Take a flyer - To suddenly sprint away from a group. Switchback - A 90-degree or greater turn. Warren Barguil wins a stage with a summit finish atop Col d’izoard in 2017. (Also, a series of short hills.) Tour riders use them to warm up prior to a stage. Rollers - An indoor bike trainer that works like a treadmill for bikes. Pyrenees - A mountain range on the border between France and Spain. Pull off - To move over after riding in the lead so another rider can come to the front. Pull (pull through) - To take a turn at the front. Each Tour sponsor has at least one car, making the caravan bigger than the race itself in terms of personnel. Publicity caravan - A huge procession of vehicles that traces the day’s route before the pack. It’s usually less than 5 miles long and designed mainly as a showcase kick-off (and a way to get the yellow jersey on someone’s back right away). Prologue - A short stage held as the opener of the Grand Tours. Poursuivant - French for “pursuer,” it refers to those riders who break away from the peloton to chase the race leaders (see: “ Tête de la course”). Julian Alaphilippe won the Tour’s polka dot jersey in 2018. The term, which means “red lantern,” originated in the early days of the Tour, when a car bearing a red lantern would follow the last rider, signifying the back end of the race. Lanterne rouge - The last rider in the General Classification. King of the Mountains (KoM) - A competition for the best climber, which runs on a points system like the green jersey. The first 15 riders to cross the line at these locations earn points. Intermediate sprint - Found in the middle of each stage, this section awards points in the Tour’s green jersey competition. Hors catégorie - French for “beyond category,” a rating reserved for the most challenging climbs, such as the Alpe d’Huez. Grupettos are generally filled with sprinters and riders who have finished working for their team leaders. Grupetto - Large groups of dropped riders that often form at the back of the race on mountain stages. Grand Tours: The three most prestigious road races in professional cycling, each held annually over the course of three weeks: the Tour de France in July, the Giro d’Italia in late spring, and the Vuelta a España in late summer. This often takes place in France itself, but has increasingly gone to foreign cities to generate international interest in the race. Grand Départ - French for “great departure,” it’s the start of the Tour de France. Peter Sagan has won the Tour’s green jersey six times. Flat stages award the most green jersey points, which is why field sprinters often win the competition. Riders can earn these points at stage finishes and certain mid-stage sections (see: intermediate sprint). Green jersey ( maillot vert) - First awarded in 1953, it goes to the leader of the Points Classification. The yellow jersey goes to the GC leader at the end of each day. General Classification (GC) - The ranking of riders from first to last according to their total elapsed time, with the first rider boasting the lowest or fastest time. For climbers, it means the pain will end soon.įull tuck - An extremely crouched aerodynamic position used to achieve maximum speed on descents. For sprinters, the flamme rouge indicates when they should launch their final dash for the line. Also known as a bunch sprint or pack finish.įlamme rouge - A red flag that hangs from an inflatable banner 1K from the end of each stage to let the riders know the finish is approaching. Justin Setterfield // Getty Imagesįield sprint - The dash for the finish line by the main group of riders. Now meant to include any performance-enhancing substances, most of which are banned from competitive use and only some of which are testable.īob Jungels grabs a water bottle in a Stage 19 feed zone during the 2018 Tour. Domestiques do things like grab water bottles, ride into the wind to give their leader a draft (see: drafting), or pace their leader back to the peloton in the event of a flat tire.ĭoping - Originally meant in reference to blood doping, or withdrawing blood to re-inject it later on to boost red blood cell count and oxygen uptake. He’s usually the one directly answerable to sponsors, so he also operates as PR director, chief corporate liaison, head cook, and bottle washer.ĭomestique - A French term for those riders willing to sacrifice their own ambitions for the sake of their teams. The DS is responsible for planning team strategy on each stage and throughout the overall race. Justin Setterfield // Getty Imagesĭirecteur sportif - A French term essentially meaning head coach. Annemiek Van Vleuten, left, won La Course by one second over Anna van der Breggen in 2018.
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