Tour de France: Difference between revisions
| Line 93: | Line 93: | ||
<div style="text-align:right; float:right; margin-left:5px"> |
<div style="text-align:right; float:right; margin-left:5px"> |
||
[[Image: |
[[Image:Tour_de_France_Winners_Diagram.png]] |
||
</div> |
</div> |
||
| Line 291: | Line 291: | ||
|[[2004 Tour de [[France]]|91]] || [[2004]] || Lance Armstrong|| [[United States]] |
|[[2004 Tour de [[France]]|91]] || [[2004]] || Lance Armstrong|| [[United States]] |
||
|} |
|} |
||
[[Image:Example.jpg]] |
|||
== Records == |
== Records == |
||
Revision as of 11:56, 27 July 2004
This article is about the cycle race. See Tour de France (disambiguation) for other meanings.
The (Le) Tour de France (French for Tour of France), also simply known as Le Tour, is an epic long distance cycling competition for professionals held over three weeks in July in and around France. It has been held annually since 1903, only interrupted by World War I and World War II, and is now one of the world's largest sporting events.
History and general description
The race was founded as a publicity event for the newspaper L'Auto (ancestor of the present l'Équipe) by its editor, Henri Desgrange, to rival the Paris-Brest et retour (PBP) ride sponsored by Le Petit Journal and Bordeaux-Paris sponsored by Le Vélo. The tour is a "stage race", divided into a number of stages, each stage being a race held over one day. Although the number of stages has varied in the past, recently the tour has consisted of around 20 stages, with a total length of between 3,000 and 4,000 km.
Most stages take place in France though it is very common to have a few stages in nearby countries, such as Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, but also non-neighbouring countries such as Ireland, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The three weeks usually includes two resting days, which are sometimes used to transport the riders long distances between stages.
In recent years, the first stage is preceded by a short individual time trial (1 to 15 km), called the prologue. The traditional finish is in Paris on the Champs-Elysées. In between, various stages occur, including a number of mountain stages, individual time trials and a team time trial. The remaining stages are held over relatively flat terrain. With the variety of stages, sprinters may win stages, but the overall winner is almost always a master of the mountain stages and time trials.
The itinerary of the race changes each year; however, some of the visited places, especially mountains and passes, recur almost annually and are famous on their own. The most famous mountains are those in the hors-categorie (peaks where the difficulty in climbing is beyond categorization), including the Col du Tourmalet, Mont Ventoux, Col du Galibier, the Hautacam and Alpe d'Huez.
Other major stage races include the Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy) and the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain). The Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and World Cycling Championship comprise the Triple Crown of Cycling.
The Jerseys
There are several prizes to be had, and generally a coloured jersey is associated with each prize. The current holder of the prize is entitled to wear the jersey when they are racing.
Current jerseys
The yellow jersey ("maillot jaune"), worn by the overall time leader, is most prized. It is awarded by calculating the total time each rider has been riding - i.e. by adding the times taken to complete each stage so far. The rider with the lowest total time is considered the leader, and at the end of the event is declared the overall winner of the Tour. The colour was originally a reference to the newspaper which sponsored the race, which had yellow pages.
The green jersey ("maillot vert") is awarded for sprint points. At the end of each stage, points for this jersey are gained by the riders who finish first, second, etc. The number of points and the number of cyclists rewarded depends on the type of stage - many for a flat stage, slightly fewer for an intermediate stage, fewer still for a mountainous stage, and the least for time trials. There are also a few points for the riders who are first at some intermediate points, usually about 2 to 3 per stage. At those intermediate points (as well as at the finish) there are also bonus seconds for the yellow jersey, but those are so few that they rarely if ever have an influence on the final standings. They do however play a role in the first week, before the mountain stages, as the overall standings are usually less well separated. The German rider Erik Zabel has won the most green jerseys with six consecutive wins from 1996 through 2001.
The "King of the Mountains" wears a white jersey with red dots (maillot à pois), referred to as the "polka dot jersey". At the top of each climb in the Tour, there are points for the riders who are first over the top. The climbs are divided into categories from 1 (most difficult) to 4 (least difficult) based on their difficulty, measured as a function of their steepness and length. A fifth category, called Hors categorie (outside category) is formed by mountains even more difficult than those of the first category. In 2004, the scoring system was changed such that the first rider over a fourth category climb was awarded 3 points while the first to complete a hors category climb would win 20 points. Further points over a fourth category climb are only for the top three places while on a hors category climb the top ten riders are rewarded. Additionally beginning in 2004, points scored on the final climb of the day were doubled if said climb was at least a second category climb. Although the best climber was first recognised in 1933, the distinctive jersey was not introduced until 1975. The colours were decided by the then sponsor, Poulain Chocolate, to match a popular product. Two riders have won the "King of the Mountains" six times: Federico Bahamontes (Spain) in 1954, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964; and Lucien van Impe (Belgium) in 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1983; while Richard Virenque (France) won his record-breaking seventh title in 2004 (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2004).
