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| Gotta pay your dues before rollin' with the big dogs |
Many people don't realize that cycling is a team sport. The team is a function of its specialized components: the climbers, the sprinters, the domestiques, and the contenders. The contenders have all the tools to take home the "maillot jaune" (the yellow jersey), given to the rider with the lowest overall time at the conclusion of the Tour. The sprinters compete for the green jersey, which is given to the rider with the most accumulated sprinting points, earned by crossing 'checkpoints' along the race route, and of course, at the finish line. The climbers compete for the polka-dot jersey, which, in similar fashion to the green jersey, is given to the points leader of mountain climbs. The domestiques dedicate their efforts to giving the contender (and the sprinters) the best shot at overall victory. They are pace setters, teammates, and the support network.
The early stages of the Tour are mostly "flat" stages. The riders begin the race in a large group called the peloton. The main principle of the peloton is "drafting," or riding behind the wheel of the cyclist in front of you. It reduces drag, and therefore exertion. In a massive group like the peloton, riders can preserve up to 40% of their energy.
Towards the beginning of a race, a rider will sprint off the front of the peloton, followed by several other riders. This is called a breakaway, and the benefit of riding in a small group is flexibility, as the riders can set a pace much faster than the less organized peloton. Frequently, the peloton eventually catches up to and overtakes the breakaway, which leads to a sprint finish. With less than a kilometer to go, the domestiques line up in front of their sprinter, setting him up for the stage win. See! Strategy. If the domestiques set up too early, tire out too early, and fall behind, their sprinter will be exposed to a much longer sprint. If domestiques set up too late, a rival sprinter will have jumped out to an unassailable lead.
In my humble opinion, the flat stages only get interesting during the last 10 miles, when the peloton has the opportunity to catch the breakaway, when the breakaway is successful and one of riders 'wills' himself to a stage victory, or the peloton overtakes (or has already overtaken) the breakaway and a sprint finish ensues.
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| Lance vs. some jabroni named Jan...guess who wins? |
The Tour is one of the most difficult challenges in modern sport. Over a three week period, riders compete in 20 stages and a prologue; along the way, they cover, on average, 2,000 mi, and climb the vertical distance of Mount Everest, thrice. Take a look at the average cyclist: tiny frame, pistons for legs, and an abnormally strong heart.
These physical freaks of nature use the mountain stages as their playground. This is my favorite part of the tour, watching the contenders in all their glory.
When the peloton ascends a major climb, it splinters into several smaller groups. Contenders begin making their moves, paced by their domestiques. Eventually, as the domestiques completely exert themselves, they fall off the group. Eventually, the leading pack is composed of the contenders. This is one of the most exciting occurrances in sports. Beautiful things happen on the way to the summit. The riders are stripped clean of their support networks and are exposed to the elements. They slug their way up the side of a mountain, trying to break away from the group and, equally so, blocking the breakaway attempts of other riders. Mono y mono. You need visual evidence? Case in point: Lance Armstrong giving rival Jan Ullrich "the look" in the 2003 Tour.
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| Not the best place to take a nosedive... |
OK, so you still haven't been roped in by any of my arguments thus far. Let's have a look at crashes, an inevitable feature of cycling. Crashes can occur at any time, without warning, damaging a rider's hope for a stage win or ending a rider's tour. Cyclists can reach up to 60 mph on mountain descents, weaving through hairpin turns and sheer cliffs, and up to 40 mph during sprints on flat ground. Crashing at those speeds on asphalt, concrete, cobblestone, rock and grass, and interfering fans can be harmful, even fatal. Three riders have died during the Tour, the most recent of which came in 1995, when Fabio Casartelli crashed on the descent of the Col de Portet d'Aspet at a speed of 55 mph (in 2010, a rider in the Giro d'Italia was killed in a crash on May 9).
Crashes can be gruesome, therefore worthy of repeated views. Check out the Tour's top ten crashes.
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| Get some Axe, Floyd Landis, you reek of desperation |
So you, among others, have read that cycling is a tainted sport, riddled with dopers. Hopefully, this reputation will eventually come to fade away, but cycling is acutely aware of the grim reality. Fortunately, cycling has a very strict anti-doping policy (first offense: two year ban, second offense: lifetime ban).
In baseball, future Hall of Famers can confess that they took steroids years ago, and in the same breath, convince you that they're completely clean now. In cycling, if you forget to do your chores, you will be reamed out and grounded. In 2007, on the heels of a stage win that virtually locked up the maillot jaune, Rabobank's Michael Rasmussen was booted from his team for missing drug tests and lying about his whereabouts a month earlier. The Tour director was equally severe in his assessment. If he had heard about the missed tests, he would've kicked out Rasmussen personally.
Can you imagine if Dirk Nowitzki was booted before Game 4 of the NBA finals because his team ratted him out as a doper? What if a teammate had found pills in Tim Thomas' locker and had him removed from the squad before the Stanley Cup? It wouldn't happen.
The Tour director is aware of what doping does to the sport, and he will not rest until cheaters are far, far away from the competition. He's keeping an eye on you and your tainted meat, Alberto Contador.
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| No, you're not hallucinating...that's just El Diablo |
If not for any of the above reasons, watch the Tour de France for the novelty of it! Imagine following the progress of hundreds of riders over the course of three weeks and actually enjoying the process!
I'll admit, I, like many other Americans, was brought into cycling by a certain seven-time Tour winner. And yes, I don't watch any other cycling events throughout the year. But I know entertainment when I see it, and I see it often in the Tour. There's plenty to look forward to as the 2011 Tour de France hits its stride: the Contador-Schleck rivalry for one, crazed fans (see above), and Phil Liggett's masterful commentating.
Hate the column? Love the column? Send us an email at jabronifreesports@gmail.com.
Dean Karoliszyn is the Coeditor-in-Chief and cofounder of Jabroni Free Sports.
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