[Archived] Le Tour

[Tris]

That penultimate stage looked hideous. Is that one in every year, or is the route so varied that it pops up every now and then?

14 times since 1951 according to Wiki. So roughly once every four years.

Read down a bit, and learn about Britain's Tom Simpson who died on the ascent in 1967 with his feet still strapped in to the pedals.

[broadsword]

Wondered when someone was going to mention Tommy.

I've read "Put Me back on My Bike", great read.

Did he really still die with his feet strapped in? I know the tour doctor tried to give him mouth-to-mouth at the scene? If you see the pic of him at the start of teh ascent his eyes are glazed over big time.

[benhben]

I dont really understand the standings on the tour.

How come Mark Cavendish won more stages than anyone else, yet according to bbc finished 131st overall?

Also what do the different colour jerseys mean? Green, yellow, polkadot?

[Perth_Rover]

I dont really understand the standings on the tour.

How come Mark Cavendish won more stages than anyone else, yet according to bbc finished 131st overall?

Also what do the different colour jerseys mean? Green, yellow, polkadot?

This is because the overall winner is done on all times added together from the 21 stages. When finishing as a group everyone gets the same time. So when Cav won, everyone got the same time, so he didn't get any advantage. But in the hill stages he would lose 30mins each stage over the climbers.

The yellow is for the overall leaders, so lowest overall time to finish the 21 stages.

Green is the points classification, there are sprint points throughout the stages during each stage, and at the finish line of flat stages. Cav did win more stages then thor but thor won a lot more of the intermediate sprints and thus collected more points and won the green jersey.

The polka is the same as the green except for hills/mountains. So intermediate climbs during stages and when stages finish at the top of a mountain.

The white is for the highest finish overall under 25 years old.

Anyway, get tour this year Contador was always going to win. Awesome display from astana, with Kloden and Armstrong both in the top ten. Big surprise in wiggans ans best of luck to him in future grand tours.

[benhben]

This is because the overall winner is done on all times added together from the 21 stages. When finishing as a group everyone gets the same time. So when Cav won, everyone got the same time, so he didn't get any advantage. But in the hill stages he would lose 30mins each stage over the climbers.

So Cavendish was so low due to not being competetive in the none sprint stages and having a poor team?

[Redrose49er]

So Cavendish was so low due to not being competetive in the none sprint stages and having a poor team?

Yes and no, there are different types of rider. Some are suited to sprinting at the end of quite flat stages, winning stages but not gaining time. Some are suited to time trials, racing against the clock one at a time, maybe picking up valuable seconds. Others are suited to mountain climbing, possibly gaining several minutes, maybe even half an hour on the sprinters. Think of it like athletics, sprinters are bigger and win by fractions of a second, marathon runners are thinner but win by minutes. Cavendish's team is by no means poor and set him up for all 6 wins this year, sacrificing their own peformance for stage wins for Cav.

[Shevchenko]

You could argue that Cavendish´s team was one of the absolute strongest teams in this Tour, right up there with Astana and Saxo Bank. They just had different goals within the race. Cavendish would not have won a stage if it had not been for his teammates. They did an outstanding job throughout. While Columbia went for stage wins (and the green jersey...even if they didn´t want to admit it), Astana and Saxo Bank were riding for the GC. So they had different priorities.

I think many people fail to appreciate just how much of a team sport cycling is, and how one rider alone can´t make a difference if he does not have loyal teammates around him. Also the fact that, within a grand tour there are several different competitions as it were, and all teams and riders won´t go for the GC. Some teams are more than happy to go for a stage win. Others will be going for jerseys, or the GC or the overall team standings.

[Tris]

The Tour of Britain has it's "Grand Depart" tomorrow - in Scunthorpe (not quite Monaco!) - and passes through East Lancashire on Tuesday lunchtime.

Bradley Wiggins is the biggest name in the start list following his magnificent 4th in the TdF, Mark Renshaw is also in there for Columbia - the guy who delivered Cavendish to the line for so many stage wins. Hopefully he'll bag a few of his own in this race.

I'll be on the side of the road somewhere near Ribchester / Hurst Green, they'll be passing there between 12.30 and 1pm. Highlights every evening on ITV4.

Tour of Britain homepage

[Flopsy]

I went cycling with Andy Tennant of Team Sky GB on Wednesday. Its very depressing going cycling with someone on a bike thats probably worth more than your car.