[Solved] Tour de France

hi Ratso

Welcome to dadtalk, I can better there will be plenty of members that are interested in cycling.

Tell us bout yourself

Mags

Went for a bike ride at the weekend - 8 miles and I cant walk or sit down!! So anyone who cycles round France 100 miles at a time gets my admiration.

Didn't a British guy do well last year?

Mario

Yes. Brad Wiggins came fourth overall and Mark Cavendish came second in the green jersey competition. This year Wiggins is aiming for a podium finish, to become the highest placed Englishman ever and Cav is looking to win green. Unfortunately, neither have had a particularly good season so far. We'll see. I'm just worried that this years tour may overshadow the World Cup a little 😉 .

It may do for the French!!

I know! I guess you’re all as excited as I am about this. The Tour de France, or to give it it’s proper title ...‘Le Tour’... is upon us. Kicking off tomorrow - yes Saturday - It’s that close!

OK – you can stop pretending now. But, honestly, it’s not as dull as you think. It’s three weeks of adrenalin packed torment for the riders ...and for those of us at home, the armchair cyclists, it’s more interesting than an England football match. Yes, it’s that good!

Still not buying it. Fine. I will explain. But don’t blame me if you become hooked.

Over the next three weeks, 198 men of iron will start the 3642km (2234 mile) ride across France. Setting off from the famous French town of Rotterdam, those who survive will arrive, three weeks later, on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. This year the longest single stage is 227km (141 miles). The riders’ average speed will be in the region of 43kmh (27mph). The highest point is the Col Du Tourmalet, at a leg-melting 2115m ...actually, it would more correctly be termed ‘the highest points’ ...because this year they are going to have to cycle up it twice.

This is not a race for the faint hearted. Last year 13% dropped out, either through exhaustion, or assorted injuries:

1 broken arm
2 broken wrists
3 open wounds requiring stitches and race withdrawal
4 broken collarbones
1 punctured lung
1 concussion / loss of consciousness
1 broken cheekbone
2 gunshot wounds

...I kid you not!

Still not convinced! Well how about the lure of British success. This year there will be 8 British riders in the tour (highest number since 1968):
David Millar (Garmin-Transitions)
Jeremy Hunt (Cervelo)
Daniel Lloyd (Cervelo)
Charly Wegelius (Omega Pharma-Lotto)
Mark Cavendish (HTC-Columbia)
Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky)
Steve Cummings (Team Sky)
Geraint Thomas (Team Sky)

...and for the first time since 2009, British riders will be in contention for major jerseys

Still not convinced! Well how about ...this will be your last chance to see Lance Armstrong retire from the TdF. No more taking a couple of years out to deal with a spot of pesky cancer. No more comebacks. This is the last time that he is going to retire, this decade.

Live Stages (for the men) and highlights (for the boys) will be shown daily on ITV4

Ratso - where is the regular update on the tour?

All I know is there are loads of crashes this year! Is that normal?

Who is going to win and how are the Brits doing?

Oh Wow! Someone asked me to talk about the Tour ...Result!!! OK - let's start with the basics.

TEAMS
First of all, it is a team sport; each team has 9 riders and those riders will all work variously to achieve certain goals. That might be to win a stage, claim overall victory, make a breakaway, get their leader up the top of a monstrous climb, put their sprinter in pole position for the final lead out, or just keep the peleton (pack) going so fast that no one can affect the race on a given day. A team is generally made up of a Leader (who could win the tour), a few climbers, a couple of sprinters and some domestiques ...the work horses that do all the pacing, collect the water, give up their bikes in the event of a crash, etc

OBJECTIVES
Obviously, the main objective is to win the race. But realistically, although there are 20 odd teams, there are only a handful of men who could win. Whilst all the teams will have a leader, not all of those leaders have much of a chance of an overall win. However, there are many more prizes apart from just the fame, money and [censored] that comes with winning the pinnacle of the sporting calendar.

Yellow Jersey:
This is the jersey awarded to the overall winner. The race for the General Classification or GC.
Alberto Contador, who is almost unbeatable in the mountains and won the race last year. Brilliant as he is, I don't much care for him. Watch out for his team mate Vino, who will be trying to oust him as leader.
Andy Schleck, 2nd last year and probably the only rider good enough to take on Contador in the mountains. Unfortunately, his brother Frank has already crashed out of the race.
Lance Armstrong, seven times winner and 3rd last year - is having his final shout; one of the cleverest tacticians around at the moment, but (surely) too old to be a realistic threat.
Bradley Wiggins, is Britain's big hope; 4th last year and lighter and stronger this year.
Cadel Evans, has come 2nd twice in the past. I think he's a big girls blouse who is only good at following and to win the tour you need to be able to attack. The rumour is that he has learned to attack this year, which is why I include him as a contender.
...and a handful of others, too lame to mention here.

Green Jersey:
The sprinters race. On flat stages there are points to be had for winning little sprints around the course and of course for winning the stage. Last year won by Thor Huschovd, who looks like he may storm away with it again this year. It's the green jersey that Britain's Mark Cavendish desires. Cav is without doubt the fastest man on the planet and he has probably the best lead out team. They lead him to within two or three hundred metres of the finish and then he launches, like a missile, leaving his rivals for dust ...or at least that's the theory. He should take a few stage wins.

Polka Dot Jersey:
For the climbers. If you want to win the tour you need to be able to climb (and descend). This jersey is usually won by one of the top placed riders. After Yellow, this is the sexiest jersey to have in your wardrobe at home

White Jersey:
For the best young rider under the age of 25 (cyclists peak at around 30)

Team Jersey:
Goes to the team with the highest placed riders

Combative Jersey:
Decided upon by a panel of judges. This one goes to the most aggressive rider on the tour. So it is usually won by someone who no one has heard of, but who is involved in lots of breakaways.

So what's happening so far? ...more later! 🙂

Ratso - I thought the helmets that they wore were for protection not to be used to assist them headbutt their rivals!!!