The Tour De France Explained In 5 Levels Of Difficulty

[@gcn]

What is your favourite thing about the Tour de France?

[@javyerdeleon]

Climbs

[@NorreMoto]

high speed descents

[@void_presence]

I'm not into racing at all (I'm very non-competitive), but what I like about the Tour de France is the more exposure of cycling

[@baszaskozbendudoloedesapa7648]

my beloved childhood with Lance :)

[@gregor9921]

Well, that I can watch it free on stream compared to other events that would need a subscription of some kind

[@Neil_down_south]

Please do a video on breakaways... So many permutations on why teams put riders in (or not), chase them (or not). I've read numerous cyclist biographies and still get confused!

[@oioioioioioioioi-k3w]

I feel like sometimes they do it just to make it more fun for the viewers :)

[@Kaasgeelheid]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6WYaIV5gaenabM this video does it pretty well!

[@ebikescrapper3925]

Breakaways happen for many reasons: 1. To promote a rider, team and sponsors. 2. To give the rider experience of leading a race. 3. To judge the condition of the other riders in the pack. The rider is not chased automatically if he/she is not going to place high in the final results. They are allowed their time in the spotlight for the reasons above. They will be chased if a specific rider or team wants to win that specific stage.

[@gcn]

We actually did a full length documentary on this for GCN+ called The Art Of The Breakaway 👉 plus.globalcyclingnetwork.com/watch/the-art-of-the-breakaway

[@Neil_down_south]

@@gcn fantastic I'll be watching that this afternoon before the TDF starts! Feedback: GCN+ needs a search function!

[@you_down_with_pjc]

Dudes, more 5-levels videos please! This is great

[@gcn]

Thanks!

[@MistressBlah]

Level 0: It's a bike race around France.

[@ianstewart8301]

Thanks for including info on the Femmes race

[@henriks5008]

You forgot to mention the team competition. The team with the best overall time combined between riders gets a yellow nr plate. There is also a time limit on each stage, calculated from the winners time. Also the team captain almost always has the nr 1 last on their nr plate.

[@invisiblescout6335]

Team classification is way more complicated than cumulative team time

[@creepou]

@@invisiblescout6335 in which way ? It s only the first 4 or 5 time of the team combined, and the best team win this ond

[@invisiblescout6335]

@@creepou l don't remember, but I know it's not just adding up total time at the end

[@gcn]

Yes, we could have made this one an hour long! The teams competition is the cumulative time of the first 3 riders across the line per team on each stage.

[@henriks5008]

@@invisiblescout6335 As of 2011, the team classification is calculated by adding the times of the three best riders of each team per stage; time bonuses and penalties are ignored. In a team time trial, the team gets the time of the fifth rider of that team to cross the finish, or the last rider if there are fewer than five left for the team. If a team has fewer than three cyclists remaining, it is removed from this classification. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_classification_in_the_Tour_de_France

[@Rand0mRans0m]

I appreciate the breakdown of the Femmes edition. So many other outlets are completely leaving it out.

[@kariboo514]

I was not even aware of the Femmes edition

[@gcn]

It's such an important event for cycling. We'll have more Tour de France Femmes content coming over the next month too!

[@FiguringOut50s]

@@gcn how hard would it be for the tour to star the ladies an hour after the men and let them do the whole course? Are they afraid the lead women would pass the peleton? Do they seriously think it's too hard for women? Or they just don't want to pay the permit fees.

[@fumanpoo4725]

The Violent Femmes?

[@fumanpoo4725]

I don't care about their nads...more coverage now!

[@imprezaaudi]

So pleased the women's tour is taking place. Hope it grows in duration and popularity

[@gcn]

So do we!

[@dankbank7424]

Women's sports are silly. Sports are about competition and of women can't compete at the highest level they're not worth watching.

[@saturday7]

I really enjoy Conor's style of presentation. A great job he did on this video.

