Where's Lance? - Page 3 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

07-05-2004, 05:02 PM

"Badger_South" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

> The announcers were just talking about Lance hanging in like
> 8th place to stay out of trouble and stuff, and I don't see him in
> any of the stages, except for the 2nd place in the Prologue. Yet
> they're talking about this as a winning strategy.

> How can he do this.

> Do you have to win a certain number of stages, or do you just
> hang back and then get a time lead in the mountains or something?

The overall winner is the rider with the least agregate time at the end of
the three weeks of racing, less any time bonuses picked up along the way
(for example, for winning stages or intermediate sprints).

The overwhelming aerodynamic advantage of the peloton on flat stages means
that breakaways rarely succeed, and most of the riders (because they arrive
in a pack) receive the same time.

Mass finishes are contested by sprint specialists (like Robbie McEwen and
Mario Cipolini) who try to win glory for themselves and their sponsors and
cash for their teams by snatching stage wins. Those who expect to make it
across the Alps and Pyrenees also have an eye on the green jersey, awarded
to the rider who collects the most points from stage wins and intermediate
sprints. Sprints can be dangerous, and the risk of a crash means that no
overall contender will risk taking part. The ideal position is near the
front of the peloton (to reduce the risk of being trapped behind a major
crash) but not too near.

A few flat stages are won by lucky breakaway riders who time their escapes
well, or whose chance of an overall victory is deemed so slim that the
peloton doesn't deign to expend the energy required to chase them down. Any
attempt at a break by a major player would prompt an immediate response
from his rivals and their team mates, so again, the big names sit tight in
the peloton while the small fry are allowed a little glory.

The mountain stages and time trials are where big gains can be made. The
aerodynamic advantage of the peloton disappears, and large amounts of time
can be gained and lost. The climbing specialists and overall contenders
fight it out in the Alps and Pyrenees, while the sprinters either pack
their bags and head for the beach, or straggle home inside the daily time
limit to remain in contention for the green jersey in Paris. The
domestiques do everything they can to provide support for their team
leaders, while conserving as much energy as possible to allow them to do
the same day after day.

This year's first hilly stage is stage 10 in the Massif Central from
Limoges to St-Flour, with the first real mountain stage two days later.
With the new rules for losses in the team time trial, I wouldn't expect to
see any major gaps opening up before then.

> Uh, I'm pretty clueless about how they score and get "points"
> and stuff, so if there's a FAQ for TdF dummies, a pointer perhaps?

There's a FAQ from 1999 on the TdF site that should answer some of your
questions:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

and the BBC website is a pretty good introduction:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

or

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

HTH

James Thomson

07-05-2004, 05:48 PM