Let the race begin

July 2, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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jerseys.jpgIt’s the most wonderful time of the year. The Tour de France is about to begin. It starts this Saturday in Monaco and I’m looking forward to watching one of the most interesting battles in years. Lance Armstrong is back and so is his team mate Alberto Contador who won in 2007. Can Australia’s Cadel Evans beat his second placing from the last couple of years to win? What a race it’ll be.

I thought that to prepare for the great race I’d revisit some of the basics of the race over the next couple of days.

If you have only started following the Tour de France recently and you’ve heard the commentators talking about different coloured jerseys, you might be wondering what all the different colours represent and why it’s so important to be wearing a jersey other than your team jersey.

Each team wears their own uniform but there are a number of special shirts or jerseys awarded each day. While it’s considered very prestigious to wear any of these jerseys throughout the race, it’s obviously even more so to be wearing one of these jerseys after the final sprint down the Champs-Élysées in Paris on the last day of the tour.

Many people know that the Yellow Jersey or Maillot Jaune is the most coveted of all the jerseys but here’s a quick rundown of what it’s all about.

Yellow Jersey

The Yellow Jersey is worn by the leader in the general classification. That means that whoever has the lowest overall time at the end of each stage of the event will be awarded with the Yellow Jersey. It was first awarded in 1919 and its colour was chosen to match the yellow paper of l’Auto magazine, founder of the Tour de France in 1903.

Green Jersey

The Green Jersey is given to the leader in the points classification, rewarding the best sprinter. It’s sometimes called the points jersey or sprinters’ jersey. During each stage, points are allocated for several intermediary sprints and for the finish. The jersey was introduced in 1953.

Polka Dot Jersey

The Polka Dot or King of the Mountains Jersey is awarded to the rider who earns most of the points at each summit. The winner is known as the King of the Mountains. Although the award was introduced in 1933, the red and white spotted jersey was not introduced until 1975.

White Jersey

The White Jersey is given to the best rider in the general classification under 25. The jersey was abandoned in 1989 but reintroduced in 1999.

So now you know a little more than you did a short while ago. I hope this brief explanation helps in your enjoyment of this year’s tour.



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He's Back!

September 10, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
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lance_armstrong.jpgEver since he retired from professional cycling there have been rumours that Lance Armstrong would make a comeback, so when the latest rumours started circulating I figured that I wouldn’t believe them until I heard the words from from Lance’s own mouth.

If you click here you’ll see Lance telling the world that he’s back.

As well as the short video of Lance announcing his return to professional cycling there is a media release annoucning a few more details.

Today, Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor, founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) and cycling champion, released the following statement regarding his return to professional sports:

“I am happy to announce that after talking with my children, my family and my closest friends, I have decided to return to professional cycling in order to raise awareness of the global cancer burden. This year alone, nearly eight million people will die of cancer worldwide. Millions more will suffer in isolation, victims not only of the disease but of social stigma. After the passage of Proposition 15 in Texas, a $3 billion investment in the fight against cancer which is helping to make this disease part of the national dialogue in America, it’s now time to address cancer on a global level.”

Mr. Armstrong will discuss his cycling program and an international LIVESTRONGTM strategy on September 24th in New York City at the Clinton Global Initiative.

If he intends riding for an eighth tour victory, the 2009 Tour de France should be amazing. I can’t wait to see Evans, Contador, Armstrong, Sastre and several other serious contenders battle it out through France.



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Who will win Tour de France 2008?

July 25, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
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small__tour_de_france_logo.jpgThe question of who will win the Tour de France for 2008 continues to be a cause of great speculation.

Most experts are stilling seeing Cadel Evans as the favourite and even some of the riders consider him to be almost unbeatable.

In the ABC News article, Only disaster can deny Evans Tour victory: Millar, British time-trial specialist David Millar is tipping Evans to overhaul his 1 minute 34 second deficit to his Spanish rival Carlos Sastre.

In the race’s first time trial, held over 29.5km, Evans finished fourth at 27secs behind winner Stefan Schumacher. Sastre finished 1:43 behind the German.