[@kathyastrom1315]

I could have used this when I started watching cycling on tv about ten years ago. I was drawn in by the gorgeous scenery, stuck around for what I call “the NASCAR effect” of the possibility of spectacular crashes (early watching had a brutal one into barbed wire IIRC), then I got hooked by one rider having a remarkable rookie TdF-Nairo Quintana. He had me paying attention beyond the pretty and/or potentially gruesome images, and I took note of the tv commentators’ discussion of team tactics. In the past year, KZbin has been great about posting daily recaps of the one-day races and various countries’ tours, so my interest has expanded beyond the TdF and other Grand Tours.

[@gcn]

That's so awesome to hear Kathy! What's your favourite race now?

[@kathyastrom1315]

@@gcn TdF will always be my top, just because the organizers really know how to do it right-use top-quality camera crews, take advantage of the breadth of your country’s terrain, alternate flat with hilly stages, and get the best riders. But, I will say that watching my first Paris-Roubaix on NBC last year was simply epic!! That just might be my favorite single day of watching bike racing ever-it’ll take a lot to top it.

[@권용대-b5v]

The best introduction of Tour I’ve ever seen. Bravo!!

[@gcn]

Thank you!

[@RogerWilcoSnr]

Nicely done, GCN. Allez le Tour!! 🇫🇷👊

[@porthose2002]

Please consider a video on how teams develop strategies for a given stage or even The Tour overall. I've seen a bunch of wild strategies over the years and I'd love to learn more about the thinking behind them. Thanks!

[@LUCYDIAMONDBOXER1]

What about a 5 unwritten rules of the Tour like don't attack the yellow jersey on the last stage, take a sticky bottle in event of a mechanical etc....

[@nk-dw2hm]

Cheating is fine as long as you aren't too brazen. Pedestrians/fans are more of a problem than the climbs. And whoever is in yellow on stage 7 is not going to be on the podium by the end.

[@tannerslomko]

This is awesome. I just got into watching cycling like 2 months ago and videos like this help out alot understanding it. Someone else said doing a video on breakaways would be great. I agree.

[@apm9507]

I'm looking forward to the highlight reel of the Tour de France Femmes. The ladies just seem to enjoy cycling races.

[@BikePappy]

Fabulous explanation. We were just having a discussion about how the teams/organizers manage the jerseys for the various classifications. Surely they don’t have every colour of jersey for every rider at hand just in case they happen to need one. Do they make them on demand? We know that the podium jerseys are for display only but does each team have a set of jerseys ready at the finish? Maybe you could do a video about how this is managed in a grand tour?

[@osterlitz1]

I would like to hear how the team works to help the chosen rider. How does the team support the one rider to get them to the lead and win.

[@lorikendrick1705]

Would love to watch a race with someone with this kind of knowledge about what the neck is going on....tactics, game ( race) plans, points for various wins in each stage.....hard to keep track, rely on PCS, a lot... I love it all, learn stuff every race, have favorite riders, some more special than others....crazy, fun, tricky, scary, exhausting sport...these guys are monsters in their fitness......THANKS, CONOR 🍀🌟🌟🌟 LET'S GO !

[@yazzazy0]

check out the butterfly effect with Chris Horner

[@joshklein1285]

Awesome breakdown. As a newbie following the tour for the first time, I would love a video giving some context on each competitive team, their leaders, and key themes! Thanks again.

[@chriscole4149]

Love to learn more about the Tour and other awesome bike races.

[@declanfaughey8471]

Conor you forgot that in 1998 the Grand départ was in Dublin Ireland. I was there after getting up at 3am and cycling 15km with a backpack full of food and coffee, worth it got a fantastic viewing spot.

[@gcn]

That one perhaps was overshadowed by the Festina scandal but so cool to hear Declan!

[@mattszrejter6785]

Loved this information. Thanks GCN!

[@indorock]

I appreciate all the subtle digs between 8:08 and 8:47 at Patrick Lefevre for not choosing Cav for the Tour. What a mistake.

[@scottjones9362]

Good video. Well done Connor. Well presented!

