Le Tour de France
Sunday, 06 June 2010 12:53
If you haven't heard of the Tour de France, maybe this is your first year on a bike, you never had a TV or you just never noticed it. The 97th edition is running from Saturday July 3rd to Sunday July 25th. For 2010 the 22 teams will be competing for the fastest total time of the 3600 kms.
Spanning from north France to the Alps then across the south of France through the Pyrenees then back up to finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The challenge is just to finish for some of the riders, others are in it for a stage victory and some the coloured jerseys.
Yellow - the leader in the general time classification. Very prestigious to wear this, even for just once.
Green - the leader in the points classification, also know as the sprinters jersey.
Polka-Dotted White and Red - Best hill climber classification. King of the Mountains.
White - the best young rider, he will be under 25.
Another common question is to how and why this is a team sport. Each team has one rider that they are focusing on to win the general classification or other prizes. In cycling working with others to conserve energy is important. Drafting behind others will reduce the amount of effort needed to do the same speed. Meaning when maximum effort is needed to climb a big mountain stage the key team member would have the most amount of energy to challenge the other teams. This also applies to the sprinters, who cross the finish line of the flat stages well in to 70 km/h.
Riders to watch for 2010, would be Alberto Contador the returning 2007 and 2009 winner, and my favorite. Andy Shleck second last year, he will be exciting to watch in the Pyrenees. Lance Armstrong 7 time champ at this race and third last year. Ivan Basso who just won the Giro d’Italia this year. Cadel Evans the world champion from 2009. Denis Menchov last years Giro d’Italia winner and strong on the mountains. Other exciting ridders to watch for would be Mark Cavendish, Thor Hushovd and Tom Boonen as they are among the favorites for the Green jersey.
The cyclist who go es home with the Yellow jersey will also take home €450 000, other victorious cyclist throughout this event will have substantial cash prizing and big notch on the career history.
The route this year is filled with hints of the classic years of the tour. Stage 3 on Cobblestones. Stage 8 and 9 in the Alps. Most likely the deciding Stages 14 to 17 in the high mountains of the Pyrenees. The first day Prologue time trail and Stage 19 time trail are fun to watch how aerodynamic the riders can get. Of course the beauty of Paris as they finish the last of the 3600 kms.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I will. You can watch it on OLN and catch updates on cyclingnews.com. Look out for more discussion, on our facebook page.