The Tour de France is the most prominent bicycle race in the world, so it is easy to imagine that the path has to be chosen extremely carefully. However, to lesser degrees the routes of all cross-country races of all types have to be chosen carefully too with safety and exciting features in mind.
The Tour de France is a long race, but each stage has to be concluded in approximately the same time - the hours of daylight in essence - no matter what the obstacles are. This means that not each leg can be of the same length as it would be in a stadium.
Spectators, both at the event and those keeping an eye on it on TV, expect to see some of the most beautiful scenery in France, while watching the best competitors in the world trying to give their best under arduous conditions of heat and incline. For the Tour de France is played out usually in the mountains.
The Tour de France has been held for more than 100 years and it has always been one of the objectives of the route committee to plan a route that is roughly equally arduous as the previous races so that the athletes during the decades can be compared to some degree.
Obviously, training regimens and the technology of the apparatus have improved much and the cyclists are all professionals nowadays, whereas decades ago, many, if mot all would have been part-timers - amateurs. This makes meaningful comparisons over decades virtually worthless.
One of the things to take into account is the fact that there are different types of cyclists. Some are good sprinters, some are power-climbers, some are marathon cyclists, so the route planners have to make sure that the course does not give one particular sort of cyclist an unfair advantage.
Access for rescue services is another consideration, because one of the most popular features of the Tour de France is seeing the cyclists charging through a tiny, out-of-the-way village that no outsiders have ever heard of. It is also a great thrill for the villagers to find themselves on the path of the Tour de France - the highlight of decades.
In fact, villages find it so appealing to get on the route, that there is a lengthy selection process, which is similar to countries applying to hold the Olympic Games. The mayor or the village will have a proposition drawn up and people will be chosen and trained to present it to the route planning committee.
This is a problematic process and often means big alterations to a small village, After all, they will have to be able to supply food and perhaps shelter for thousands of visitors, which might be more than the total population of the whole village itself.
This may be even more of a difficultly if the village is chosen as a rest point for an overnight stay - what with the cyclists, the mechanics, the trainers, the doctors, the planners and thousands of spectators.
Planning the route of the Tour de France is a difficult task and one for which the route planners seldom receive the recognition that they deserve.
The Tour de France is a long race, but each stage has to be concluded in approximately the same time - the hours of daylight in essence - no matter what the obstacles are. This means that not each leg can be of the same length as it would be in a stadium.
Spectators, both at the event and those keeping an eye on it on TV, expect to see some of the most beautiful scenery in France, while watching the best competitors in the world trying to give their best under arduous conditions of heat and incline. For the Tour de France is played out usually in the mountains.
The Tour de France has been held for more than 100 years and it has always been one of the objectives of the route committee to plan a route that is roughly equally arduous as the previous races so that the athletes during the decades can be compared to some degree.
Obviously, training regimens and the technology of the apparatus have improved much and the cyclists are all professionals nowadays, whereas decades ago, many, if mot all would have been part-timers - amateurs. This makes meaningful comparisons over decades virtually worthless.
One of the things to take into account is the fact that there are different types of cyclists. Some are good sprinters, some are power-climbers, some are marathon cyclists, so the route planners have to make sure that the course does not give one particular sort of cyclist an unfair advantage.
Access for rescue services is another consideration, because one of the most popular features of the Tour de France is seeing the cyclists charging through a tiny, out-of-the-way village that no outsiders have ever heard of. It is also a great thrill for the villagers to find themselves on the path of the Tour de France - the highlight of decades.
In fact, villages find it so appealing to get on the route, that there is a lengthy selection process, which is similar to countries applying to hold the Olympic Games. The mayor or the village will have a proposition drawn up and people will be chosen and trained to present it to the route planning committee.
This is a problematic process and often means big alterations to a small village, After all, they will have to be able to supply food and perhaps shelter for thousands of visitors, which might be more than the total population of the whole village itself.
This may be even more of a difficultly if the village is chosen as a rest point for an overnight stay - what with the cyclists, the mechanics, the trainers, the doctors, the planners and thousands of spectators.
Planning the route of the Tour de France is a difficult task and one for which the route planners seldom receive the recognition that they deserve.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is at present concerned with London Olympics 2012 venues. Click a link if you are interested in 2012 London Olympics Volunteers.
0 comments on Planning The Route Of The Tour De France :
Post a Comment