You could always ask the devil himself but he seems to enjoy himself.

Famous Quotes from the Tour de France

“You’re assassins! All of you!”

- Octave Lapize to Tour officials whilst half way up the Col d’Aubisque in the 1910 tour. In the days before tarmac roads, gears and heavy steel bikes.

Tour Glossary

• Bidon – bottle
• Combativité – Most aggressive rider, person who goes out on long breakaways
• Drafting – riding behind another rider to save aero drag
• Flamme rouge – Red kit showing 1Km to go
• Grand Départ – First Stage
• le parcours – route, course
• le peloton – The big bunch of riders on the tour
• l’équipe – team
• le coureur- rider
• le sprinteur – sprinter
• le grimpeur – climber
• la tête de course – race or course leader
• les domestiques – ‘servants’, riders who protect their leader
• l’étape – stage
• l’étape de plaine – flat stage
• l’étape de montagne – mountain, climbing stage
• l’étape contre la montre – Time Trial
• les classements – standings, rider positions after each stage
• le maillot jaune – yellow jersey – for the leader
• le maillot vert – green jersey – for the best sprinter
• le maillot à pois – polka-dot jersey – for the best climber
• le maillot blanc – white jersey – best young rider
• Musette – bag of food
• Prologue – First time trial stage

Related

• FAQ Tour de France
• Spectators at the Tour
• Crashes in the tour – more FAQ
• List of Tour de France winners
• The official Tour de France

It was gripping stuff as the diminished peleton hit the lower slopes of the Col de Tourmalet, the domestiques riding themselves into the ground to keep the pace high. Slowly the Km to the top counts down. You knew Schleck would attack – but, when? (well off course, in one of the innumerable ITV4 commercial breaks). But, it didn’t matter – there were the two gladiators, Shleck and Contador fighting it wheel to wheel, shoulder to shoulder on the misty slopes of the Col De Tourmalet; this is the drama of cycling. Two athletes at the peak of their sport, desperately riding away from the rest of the peleton.

It’s easy to sit in your archmair and shout at Schleck – ‘go on attack him’ But, when you’ve had a three weeks of racing, and your hanging on to the edge of your limit, ascending Col de Tourmalet at a terrific pace, next to the greatest cyclists of your generation – that is all easier said than done. But, Schleck kept trying. It didn’t quite break the elastic, but, you knew they had both given everything trying to wrestle the yellow jersey.

Maybe, the other day, Contador should have waited when Shleck’s chain went,  but, that seemed forgotten yesterday. Contador did once try to drop Schleck, but, when that failed, he didn’t contest the sprint, and the two gladiators could be seen embracing after finish line.

Marvellous stuff!

Related

Photos of Col de Tourmalet Stage at Graham Watson

Some Things the tour riders don’t have to cope with

After watching the Tour de France I really get inspired to go out and ride my bike. The problem is I half expect to be able to replicate the tour on English roads. But, riding in England makes it very difficult to replicate a stage of the Tour. For example, after 1km of the stage starting, you suddenly have to come to an abrupt halt as a double decker bus gets stuck between two inconsiderately parked SUVs on station road. I mean, this isn’t supposed to happen on a tour stage. Perhaps a flying picket by French farmers indignant at the cut in their EU farming subsidies to a mere £100,000 a year, but, not double decker buses and SUVs.

A thing that looks really fun in the tour is being able to fling empty water bottles across the road (I always wonder why a discarded water bottle doesn’t cause a crash) and then after discarding a water bottle a team mate with 17 bottles stuffed down his jersey will come up and give you a spare. Somehow stopping in a petrol station and fumbling around for change makes you lose your rhythm – it just doesn’t have the same elan as chucking a bottle casually into waiting crowds – who suddenly lose all interest in the race and dash for a water bottle worth £2. (I can never understand that, imagine spending £1000 to go and watch the tour, you wait for hours and then when the riders actually come past you ignore the race and scramble to get a cheap plastic water bottle you could have bought at local bike shop for a fraction of cost of going to Tour – Maybe having to buy your own water, would help spruce up the tour rankings a little. It may even give a chance for French to win, as they could benefit from local knowledge. It would be like the good old days, when if your bike broke down you had to fix it yourself, even if meant visiting a local steel forger to make yourself a new frame- those were the good old days – anyway I digress).

