With the Tour de France fast approaching and Bradley Wiggins winning in the Dauphine Libéré, road cycling is back once again as my favourite sport. There aren’t many sports that polarise the public as much as cycling; it’s hard to be a casual fan. Many see it as long-distance running on two wheels, nothing ever happens, right? Those that do know cycling know that such a train of thought couldn’t be more wrong. I am going to try and provide a crash-course in road cycling, and what makes it great television.
Aerodynamics
I’ll concede, it doesn’t sound like a promising start. However, this is arguably the most important factor in providing drama. Aerodynamics is what separates road cycling from, to use it again, distance running. Runners don’t go very fast so the benefits from running in someone’s slipstream are minimal. Cyclists average 40+km/h on flat stages, and at that sort of speed you are shifting serious amounts of air. Consequently it is much easier to ride in someone’s slipstream than take the brunt of air resistance.
The first effect this has is turning road cycling into a team sport. It really genuinely is as much of a team sport as football; the team works together to get their lead rider victories, who would severely struggle without them. The theory is this: the domestiques (servant to the leader) spread the bulk of the 100+ miles between them, until the leader – be he a climber or sprinter – is in a position to make his bid for victory. A domestique is not an easy thing to be. They often find themselves spent still a long way from to finish, meaning they have a tortuous time getting back by themselves, or in a small group of domestiques from other teams. They get little glory, but are still vital.
The most visible incarnation of this phenomenon is the sprint train. Teams look to stretch the peloton (the seething mass that contains the bulk of the riders) by lining up single-file, and putting the hammer down. Sounds easy enough? Not when there are ten other teams all looking to do the exact same thing; it becomes a highly organised mess. Briton Mark Cavendish is currently the best sprinter in the world by some margin, but his team is also brutal. Watch this clip from the final stage of the 2009 TdF for a great example; Cav’s team is was so strong in 2009 that his lead-out man, Mark Renshaw, came second (awesome demonstration of how fast they go at 5:05). Watch how Cavendish stays behind Renshaw as late as possible in order to make full use of the slipstream. The sprints themselves are brilliant. Riders can hit 70 km/h on the flat, all the while veering wildly across the road attempting to dislodge anyone from their back wheel. Unlike the 100m dash, cyclists don’t start in a line; once it starts it’s every man for himself. A glorious scrap.
Aerodynamics also forms the peloton. The peloton is something of a beast. It moves far faster (when it feels like it) than any cyclist riding alone can; even small breakaway groups are usually caught. It’s not infallible, though. Mountains, through a combination of far-tougher racing conditions and drop in the advantage of slipstreaming, decimate the peloton in minutes. Even strong cross-winds can throw it into disarray.
Variety
A stage race essentially has three types of stage: flat(ish) stages likely to end in a sprint finish; mountainous stages; and time trials. The flat stages determine the winner of the sprint competition, and the mountainous stages and time trials determines the King of the Mountains classification as well as the General Classification. However, each even within each category stages are far from being the same. The organisers are fiendishly clever when it comes to devising the route each year. In the 2010 Tour de France one of the flat stages early in the race turned out to be one of the most decisive of all. It went over the cobbled roads of Belgium which are brutal to ride on, which, in combination with numerous crashes and strong cross-winds, splintered the peloton and caused the big names to either seize the opportunity and go as hard as they could, or commit to the chase. It was carnage.
Then they hit the mountains and everything changes. Everyone gets ripped to pieces, but some get ripped to pieces less than others. Riders that aren't so great at time-trialling know that the mountains are their only chance of getting any time back, so they launch outrageous attacks off the front, causing everyone to attempt to scramble back to their wheel. Last year we got one of the best ever, with Andy Schleck attacking from an insane 60kms from the finish. (If you've got an hour, watch it here). It's not often in sport where you get people throwing everything on the line, but in cycling it happens quite regularly, and it's awesome.