[@michaelevans797]

Keep them coming Connor, excellent 👏

[@endcensorship874]

With the Tadej being so young and winning two tours already, and Egan Bernal doing it before him, it's no longer as special to have that White Jersey for the youngest, best placed rider. Now, I'm not saying get rid of it ... but I am saying we need a Best Old Rider. Bring back the Red Jersey (which used to be for intermediate sprinters; sprint finishes in the middle of the stage) and have riders older than, say, 36 be eligible for that.

[@gcn]

Veteran's category! There would be some great contenders!

[@eagleironic5815]

I wonder if doing something like if a young rider has won a white/yellow jersey in a previous year they’re ineligible for the white jersey again would open up the category?

[@mpageaustin]

Wow super informative, learned so much about the tour

[@gcn]

Glad you enjoyed this!

[@Wendathena]

Wish they would add a new classification for the oldest rider. The older riders are quite inspirational!

[@mogglie]

Please do lots of these videos. Explain all tour things. Even comment on stages in this format. Explain a stage and it’s complexity for beginners.

[@khosrogh5893]

Very helpful video. Please create and publish more videos on tour de France. I hope I'll visit the competition this year at stage 8 in Dole. Cheers.

[@LtStone1]

Heres one, the origin of the Jerseys explained. Nice trivia to boast at Parties or the Cafeteria: Yellow: ‘Desgrange came up with the idea of the jersey to distinguish the race leader,’ Boyce adds, ‘and its colour was chosen because it was the colour of the paper that L’Auto-Vélo, the race’s newspaper sponsor and predecessor to the modern L’Équipe, was printed on.’ Green: ‘Fausto Coppi beat everyone by such a large margin in 1952 that everyone quit,’ Boyce says. ‘So the organisers decided to celebrate the 50th anniversary in 1953 by initiating the green jersey - the colour inspired by its lawn mower-producing sponsor, La Belle Jardinière. They needed something to keep riders from quitting, so stage placings were awarded with points, and thus the jersey.’ Polka dot: ‘It wasn’t until 1975 that the first polka dot jersey was awarded - to the Belgian rider Lucien Van Impe,’ says Boyce. ‘Why the polka dots? The original sponsor of the jersey was Chocolat Poulain, and the wrapper of the chocolate bar was polka dotted.’ Source: Cyclist

[@swedishmichaell7369]

At last - an explanation of how finishing riders get the same time. Thanks!

[@guest_informant]

Been watching, reading and learning about the Tour for about 25 years. I think I understand about 5% of what's going on. Ok maybe a bit less.

[@gcn]

There's a lot to take in

[@Wendathena]

Would like to know more about the restrictions on riders who crash and then get behind a team car and are allowed to draft a bit until they gain a little time back. What are the nuances in rules and etiquette in the peloton with regard to these mishaps?

[@mick6ful]

Excellent video Connor

[@NoworriesCycles]

22x8 = 176 riders. Great information very helpful.

[@joshua43210]

Thanks for this super informative video! I loved how you covered the women's race as well :)

[@MarkCaliwatan]

lance Armstrong the greatest of all time!! with or without epo! we all know everybody had juice!

[@The_One-Eyed_Undertaker]

Soccer???? Son, are you really Irish or you just love the accent?

[@NotEvilJoe]

The key thing I didn't understand when I started watching was the rule about finishing with the same time if there are no gaps. This seems like it is key to understanding a lot about tactics and why sprinting for finish is not as important as it first seems in all the stages in terms of the yellow jersey competition.

[@jayskuce]

Great video thanks another deep dive TdeF video would be good

[@pittviper6320]

Good plug Connor at 1.26! Good work. Ha

[@tritananna4713]

Great vid! Thanks

[@AlistairLattimore]

What a great video!

[@gcn]

Thanks Alistair!

[@AG-io5wr]

Are there any new rules for spectators, the ones that will expectedly cause a crash and injure riders?