Two lesser classifications are that for the white jersey, which is like the yellow jersey, but only open for young riders (those who are less than 25 years old on January 1 of the year the Tour is ridden), and that for the red number, which goes to the most combative rider. Each day, a group of judges awards points to riders who made particularly attacking moves that day. The rider with most points in total gets a white-on-red (instead of a black-on-white) identification number. Since 2004 the number is not white-on-red anymore but white-on-blue.
Finally, there is a team classification. For this classification, the time of the first three riders from each team is added after each stage. The Tour currently has 21 teams of 9 riders each (when starting), each sponsored by one or more companies - although at some stages of its history, the teams have been divided instead by nationality. The team classification is not associated with a particular jersey design.
Historical jerseys
Historically, there was a red jersey for the standings in non-stage-finish sprints: points were awarded to the first three riders to pass two or three intermediate points during the stage. These sprints also scored points towards the green jersey and bonus seconds towards the overall classification, as well as cash prizes offered by the residents of the area where the sprint took place. The sprints remain, with all these additional effects, the most significant now being the points for the green jersey. The red jersey was abolished in approximately 1990.
There also used to be a combination jersey, scored on a points system based on standings for the yellow, green, red, and polka-dot jerseys. The jersey design was a patchwork, with areas resembling each individual jersey design. This was abolished in the same year as the red jersey.
Wearing jerseys
The rider leading a classification at the end of a stage is entitled to wear the corresponding jersey during the next stage. Jerseys are awarded in a ceremony immediately following the stage, actually before trailing riders have finished the stage.
Where a single rider leads in the competition for more than one jersey, they wear the most prestigious jersey to which they are entitled, and the second-placed rider in each of the other classifications becomes entitled to wear the corresponding jersey. For example, in the first week it is common for the overall classification (yellow jersey) and points (sprint) competition (green jersey) to be led by the same rider. In this case the leading rider will wear the yellow jersey and the rider placed second in the points competition will wear the green jersey.
A rider who leads a classification for a stage of the Tour gets three copies of the coloured jersey. The jersey bears their team logo, and the copy that they are awarded immediately after the stage end must have the logo attached in a matter of minutes, so this is done by a rapid process that can be done in the field but which yields an inferior jersey. Overnight, a high-quality jersey is printed to be worn the next day. They also get a high-quality jersey to keep as a souvenir: the ones that are worn get dirty and are sometimes damaged by the day's cycling.
Where a rider takes over the overall lead during a stage, by getting sufficiently far ahead of the yellow jersey wearer such that they would win the yellow jersey if the stage were to end immediately, they may be referred to as being "the yellow jersey on the road". No jerseys are exchanged due to this.
Usage outside the Tour
The Tour's jersey colours have been adopted by other cycling stage races, and have thus come to have meaning within cycling generally, rather than solely in the context of the Tour. For example, the Tour of Britain has yellow, green, and polka-dot jerseys with the same meaning as in the Tour de France. The Giro d'Italia notably differs in awarding the overall leader a pink jersey, having been sponsored by a magazine with pink pages.
Types of stage
Ordinary stage
In an ordinary stage, all riders start simultaneously and share the road. Riders are permitted to touch and to shelter behind each other. Riding in each others' slipstreams is crucial to race tactics: a lone rider has little chance of outracing a small group of riders who can take turns in the strenuous position at the front of the group. The majority of riders form a single large group, the "peloton", with attacking groups ahead of it and the occasional struggling rider dropping behind. In mountainous stages the peloton is likely to become fragmented, but in flat stages a split is rare.
Where a group of riders reach the finish line together, they do not race each other for a few seconds of improvement to their finishing time. There is a rule that if one rider finishes less than one second behind another then he is credited with the same finishing time as the first. This operates transitively, so when the peloton finishes together every rider in it gets the time of the rider at the front of the peloton, even though the peloton takes tens of seconds, and possibly even a couple of minutes, to cross the finish line. There are sprints at the finish line, but they are for the honour of the stage win and for points for the green jersey, not for time. After the first twenty finishers, when there are no more sprint points available, no one competes to cross the line earlier. This avoids what would otherwise be hideously dangerous mass sprints.
There is also a rule that if a rider crashes within the last kilometre of the stage, which is indicated by a red triangular pennant raised above the road, then they are credited with the finishing time of the group that they were with when they crashed, if that is better than the time in which they actually finish. This avoids sprinters being penalised for accidents that don't accurately reflect their performance on the stage as a whole. A crashed sprinter won't win the sprint, but avoids being penalised in the overall classification.
Individual time trial
In an individual time trial each rider rides individually. Riders start at intervals of two minutes, in reverse order of their standing in the general classification. The highest-placed riders, starting last, start at intervals of three minutes.
Because the time trial is a test of individual skill, riders are not supposed to interact during the stage. If a rider catches up with one in front, which does happen despite the staggered starts, they are forbidden to ride as a group. They must avoid each other's slipstreams.