The Characters
Cycling is a sport that demands masochistic levels of endurance from its athletes, so it's no surprise that you get a load of nut-jobs. Take, for instance, Djamolodine Abdujaparov, the Tashkent Terror. The man is insane and who's suicidal approach to sprinting resulted in one especially famous moment. Then there are men like Jens Voight who can shrug off crashes that would leave lesser men on crutches for a week. Even though he took a battering, he was just happy that he didn't crash on his face. This is quite a common thing; Jonny Hoogerland was launched into barbed wire by a support car last year, and despite suffering a lacerated backside, he finished the stage, and the tour. People like to compare rugby players' get-on-with-it attitude favourably to footballers', but cycling has them all beat, no contest.
There are also the spectators. Firstly, there are millions of them. It is the most watched live sporting event by miles, with each 140km stage lined with spectators. On the mountain stages, a million people can line the roads. Seriously. And they're also a little bit mental, like this guy, who turns up every year.
Variety
A stage race essentially has three types of stage: flat(ish) stages likely to end in a sprint finish; mountainous stages; and time trials. The flat stages determine the winner of the sprint competition, and the mountainous stages and time trials determines the King of the Mountains classification as well as the General Classification. However, each even within each category stages are far from being the same. The organisers are fiendishly clever when it comes to devising the route each year. In the 2010 Tour de France one of the flat stages early in the race turned out to be one of the most decisive of all. It went over the cobbled roads of Belgium which are brutal to ride on, which, in combination with numerous crashes and strong cross-winds, splintered the peloton and caused the big names to either seize the opportunity and go as hard as they could, or commit to the chase. It was carnage.
Then they hit the mountains and everything changes. Everyone gets ripped to pieces, but some get ripped to pieces less than others. Riders that aren't so great at time-trialling know that the mountains are their only chance of getting any time back, so they launch outrageous attacks off the front, causing everyone to attempt to scramble back to their wheel. Last year we got one of the best ever, with Andy Schleck attacking from an insane 60kms from the finish. (If you've got an hour, watch it here). It's not often in sport where you get people throwing everything on the line, but in cycling it happens quite regularly, and it's awesome.
The Characters
Cycling is a sport that demands masochistic levels of endurance from its athletes, so it's no surprise that you get a load of nut-jobs. Take, for instance, Djamolodine Abdujaparov, the Tashkent Terror. The man is insane and who's suicidal approach to sprinting resulted in one especially famous moment. Then there are men like Jens Voight who can shrug off crashes that would leave lesser men on crutches for a week. Even though he took a battering, he was just happy that he didn't crash on his face. This is quite a common thing; Jonny Hoogerland was launched into barbed wire by a support car last year, and despite suffering a lacerated backside, he finished the stage, and the tour. People like to compare rugby players' get-on-with-it attitude favourably to footballers', but cycling has them all beat, no contest.
There are also the spectators. Firstly, there are millions of them. It is the most watched live sporting event by miles, with each 140km stage lined with spectators. On the mountain stages, a million people can line the roads. Seriously. And they're also a little bit mental, like this guy, who turns up every year.
Scenery
No football or Olympic stadium can compare to the Alps or the Pyrenees. The mountains are a great backdrop, but the mountains don’t just make the race look nice, but dictate it. It’s man vs. man vs. mountain. The only word that feels appropriate to describe such passes as l’Alp d’Huez, Mont Ventoux, the Stelvio Pass and Alto de l’Angliru is epic. The mountains dwarf the race. They define it. Races are won and lost in the mountains. Savagely steep, they separate the wheat from the chaff, but such is the difficulty of not just making it to the top, but the effort of actually trying to beat other supremely fit men (cyclists have amongst the highest VO2 maxes of any sportsmen) means that even the best are vulnerable. A few difficult days can mean that the favourites can explode unexpectedly. It is a tense wait for the first attack to come, and who will be able to cope.
Once they get to the top, they have to come down (unless it’s a mountain top-finish). Speeds frequently top 60 mph, on thin tyres, with plentiful hair-pins thrown in for good measure. It is incredibly dangerous, and lives have been lost. In 2010, Wouter Weylandt, a Belgian rider crashed and died. These men know the risks they take, but do it anyway. Even on flat stages crashes are common, but they just get on with it.
Highlights
Races last five hours, but no one is asking you to watch the whole thing. That is pretty boring. Happily, ITV broadcast the Tour de France in highlights in an hour, which is the best way to watch it. Not much more to add here; only the most dedicated watch the peloton rolling through the countryside with few developments for hours at a time.
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