Tour de France 2009: Cool Tour de France Facts

Just the Facts

KEY TOUR TERMS:
Yellow jersey, Maillot Jaune
The race leader's jersey. Got its start when l'Auto, the founding sponsor of the Tour, dreamed up a leader's jersey in the same colors as its trademark yellow pages. L'Auto is now L'Equipe, the French sports daily, and the tradition carries on at the Giro d'Italia, with a pink jersey (the maglia rosa) for the pink pages of sponsor and Italian sports daily, Gazzetta dello Sport.

General Classification (GC)
The overall standings in the race.

Green Jersey
The jersey given to the leader of the sprint points competition. Sprint points are gathered at pre-designated spots midway through certain stages, and at the end of select stages such as the finish on the Champs-Elysees. It was originally supposed to be for consistency of finishes, but is now widely termed "the sprinter's jersey."

King of the Mountains (KoM)
A competition for the best climber, which runs on a points system like the green jersey. The leader wears the polka-dot jersey.

Lanterne Rouge
The last rider in the field on general classification. The term, which means "red lantern," originated in the early days of the Tour, when a car bearing a red lantern would follow the last rider, signifying the back end of the race.

Hors Categorie
French for "beyond category," a rating reserved for the stiffest climbs, such as the L'Alpe d'Huez and the Col du Galibier. Typical of the French, there's a guideline to how climbs are rated, but it's not set in stone. Rating relies on gradient, length, and position in a stage. Certain climbs, like the Alpe, are always beyond category. Other ratings, in decreasing order of difficulty are 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Feed Zones
A designated point on a stage where team personnel called "soigneurs" can pass musettes of food and water bottles to riders. The food is often little pastries or finger sandwiches that the riders ask for; solid food is crucial during a multi-day race. There's always a huge group of kids waiting after the feed zones because riders toss away empty bottles and the musettes once they've gotten all the chow out of them.

Champs-Elysees
The famous street in Paris that the Tour finishes on. At one end is the Arc de Triomphe. Racers do three circuits of about 15 kilometers each. Speeds are incredibly fast (often averaging 35-40mph) as racers try to win this prestigious stage. Massive partying is commonplace, as are crashes.


MORE TOUR FACTS

Calories consumed by a rider per day: 5,900 average, 9,000 max

Calories burned by a rider in the course of the Tour: 123,900 (based on 5900-per day average at 21 days of racing)

Number of pedal strokes taken per rider for the three weeks: 324,000 (at 60 rpm); 486,000 (at 90 rpm)

Number (or miles) of barricades erected and torn down for the race: 217 miles

Number of gendarmes (French military police officers) on the Tour: 13,000

Number of chains worn out by a single rider: 3 (Armstrong went through a chain a week)

Total number of tires used by the peloton: 792

Number of finishers, worst-ever year: 10 in 1919 (out of 69 starters)

Most stages won by a single rider, career total: 34, Eddy Merckx (1969: six stages and overall; 1970: eight stages and overall; 1971: four stages and overall; 1972: six stages and overall; 1974: eight stages and overall; 1975: two stages)

Most number of stages won on single Tour: 8--Charles Pelissier (1930), Eddy Merckx (1970, 1974), and Freddy Maertens (1976)

Most riders to wear yellow jersey in one Tour: 8 in 1987

Most days spent in yellow jersey: 96 by Eddy Merckx (in 7 participations)

Biggest winning margin (since 1947): 28 min 27 sec (Fausto Coppi--Stan Ockers in 1952)

Smallest winning margin: 8 sec (Greg LeMond--Laurent Fignon in 1989)

Longest solo breakaway: 253 km by Albert Bourlon in 1947

Biggest winning margin on stage win: 22 min 50 sec by Jose Luis Viejo in 1976

Fastest prologue: 55.152 kph by Chris Boardman in 1994 over 7.2 km

Highest total number of "King of the Mountains" victories: 7 by Richard Virenque

Fastest individual time trial: 54.545 kph by Greg LeMond in 1989 over 24.5 km

Fastest team time trial: 54.930 kph by Gewiss in 1995 over 67 km

Fastest average over a flat stage: 50.355 kph by Mario Cipollini in 1999 over 194.5 km (Laval-Blois)

Fastest average over whole Tour: 40.276 kph by Lance Armstrong in 1999

Oldest race winner: Firmin Lambot (36) in 1922

Youngest winner: Henri Cornet (20) in 1904

Most times participated by one rider: 16 (Joop Zoetemelk, between 1970 and 1986; he finished them all)

1 of 2