A walk-through of 2011 Tour de France
Tour de France started in 1903 and it is an annual bicycle contest that continues for a period of three weeks. The race is spread over 3,600 kilometres and is held mainly in France and nearby countries.
In recent years, cyclists had their trips to England and Netherlands, but in the 2011 the cyclists will cross France’s borders only once in Stage 17 and will glide through the Italian Alpine stop of Pinerolo.
Cyclists from all over the world are attracted to this event as it is considered to be one of the most prestigious events in the sport. Tournament is broken down into several parts or stages. Winner of the tournament is evaluated by the aggregation of the
overall time by each individual. There are a total of 20 to 22 teams, having nine cyclists in each team.
Amaury Sport Organisation is the organiser for the event and is responsible for choosing the teams by sending them invitations.
Initially, the tournament was played during the night also, but riding in night was discontinued right after 1904, as judges could not monitor the riders at night and there were more chances of cheating.
In the current scenario, Tour de France has 21 days of cycling with a limit of 3,500 kilometres. The distance in the race has varied in the past. The longest race was spread over 5,745 kilometres in 1926, while the shortest race was in 1904 with a spread
of 1509 kilometres.
The event gained popularity during 1930-1960, when TV commercials played its part. It was an advertisement competition during those three decades as advertisers were competing to attract the spectators. Advertisement really adds a lot of interest in the
sport and it enhanced the attractiveness in those 30 years.
The 98th Tour de France started from July 2 and will conclude on July 24, 2011. There will be 21 stages and the Tour will cover a total distance of 3,430.5 kilometres, which will cover flat plains, summits, up mountains and passes.
Tour de France will have one prologue, nine flat stages, six mountain stages, three summit finishes, four medium mountain stages, and one individual time-trial stage of 52 kilometres.
There will be a total of 23 summit finishes or mountain passes in 2011 Tour de France. There will be 2 in Cevennes, 1 in Jura, 8 in Alps and 12 in Pyrenees.
Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador are the two cyclists, who have been picked as the tournament’s favourite with respect to their previous performances in the tour.
Cycling legend, Lance Armstrong, has dominated the last decade. Lance has won the tournament seven times. Armstrong has always ridden bikes manufactured by Trek and in 1999 he won the championship on a Trek OCLV, made of carbon fibre. Carbon fibre since
then has been a favourite recipe for all the cyclists with an aim to finish the races in the first spot.
Technology has helped in improving the standards, especially the faster, stronger and lighter bikes. Trek 5900 Superlight, weighing only 14.5 pounds was the lightest bike used during a Grand Tour in 2003. This bike was first used by Lance Armstrong and led
him to victory. However, a few years ago, a minimum restriction of 15 pounds was implemented by Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) for the races falling under its ambit.
2011 Tour de France is conducted by Vendée, which hosted the tournament in 1976, 1993, 1999 and 2005. Vendée once again is hosting one of the three most influential events in the world.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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