FranceBy:Jared Proctor, Brennon Hargrave, and Colby Scroggins ORIGIN Le Tour de France is a Bike race that takes place in France. This exciting world wide event has been going on for many years. It had become organized in 1903. Ever since this day it has become more than just a race, it has become a lifestyle for many people.
The first Tour de France was staged in 1903. The plan was a five-stage race from the 31 of May to the 5 of July, starting in Paris and having checkpoints in Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and Nantes before returning to Paris. Toulouse was added later to break the long haul across southern France from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. Stages would go through the night and finish next afternoon, with rest days before riders set off again. But this proved to be too tiring and twas too expensive for most and only 15 entered the race. Henri Desgrange, the creator, had never been fully convinced and he came close to dropping the idea. Instead, he cut the length to 19 days, changed the dates from July 1 to the 19, and offered a daily allowance to those who averaged at least 20 km/h on all the stages. That was what a rider would have expected to earn each day had he worked in a factory. He also cut the entry fee from 20 to 10 francs and set the first prize at 12,000 francs and the prize for each day's winner at 3,000 francs. This Prize had attracted many more entrants. This was the beginning of an entertainment revolution.
Old Verses New Obviously something that has been going on for this long of time could not possibly go through some sort of change. There has actually been many changes since the very first tour. The race changes in length every time. The shortest wasin 1904 at 2,420 kilometres (1,500 mi). The longest in 1926 at 5,745 kilometres (3,570 mi). now on average the tour typically has 21 days of racing and 2 rest days and covers 3,200 kilometres (2,000 mi). Compared to the used to be 19 days. The bikes used to be made of wooden frames which now they are made of aluminum also the change in the amount of money is awarded is a big factor. It used to be only french money (12,000 Francs) now it is 450,000 euros. These are few of the many changes that have happened over the past, well 100 years.
MISC Information There are a lot of things involving the big race that people don’t know or don’t even think about. Things from what some of the courses look like, how many times a certain country has won the race, or even the fact that there is a guy who dresses up in a devil costume along the route every year and has now become one of the icons of the race.
Now the first miscellaneous subject about the race that actually is really important. It’s how the Tour de France is divided over the course of the month. This is known as a stage of the race. It’s not just one big race for first place. There are many different kind of stages like Mass-start stages, individual time trials, and a team time trial. There are many other parts like since 1975 the race has finished with laps of the Champs-Elysees.
The beginning of each stage doesn’t start right away though. The first few kilometers of the stage is basically just a big huge jumbled mess of riders smashed together like sardines. What it is is actually called a rolling start and doesn’t have any racing at all. The real start to the race is signaled by the Tour director a few kilometers down the road with him waving a white flag. Now during the race riders are allowed to touch if it gets to that but pushing and nudging each other while going down the course is prohibited. Now most of the riders are part of a team like certain American riders are put together in a team, UK riders the same thing, etc. Now you are probably wondering what happens if one of the team members falls behind. Well all the riders in a group finish in the same time as the lead rider. So for example if one team member is within the top 25 of the entire group and crosses the line like 30 minutes or an hour before the rest of the team members who are towards the back of the pack, those team members get the same times. The whole purpose of this is to help avoid dangerous mass sprints to the finish line which might cause huge crashes. The final kilometer of the race has been indicated since 1906 with a red triangle above the road.
The next stage would be the individual time trials. This is where the riders compete individually against the clock, but they all start at different times during the day. The first time trial to ever be held during the Tour de France was in 1934 and was held on the part of the course between La Roche-sur-Yon and Nantes. Usually the first stage in modern Tours is a short time trial to see who will wear the yellow jersey on opening day. The first ever of this kind was held in 1967. There are usually two or three time trials throughout the course of the Tour, and the final stage is usually an Individual time trial. The starting ramp used at the start of a time trial was first used in 1965.
