My brother Sean asked me about the several jerseys of The Tour de France. It got me thinking how confusing it is for the layman. I'm not an expert, but I thought I'd give it a go and explain a few points of this otherwise complicated sport. Admittedly I'm using Wikipedia and other sites as references.
OVERALL:
The race takes place primarily in France, but touches on neighboring countries and is famous for the climbs in the Alps and Pyrenees. The race is never the same and sometimes it will take decades to revisit a small town. One consistency is the finish on the Champs Elysee in Paris, that's coming up this Sunday. However, it's rare that the race is won on the last day.
The race is a grueling 21 stages in 23 days. Monday's are rest days. It is usually about 2200 miles in total. It's like running a marathon repeatedly for 3 weeks straight. These are clearly some of the best athletes in the world; doping aside.
JERSEYS:
The overall leader in time is awarded the Yellow jersey (maillot jaune) every day. This is the general classification, or G.C., as you may hear it on the air. The maillot jaune is both an honor and a target. Right now it is held by Frenchmen Thomas Voeckler, of team Eurocar, and he has a lead of 1:49 after stage 14. He may win it all if he can hold off the big guns like Luxumburg's Frank Schleck or his brother Andy. Italy's Ivan Basso or the Aussie Cadel Evans, who has finished 2nd twice behind the now retired Lance Armstrong, 7 time champion.
There are 3 other races within the race:
1) The POINTS CLASSIFICATION (green jersey), you get points at the finish of each stage and at an intermediate sprint. This is known as the sprinters jersey, and is not sought after by the G.C. contenders. Think Mark Cavendish from the Isle of Man, who has 19 tour stage wins and 4 this year. The "Manx Missile" is amazing but is generally known for his confidence some may view as arrogance. He may likely end up with the most stage wins ever as he's only 26 years old. Tyler Farrar is America's best hope of the sprinters.
2) The KING OF THE MOUNTAINS (white with red polk a dots) goes to the best climber. The competition gives points to the first to top designated hills and mountains. Think small skinny guys who are not necessarily in the hunt for the G.C. and rarely are they sprinters.
3) The BEST YOUNG RIDER (UNDER 26) in the general classification wears the WHITE jersey.
TEAM SPORT:
However, this is a team sport. 9 team members are riding for the sake of their rider with the best chance at G.C. Sometimes they switch who that rider is during the race, or they have a few with a chance like Radio Shack. The Shack is currently down to 6 riders and Levi Leipheimmer, of Santa Rosa, CA, is their sometime leader. But his chances are slim and none right now. Although he's still my favorite rider. Also consider Mark Renshaw, who is Cavendish's lead out man for the sprints. His whole purpose in life is to ride for the sake of his fast as lighting HTC-Highroad teammate. The other classic "teammate" story is Big George Hincapie who supported Lance for much of his career and is still riding strong on team BMC.
TELE:
TV coverage is superb on Versus in the U.S. and more than aptly commentated on by Phil Leggett and Paul Sherwen. Phil's been commentating on bicycling for decades and Paul is a former racer himself. FYI...I usually record the long version early in the morning and then fast forward through, cutting it down to about 2 hours before I get going for the day, trying my best not to fall behind.
Find out more on Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_de_France
Or make it official: http://www.letour.fr/us/homepage_courseTDF.html
