How does the Tour de France work?

Question

I'd quite like to follow it this year but I haven't the first clue how the whole thing works (stages, teams etc) so I'm looking for a TdF 101 I guess - maybe a few handy links and some tips on what to look out for as well?

Answer 1

Le Tour 101 - from the 2002 tour but the info is generally the same for the current tour.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2002/tour02/?id=diaries/FAQ

The tour has traditionally been dominated by Europeans except for two Americans, Greg Lemond who won three times and Lance Armstrong, who won the last seven editions and retired last year. This year, the favorites to win were Jan Ullrich, the German who won before Lance won his first, and was second to Lance for five of Lance's victories; and Ivan Basso, the Italian who won the Giro d'Italia in May and was second to Lance last year. They were pulled out on the eve of the race and so the race is wide open this year.

Things to look out for are the sprints to the finish line during flat stages and the attacks in the mountain stages.

The official site: http://www.letour.fr/indexus.html

If you're in the US, Outdoor Life Network (OLN), a cable channel, has daily coverage of the tour. Their website: http://www.olntv.com/tdf

Bicycling Magazine also has good coverage of the tour:
http://www.bicycling.com/tourdefrance/

Answer 2

Well you have GC contendors who are looking to win overall, usually the leaders( the leader can be a climber, a sprinter, even a domestique, etc) of the team unless some scullduggery(Jan and Bjarne/ Hinault and Lemond) when 2 men on a team fight each other...anyway I went on a tangent...okay you have sprinters...those are guys going for sprint points during and in the finish of the race usual on flat terrain(Mcewan,Zabel,Boonen,& Hushovd are current sprinters to name a few. Next you have climbers who go for king of the mountain(polka dot jersey), those guys who naturally climb better generally elevate faster or if not they breakaway all to get the climb points located at the top of climbs in the mountains or hills(Cols, Cotes). Valverde, Landis, Rasmussen, Leipheimer, Jullich climbers to name a few. Domestiques are the guys who work...they fetch stuff for the team...waterbottle,extrand, whatever. Bjane Riis(Sportiff-O- CSC) was a domestique who woiund up winning the tour de France so you never can tell especially with Operacion Puerto/ a major doping scandal that involved major GC contendors who cannot partcipate in this years tour(Jan Ullrich, Ivan Bass, F. Mancebo, Oscar Sevilla, to name a few). So today Overall winner is George Hincapie(discovery)(yellow jersey called maillojaune(my-o-jean) and sprint win goes to Robbie Mcewan(teamdavitimon) (green jersey) and polka dot jesey(climb winner) goes to David de la Fuentes(saunier-duval)....why dont you go to www.cyclingnews.com

Answer 3

I tell people it's a lot like a cross between NASCAR and a PGA tournament... if you know how those work.

NASCAR: teams, sponsors, drivers, lots of technical support. Drafting and fuel management are very important, but the general public doesn't understand usually. Main difference is each team fields 9 riders instead of 1 driver, and they all work in unison toward their goal(s). And, it's a different course every day.

PGA: multi-day, cumulative score, you can lose any or all of the days but if you have the lowest accumulation, you win. Main difference is they measure time instead of strokes. And, it's a different course every day.

Me, I just like to watch the scenery, and how incredibly fast these guys are. Also with clenched teeth as they blow thru little villages with blind corners at warp speed.

Answer 4

the first answer is basically correct, apart from the fact that the yellow jersey is not for winning a stage, it is worn by the current overall leader of the whole tour.

There are also special jerseys for the king of the mountains, which is the person who does best over the specially designated mountain stages. Best young rider and champion of the sprints, which they have during the different stages

Answer 5

When you say follow it - the best way is not in the physical sense but by watching tv - Eurosport has tremendous commentary which helps to explain what's going on - plus the TDF official programme (in the shops) helps.

Of course the best way to understand it would be to take part :)

Answer 6

Some very nice men ride really fast in France for 23 days...
And they have to win so they get the yellow jersey.

Answer 7

The fastest guy over the whole course wins, the team title is the same. Win a stage and the yellow jersey is yours. watch out for that car!!!!CRASH$%"*^&(%&*

Answer 8

Find more interesting info here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_de_france