Then there is the climbs of England. In France they talk about a climb with a gradient of 8-10% as being really steep. These riders should try climb Fleet moss (20% looking like 25%) – that’s a real climb. These Alpine climbs may go on for quite a long time, but, I reckon they have it easy. They should put a few proper climbs in the tour like Rosedale Chimney or Hardknott pass. The only chance we have of alpine style climb is the bridge over the motorway, the gradient is about right, but, somehow, it doesn’t really count as a mountain pass, no matter how many times we might go over it..

Another thing is riding at the back of a peleton of 200 riders looks pretty easy, some of them seem to be hardly pedalling at all. And if you get tired, you can always feign a little road rash and go back to hold onto medical car for a few KM. And I bet the Italian riders get a little push from the Tifiosi up the Alpine climbs. Riding here, you have to always simulate the lone breakaway, and the only chance you have of a little push, is the sideways push into gutter – courtesy of Mr White Van Driver, the idea of getting pushed up a hill by supportive bystanders in England is a joke.

This year, an interesting stage of the tour was riding over the cobbles of the Ardenne classics. It split the peleton and made the race interesting. But, if they really want to test the riding skills of the rider, I think they should bring back the Tour to Britain and make it go through rush hour traffic in London or on the local Sustrans cycle path. That would really sort out the men from the boys. It may even give an Englishman a chance of winning. -  When you watch the Tour, you never see the pros having to leave the road and negotiate a tiny cycle path at 12mph watching out for pedestrians with dogs on a lead. They have it easy.

So there you go a virtual Tour de France on England’s roads is surely much more challenging than riding the real thing. I reckon the best thing to do is just to hang up the bike and resign yourself to spending three hours a day watching it on Eurosport.

Related

• The Tour De France explained
• Tour de France English

I watched pretty much all of Armstrong’s seven consecutive Tour de France victories. I could never root for the American, I was always supporting any rival – from the overweight Ullrich to the diminutive Pantani. Fortunately or unfortunately Ive always judged cyclists on their attitude to doping – I’d rather cheer for an eighty year old amateur plodding around a club 10 mile TT than the most successful cheat. To the ITV commentators, slavish in their praise, Armstrong was the greatest of all champions. They can only see the greatest ever cyclist who won seven titles at the world’s most challenging cycle race. But to me, Armstrong will always be the guy who chased down Fillipo Simeoni for turning ‘tailcoat’, the cyclist who celebrated his Tour win with controversial doctor Michael Ferrari e.t.c.

Maybe I’m being unfair, maybe he was just unfortunate to be born in the EPO generation; a time when the number of clean cyclists could be counted on the fingers of one hand. If you look at his main competitors and team mates of those early 2000s, – Ulrich, Basso, Vinokourov, Landis, Tyler Hamilton (and many more) they have all been implicated in doping practises. Armstrong comes out relatively well, (if we ignore testimonies from former team mates and outdated EPO tests from 2001). However, for me what sticks in the mind, is not so much doping, but, to actively  persue  those who spoke against doping – Christophe Basson, Fililpo Simeoni. That is the really bad thing. It’s one thing to dope, it’s another to try and force out those trying to change the sport. For me the great heroes of cycling are those like Paul Kimmage who are willing to give up everything by ‘spitting in the soup’. They have more courage than those who only think of sweeping problems under the carpet and maintain an illusion that everything is fine.

I’m sure Armstrong has many good qualities, and if I wasn’t a cyclist I’d probably find it much easier to appreciate them. But, I am a cyclist and I really hate the practise of doping which has so blighted the sport, and the lives of those involved. A real champion could have used his position to move the sport in the right direction, not hang around with doctors whose main reputation was for being an expert in EPO.

But, when all is said and done, you do have to have spare at least some admiration for anyone who come back to ride and suffer in the Tour at the age of 39. Now, he’s been beaten he will at least probably become more popular, at least in Britain and France where we never really warm to someone until they display frailty and the ability to be a good loser.

Tour de France 2010

Recently, I wrote a post – tips to improve cycling fitness – but, really I should add another one – disable Eurosport so you don’t spend all summer watching the Tour in the vain hope this will teach you all the pro tactics necessary to effectively ride a 25 mile time trial up a British dual carriageway.