Lastly there is the Team Time trial. It is a race against the clock where each team rides alone. The time usually is that of the fifth rider of each team. Riders more than a bike length behind their team’s fifth rider are awarded their own times. Overall there are usually 21 stages of these types of stages spread out across a months time. The variety of the winners over the history of the race is so diverse you can easily lose track. For instance there have been 32 countries that have won at least one stage of the race, 31 riders that have won at least 10 or more stages, and even the fact that the youngest rider to ever win a stage in the Tour de France was only 19 years old. He won the stage in the 1931 Tour de France. The country to win the most Races is France which has won 36 Tour de Frances.
There are many other miscellaneous facts about the Tour de France, though there are only a few that we haven’t mentioned that are important. There are some cities and towns in France that have hosted at least 25 stages, and Paris has the most with 135. The most appearances in the race is held by the American George Hincapie at 17 times.
Significance of the Jerseys A big part of the Tour de France is the significance of the jerseys. Some people ask, “What's the purpose of them?” or “Why do we have them?”. These jerseys worn by the riders have huge meaning. According to letour.com, the yellow jersey is worn by the leader of the general individual time classification. It has been sponsored by the LCL since 1987. The green jersey is worn by the leader of the points classification. The red polka dot jersey is worn by the best climber. The white jersey is worn by the best young rider aged 25 years or less in the general individual time classification.
Lance Armstrong In the Tour de France there is going to be a winner and some losers. One winner worth note taking about is Lance Armstrong. Lance Armstrong set records. He won the race seven consecutive times between the years 1999 and 2005. He is also the founder of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer. You may know him by the yellow bracelet that lots of people wear. There is also plenty of other clothing for him, but the bracelet is most famous.
One of the bigger reasons he started this cancer foundation is because he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in October, 1996. His cancer treatments included brain and testicular surgery and extensive chemotherapy. In February 1997, he was declared cancer free and the same year he founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
By now people are probably looking up to this man. Seeing how he has made it through all these battles and still survived. But this all came to an end in 2012, when he was stripped of all his titles for doping offenses. In June 2012, USADA charged Armstrong with having used illicit performance-enhancing drugs, and on August 24 2012 it announced a lifetime ban from competition, applicable to all sports, as well as the stripping of all titles won since August 1998.
For more information on the winners of past Tour de France's, please check out this presentation below!!
ORIGIN
Le Tour de France is a Bike race that takes place in France. This exciting world wide event has been going on for many years. It had become organized in 1903. Ever since this day it has become more than just a race, it has become a lifestyle for many people.
The first Tour de France was staged in 1903. The plan was a five-stage race from the 31 of May to the 5 of July, starting in Paris and having checkpoints in Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and Nantes before returning to Paris. Toulouse was added later to break the long haul across southern France from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. Stages would go through the night and finish next afternoon, with rest days before riders set off again. But this proved to be too tiring and twas too expensive for most and only 15 entered the race. Henri Desgrange, the creator, had never been fully convinced and he came close to dropping the idea. Instead, he cut the length to 19 days, changed the dates from July 1 to the 19, and offered a daily allowance to those who averaged at least 20 km/h on all the stages. That was what a rider would have expected to earn each day had he worked in a factory. He also cut the entry fee from 20 to 10 francs and set the first prize at 12,000 francs and the prize for each day's winner at 3,000 francs. This Prize had attracted many more entrants. This was the beginning of an entertainment revolution.
Old Verses New
Obviously something that has been going on for this long of time could not possibly go through some sort of change. There has actually been many changes since the very first tour. The race changes in length every time. The shortest wasin 1904 at 2,420 kilometres (1,500 mi). The longest in 1926 at 5,745 kilometres (3,570 mi). now on average the tour typically has 21 days of racing and 2 rest days and covers 3,200 kilometres (2,000 mi). Compared to the used to be 19 days. The bikes used to be made of wooden frames which now they are made of aluminum also the change in the amount of money is awarded is a big factor. It used to be only french money (12,000 Francs) now it is 450,000 euros. These are few of the many changes that have happened over the past, well 100 years.
MISC Information
There are a lot of things involving the big race that people don’t know or don’t even think about. Things from what some of the courses look like, how many times a certain country has won the race, or even the fact that there is a guy who dresses up in a devil costume along the route every year and has now become one of the icons of the race.
