On Saturday, June 30th the 2012 Tour de France will kick off with a 4 mile Individual Time Trial in the town of Liege, Belgium. Here are some basic facts about the Tour and what you can expect to see over the next three weeks:
Background Info:
- The Tour de France was first run in 1903
- Takes place over three weeks with individual races, or stages, each day (and a few rest days mixed in)
- Total distance is 2173 miles, which equals out to 103 miles PER DAY!
- There are 22 teams racing this year. Each team fields nine riders that have very specific duties and goals. There are overall classification riders (the leaders of the team), climbing specialists, time trial specialists, domestiques (basically the leader’s assistants), and well-rounded riders
Leader Jerseys:
During each day there are four special jerseys represented in the peloton:
- Yellow: Belongs to the rider with the lowest elapsed time at the start of each day’s race. The rider who owns the yellow jersey after the final stage is the winner. Last year’s winner: Cadel Evans
- Green: Belongs to the rider who has earned the most points at the start of each day’s race. Points are earned by being a leading rider across specific points along the route (finish lines, climbs, intermediate sprints). Last year’s winner: Mark Cavendish
- Red Polka Dot: Belongs to the rider who has collected the most points from finishing climbs at or near the front at the start of each day’s stage. Last year’s winner: Samuel Sanchez
- White Jersey: Belongs to the rider that is under-26 years old who has the lowest elapsed time at the start of each day’s race. Last year’s winner: Pierre Rolland
The Overall Favorites:
Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky)
- Has had a stellar year so far: won the Paris-Nice stage race, won the Tour de Romandie, and recently won the Criterium du Dauphine
- He is a tremendous time-trialist that, after he realized his potential as an all-around rider, has put in a large amount of work to become an accomplished climber
- Is in exceptional form this year, as evidence he annihilated the field in the decisive Criterium du Dauphine time trial…which included besting the current World Time Trial Champ, Tony Martin, by 34 seconds
Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas – Cannondale)
- Has finished on the podium twice at the Giro d’Italia and has won the Vuelta a Espana once
- Skipped the Giro d’Italia this year to focus on the Tour de France
- He is a great climber and has a strong finishing kick (he finished third in the Milan-San Remo one-day monument race earlier this year, and placed second at Liege-Bastogne-Liege)
- Has a strong team backing him up: Peter Sagan will help power the team down the road and help counter any strong moves; Ivan Basso is a two-time winner of the Giro d’Italia and two-time podium finisher at the Tour de France
Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin – Sharp)
- Won the Giro d’Italia this year
- Has a very experienced team riding for him this year: Christian Vande Velde, the former leader of the Garmin squad, had pledged his support to Ryder; Tom Danielson is an amazing climber that will do all he can to negate any attacks on the climbs; David Millar is a cycling veteran that has gone through all of the ups and downs possible
- The big question mark is going to be the freshness of his legs. Can he rebound from the Giro d’Italia?
Robert Gesink (Rabobank)
- Showed his form by winning the Tour of California in clutch fashion
- Has a solid, if under-appreciated, supporting cast: Luis-Leon Sanchez, Maarten Tjallingii, and Mark Renshaw
Dark Horse Favorites:
Frank Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan-Trek)
- Finished third at last year’s tour
- Has had inconsistent results this year with a well-publicized withdrawal (Giro d’Italia)
- Seems to lack a “killer” instinct
- Andy, his younger brother and three-time podium finisher at the Tour de France, will not be competing this year due to continuing injury complications. The big question is how will he perform without his brother there to help out
Cadel Evans (BMC Racing)
- What? The defending champ is a Dark Horse? Yes, he is
- He is a great time-trialist whose endurance has been likened to a diesel engine (takes a while to warm up, but can go for long distances consistently)
- He lacks the savage accelerations on steep climbs that some of his rivals have. It is possible for him to lose big chunks of time in the Alps and Pyrenees
- Will have to rely on the young American Tejay van Garderen to counter attacks by other teams in the mountains…this may not be enough, though
Levi Leipheimer (Omega Pharma – Quick-Step)
- His left leg was fractured when he was hit by a car while training in Spain in early April this year
- His form going into the Tour of California was a big question mark, but he powered through the race and surprised many with his sixth place finish overall
- He recently finished third in the Tour de Suisse in early June
Difference Makers (the guys who will shake things up this year):
Thomas Voeckler (Team Europcar)
- Has more determination in his lycra shorts than most riders have in their entire body
- He believes in giving everything he has on every stage
- Has the ability to steal the Yellow Jersey and fight to the death to keep it
Tom Danielson (Garmin – Sharp)
- Has the ability to pull Hesjedal over climbs
- Can check the attacks of other teams on the mountains due to his climbing prowess
Peter Sagan (Liquigas – Cannondale)
- He is on a stage-winning tear this year
- Will pull the entire team along the road to get Nibali in a position to take the overall title
Predictions:
Yellow Jersey: Bradley Wiggins
Green Jersey: Peter Sagan
Red Polka Dot Jersey: Pierre Rolland
White Jersey: Tejay van Garderen
*Be sure to watch the 2012 Tour de France on the NBC Sports Network to catch all of the action!
