17 days to go
There's a good photo here from today's stage 5. At 196.5km today's route from Troyes - Nevers is one of the longest stages in the race. And judging from the photograph it must have been a nightmare if you were trying to get to work in Nevers today.
It's clear from the various race reports that the Italian Alessandro Petacchi won today's stage but there seems to be a lot more to this cycling lark than I had imagined from my jaunts along Berkshire's less than extensive cycle tracks.
Many reports, like this one, include a profile of the altitude and gradient of the route. So it seems that the hilliness of each stage is of crucial importance (breathtaking insight - ed). But just read this extract from the report if you think it's so simple:
once again the battle for the Green jersey will be probably more evident than that for Yellow. A day for the GC contenders to shelter in the peloton and avoid accidents, the breakaways to try and make good their escape and the sprinters teams to dig deep for their man
Translating that little lot will probably occupy the next 17 days of our countdown. Let's start with the jerseys. Now, like most of you I suspect, I have heard of the Yellow jersey - that's for the race leader, right? But what about the Green? Well our extensive research has revealed that there are in fact numerous significant jerseys doled out during the race...
- Yellow Jersey
- Worn by the race leader.
- Green Jersey
- This is worn by the leader in the Points Classification. (I will try to explain this once I have figured it out and hopefully before the end of the race
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- Polka Dot Jersey
- Leader in the King of the Mountains classification.
- White Jersey
- Best young rider (Souvenir Fabio Casartelli).
Amazing, n'est-ce pas? And apparently there used to be a Red Jersey and Combination Jersey as well but these were abolished as part of a simplification policy! Haven't the French ever heard of a finish line?
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Favourite injured |
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| Tour de France favourite Lance Armstrong has suffered a serious back strain in the run up to the race. Apparently he had just packed his jerseys and tried to lift the case on to the back of his bike. |
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Oh and by the way, I've also discovered that the Tour de France is a team event as well as an individual one. I never knew a bike race could be this complicated - but then I suppose I do struggle to even mend a puncture.
More on the remarkable science of cycle racing tomorrow...
7:57:09 PM 
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