![red kite racing red kite racing](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.2783491.1455821454!/httpImage/image.jpg)
Those points are added together to form the points classification, the leader of which wears the green jersey. The top finishers in each stage and at each intermediate sprint are awarded points according to their position. Watch the spelling – the peloton (not peleton) is the main bunch of riders during the race. The ‘course’ or route the race is taking. Getty Images / Chris Graythen / StaffĪ small cloth shoulder bag handed out in the feed zone, containing a rider’s food and extra bidons. Soigneurs wait to hand out musettes containing food and more bidons to the team riders. All riders born on or after 1 January 1996 are eligible for this year’s youth classification. The white jersey is worn by the highest-placed young rider in the general classification. Maillot a pois/polka-dot jerseyĪ distinctive white jersey with red polka-dots, awarded to the leader of the mountains classification. Usually dubbed the sprinters’ classification, due to more points being available on flatter stages, Peter Sagan has won it a record seven times.
![red kite racing red kite racing](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d7/87/52/d787525e1d891ddb46aedeb4af7841dc.png)
The green jersey is the prize awarded to the points classification leader. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) won the yellow jersey last year. The iconic yellow jersey, or maillot jaune, is worn by the general classification leader. Named after the red light hung on the back of a train, the lanterne rouge is the rider placed last on the general classification.
![red kite racing red kite racing](https://www.redkitecycles.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/IMG_5635-1500x1125.jpg)
The leader of the mountains classification is the King of the Mountains and wears the polka-dot jersey. The tougher the climb, the more points there are available for that ascent. One of the Tour de France’s secondary prizes, the mountains classification ranks the first riders across each classified climb in the race. Intermediate sprintĪs well as the finish line, each stage features an intermediate sprint where there are points and prize money to be won for the first riders across it. Grand TourĬycling’s three most prestigious stage races, each lasting three weeks the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España are known as Grand Tours. This year’s Grand Départ will see riders start in Brest. The rider who has taken the least time to complete the race so far wears the fabled yellow jersey.
Red kite racing plus#
The general classification sorts the riders according to their cumulative time, plus or minus any bonuses or penalties. General classificationĮach rider’s finishing time is collected after the day’s stage. The one-kilometre-to-go marker, denoted by a red air bridge under which hangs a red kite. Each stage has a dedicated feed zone, where the riders knock the pace off to collect musettes (small bags containing food and drinks) from their team soigneurs. Getty Images / JEFF PACHOUD / Contributor Feed zone One job of the domestique is to make sure their team and team leaders stay hydrated. Domestiques keep their lead riders safe, fed and watered and will work to chase down breakaways or try and dictate the pace of the stage. The unsung heroes of the team, selected to look after their team leader. Directeur sportifĪ team’s race-day director the master strategist the person gesticulating wildly and conveying tactics out of the team car window. An overall combativity award is also given at the end of the race. The winner can be easily spotted the next day thanks to their red race numbers. The combativity award rewards the rider who animated the stage by initiating a breakaway, repeatedly attacked or spent a long time in front of the bunch. Combativity awardĪwarded each day to the most aggressive rider according to the race commissaires. Though the peloton arrives at the finish together in a bunch sprint, it is the sprinters and their lead-out riders who contest the stage win. Bunch sprintįlatter stages will usually finish with a bunch sprint – a high-octane, hell-for-leather battle for stage honours between the fastest sprinters in the peloton. BreakawayĪ small group of riders (or sometimes an individual), who accelerate away from the main bunch during a stage. The French word for a water bottle many roadside fans will try to collect discarded bidons as souvenirs. Every Tour de France stage has a time limit and the autobus forms on the mountainous days when non-climbers from every team work together to finish inside the cut-off.