[@brianwright9514]

Yes, starting this year, if you're going to hold a sign on the side of the road, you must use it to crash Roglic.

[@jameslee-pevenhull5087]

Organisers have relaxed the Climb Category formula, if they know the formula Henri Desgrange devised. There are some really piss easy Cat 4 climbs.

[@joskabouw]

Conner Thx for this explanation I have seen several tours life when traveling thru France What is most impressive is how the difference is in speed when they ride up the steep mountains compared to the amateur's Questions Can you explain more about strategy's and tactics of attack and defends, and where at what stage the tour is +/- decided? The mountains are most time marking the creating the differences? Do the riders know the rout stages when the tour starts or it is a "secret"?

[@Mister_G]

Nice concept, but poor execution - your first three levels say the same thing through garbled explanations. Nothing about breakaways, the time limits, the 'caravan', sticky bottles, or other ethics, team vs individual competition, etc...

[@paulgordon7526]

Brilliant thanks for the detail and explanation Conor :-) Great to see the Women now included wit the Tour de France Femmes! hopefully this is a permanent annual event for them now?

[@Livlifetaistdeth]

My congratulations to GCN for getting the opportunity to cover the TDF.

[@jamesc2040]

ITV and Eurosport in the UK

[@creepou]

I think it s also caused by the amount of money required for broadcasting the show

[@Livlifetaistdeth]

@@slowturn5664 thanks for the heads up

[@slowturn5664]

@@Livlifetaistdeth UPDATE! Sorry I was a bit off. The 109th Tour de France airs live on NBC, USA and and Peacock (opens in new tab). Streaming service Peacock costs just $4.99 a month ($9.99 with limited ads) and includes thousands of movies, TV shows, kids content and other live sport. New users get a free 7-day trial.23 hours ago

[@SimonH72]

One video for each pro-tour race… that’ll keep Connor occupied! 👍🏻😂

[@Coolcmsc]

The best TdF title EVER!

[@georgesandler8069]

Not mentioning Lance, even with an asterisk or caveats, seems totally insane to me.

[@yanwo2359]

I thought the same. If the second place rider in 1999 to 2005 was racing "clean" why are they not listed as the winner? As Jan said, "We all know who won."

[@fumanpoo4725]

Yes...mention that vile POS...

[@Eric..Cartman]

Greatest of all time. All were juiced to the gills but Armstrong beat them all multiple times.

[@Landonlawrence89]

Came here to say the same!!!!

[@allancoukell2911]

Who dat?

[@alancapes5644]

Brilliant summary!

[@gcn]

Hope you found it helpful

[@2.old4this]

Dear GCNers, when will your excellent books be available as ebooks? Kindle in particular? Ta.

[@michaelnancyamsden7410]

There is so much to learn.

[@gcn]

There's always more to learn!

[@jesselima_dev]

Amazing explanation!

[@gcn]

Hope it was helpful!

[@pudimdecana51]

It is a shame not mentioning Lance Armstrong. A guy who, after getting over cancer and having had surgery on his brain and lungs, proceeded to win TdF a record 7 times! “Oh, but he was on juice”, you may say… We all know he wasn’t the only one, and still managed to win autoritatively. No one came near him, juice or no juice. Shame shame shame

[@NNRedemption]

If everyone IS Doping Not the best Athlet wins. The Person wins which can get the biggest boost throigh Doping. The genetics are everything Then. The Doping Level armstrong Had couldnt do many people without Just dying

[@notreally2406]

@ 1:34 ...this year ...THERE WILL BE 3 REST DAYS

[@conordunne1]

This is football everyone 😀😘 kzbin.info/www/bejne/inakk4qomadsjrc Thanks for watching all, appreciate all the comments. Must do another on a different area of our sport. Cheers all! Conor

[@richardm6985]

'british rider chris froome'... absolutely... almost as iconic as british batsman kevin peterson :'D

[@fumanpoo4725]

Come on...cricket's not a real sport...

