Tour De France - bicycle race

The History and Importance of the Tour de France

The Tour de France is a multi-stage bicycle competition that primarily takes place in France each year, with sporadic passes through the neighboring countries. The Tour de France consists of 21 stages spread out over more than three weeks, just like the Grand Tours. The history and importance of the Tour de France are covered in this essay. (Elcombe and Jill 241).

The Race Route, Layout, and Yellow Jerseys

The race route, its layout, and the significance of the yellow jerseys that the competitors are wearing are then explained.

Well-Known Tour de France Racers

Additionally, it will discuss the well-known Tour de France racers and the ensuing doping controversy.

Establishment and Origins of the Tour de France

Tour De France is a sporting race that was established in 1903. Its roots can be traced back to the period when two competing sports newspapers emerged. The largest and first day to day sports newspapers in the country was Le Vélo that sold a total of 80,000 newspaper copies per day. In addition, there was the L'Auto that had been created in 1899 by entrepreneurs and journalists such as Édouard Michelin, Adolphe Clément, and Jules-Albert de Dion. The disagreements on the Dreyfus Affair led to the emergence of other competing papers in the market. The emergence of the competing newspapers in the country divided France towards the end of the nineteenth century. This did not take into consideration the innocence of Alfred Dreyfus who was convicted. Henri Desgrange was appointed as the new editor of the newspaper. Desgrange was a very prominent owner and cyclist with the velodrome’s Victor Goddet at the Parc des Princes. According to Jules-Albert de Dion, he knew Victor Goddet through his cycling articles and books that he authored. De Dion also knew Victor Goddet through the various press articles that he wrote while working for the Clément tyre firm (Elcombe and Jill 244).

L'Auto's Crisis and New Ideas

L'Auto failed to prosper as its supporters had wished. A crisis meeting on November 20, 1902, was organized as a result of the stagnant sales that were lower than its competitors in the market. The last person to talk at the meeting was the chief cycling journalist, Géo Lefèvre, who was the most junior person. He was poached by Desgrange from the newspaper of Giffard. According to Lefèvre, he proposed a six-day race consisting of the most famous sportsmen on the track, however, it was supposed to be carried out throughout France. The long-distance races during the Tour De France were considered to be popular techniques of selling more newspapers in France, however, there was nothing that was tried through the suggestions of Lefèvre. In case it prospered, then it would assist L'Auto to compete effectively with its competitors and probably eliminate it from the businesses in France. The initial Tour de France to be carried out started in 1903. It constituted a five-stage race that commenced on May 31st and ended on July 5th of 1903. The event commenced in Paris with various stops in different cities such as Nantes, Bordeaux, Marseille, and Lyon prior to going back to Paris. Addition of Toulouse was done in order to break the very long haul throughout Southern France. The stages of Tour de France would go throughout the night and end in the subsequent afternoon with various rest days organized prior to the riders. Nevertheless, it proved to be very costly and daunting. During this period, there were only 15 competitors in the Tour de France that had gone into the market (Elcombe and Jill 246).

Importance of the Tour de France in the Sporting World

Tour De France was a very important race that had great significance to the sporting world. This is attributed to the fact that it is the most difficult and prestigious bicycle races conducted in France. Out of the popular races globally, Tour De France has been seen to attract some of the best cyclists globally. It is an event that has very deep cultural roots watched by large crowds. Nevertheless, there are some problems that are experienced by the Tour De France’s cyclists. For instance, the cyclists are divided into various racing stages and time-trial racing that covers great stretches and flat land of the inclines of mountains. Tour De France is a cyclist that can function well at the climbing and time trials (Elcombe and Jill 251).

Explanation of the Race Course

Geraint Thomas won the individual trial time during the starting phase with a duration of 16 min in a 14 km race course. He took the green and yellow as the ringleader of the points classifications and leader of the general respectively. Under these classifications, Chris Froome was ranked at the highest level among the best of the general classifications. Generally, Alejandro Valverde was one of the contenders who got accidents on the wet roads and injured himself. This compelled him not to participate in the race course. During the fifth stage, there was a group that had the general contenders and caught the final breakaway riders completing it to the summit. During this race, Thomas lost 20 seconds on its group and also lost his yellow jerseys to its teammates. Compared to the ancient editions, the current Tour De France constitutes three-week day-long segments (stages) that spread within a period of 23 days as well as covers 2,200 miles. It is a perfect platform in which different races occur and enables individuals from different cultural backgrounds to participate in the competition. During the period of 21 phases, the cyclists usually experience 6 mountain phases. Out of these stages, the riders are able to effectively compete and the winners are determined based on the time that they take to reach the finishing lines (Elcombe and Jill 251).

