For the Tour de France newcomer, there are probably a ton of questions relating to the event ranging from how do you win, to what do the different colour jerseys signify.
I’d like to provide a series of brief, easy to read tutorials for the interested reader to transform into a longtime fan. The first lesson is pretty basic.
The tour is a bicycle race held primarily in France starting the first weekend of July, and running for 21 days. There are other races, but the Tour de France is the grand daddy of them all. Here are some facts about the tour to help understand what you are watching on the TV.
1. The winner is the finisher with the best overall time at the end of the event.
2. The race route changes every year, but always finishes in Paris along the Champs Elysees.
3. The race is broken into stages which mostly travel from point to point, although some stages, usually time trials, start and finish at the same location.
4. There is 1 stage per day, for the entire 21, with the exception of two rest days, usually scheduled after the second and third weekends.
5. Besides the overall winner, there are other prestigious competitions within the race including the sprinters challenge, and the King of the Mountains.
6. Although the race takes place primarily in France, it does cross over borders into other countries in some of the stages. This years race ends stage 17, and begins stage 18 in the Italian town of Pinerolo
That’s some of the basics, but stay tuned, there is still a lot more to come.
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