[@richardm6985]

@@fumanpoo4725 lol what's that from

[@davidleamy7564]

What is the cycling world's stance on Armstrong then?

[@yanwo2359]

Ask the riders he competed against. None who placed second to him have demanded to be listed as winning. Why not?

[@FanTazTiCxD]

I still don't understand why winning a stage in Tour De France is such a big deal, when the winner is decided on overall time added together. Like, for instance, you see two sprinters side by side competing to be the first over that finish line, and there will even be a photo finish sometimes to see who's the 1st place, but why does it matter? Does coming in 1st place (even if it's just by a few centimeters) in a stage actually add a bonus or something? Or is it just for the sake of honor entirely?

[@NNRedemption]

Prestige Money and Something for the smaller teams

[@NNRedemption]

There is more than Just the GC. There is the Sprint classmenr The climbing classment, And a fcking Stage win IS extremly important for all Teams which doesnt Go fkr gc

[@MrEhimsel]

Can there be/is there a video on power per gear plus rpms for the pros? I know they keep rpms around 85 but am curious about speeds and power in each gear.

[@sgomez3047]

Haha!! Lets not forget Lance Armstrong 😳

[@snoopysnoop8546]

sure, we need more!!!

[@Greg.Sutton]

You sure you got the most featured climb right? I thought it was Col Du Tourmalet (over 80 times) not the Galibier?

[@gcn]

You're right Greg. The Tourmalet is the most visited climb, the Galibier is just the most featured in the Alps.

[@blackkitty_42]

can't believe you said "soccer". i feel so betrayed

[@_taste]

What's the pay structure for the tour?

[@TalonMerlin777]

Very interesting.

[@chriskeller5226]

Cover Breakaways and team tactics please!

[@adamhill8290]

Awesome video. Great explanation. What I still don't understand is why are there time trials and how do these factor into the overall winner when everything else is a race from point A to point B.

[@KdM_BigRingBubba]

It's all about cumulative time. Whoever gets from the start of the race to the end in the least total time (factoring in time bonuses, etc) get to wear yellow on the Champs d'Elysees. The time trials are no different and the time each rider takes to finish the course gets added along. They require a different skill set from riding in a bunch, so it's another way to test the riders to try to find the best overall cyclist.

[@monitorcomputersystemsltd2375]

The time trial removes the benefit of drafting, team work and tactics - leaving only power, athletic ability and aerodynamics.

[@lennartb8166]

Connor, how do you justify calling football soccer, especially as an Irishman? :P

[@conordunne219]

Football is something a whole load more exciting in Ireland ;) Thanks for watching! Conor

[@starkparker16]

When he's right he's right. 🇺🇸

[@johnossendorf9979]

The word 'soccer' was coined in Britain 200 years ago.

[@danielakerman8241]

The term “soccer” to describe football originated in England…

[@slowturn5664]

Pull your foot out and play ball! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Just kidding for the Sensitive Ones.

[@becmango]

Thank you

[@richardjones1777]

5:25 where are those rocks???

[@MrTerrymccollough]

When will the Tour have a gravel stage?

[@gasperle]

Col du Tourmalet was visited 59 (60) times. more than Col du Galibier with (37) 39

[@falco830]

What the hell is the point of the time trial stages? Other than putting it in the first stage… and do all the riders each do a time trial or only the main fast riders of each team?

[@gcn]

Everyone does the time trial, It's a great opportunity for the stronger time trialists to gain time on everyone else in the GC

[@garyschnitker6689]

I attempted to explain to my wife the race tactics of stage 11. "The Jumbo-Visma team as a group successfully attacked the yellow jersey", I said. My wife, assuming an assault had taken place, concluded, "That's mean, I hope they don't win."

[@LostCuriosity]

Where do I get that hoodie?