How the Race Was Set Up

The current race of Tour De France is set up into 21 stages happening in a single day. These stages include mass-start stages, time limits, team time trial, individual time trials, and the notable stages. Mass-start stages are the stages that majority of the cyclists begin at. It constitutes the rolling start without racing and also the Tour director waves the white flag in order to announce the actual start of the race. During this stage, riders are allowed to touch one another, however, should not nudge or push them. The winner of the stage is determined by an individual who reaches the stage first. The time is awarded to the cyclists based on the various group classifications that they complete the race in (Elcombe and Jill 247).

Individual Time Trials

Individual time trials are also another stage of the race. It constitutes the completion of the actual trial time against the clocks with each beginning at various periods. The initial individual time trials commenced in 1934 between Nantes and La Roche-sur-Yon. The initial phase in the modern Tours constitutes a short trial in order to establish the different cyclists who put on the yellow jersey during the first day of the race. During the individual time trials, there are normally 2 or 3-time trials. There are at times that the final phase to be the last time trial that is usually acknowledged as the penultimate phase (Reed 87).

Team Time Trial

The team time trial is another stage of Tour De France. It is considered as the race against the clock where riding of the team occurs individually. The team time trial is the fifth cyclist of every time. This set up has actually faced criticism due to the fact that it handicapped the strong cyclists in the weak teams but favored the strong teams (Reed 94).

Time Limits

Under the time limits, it involved the elimination of the finishing stage of the cyclists in case they surpass the maximum time limit set. It refers to the time of the winner together with the percentage that mainly depends on the mean speed of the winners and the different types of stages. The limit of time might be eradicated or extended in case it exceeds 20% of the riders (Reed 82).

Notable Stages

The final stage is the notable stages. It is a stage that has been completed since 1975. It does not challenge the leaders more often due to the fact that it is very flat and its leader usually have a lot of time to be refuted. Nevertheless, in the current era, there seem to be unique trends to be the agreements of the gentlemen. Despite the fact that there is contention on the points classification, there is no fighting on the general classification. This is mainly attributed to the fact that it is common for the winners to ride into Paris, France while holding the champagne’s glass (Reed 91).

Meaning of the Yellow Jerseys

The yellow jerseys were the main tops during the sporting event. It is a jersey that designates the general leaders of Tour De France so far. After the cyclists complete the 3-week race by passing through the various streets in Paris, France, the photos of the winners wearing yellow shirts are viewed throughout the world. The yellow jerseys are awarded during race days or after the completion of all the twenty stages. The jersey is awarded to the leading riders in the race at a particular stage. Every day cumulative period of all the past races is added to the period taken to complete that particular phase. During that phase, the general leader is established. The subsequent day after the winner is determined, he or she puts on the yellow jersey through the entire phase (Ferbrache 1).

Famous Racers in the Tour de France

Tour De France has a long history that has realized the emergence of some of the famous racers globally. Despite the fact that it is not very possible to narrate about each of the riders who have won, participated for the racers’ yellow jerseys, there are some of the famous racers that cannot be disregarded. Eddy Merckx is one of the famous racers who have been able to wear the yellow jersey for the 96 stages of the races. This is the highest number of stages than any of the riders who have participated in the event. In addition, there are other cyclists who have been able to win the general classifications of the event five times during their professional careers. They include Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx, and Jacques Anquetil (Ferbrache 1).

The Doping Scandal

Lance Armstrong was also one of the famous riders who won 7 titles in a row during the Tour De France. The history of Armstrong appeared like a fairy story after he recovered from cancer illness to win the race. Nevertheless, a report was published by the U.S anti-doping author in which 14 of the previous teammates of Armstrong confessed that they had consumed illegal drugs during the years that he Armstrong won the titles. They also alleged that Armstrong also consumed those illegal drugs. Despite the fact that he denied the allegations, he opted not to take part in a court hearing in order to determine his guiltiness hence was eventually stripped of all the titles of Tour De France that he won during the seven-year reign (Ferbrache 2).

Doping Scandals in the Tour de France

In the history of Tour De France, it has been plagued by doping scandals since 1903. It was established that some of the ancient riders in the competition used ether and consumed alcohol. The most renowned doping scandal that was experienced in Tour De France occurred in 2012. It was a scandal that occurred when Lance Armstrong of the U.S.A was stripped of the titles that titles that he won between 1999 and 2005. The stripping of the titles occurred after extensive investigations that indicated he had been a key figure in the doping conspiracies during the periods he won the Tour De France titles (Ferbrache 3).

Work Cited

Elcombe, Tim, and Jill Tracey. “Stretched Elastics, the Tour de France, and a Meaningful Life.” Cycling - Philosophy for Everyone, 2010, pp. 241–252., doi:10.1002/9781444324679.ch24.

Ferbrache, Fiona. “Eric Reed. Selling the Yellow Jersey: The Tour de France in the Global Era. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015. xvii 251 pp. ISBN 978-0-226-20653-0, $45.00 (Cloth).” Enterprise & Society, 2017, pp. 1–3., doi:10.1017/eso.2017.50.

Reed, Eric. “Selling the Yellow Jersey.” 2014, doi:10.7208/chicago/9780226206677.001.0001.