Yes, It’s that time of the year when we can enjoy stunning scenery, legendary commentating, and hours and hours of the top pro cyclists winding their way through the street furniture of France and northern Europe. You just never know what the tour will throw up – will it be EPO, will it be testosterone, will it be blood boasting hormones – or will it just be an honest, clean race, with the best man winning in the mountains?

It’s a strange spectator sport the Tour de France. It’s rarely on the edge of your seat stuff, though at the same time oddly addictive. You can’t help but feel a little guilty when the most exciting event of the day is a big bunch crash because some dog strayed into the massed ranks of the peloton.

It all looks pretty impressive, especially the size of the crowds in Belgium; though I am most impressed by the way the cyclists just get up after a crash and nurse their broken collar bone through several Alpine passes. I know if it was me, at the first sign of any blood, I would be laying in the gutter feinting and waiting for the passing Ambulance van. I certainly wouldn’t be riding the next day after a heavy crash – let alone racing. One thing you can’t doubt is how much the Tour de France means to the riders. I’ve seen more grown men cry in the Tour de France (winning a stage, retiring through injury, failing a dope test e.t.c) than anywhere else.

If sportsman were paid on commitment, sacrifice and hardship, procyclists would be getting 100 times more than the most famous premiership strikers – players who are ‘too tired after playing 2 games of 90 minutes every week’. A 90 minute kick around – that’s what the tour riders do on their off day! (And the modern pro cyclist has it easy compared to the really hard tours of the pre-war era, In those black and white / pre deraileur gear days it was-  let’s see who is last man standing after stages of 500km with only a bottle of champagne and a case of barbiturates to keep you going.

Talking of sacrifice, I was reading an interview with Bradley Wiggins pre-tour. He was explaining how he was getting ready to dip to his optimal race weight of 73 kilos – that fine line between losing weight and making his body anorexically light and open to infection. Bradley was explaining 2 kilos was worth 2 to 3 minutes on a mountain day. – At least, now I know why Jan Ullrich was known to have wasted his talent for turning up to the Tour 10 kilos overweight because he’d been stuffing his face with hamburgers and pies. But, just imagine if Wayne Rooney or the Brazilian Ronaldo needed to get his weight within 1 kilo of the optimal power to weight ratio?

For most of the day, the most exciting thing is watching the time gap to the break – will they stay away won’t they? You’d like to think that there is always a good chance, but, you know ex-pro Sean Kelly will soon snuff out any hopeful optimism with his dose of almost depressingly unflappable professional realism.

Anyway, if you get bored of the racing you can always just enjoy  the commentary. In the good old days, David Duffield would lax lyrical about the best champagne, verses from the bible, competing in 24 hour time trials – just about anything apart from what was happening (which was mostly nothing anyway). The racing seemed to be incidental, but it was entertaining in a strange kind of way. These days, there is a worrying trend to interview director sportifs with their interminable platitudes about ‘needing to try and stay out of trouble, it’s a new era for cycling, it’s a hard race the Tour de France.’ The only thing that surprises me is when something unusual happens, like someone attacks, the commentary may be so focused on the local history of an old church that the action goes unnoticed. And why don’t they show us highlights of the breaks forming at the start of the race?

‘It’s a hard race the tour de France’ – well that’s one thing that certainly can’t be denied.

Prediction for Winner 2011

Bradley Wiggins – why not – he’s British and is we know the British never settle for second place…

Related

• Tour de France funny
• List of Tour de France winners
• Tour de France 2010 – official site

Despite breaks for the two world wars the Tour de France has been held every year since 1903. It is not the oldest cycling race. But, it is the oldest and most prestigious stage race. All the great names of professional cycling can be found in the list of Tour de France winners. 5 Cyclists have the privilege of winning the Tour 5, or more times.