There are about four individual time trials during the Tour. There is a short time trial of up to 15 km, called the prologue, before the first stage, which determines who will wear the yellow jersey for the first stage and serves to avoid all the riders being bunched together in the overall classification. (For the first week, most riders will be recording the same stage times, due to the bunch rule discussed above.) There is another flat time trial, a mountain time trial, and a final flat time trial just before the race ends.
Traditionally the final time trial has been the penultimate stage, and effectively determines the winner before the final ordinary stage which is not ridden competitively. Recently the race organisers have experimented with making the final stage into Paris a time trial. The first occasion on which this was done, in 1989, yielded the closest ever finish in Tour history, when Greg LeMond beat Laurent Fignon by eight seconds overall. Fignon wore the yellow jersey for the final stage, with a narrow lead of 50 s, and was beaten by LeMond's superior time trial performance.
Team time trial
Once per Tour there is a team time trial. This resembles an individual time trial, but with entire teams competing together. The team rides as a group, rotating their riding order, but must not interact with another team. Each member of the team is credited with the time of the fifth team member to cross the finish line; this is the middle member of a nine-person team. However, if a rider is dropped from the team's main group, finishing separately in sixth position or later, then they get the worse time that they actually recorded. Thus, if the team leader (who has a chance to win overall) punctures or crashes, the team must trade off their team performance in the time trial against the time their leader can get.
Famous stages
The final stage now always finishes at the Champs-Elysées, which, being cobbled, is an unpleasant surface to cycle on. This stage is not usually competitive, the leader having a sufficiently large margin to be unchallengable. There have been exceptions, however. In 1987, with Stephen Roche leading Pedro Delgado by only 40 s after the final time trial, Delgado broke away from the peloton on the Champs-Elysées, threatening to snatch victory at the last minute. (In fact he was caught, he and Roche both finished in the peloton, and Roche thereby won the Tour.)
In recent years, with closer finishes, the Tour organisers have experimented with holding the final time trial as the final, rather than as the penultimate, stage. Most famously, the final stage of the 1989 Tour saw Greg LeMond overtake Laurent Fignon's overall lead by just 8 seconds, the closest winning margin in the Tour's history. It is likely that this arrangement will be repeated in future.
The particularly tough climb of Alpe d'Huez is a favourite, providing a stage finish in most Tours. In 2004, in another experiment, the mountain time trial ended at Alpe d'Huez. This seems less likely to be repeated, following complaints from the riders.
To host a stage start or finish brings prestige, and a lot of business, to a town. Whereas formerly each stage would start at the preceding stage's finish line, making a continuous course for the race, nowadays each stage starts some distance from the previous day's finish, to allow more towns to share in the glory. Sometimes the Tour will jump very long distances between stages, requiring a rest day to allow riders to be transported.
The prologue and first stage of the Tour are particularly prestigious to host. Usually one town will host the prologue (which is too short to go between towns) and also the start of stage 1. The Tour alternates between starting inside and outside France; frequently the first couple of stages are in a neighbouring country.
List of overall winners
Records
Lance Armstrong (United States) holds the record as the only rider to have won the Tour six times (consecutively 1999-2004). Four other riders have managed to win the Tour five times:
- Jacques Anquetil (France) in 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1964;
- Eddy Merckx (Belgium) in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1974;
- Bernard Hinault (France) in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985;
- Miguel Induráin (Spain) in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995 (the first to do so in five consecutive years).
In terms of nationality, riders from France have won most Tours (36), followed by Belgium (18), Italy and the United States (9 each), Spain (8), Luxembourg (4), Switzerland and the Netherlands (2 each) and Ireland, Denmark and Germany (1 each).
Doping scandals
Early tour riders have been said to have consumed alcohol and used ether among other substances as a means of dulling the agonizing pain of competing in endurance cycling. As time went by, riders began using substances as a means of increasing performance rather than dulling the senses, and organizing bodies such as the Tour and the UCI, as well as government bodies enacted policies to combat this practice. The Tour has been marred by various major doping scandals:
On July 13, 1967, British cyclist Tom Simpson died climbing Mont Ventoux following excessive usage of amphetamines.
On July 8, 1998, a major scandal erupted when French Customs arrested Willy Woet, the health assistant of the Festina cycling team, whose lead competitor was Richard Virenque, for the possession of illegal quantities of prescription drugs and narcotics, including erythropoietin (EPO), growth hormones, testosterone and amphetamines. He later revealed many common practices of the cycling world in his book, Massacre à la Chaîne. Richard Virenque denied doping himself and said that if he had been doped, it was not willfully, a stance which led him to be ridiculed. On July 23, 1998, French police forces acting on search warrants found significant quantities of doping products in the hotel and cars of the TVM team. In 2000, Richard Virenque and the management of the Festina team were tried. During the trial, he confessed to doping himself. While Virenque was not sentenced (but had penalties imposed on him by sports authority), the management of Festina, the aides, and some pharmacists were found guilty and handed down fines and suspended jail sentences.