Everything you need to know to watch the Tour de France

Although there are dozens of WorldTour races, when you ask an average person what they know about cycling, Tour de France will likely be one of the words to come out of their mouth. The Tour de France, sometimes known simply as ‘the Tour’ or ‘La Grande Boucle’ is unquestionably the biggest annual event in cycling.

It therefore makes sense that the Tour is often viewers’ first introduction to pro cycling, but the race doesn’t necessarily make itself accessible to new fans. Here are a few things you should know going into your first Tour de France viewing.

One long race many little races

First held in 1903, the Tour de France is an annual stage race, which means it takes place over multiple days. Cyclists race 21 stages in 23 days (there are two rest days). Stages are classified as either flat, hilly, or mountain. Most of the time there will also be two or three time trial stages, though this year there is only one. Each day is a race itself, but points and time count towards overall classifications.

The race covers around 3,500 kilometres (around 175km per day), alternating between a clockwise and counterclockwise circuit of France. Every year the routes and locations of the daily stages are different, although there are some consistencies—the race always makes its way through the mountains of the Pyrenees and the Alps and it always finishes in Paris.

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The teams

Although it is, in essence, a race from point A to point B, pro cycling works as a highly strategic team sport. Teams wear identical jerseys and gear with the exception of national champions, who don their national colours, and the world champion, who wears a rainbow jersey. The classification leaders will also wear different jerseys (more on that below).

The Tour de France has 22 teams racing with eight riders on each team. Of these eight riders, most act as ‘domestiques’, riding to support the team leader however they can. Support includes letting the leader draft behind them and conserve their energy for the end of the race, controlling the speed of the front of the peloton if a rider is in a breakaway group or attacking and providing food and nutrition to the team leader wherever they are in the peloton. If the team leader has a mechanical problem or a crash, a domestique will often fall back to help pull the rider back to the peloton. If the team car isn’t nearby, they may even give the leader their bike.

A win for a team leader is considered a win for the team.

The Tour de France points system

One of the more confusing parts of watching the Tour is the various classifications and points systems. The easiest way to think about it is as a series of competitions within a race. Every day various jerseys are awarded at the end of the race to the category leaders in each ‘competition’. The next day these cyclists wear the jerseys to indicate they are currently in the lead.

The yellow jersey

The main competition, the general classification, is the race to finish all stages with the lowest time possible. Riders going for the general classification win are referred to as GC contenders.

Every day the prestigious yellow jersey is awarded to the rider who is currently leading the general classification with the lowest cumulative time. Because timing is measured in terms of the overall race, the rider awarded the yellow jersey doesn’t have to be the first to cross the line (the first to finish a stage is referred to as the stage winner).

The polkadot jersey

The mountains classification, added to the tour in 1933, is awarded to the strongest climber in the peloton. On stages with climbs, points are awarded to the first rider to reach the top of the climb (depending on the climb up to 10 riders to reach the top first could also receive points).

Climbs are categorized according to steepness and length—the classification of the climb will determine the number of points awarded. The polkadot jersey is given to the rider who currently holds the most climbing points.

The green jersey

The points classification is targeted by the peloton’s sprinters. Points are given to the first 15 riders to cross a predetermined sprint point on the route of each stage. The first 15 riders to finish a stage (stages mostly finish in sprints) will also receive points. The green jersey is awarded to the rider who currently has the highest number of points.

The white jersey

The young rider classification works the same way as the general classification but specifically applies to riders under the age of 26. The young rider with the lowest cumulative time will be awarded the white jersey at the end of every stage.

Watching the Tour de France

For viewers at home, it helps to read up about the next day’s stage to figure out when to tune in to the broadcast (in Canada, the Tour is broadcast in the morning).

If you’re lucky enough to be in France for the race, spectating the race is completely free. In a normal year, spectators line the road to cheer on the racers. On climbs the cyclists slow down enough to be seen for more than a second, making them popular viewing points. The roads can get quite narrow as fans crowd them to cheer on the riders.

The Tour makes a big impact on the local economy of the many small French towns it passes through. The aerial shots of local castles, bridges and interesting “land art” all help them promote local tourism.

Although there are helicopters filming the peloton from above and multiple motorcycles with camera operators filming within the race, sometimes crashes off the back of the peloton or incidents within the bunch will go unnoticed for a few minutes. The group is large and often strung out along a lengthy piece of road, so it’s not uncommon to hear about an incident from the commentators before actually seeing it.

There will be mechanical issues or crashes in every stage. If a rider’s bike is broken they can grab another bike from the team car that drives along behind the peloton, or, if the team car isn’t close by, they have access to a “neutral aid” bike from a race-assistant car.

Important vocabulary

–Tête de la course: The head of the race

–Attack: When a rider decides to accelerate away from the group, often with the intention of winning points or a stage.

–Breakaway: On most stages a small group of riders will form a breakaway group early on in the stage, riding hard away from the main peloton. Most of the time the breakaway will be caught back by the peloton before the end of the stage, although sometimes the hard work of riding in a small group (or even solo) rewards the rider with a stage win.

–Soigneur: Employee of the team who help the riders in various ways (massages, handing out nutrition and water during the race and taking care of any other needs).

–Most combative rider: The most combative rider, awarded at the end of each stage, wears red numbers the next day. Normally the award is given to a cyclist who made an impressive attack or breakaway.

–Musette: The bags full of bottles and nutrition that soigneurs hand to the domestiques.