The Tour de France for the Rest of Us

Smitten by the Tour de France? This site is for those of us who stand on the outside looking in. It gets past the techno-babble and opens up the heart of this great cycling event--or is that "metaphor for life?"--to the rest of us. Enjoy the ride!

Sunday, July 24, 2005

Ride Home: a Poem

FROM BEGINNING TO END. As the 2004 Tour de France wound through its final stages, I penned the following poem in reflection of the three-week event. I updated it to reflect this year's stage dynamics. Again this year the epic captured and held my imagination from beginning to end. There were more stories to tell than came through the popular media--and more than I could share in “My Annual Amateurish Tour de France Updates” e-journal or at "The TdF for the Rest of Us" blog. I’m a little sad that it’s all ending again; even with the exultant outcome, but not sure my anticipation could be strung out much beyond this. Hope you enjoyed the Tour. Write if you want to talk about it.

Tour de France
rolls toward Paris
battle scarred
road warriors glide
home

Thru cold rain
slipping, sliding
the best fall
some wounded go
home

Sprinters fly
thru flat stages
glory shines
on but one back
home

Heights emerge
and climbers surge
digging deep
up the steeps toward
home

Escapees
blindly tempt fate
breakaways
get caught before
home

Discos pace
the peloton
few keep up
and Lance leads them
home

Trial time
Saint-Etienne
crowds loom large
to see Lance charge
home

Seven wins
unrivaled feat
draws closer
as Armstrong rides
home

Champion
maillot jaune
legend lives
now Lance can come
home

# posted by Indybikehiker@gmail.com @ 5:26 PM

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• What's Ahead in Week 3

Earlier TdF Postings

• June 2005
• July 2005
• August 2005
• June 2006
• July 2006
• August 2006
• June 2007

TdF Lingo

• Tour de France - a/k/a "Grand Tour," "Grand Boucle"

• Yellow Jersey - jersey worn by the overall race leader, the rider with the lowest time; in French - "maillot jaune"; a/k/a "golden fleece," "Mellow Johnny"

• Green Jersey - jersey worn by the top sprinter or points leader; in French - "maillot vert"; points awarded for designated sprints during each stage and at the finish line

• Polka-dot Jersey - white with red polka-dots jersey worn by the top mountain climber; in Frenh - "maillot pois"; a/k/a "King of the Mountains"; points awarded for the first riders at the crest of any categorized peak

• White Jersey - jersey worn by the best-placed rider no more than 25 years old

• Stage - a single-day course; there are 21 stages (racing days) in the Tdf

• Peloton - the main group of cyclists riding together

• Attack the peloton - one or more cyclists launching an effort to move ahead of the peloton and try win the stage on a solo or small group effort

• Escapees - the riders who succeed in their attack on the peloton, riding ahead in a breakaway effort to win the stage apart from the peloton

• Breakaway - another way to describe a successful "attack" by "escapees"

• Staying clear - describes "escapees" on a "breakaway" who continue to maintain a lead over the peloton; they "stay clear" of the group

• Reel in / chase down - the peloton picks up speed and begins to gradually close the time gap between "escapees" and the peloton

• On the point - the leading rider of the peloton or a small group of riders; the cyclist on the point is doing hard work, taking the wind, setting the pace, while he creates a slipstream or draft for his teammates or other riders to follow in with relative ease

• Drafting - multiple cyclists riding in a line, so as to have the benefit of the wind break and pacing created by the leading rider in the group

• Wheel sucker - a rider who takes advantage of your draft but does not take a turn in front of you on a breakaway or draft line

• Bonking - running out of energy amid a critical part of a stage; a/k/a "hit the wall"

• Suffering - suffering

• Domestique - team riders who work for the advantage of the designated team leader, sacrificing their own chances to win the race or a stage

• Mule - a rider designated to fetch food, water and supplies for the other members of the team while riding

• Categorized climbs - mountain climbs are categorized (abbreviated "Cat") for degree of difficulty. Categories are determined by length of the climb, height to be climbed, and degree of gradient. In lay terms, a Cat 4 is hard; Cat 3 is harder; Cat 2 is more difficult; Cat 1 is most difficult; HC is means, literally, "beyond categorization," or incredibly difficult, usually a mountain at or over 5,000 feet above sea level

• Feed zone - a designated part of the course in which riders may eat, usually at least 50 km after the start but not less than 20 km from the end of the stage; race etiquette provides that no rider may attack or gain advantage over the peloton during a designated feed zone.

• More to come

'06 TdF Facts

• 21 teams

• 9 riders per team

• 189 riders at the start

• A Prologue + 20 day-long stages

• Distance: 3,600 km (2240 mi)

• Avg speed: 40+ km (25+ mph)

• 9 flat stages

• 4 medium mountain stages

• 5 mountain stages

• 3 mountain-top finishes

• 22 Category 1, 2, and HC (highest category) mountains

• 2 individual time trials (116 km total, including Prologue)

• No team trial this year

• 2 rest days

• Longest stage: 239.5 km (Stage 17, July 20)

• 1st year: 1903

• Years raced: 93

• Most wins by a rider: 7 (Lance Armstrong)

• 15 million roadside spectators this year

• Calorie input/output per stage: 9,000

'05 TdF Quotes

• David Zabriskie after winning Stage 1: "It's amazing, unbelievable...I have no idea how long I can keep (the maillot jaune). I didn't think I could win but it feels great...it's an amazing accomplishment for me; I never, ever expected this to happen. It's turning out well for me."

• Jan Ullrich on being passed by Lance Armstrong during the Stage 1 individual time trial: "I rode flat out; I gave all I had... I would have liked to have ridden better, and gave it all - it wasn't a nice feeling when he passed me. I'm down over it at the moment, but the Tour lasts three weeks. We'll see what's in it in time."

• Lance Armstrong on being required to pull on the Yellow Jersey at the official start line of Stage 5 after he attempted to NOT wear it in respect for David Zabriskie, who lost the maillot jaune due to a freak crash in Stage 4: "It was very simple, really. (Tour de France Race director) Jean Marie LeBlanc said 'if you don't wear the maillot jaune today, you won't start tomorrow. What are you going to do...I wanted to try and do the right thing, but I understand that (the Tour) has an obligation to sponsors. People might drive for hours to wait by the side of the road to see the maillot jaune."

• Robbie McEwen on his chances of winning the Green Jersey competition after being penalized for apparent head-butting in Stage 3 but bouncing back to win Stages 5 & 7: “I very much doubt that I can still win [the green jersey]. I don’t need the green jersey to know that I’m the best sprinter. I’m not going to concentrate on it anymore; I’m just going to go for stage wins.”

  TdF "Guts" Awards candidates

  • As the TdF progresses, I will nominate riders who demonstrate "guts" even though "glory" may evade them. The top ten will be recognized in my 2nd Annual TdF "Guts" Awards' (no money at stake...what is mere money compared to being recognized for having "guts?"

  • 2005 TdF "Guts" Award winner: Alexandre Vinokourov - The Khazak attacked relentlessly throughout the mountain stages, challenging the top contenders time after time. Vino defines aggressiveness in professional cycling today

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