The Tour De France is a three-week-long event that takes place in the mountains of France. This race happens in the midst of COVID-19. France is one of the countries whose cases keep increasing. There were 176 riders in this year’s race, who all got tested for COVID daily and had zero positives over a three week time frame. Even with fans being allowed on the race course, not one rider tested positive. The total distance of the Tour De France is 2,200 miles. This is a bike climbing mountains and then going back down them. This race takes a lot of dedication, will, and endurance day in and day out because the riders only get two days off throughout the three-week span of this race.
A little background about the Tour De France’s history and payout. The first Tour De France was held in 1903. This race has been going on for 117 years. If you win a stage at the Tour De France, you are getting $13,000 US Dollars, which accumulates to 1,094.86 Euros. If you win the Tour De France, meaning you capture the yellow jersey, then you get $556,000 US Dollars, which is 468,263.20 Euros.
For the Tour De France, there are four different jerseys a rider can hold/wear. The yellow jersey is called the general classification jersey, but in French it is called maillot jaune. This jersey is given to the winner of the Tour De France. The polka dot jersey is given to the king of the mountains. This jersey is given to the rider who gains the most for reaching mountain summits first. The green jersey is given to the best sprinter. In order to capture the green jersey, you have to be the fastest at the end of flat stages and intermediate sprints. The last jersey that is given out is the white jersey, this is for the best young rider. To qualify to get the white jersey, you have to be under the age of either 24 of 25.
The green jersey was dominated by Peter Sagan. He has won 7 out of the last 8 green jerseys. This Tour De France was a little different for Sagan. He got the green jersey, then lost it, and then controlled the pace of the race for the sprinters. In the end, Peter Sagan could not outsprint Sam Bennett. Sam Bennett is the first Irishmen to win this jersey since Sean Kelly won it in 1989. To win this jersey, you have to be consistent throughout all the spirits that take place within the Tour De France, which means from Stage 1 to the end of Stage 21, riders want to try to get as many points as possible.
History was made at this year’s Tour De France. For the first time ever, a rider won three of the four jerseys. Tadej Pogacar won the yellow, polka dot, and the white jersey. This means Pogacar won the entire Tour De France, King of the Mountains, and best young rider. He turns 22 tomorrow, his birthday is September 21st. The most dominant team throughout the three weeks was Jumbo Visma. They controlled the pace of the race, mainly Primoz Roglic. Primoz Roglic had the yellow jersey for eleven days that all changed on Saturday. Pogacar won the individual time trial, which is Stage 20 by 1:21, over second-place Tom Dumoulin. Roglic entered the time trial with a 57 second lead over Pogacar, but the tables turned on him because by the end of Stage 20, Roglic was a minute behind Pogacar. Pogacar is the 2nd youngest to win the Tour De France since 1906, which was won by Rene Pottier.
Overall, this was one of the best Tour De France’s in the last 5 or 6 years. At the end of Stage 20, the riders who had won the jerseys knew that nobody could catch them, which allowed for a little less stress for Bennett and Pogacar. If you are looking for a new sport to get into, I recommend cycling. What these riders do over a three week time frame is insane. The Tour De France will be held in July next year so ten more months till this race happens again. The dedication, will, and endurance the riders have is impressive. I loved watching the Tour De France this year with my family. This year’s race was exciting, and I can not wait for next year’s Tour De France. Will you be watching?
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