Now the first miscellaneous subject about the race that actually is really important. It’s how the Tour de France is divided over the course of the month. This is known as a stage of the race. It’s not just one big race for first place. There are many different kind of stages like Mass-start stages, individual time trials, and a team time trial. There are many other parts like since 1975 the race has finished with laps of the Champs-Elysees.
The beginning of each stage doesn’t start right away though. The first few kilometers of the stage is basically just a big huge jumbled mess of riders smashed together like sardines. What it is is actually called a rolling start and doesn’t have any racing at all. The real start to the race is signaled by the Tour director a few kilometers down the road with him waving a white flag. Now during the race riders are allowed to touch if it gets to that but pushing and nudging each other while going down the course is prohibited. Now most of the riders are part of a team like certain American riders are put together in a team, UK riders the same thing, etc. Now you are probably wondering what happens if one of the team members falls behind. Well all the riders in a group finish in the same time as the lead rider. So for example if one team member is within the top 25 of the entire group and crosses the line like 30 minutes or an hour before the rest of the team members who are towards the back of the pack, those team members get the same times. The whole purpose of this is to help avoid dangerous mass sprints to the finish line which might cause huge crashes. The final kilometer of the race has been indicated since 1906 with a red triangle above the road.
The next stage would be the individual time trials. This is where the riders compete individually against the clock, but they all start at different times during the day. The first time trial to ever be held during the Tour de France was in 1934 and was held on the part of the course between La Roche-sur-Yon and Nantes. Usually the first stage in modern Tours is a short time trial to see who will wear the yellow jersey on opening day. The first ever of this kind was held in 1967. There are usually two or three time trials throughout the course of the Tour, and the final stage is usually an Individual time trial. The starting ramp used at the start of a time trial was first used in 1965.
Lastly there is the Team Time trial. It is a race against the clock where each team rides alone. The time usually is that of the fifth rider of each team. Riders more than a bike length behind their team’s fifth rider are awarded their own times. Overall there are usually 21 stages of these types of stages spread out across a months time.
The variety of the winners over the history of the race is so diverse you can easily lose track. For instance there have been 32 countries that have won at least one stage of the race, 31 riders that have won at least 10 or more stages, and even the fact that the youngest rider to ever win a stage in the Tour de France was only 19 years old. He won the stage in the 1931 Tour de France. The country to win the most Races is France which has won 36 Tour de Frances.
There are many other miscellaneous facts about the Tour de France, though there are only a few that we haven’t mentioned that are important. There are some cities and towns in France that have hosted at least 25 stages, and Paris has the most with 135. The most appearances in the race is held by the American George Hincapie at 17 times.
Significance of the Jerseys
A big part of the Tour de France is the significance of the jerseys. Some people ask, “What's the purpose of them?” or “Why do we have them?”. These jerseys worn by the riders have huge meaning. According to letour.com, the yellow jersey is worn by the leader of the general individual time classification. It has been sponsored by the LCL since 1987. The green jersey is worn by the leader of the points classification. The red polka dot jersey is worn by the best climber. The white jersey is worn by the best young rider aged 25 years or less in the general individual time classification.
Lance Armstrong
In the Tour de France there is going to be a winner and some losers. One winner worth note taking about is Lance Armstrong. Lance Armstrong set records. He won the race seven consecutive times between the years 1999 and 2005. He is also the founder of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer. You may know him by the yellow bracelet that lots of people wear. There is also plenty of other clothing for him, but the bracelet is most famous.
One of the bigger reasons he started this cancer foundation is because he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in October, 1996. His cancer treatments included brain and testicular surgery and extensive chemotherapy. In February 1997, he was declared cancer free and the same year he founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
By now people are probably looking up to this man. Seeing how he has made it through all these battles and still survived. But this all came to an end in 2012, when he was stripped of all his titles for doping offenses. In June 2012, USADA charged Armstrong with having used illicit performance-enhancing drugs, and on August 24 2012 it announced a lifetime ban from competition, applicable to all sports, as well as the stripping of all titles won since August 1998.
For more information on the winners of past Tour de France's, please check out this presentation below!!
For our glogster please click on the link below!!