Some are wondering whether having the yellow jersey and starting last from the field will drive Sastre, more known for his climbing skills, on towards a maiden triumph on the race.

But Millar believes Evans would have to have a disastrous day not to overhaul the Spaniard.

“Carlos will do a better time trial than he would normally do, just because he’s going so well,” Millar said.

“But he’s a climber, so he’s going to lose time to Cadel and Denis (Menchov) and Christian (Vande Velde).”

So can we expect an Evans triumph on Saturday? “No worries,” added Millar.

All the big contenders enjoyed a relaxing day last night, and tonight’s 19th stage is likely to be dominated by a bunch sprint at the finish.

I’m not celebrating yet but it’s good to know that the general feeling is still that we’ll see an Australian in Yellow in Paris this Sunday.

One of the other early favourites, Christian Vande Velde also rates Evans as the likely winner.

American Christian Vande Velde, who dropped out of yellow jersey contention on the second of three days in the Alps, is aiming for the race of his life in a bid to secure a podium place.

The 32-year-old Garmin team leader is sixth place at 4:41 behind Sastre and is hoping to jump up to third.

“I think Cadel has a great chance of winning the Tour,” Vande Velde, who finished 10secs behind Evans in the first time trial.

My nine year old son, James, will be in Paris to see the final stage. I’m not at all jealous. All I can say is that he’d better get some good photos.



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It was all yellow

July 15, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
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tour_de_france_logo.jpgCadel Evans has gone into the first rest day of the 2008 Tour de France wearing yellow … by just one second.

The Australian rode an amazing stage in the mountains on a day when both the previous yellow jersey, Kim Kirchen, and the second favourite for the tour, Alejandro Valverde, cracked in the mountains and lost time to the Australian. Valverde has now slipped back to 14th place.

Of course the race is a long way from over and with eleven stages still to come, Cadel will have a big job ahead of him defending the yellow jersey.

One of the biggest stories to come out of the tenth stage was the strength of Team CSC who controlled the mountains and put many riders into trouble with their pace. CSC rider Frank Shleck was only a second away from wearing yellow with a tremendous ride up Hautacam.

Out of the eleven remaining stages there are five flat stages, five mountain stages and an individual time trial.

The race is a long way from over but it’s great to see Cadel in yellow.

Below are the top ten places overall from the official Tour De France website.

1. EVANS Cadel 1 SILENCE – LOTTO 42h 29′ 09″
2. SCHLECK Frank 17 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 42h 29′ 10″ + 00′ 01″
3. VANDEVELDE Christian 191 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 42h 29′ 47″ + 00′ 38″
4. KOHL Bernhard 115 GEROLSTEINER 42h 29′ 55″ + 00′ 46″
5. MENCHOV Denis 131 RABOBANK 42h 30′ 06″ + 00′ 57″
6. SASTRE Carlos 11 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 42h 30′ 37″ + 01′ 28″
7. KIRCHEN Kim 41 TEAM COLUMBIA 42h 31′ 05″ + 01′ 56″
8. COBO ACEBO Juan Jose 173 SAUNIER DUVAL – SCOTT 42h 31′ 19″ + 02′ 10″
9. RICCO Riccardo 171 SAUNIER DUVAL – SCOTT 42h 31′ 38″ + 02′ 29″
10. EFIMKIN Vladimir 104 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 42h 31′ 41″ + 02′ 32″

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cadel lose the winner’s jersey for a few days at some stage but if that hapopens, his time trialling skills should see him return to the number one position on the day before Paris in the 53 km time trial.



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Need . More . Coffee

July 11, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
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I must admit that I’m feeling a little weary today. I was up late again last night watching the latest stage in the tour.

Cadel Evans moved up to second overall in the Tour de France in stage 6, the first of the mountain stages, and with some more ‘medium’ mountains in today’s stage we could have an Aussie in yellow by this time tomorrow.

So it’s more medium mountains today before another day on the flat then two days of high mountains. After all that, and ten days straight racing, the riders are given their first rest day for the 2008 Tour de France on Tuesday.

By then I reckon they’ll all be ready for a little rest. I know I will.



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