Le Tour de France

Written by United Planet Team Member, Lucille

Taken by Flickr user Haretz

For 96 years, daring cyclists have braved the 3,5000 kilometers of this 21 day race.

This year, the race was made up of 10 flat stages, seven mountain stages, one medium stage, two individual time-trials, and one team time-trial stage.
The most famous, if not challenging, bicycle race in France is also exciting for television viewers who get to see stunning French landscape as the cyclists pass by. TV announcers often discuss cultural aspects of the regions while commenting on the race.

Each year, people all over the world follow the results of the Tour de France and try to guess who is going to win the legendary maillot jaune, which is given to the cyclist with the best finishing time. But, the one who is wearing this famous yellow jersey is not necessarily the one who wins the race of the day. Although the yellow jersey is very important, and denotes the overall winner, it is not the only jersey you can win in the Tour de France. Cyclists also race for the maillot vert (green jersey), the maillot a poids (red polka dot jersey), and the maillot blanc (white jersey). The green jersey is given to the cyclist with the highest number of sprint points which are, depending on the stage, given to the first ten to twenty-five riders that finish. The red polka dot jersey is for the best climber, or “King of the Mountains,” which is the first person to summit designated hills and mountains. The white jersey is for best youth cyclist, classified as under 25 years of age. There are also special jerseys such as the yellow bib for the team ranking, and a red bib for the most combatant rider which is decided by a jury.

Taken by Flickr user Garmin

Now for the results! This year, the yellow jersey was awarded to Alberto Contador of Spain, the Green jersey goes to Thor Hushovd of Norway, and the best climber is Franco Pellizotti of Italy.

All the cyclists dream of winning at least one stage but there is one stage that stands out among the rest as boasting eternal glory: the final stage! This year, Mark Cavendish was first to summit the Champs Elysses. The first one arrive at the Champs Elysees was Mark Cavendish. Cavendish won five stages this year, which has not been seen since Lance Armstrong in 2004!

Congratulations to all the brave cyclists! We’ll see you next year!