[@gcn]

From the GCN Shop 👉 shop.globalcyclingnetwork.com/casual-clothing/celebrate-french-racing

[@jeromecarlson9144]

Just casually gonna ignore the roids and Lance Armstrong winning seven times in a row

[@gcn]

According to the official record books, the 1999 - 2005 Tours have no winner

[@jeromecarlson9144]

@@gcn And according to NCAA record books the fab five didn't go to the final four, but we both know those record books are bullshit and both examples show hypocrisy in every definition of the word

[@gregj1241]

He cheated case you haven't heard

[@jeromecarlson9144]

@@gregj1241 like everyone else in the tour in case you haven't heard

[@ethangodridge6833]

Managed to get a hoody before they went. Order in progress- roll on the Tour.

[@TroggyPK]

serious question, if only the current leader can wear yellow why do teams like lotto and tinkoff saxo get away with yellow kits?

[@1984jelle1]

2 rest days?

[@frasergibson6940]

You neately ignored lance 😂

[@robertthiesmeier8617]

appreciate the coverage of BOTH tour de France hommes & femmes!

[@marjensendk]

The cost of the Tour de France in Denmark, is mainly just a cost... That's what the scientists conclude. It's only the politicians who defend their decision with arguments like increased awareness of Denmark and more tourism.

[@charles9215]

Armstrong won 7. People need to deal with it

[@NicoakaRedCat]

he did not, you need to deal with it.

[@charles9215]

@@NicoakaRedCat then who won those tours. Everybody wants to sweep those tours under the rug as if they didn’t happen. They did happen so if he didn’t win who did?

[@NicoakaRedCat]

@@charles9215 they very much happened, nobody won from 1999 to 2005. We have to face that cycling world got scammed in a big way.

[@charles9215]

@@NicoakaRedCat if they happened then there was a pecking order of finishers. There is seven years of video evidence of who won are who won. Millions around the world watched. The holier than thou crowd knew what was going on but did nothing. Elitist who run these sports can do all they want to the record books but Lance won.

[@davehollingworth5537]

Sorry, didn’t hear a word of that - all of my attention was focused from start to finish on that brick over Connor’s shoulder. It’s weird.

[@laurenn123able]

Haha once I read this I couldn’t stop focusing on it either

[@noternunstoned]

The White jersey should only go to one rider, one time only, keep it under 25 or 23 whatever but give a new rider a chance, it's a major jersey afterall .

[@mohdhamirolrezamamit8069]

F O O T B A L L

[@mateenio2186]

Sad there's no Cavendish

[@raymondgoodman9148]

did he mention how many mechanics each team has?

[@jactreehorn]

did I just hear a tall Irish dude say "soccer"? XD

[@pepkthx]

Been following your content for years, great stuff, but c'mon guys, please please please learn to say "Femmes" in French. Just have Google Translate tell you how it's pronounced...

[@SeanBlader]

I was almost going to sign up for GCN+ to watch the tour... but I'm in the US.

[@TubeStoo]

Get a vpn to appear to be somewhere else.

[@learden91]

why exactly isn't Armstrong mentioned here?

[@simonm1447]

Why? There is no official winner any more in this era, because of exzessive dope. They may still use some Doping, but the times are today worse than in this 7 years despite better, faster bikes now

[@pustraks]

He forgot Lance Armstrong :D The best cyclist in the world, winning 7 consecutive times, from 1999 to 2005. A little bit of doping, but hey, who doesn't :)

[@colinsutherland8965]

Yeah but no-one else was such a complete #### that took pleasure in destroying the careers of others who called him out

[@bobbrereton135]

The Tour's Liar of the Century. A total waste of DNA.

[@TheoldSouth]

Lance Armstrong is the greatest athlete of all time, even with the doping.

[@slowturn5664]

It's sad to me that he had to dope to compeat with all the other idiots who could have ruined bikeing.

[@markbaird2657]

Amen! Forget the doping - EVERYONE was coping!! He was ferocious - had the best training, team, sponsors and equipment. He revolutionized the sport. Period. Best cyclist ever

[@FarOut-n6b]

Nothing aggravates me more than when english youtubers on a english channel use American terms like soccer and dollars trying to appeal to our colonial cousins over the pond.