Riding a “potato hunter”, “border”, “gruppetto”… Here are as many more or less known expressions that you will read and hear during the Tour de France 2022 to follow on the antennas and the website of France Blue. Decryption with Jean-Francois Bernardformer champion cyclist, and Thibault Vincent, journalist at France Bleu.
Sprint
How do Sprint and Sprinters work? What do the terms we hear during sprints like “train” or “rub” mean?
border
This is a word that we often hear on the flat stages in the Tour, on windy days. A word that scares many runners. How does a border work?
Gears
Large or small chainring, gearing up, grinding… the bike is a real machine with gears. The higher the gear, the faster the bike goes, but the harder it is to press the pedals, and vice versa. Explanations.
The pack
How does a peloton work, what are the rules for this group of nearly 200 riders grouped together, surrounded by cars, motorcycles, spectators on sometimes narrow roads? When do the runners decide to stop at the same time to relieve themselves?
Exit vouchers
When a breakaway takes shape and gets ahead of the peloton without the latter reacting, we often hear that the riders at the front have benefited from a “good exit”. But when and under what conditions is it granted and by whom?
The headset
It has been debated for years within the professional peloton. The International Cycling Union tried to have it banned but encountered resistance. What is it for, why is it debated and should it be completely removed?
The runners
A peloton is made up of multiple categories of riders, depending on their abilities and skills: puncher, rider, adventurer, climber, sprinter. How do we distinguish them?
Gruppetto
An essential word during mountain stages, almost as old as the Tour de France. He distinguishes the group formed by the runners left behind at the back of the race. Where does this term come from, how does a gruppeto work?
suck the wheel
Term often connoted negatively, it qualifies the follower who never takes the lead and takes advantage of the work of the little comrades by taking shelter behind them. Who are the wheel suckers, how are they perceived and why do they adopt this attitude?
Expressions and attitudes
Almost every attitude of a rider is associated with a colorful term, a colorful expression, well known to seasoned cyclists but less so to the general public. Discovery.
Yellow jersey
It is the symbol of the Tour de France, the object of all desires, of all hopes. But why is the leader’s jersey yellow, where does the strength of its attraction come from? Response of a yellow jersey.
The team member
He is the indispensable man in the shadows in a team and for a leader who is aiming for a stage victory or final success. There are several types of team members, discovery.
Helmet
It has now become part of the habits and is part of the panoply of the professional runner, but that has not always been the case. Its obligatory wearing was difficult to impose. Narrative.
broom car
It scares the runners, because synonymous with abandonment at the end of the galley. How do the runners experience its proximity, how does the broom wagon work, what happens there?
Cheating
It is not only synonymous with doping. As in any sport, the spirit of competition leads some to cheat. More often when the riders are in difficulty than to win.
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