Cycling Strategies At The Tour De France
By Rooster, Thu Dec 8th

To the casual observer, the Tour De France is just a bicyclerace, a feat of strength and endurance, participated in by teamsof men from around the world. But winning this almost centuryold race has more to do with mental toughness and team strategythan one would imagine. Lance Armstrong recognizes this betterthan anybody, as evidenced by his long string of consecutiveTour De France victories. Of course, to win, you also needincredible strength and stamina, several high dollar touringbicycles, a multitude of bicycle accessories, years of coursepreparation and the work ethic of an eighteenth centuryimmigrant.

To really have a chance to win the Tour De France takes morethan a year’s subscription to the News. You need morethan just the incredible strength of Lance Armstrong the leaderof the Discovery Pro Team, the ultra-rare combination ofslow and fast twitch muscles and an incredibly expensiveperformance touring bike. You need to understand the peloton andthe role it plays in supporting the leader. You must understandthe importance of the time trial. You also have to understandand embrace the chivalrous code of racing practiced by theseincredible athletes.

Limits of this Article

To cover bicycle racing strategy completely would fill volumes.Bicycle racing is a science that has been researched for overone hundred years by thousands of dedicated enthusiasts.Therefore, to conform to the space and time constraints of thisarticle, I’ll mention just a couple of the major points.

Peaking at the Right Time

Pre race strategy is probably the most important ingredient inthe formula to win a Tour de France. Competitors arrive inFrance weeks, sometimes months in advance to train on thecourse. For them, this is no casual European bicycle tour.Riders and coaches evaluate every variable. Heart rates aremeasured and recovery rates are scrutinized. Blood samples aretaken on training days and then again on days off to measureglycogen and lactic acid. Nutrition is a science for thesededicated athletes and their coaches. Food is analyzed at themolecular level; menus are planned months in advance andadjusted according

Tour de France 2005
Lance Armstong bows out of cycling with his seventh-straight Tour de France title.
Tour de France 2004
Lance Armstrong wins his record-breaking sixth Tour de France in Paris.
2003
Lance Armstrong won the best Tour de France in years and Britain gained new world champions.
Tour de France 2003
Lance Armstrong becomes only the second rider to claim a fifth consecutive title.
2002
The year saw another Lance Armstrong Tour de France win but also sponsorship doubts.
Tour de France 2002
Armstrong's fourth, Jalabert's second but McEwen breaks Zabel's run in green.
2001
The full story
Tour de France 2001
Lance Armstrong's third win sees Laurent Jalabert take the King of the Mountains prize and Erik Zabel repeat his green jersey win.
2000
Review of the year
Tour de France 2000
Lance Armstrong repeats his 1999 success while Santiago Botero wins the King of the Mountains.
GB glory sealed by Wiggins treble

Heras claims third Vuelta
Roberto Heras win the Tour of Spain for a record-equalling third time.
Cunego wins Giro d'Italia
Damiano Cunego holds off his rivals to win the Giro d'Italia by more than two minutes.
Cooke seals Italy title
Nicole Cooke triumphs at the Giro d'Italia.
Freire seals world title
Oscar Freire wins the World Championship road race for the third time in his career.

to humidity and temperature. All the whilethe athletes and coaches are trying to accomplish one simplegoal. They want the competitor to be at his physical peak on theday of the start of the Tour de France.

Race Strategy

The first race strategy you’ll probably witness in the Tour DeFrance is the Peloton. Peloton is a French term that meansrolled up in a ball. In a mass-start race, most of the fieldwinds up in one or two large pelotons for a large part of therace. The drivers use the Peloton to shelter in each others’draft. Weaker team members sometimes bolt to the front of thePeloton to shelter their team leader from the headwind.

In the time trials, the competitors start separately, usually at30 second or one minute intervals. Drafting is not allowed in anindividual time trial so there are no team tactics. It’s justthe cyclist against the clock. Hence, time trials are referredto by the competitors as “the race of truth” Racing strategyreappears during the team trials. Competitors take turns leadingthe pack and drafting off of each other. This complicated dancerequires great precision in rotating position within the team.

This Years Tour de France

The 2005 Tour de France is made up of 21 stages and covers atotal of 3500 kilometers. These 21 stages include 9 flat stages,3 medium mountain stages, 6 mountain stages, 2 individual timetrial stages and1 team time trial stage. Some of the distinctiveaspects of this, the 92nd running of the Tour de France include3 mountain finishes, 2 rest days, 74 kilometers of individualtime trials, 66 kilometers of team time trials, a transfer byplane and another by train. This year 20 Category 1, Category 2and highest level passes will be climbed. There are nine newstop over towns, including Fromentine, Noirmoutier-en-‘Ile. LesEssarts, La Chataigneraie, Chambord, Gerardmer, Miramas and Agdeet Lezat-sur-Leze.

It’s easy to see, especially in this years 2005 running of theTour de France, that strategy will play important part indetermining the Champion.

About the author:Article Submitted by Rooster: Rooster privately runs severalNews and Blog sites related to and Bicycle Racing andTouring . Interested in the latest and Bicycle relatednew visit http://www.touringbybicycle.com