tour de france questions for dummies - actually myself

beedge

I'm getting more and more into my cycling and of course am naturally interested in the tour de france, but there's a few things i just don't get.

So, i'd be grateful for all the knowledgable types out there to answer some of these simple points.

1) What's the point in forming a brakeaway group on a flat stage, if inevitably you chased down with a few km's to go?

2) Why does the peleton let the brakeaway groups get so far away in the first place, if they're going to chase them down anway. Why let a 10 minute lead build up? Wouldn't it be easier to up the anti earlier to stop the lead building, rather than having to put in a lot of effort to catch them with half an hour to go?

3) These flat stages with sprint finishes - why do they need to be so long? If who wins is ultimately decided at the latter stages of the race by the leadout riders, and the quality and opportunism of the sprinters, why not make it 50 miles instead of 150? It seems a bit pointless to have a procession for 5 hours before anyone starts to race seriuosly.

3) Why does the yellow jersery holder's team worry about protecting his lead? I don't get the "prestige" thing. Cancellara for example, will not win the overall tour de france, but his team, at least in the first 5 days were keen that no one else got too far ahead.

If he's not going to win the overall thing, why bother? There's no prestige for leading the london marathon for 25 miles or leading the british grand prix for 59 laps, unless you go on to win. So what's different about cycling?

4) Why has it been so long since we had a brit being competitive in the GC? This may sound silly, but is the fact that we're not a country rich in roads with 2000m ascents quite a serious factor?

That's it. Thanks in advance

Chris James

I am hardly an expert but here goes:

So, i'd be grateful for all the knowledgable types out there to answer some of these simple points.

1) What's the point in forming a brakeaway group on a flat stage, if inevitably you chased down with a few km's to go?

Because it is the only chance that you might have of winning a stage if you are neither a sprinter or climber. Plus there are cash prizes at sprints and you get the sponsors name in fron to fhte cameras for a while. Also, it is not 'inevitable' that they get caught.

2) Why does the peleton let the brakeaway groups get so far away in the first place, if they're going to chase them down anway. Why let a 10 minute lead build up? Wouldn't it be easier to up the anti earlier to stop the lead building, rather than having to put in a lot of effort to catch them with half an hour to go?

Because onece they have caught the break away then it encourages others to try their luck too so the peleton spend all day reacting to attacks. Better to keep one group in their sights and reel them in at the end.

3) Why does the yellow jersery holder's team worry about protecting his lead?

Getting the sponsors name in the press and TV.

4) Why has it been so long since we had a brit being competitive in the GC? This may sound silly, but is the fact that we're not a country rich in roads with 2000m ascents quite a serious factor?

Possibly, because also because fewer people race bikes in the UK than other countries. Those who do concentrate on time trials and the track, and the weather is worse making winter training a bit hard work?

AndyGates

1) What's the point in forming a brakeaway group on a flat stage, if inevitably you chased down with a few km's to go?

It's not inevitable and if you get it right, you can score big - a stage win (usually for local crowds) or a nice bump up in the GC. It's also a good way for lower-ranking riders to bump up their profile.

2) Why does the peleton let the brakeaway groups get so far away in the first place

If they reel in one, another will go. Everyone will be knackered by the end, and a final break might really get all the way away. By letting one break stay away, the other wannabes will stay in the pack where the other teams can keep an eye on them.

3) These flat stages with sprint finishes - why do they need to be so long?

You can't tour France without going over the flat bits! Gotta cover the ground somehow.

3) Why does the yellow jersery holder's team worry about protecting his lead? I don't get the "prestige" thing.

Every photo of your man in yellow is worth sponsorship bucks - prestige isn't just about ego, it's also about fat pots of cash.

4) Why has it been so long since we had a brit being competitive in the GC? This may sound silly, but is the fact that we're not a country rich in roads with 2000m ascents quite a serious factor?