• Jaques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernaud Hinault, Miguel Indurain and Lance Armstrong (7 times)

• 1903 Maurice Garin (France)
• 1904 Henri Cornet (France)
• 1905 Louis Trousselier (France)
• 1906 Rene Pottier (France)
• 1907 Lucien Petit-Breton (France)
• 1908 Petit-Breton
• 1909 Francois Faber (Luxembourg)
• 1910 Octave Lapize (France)
• 1911 Gustave Garrigou (France)
• 1912 Odile Defraye (Belgium)
• 1913 Philippe Thys (Belgium)
• 1914 Philippe Thys
• 1919 Firmin Lambot (Belgium)
• 1920 Philippe Thys
• 1921 Leon Scieur (Belgium)
• 1922 Firmin Lambot
• 1923 Henri Pelissier (France)
• 1924 Ottavio Bottecchia (Italy)
• 1925 Ottavio Bottecchia
• 1926 Lucien Buysse (Belgium)
• 1927 Nicolas Frantz (Luxembourg)
• 1928 Nicolas Frantz
• 1929 Maurice De Waele (Belgium)
• 1930 Andre Leducq (France)
• 1931 Antonin Magne (France)
• 1932 Andre Leducq
• 1933 Georges Speicher (France)
• 1934 Antonin Magne
• 1935 Romain Maes (Belgium)
• 1936 Sylvere Maes (Belgium)
• 1937 Roger Lapebie (France)
• 1938 Gino Bartali (Italy)
• 1939 Sylvere Maes (Belgium)
• 1947 Jean Robic (France)
• 1948 Gino Bartali
• 1949 Fausto Coppi (Italy)
• 1950 Ferdi Kubler (Switzerland)
• 1951 Hugo Koblet (Switzerland)
• 1952 Fausto Coppi
• 1953 Louison Bobet (France)
• 1954 Louison Bobet
• 1955 Louison Bobet
• 1956 Roger Walkowiak (France)
• 1957 Jacques Anquetil (France)
• 1958 Charly Gaul (Luxembourg)
• 1959 Federico Bahamontes (Spain)
• 1960 Gastone Nencini (Italy)
• 1961 Jaques Anquetil
• 1962 Jaques Anquetil
• 1963 Jaques Anquetil
• 1964 Jaques Anquetil
• 1965 Felice Gimondi (Italy)
• 1966 Lucien Aimar (France)
• 1967 Roger Pingeon (France)
• 1968 Jan Janssen (Netherlands)
• 1969 Eddy Merckx (Belgium)
• 1970 Eddy Merckx
• 1971 Eddy Merckx
• 1972 Eddy Merckx
• 1973 Luis Ocana (Spain)
• 1974 Eddy Merckx
• 1975 Bernard Thevenet (France)
• 1976 Lucien Van Impe (Belgium)
• 1977 Bernard Thevenet
• 1978 Bernard Hinault (France)
• 1979 Bernard Hinault
• 1980 Joop Zoetemelk (Netherlands)
• 1981 Bernard Hinault
• 1982 Bernard Hinault
• 1983 Laurent Fignon (France)
• 1984 Laurent Fignon
• 1985 Bernard Hinault
• 1986 Greg LeMond (U.S.)
• 1987 Stephen Roche (Ireland)
• 1988 Pedro Delgado (Spain)
• 1989 Greg LeMond
• 1990 Greg LeMond
• 1991 Miguel Indurain (Spain)
• 1992 Miguel Indurain
• 1993 Miguel Indurain
• 1994 Miguel Indurain
• 1995 Miguel Indurain
• 1996 Bjarne Riis [1] (Denmark)
• 1997 Jan Ullrich (Germany)
• 1998 Marco Pantani (Italy)
• 1999 Lance Armstrong (U.S.)
• 2000 Lance Armstrong
• 2001 Lance Armstrong
• 2002 Lance Armstrong
• 2003 Lance Armstrong
• 2004 Lance Armstrong
• 2005 Lance Armstrong
• 2006 Oscar Periero Spain
• 2007 Alberto Contador Spain
• 2008 Carlos Sastre – Spain
• 2009 Alberto Contador – Spain
• 2010 Alberto Contador – Spain
• 2011

• UCI rankings

Related Posts

• Tour de France 2008
• Related Tour de France Blog Entries

[1] Bjanne Riis had admitted to using EPO. The Tour de France organisers no longer consider him a winner, although the UCI have not changed the result.

[2] In 2006 Floyd Landis was the winner but later stripped of his title after failing a drugs test.