The tour of France cycling race starts tomorrow in Monaco and I thought I would try and give anyone who would like to know something about it whilst it is on - a sort of explanation as to what is happening.
First of all let me try and set the scene for you.
Surprising as it may seem the race is about teams and not individuals - and is as much about tactics and strategy, as it is about strength and endurance.
Ok, the bad stuff first - cycling as been riddled with drugs - and for all I know it probably still is - but don't let that put you off the tour. The enjoyment for me is in watching all the mind games that go on between teams and individuals. I'm not into drugs - I'm certainly not trying to make any excuse for them.
Well lets begin then.
There are 21 teams of 9 cyclists - 189 riders in all.
The race will be held over 22 consecutive days (although there will be no racing on two days - known as rest days).
The Tours route changes from year to year and actually travels through various countries - this years race includes Spain and Andora - as well as France.
Although the main aim of the tour is for someone to actually win it - there are actually a whole load of other aims that people try for. For instance there are two other important races within the main race itself - if you think that the winner of the tour is in someway similar to the winner of a marathon, well there is also as part of the tour - a competition to find the fastest (sprinter) person in the race and another to find the strongest (climber) person.
The tour is basically split in to a number of individual races each and every day - with the aggregate times used to decide the overall winner.
The tour starts with basically a small time trial - this is what will be happening tomorrow in London. Each rider races individually against the clock - a bit like how the Formula 1 drivers try to set the fastest lap - so they can decide who starts in pole position.
It is quite common for the race leader of the tour to change several times over the 3 week race - and so the yellow jersey will 'change hands' so to speak several times - before the end of the race in Paris on the 26th July.
OK, if you are still with me the next thing you need to know is that the tour as four elements to it.
The first element is the 'sprint' finish - these stages (a stage is just another word for the 'day' - so stage 4 simply means day 4 of the race) usually means that nearly all the riders finish at the same time - however someone as to win the stage - so that is when the fast boys in the race - the sprinters, try to blow each other away!
As always tactics come into play and basically what happens is for the various teams to try to jostle for the best position near the end of the race - so that their man can sprint to the line first and win.
Cycling is a lot to do with 'slip streaming' - that is riding in the 'gap' that is created by the person in front of you. It may not seem much but it takes a lot more effort to 'lead' than it does to 'follow'. So a bit like when you see wild geese flying in a V formation - you will often see the cyclist in the tour take a similar formation too.
Anyway each 'team' in the tour will on these stages try to 'lead' their sprinter up to the winning line and then with just a few meters to go watch them jump to the front and battle it out with other teams sprinters!
The best sprinter - similarly to the 'yellow' jersey - will wear the green jersey. Similarly this will normally change hands too throughout the tour.
The second sort of element of the race is the 'Time Trial' - just like the prologue I have described above - this is a race against the clock for each individual rider.
The time trial is the only time when the riders do not start altogether at the same time. They set out one by one - with the leader of the race (yellow jersey) going last - the second in the race going next to last and so on - with the last rider in the race - being the first to go in the time trial.
The third element of the race is the 'breakaways'. - that is that an individual or a small group of riders will pedal away from the main group and try to get so far in front that the 'pack' does not ever catch them up again.
The fourth element of the race is cycling up mountains - and is known as the king of the hills - the leader in the King of the Hills wears a polka dot jersey (red dots on a white jersey).
OK now you have all the bits of the race - you now need to know about some basic tactics.
Firstly it is usual for any one rider to be great in all the four elements - so a great sprinter will win a bit of time on the sprints - but lose loads of time on the hills. Great climbers often cannot keep a sustained pace over a long period of time like time trialist can do so what they win on the hills they lose on the TT's.
So how do you actually win the race?
Well basically you need the help of your team. Various teams have various objectives. Rubbish teams who have no chance of one of them winning the actual tour will try to win an individual stage - this gets their picture in the paper the next day - or rather more importantly gets the name of the sponsors in the picture in the papers!!!
And really that is what it is about for many.
Teams with contenders however will race to help their team leader to win - not themselves. They will sacrifice themselves - maybe burn themselves out leading their leader up a hill - so that he can win (or as often so that he does not lose too much time on one of his rivals who may be in front of him).
Often leaders will get the team to push the pace if they see one of the rivals having a bad day - or alternatively send one of the team on a break away - forcing rival teams to spend valuable energy trying to reel him in again.
Well for now that should give you enough to have a basic understanding of what will be happening over the first week or so of the race. Traditionally the tour does not start getting interesting until it reaches the mountains - which is stage 7 this year. Up to then you will normally see the fast boys trying to out sprint each other to win the opening stages.
There are a few Brits in the race this year - with a chance that one of them - particularly Mark Cavendish, grabbing an early win.
I hope my little explanation may have been of some interest to you - and if you have any questions I will try my best to try and answer them throughout the next 3 weeks.
Aurovior mon amies
Le Sluffy de Slough