Yup. Brits crumble on the mountains. Doesn't matter how good you are on the flat if you're at the back of the pack coughing blood in the Alps! (Just watch little Robbie McEwan in a week or so )

mossycp

Well. I'm not the font of all knowledge when it comes to stage racing but I'll have a stab.

1) The prestige and TV coverage that you get when leading a stage. Your sponsors get a lot of coverage when you are off the front and as a rider so do you. You get your name noticed amongst the public and the other teams ready for your next contract. Most riders don't stand a chance of winning a stage against the sprinters so a long breakaway is their only chance and it's worth a shot if a fairly remote one. There are times when the break works and if the peleton has a problem then it's more likely.

2) To save energy. There's only so much chasing the riders can do. If you keep chasing down breaks all the time the domestiques will get too tired so the final breakaway will eventually survive thus not giving the sprinters chance to win. If you only chase the break once or twice then the domestiques don't get tired until the end of the stage thus delivering their sprinters to the finish with fresh(ish) legs.

3) To tire everyone out and give a chance for the breakaways. The good sprinters are the ones who can save more energy than the rest and deliver a final burst of power. The shorter the stage the more sprinters you will get surviving so the finish will be faster and more dangerous. 50 miles just isn't enough of a challenge for the best riders, heck even I can ride 50 miles fairly quickly and turn in a bit of a sprint at the end!

4) There is huge prestige in holding the yellow jersey and if you ain't one of the GC contenders then the longer you can hold it the more TV coverage you get, the more coverage your sponsor gets etc etc...

5) Cycling is a minority sport in this country so you have less riders coming through the system. Having said that we have a hugely successful track programme in this country which is leading to some good road riders. I don't think it's the terrain in the UK that makes any difference, it's mainly money I would say. To be successful you need quality races which you don't get in the UK so you have to go abroad, therefore you need money and contacts to get in the right teams etc... etc... There just isn't the infrastructure in this country for road racing like there is in France, Belgium etc... Only a very few riders will get the chance or have the motivation to try and race abroad for very little money.

I hope that's gone some way to answering the questions but as I say, I'm no expert.

squired

Regarding your 4th question I think it is partly due to the terrain we have in the UK. Imagine that I am a 20 year old with amazing climbing abilities. How am I going to ever show those abilities racing in the UK, or work to improve them? In other words, I might perform ok in races, but never get any big results (as the bigger power guys and sprinters will beat me), and thus never get noticed. On the other hand, I could be living in a country like Italy, taking part in races that include climbs. All of a sudden I get good results and am noticed.

knedlicky

squired wrote:

Regarding your 4th question I think it is partly due to the terrain we have in the UK. Imagine that I am a 20 year old with amazing climbing abilities.

I don't think the terrain where you start out is that important. The Dutch have had several famous climbers, victors at Alpe d'Huez stages once seemed to be always Dutch. And the supposed best-climber ever, Van Impe, comes from Begium. Many foreign top cyclists come from areas less hillier than Shropshire or Derbyshire.

Chris James wrote:

... and the weather is worse making winter training a bit hard work?

This really isn't a valid argument either, UK winter weather isn't worse. Compared to many areas (higher land in France and Italy, all Scandinavia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and places further East), the UK winter is mild.

I'd say a lot of the reason that cycling doesn't develop in the UK like it does abroad is because of how society in general and the media regard cycling, whether done for daily use, as recreation, or in sport.

floatman

on your question about protecting the yellow jersey - no other sporting event lasts as long as one of the grand tours - so unlike the marathon or grand prix - whoever is leading at the end of the day is going to have their picture in the papers and on the telly the next day - the tour has 23 newscycles the marathon and grand prix only one...

aarw

regarding Q4, keep an eye out for Daniel Martin. He was a registered brit but we've now claimed him!

He doesn't seem to mind it too much when the roads go up, he signed with SlipStream for next year, think he makes his debut for the team in this years Tour of Ireland.