What Is The Tour de France?

July 8, 2016 by Josh Friedman

The Tour de France is a three week long bicycle stage race, mostly through France, although it sometimes starts in different countries and may cross French borders during those three weeks. Its first edition was in 1903 as a promotion for a sporting newspaper. That edition was only five stages with only fifteen riders. The Tour has grown to twenty one stages with 198 riders in 2016. But what is the Tour de France on a day-to-day basis? It’s has a lot going on and all at the same time.

So What Is The Tour de France – Some History

Henri Desgrange, the editor of LeVelo started the Tour de France as a publicity stunt in 1903. His newspaper was the second most popular sporting newspaper in France. While neither paper remains, the Tour has survived, only stopping for World Wars One and Two.

Four riders have won the overall classification at the Tour five times each: Jacques Aquetil of France, Eddy Merckx of Belgium, Bernard Hinault of France and Miguel Indurain of Spain. To finish the Tour is quite a feat; to win with such domination makes a rider a legend.

Stages

Each day, the riders start a stage. There are a few different kinds of stages:

Time Trials: Each rider races against the clock individually. These can be decisive in the overall classification.
Team Time Trials: Each team races together against the clock.
Flat Stages: These stages usually end in a group sprint. Everyone gets the same time.
Medium Mountain Stages: Usually rolling stages that lead to breakaways but do not have much impact on the overall classification.
High Mountain Stages: This is where the biggest battles of the Tour happen. The stages go over the biggest mountains in France, making big time gaps in the race and having a big impact on the overall classification.

If the riders cross the finish line in a group, each rider receives the same time. If there is at least a one second gap between one group of riders and another, then the second group will receive a time that is behind that of the first group. On each stage, riders in contention for the overall classification are careful not to let gaps open, especially on flat stages where it is a careless mistake. Those seconds can matter on a later stage. Greg LeMond won the 1989 Tour by eight seconds, the smallest margin in history.

Each stage each day has a start and finish. All riders start together (except for time trials, where the officials track the time of each rider) and finish around the same time, with the riders falling behind receiving a longer time which is how the overall classification is determined.

The Classifications

There are four main classifications:

General Classification – This is the cumulative time from each stage. The lowest time wins. Each rider must start and finish each stage to continue the race. This is for the coveted yellow jersey.
Points Classification – Riders win points at intermediate sprints and at the finish line. Flat stages have more points available at the finish than time trials, hilly, and mountain stages. This green jersey usually goes to a sprinter.
Mountains Classification – Each categorized climb has points awarded based on their difficulty. The smallest is category four, then three, two and one. The hardest are HC, or hors categorie, French for beyond category. These are the iconic climbs – Tourmalet, Alp de Huez, etc. The leader of the mountains classification wears a white jersey with red polka dots.
Young Rider Classification – This is timed the same way as the general classification except that it is only for riders under twenty five years old. The wearer of this white jersey is expected to be the future of the sport.

There are two minor and one informal classification:

Most Aggressive Rider – Each day, the race jury awards a red race number to be worn the next day to the most aggressive rider. This rider went to the greatest effort to animate the day’s the stage. Often it is the most active person in the breakaway.
Team classification – Each team’s top three rider’s times are added together to get the team classification time. The lowest time is the leader. The leading team gets yellow numbers and sometimes add their own flare, like yellow helmets.
Lanterne Rouge – This is the rider that is last on the overall classification, the red lantern, and is an informal classification. This refers to the red light at the back of a train. This rider always is a worker for a team and often has suffered some sort of difficulty during the race, requiring a heroic effort to continue on.

It’s a Team Sport!

While the focus is on individual jerseys and stage wins, cycling in general is a team sport. It is critical in grand tours like the Tour de France (there are two other grand tours – the Giro d’ Italia and the Vuelta a Espana). Without support riders mixed in with leaders on the nine person teams, those leaders would not succeed.

Each team will usually have a rider shooting for a high position in the overall classification. That rider should be able to climb and time trial well. His teammates will protect him with their draft so he uses as little energy as possible. They will also fetch bottles and food for him and wait for him if he needs a bathroom break or has a mechanical failure like a flat tire.

