Tour de France 101

tour de france 2017Tour de France 101

By Katie Haskins

July is upon us. That means the Tour de France is back. So, before the most famous cycling race begins, I thought I’d give you some Tour de France 101.

21 days of racing. The Tour de France (TDF from now on) is raced over 21 days with 2 rest days.

There are teams. Yes, only one person actually wins the race, but he doesn’t do it alone. Each team consists of eight riders to help him to the finish line.

Mountains. Every TDF goes through the Pyrenees (border with Spain) and the Alps (border with Switzerland). Each climb is given a classification of Category 4 (the easiest), to Category 1, or H.C. which means beyond classification.

Stages. Each day is called a stage and it’s format can vary. The majority are ‘road stages’ which consist of the riders going through the lovely countryside for over 100 miles. The ‘individual time trial’ is typically shorter, and are rode one at a time in a race against the clock. There can also be a ‘team time trial’ which sends each team out in formation to try and get the fastest time on the stage.

Paris. While each TDF starts somewhere different, since 1975 it has ended on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

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