Teams also usually have a sprinter that is trying to win stages. Around the sprinter are other fast riders that try to bring the sprinter to the line as quickly as possible and in good position to out-sprint the other team’s sprinters. These riders are comfortable jockeying for position in the fast finishes and are required to keep their sprinter out of the wind until the last two hundred meters or so of each stage. Other team members that are not on riding are team directors, soigneurs, chefs, and mechanics. Team directors drive the team cars, hand out food and drinks, and generally make tactical decisions for the team. Soigneurs do whatever the riders need off the bike. Things like massage, carrying bags, doing laundry, making race food and drink, as well as feeding during the race from the feed zone. Chefs are obvious and their role is critical – they keep riders properly fueled for the three week race by cooking in the team’s hotel kitchen or often times now in a traveling kitchen that teams travel with. Mechanics take care of each rider’s multiple bikes along with the team’s cars, trucks, and buses. It’s a complicated and huge task that goes on for three weeks and it’s all for the riders to do the best that they can!

There is a lot going on at the Tour de France. If you do not understand early on, it is normal. There are so many nuances that it takes quite a while to grasp a firm understanding of the race. Keep watching and you will get more and more each day.

If you have a specific question about the Tour de France, ask in the comments section below and we’ll get you your answer asap!

Triathlon Vs Road Shoes

June 25, 2015 by Dyani Herrera

Triathlon Vs Road Shoes

When beginning in the cycling community there is much debate as to whether one should purchase triathlon or road shoes. Each of these shoes has their advantages as well as disadvantages. Depending on what needs you have, you may use the following factors to help you determine which cycling shoe is the most appropriate for training or racing.

Transition

If you participate in triathlons regularly then there are a few advantages of having triathlon shoes versus road shoes. Due to the ease of having one or two Velcro straps, triathlon shoes are a lot easier to slide on and off; with these, you don’t have to worry about any buckles or adjustments. This can come in handy during your swim to bike transition, in which you can clip the shoes on your bike, run barefoot through transition, and slide into your shoes once you’re on the bike. However, if you don’t feel comfortable with doing a flying dismount during your next triathlon, and prefer putting on your shoes before mounting your bike, triathlon shoes are easier to put on. Although, the seconds lost putting on triathlon shoes versus road shoes is minimal. Moreover, triathlon shoes also carry the advantage that they’re seamless and don’t require socks therefore minimizing blisters.

Pedal Stroke

Of all the factors distinguishing these two shoes, the advantage of an improved pedal stroke is my personal favorite. Prior to switching to road shoes, I would ride in Shimano WT-52 shoes, which were great for comfort and learning ease in transition. However, I was beginning to get a lot of stress on my IT band as well as toe numbness on longer rides. After a year of making minor adjustments with no resolve I decided to make the switch to road shoes. What a difference it made!

Road shoes have less lateral gliding motion on the clips, which prevents stress on your hip abductor muscles such as the TFL which tapers into the IT band. I no longer felt that nagging pain during my longer rides or numbness in my toes. Also, road shoes tend to be narrower than triathlon shoes and this fit aids with a more efficient pedal stroke. Due to the fit and minimal glide movement, it allows for increased efficiency which translates to more power on the bike. I’ve definitely noticed an improvement in riding comfort and power with my road shoes, especially on rides greater than 35 miles. Therefore, losing a few seconds in transition doesn’t compare to the overall effects experienced during the bike leg of a triathlon.

Cost

The cost between these two types of shoes depends on the brand, model year, and size (if purchasing online). However, most of the time triathlon shoes tend to more expensive than road shoes. A way to deter these costs is by purchasing an older model that the shop is trying to get rid of to make room for the newer models. In addition, amazon.com has great deals on both triathlon and road shoes (i.e. louis garneu, pearl izumi).

When trying to determine which shoe is the most appropriate option I’d suggest thinking of the following questions: Do you have a wide or narrow foot? Do you train often and have frequent long rides? Are you experiencing pain or discomfort in your foot, patella, or lateral knee? Are you a triathlete who is comfortable with transitioning or still learning? These are the questions you should be asking yourself when purchasing cycling shoes rather than using cost as a determining factor. It is better to have a comfortable fit that is conducive to your cycling regime, than have cheaper shoes which create more problems for you in the long run.

From Bike Riding to Bike Racing

March 9, 2014 by Aaron Robson

You’ve been riding for a couple of years now. The days of struggling up every incline, and falling over at traffic lights because you can’t get your feet out of your pedals is over. You’ve done some epic long rides with friends. Maybe you have started commuting in to work. But now, riding is starting to get a bit stale. The motivation to get out the door on the weekend isn’t quite what it used to be. You are looking for the next thing to add to your bike riding experience. What you are looking for is bike racing.

Bike Racing in a Nutshell

Amateur bike racing works a little differently than running, triathlons, and similar sports. If you were to sign up for your local 5k road race, you would line up with everyone else at the start, the gun would go off, and you would race. Bike racing isn’t like that – due to the differences in skill and bike handling ability, races are broken up into different categories. As a beginning rider, you will start off in the lowest category (usually Cat 5) and work your way up as you gain experience and skill. In most areas, just finishing 5-10 races will be enough to move up from the bottom category, but after that, the only way to move up is to place well in races. Most amateur riders end up in Cat 3 or Cat 4 – Cat 1 and 2 are getting into serious, semi-professional level racing.

Choosing Your First Race

Picking your first race can be daunting. The best place to start looking is the website of your state or provincial bike racing association. They should have a calendar showing all of the upcoming races in your area. There are three main types of races:

Road races are what you typically think of when you think of bike racing – a bunch of people racing in a big bunch from point A to point B.
Time trials are individual efforts over a set distance where you don’t have the advantage of drafting off other riders.
Criteriums are a special, high-octane style of race usually held on a small 1-2 mile loop course, with intermediate sprints, bonuses, and no set race distance.

A road race is a pretty safe choice for your first race. Time trials don’t really give you a proper bike racing experience, and criteriums require a higher level of bike handling skill and fitness. Pick a race at least one or two months away – you need enough time to get yourself ready!

Training & Preparation

With your goal race in mind, it’s time to get down to training. Yes, you can show up to a race without having done anything different and survive, but you will get a lot more out of it with a bit of race-specific preparation. This centers around two things:

Bike-handling: you will spend most of the race with other riders just a couple of feet ahead, beside and behind you. It takes some getting used to. Try to find a local group ride that you can join – the more people the better. Usually, the more experienced riders are pretty good about helping out newer riders. The most important thing to remember is don’t make any sudden, unexpected moves.
Fitness: racing is far more intense than any recreational ride you have been on. It won’t be 100% intensity from start to finish, but when the pace heats up, you’d better be ready, otherwise you will get dropped and have to finish the rest of the race solo. Some groups rides can get pretty intense, and if you can find one of these great – you get bike handling and fitness training all in one. If not, intervals are your best friend. Find a traffic-free circuit that you can ride without interruptions, and do sets of 30 second, 1 minute and 2 minute hard efforts with 1-3 minutes of recovery between each effort. Aim for at least 10 minutes of hard effort time; 20 is better.

It’s Here – Race Day!

Now that you’ve put in all the hard preparation work, it’s time for the race! Most bike races are in the morning, and it is important to wake up well before race time. 3 hours before is usually my minimum, and 4 is better. You will want to make sure your bike is in tip-top shape the night before – on race day, you shouldn’t have to worry about anything more than a quick top up of your tires. Aim to arrive at least an hour before your race is scheduled to start to give yourself enough time to check in, get your numbers and get everything ready. The race officials will tell you how you need to pin your numbers on. Once you are all kitted up, get on your bike and do some easy cycling to warm up, finished off with a few very short sprints to get your legs accustomed to moving fast. Then it is time to line up! When the race starts, just relax, and enjoy your first race. As the race progresses, you will get more and more comfortable with racing. Before you know it, you will be gasping across the finish line, wondering what happened to the last hour or two of your life, and hopefully eagerly anticipating signing up for the next one!