I'm watching the Tour de France and, for the first time, actually paying attention to the racing and trying to understand what's going on. I understand the very basic rules from Wikipedia, such as the various jersey competitions, and I'm starting to appreciate the team tactics and overall strategy that takes place. But I have a few fundamental questions.
A group of riders, such as the peloton, are given the same finishing time if they cross the finish line together. This makes sense from a safety standpoint, especially for the peloton, but how do they determine what constitutes a group?
What is the typical cruising speed of the peloton, assuming flat ground, no wind, and they aren't chasing down an attack? It seems like the peloton speed is usually in the 25-28 mph range.
What is considered a big lead for the GC competition? After 9 stages, I see that around a dozen riders are within 2 minutes of the leader, Roglic. At this point, is there a time past which you can pretty much write off a GC leader? My rough sense is that with a lot of big mountain stages coming up, you just need to stay within touching distance of the leader, so within a minute perhaps?
I also get the sense that you can't win the GC unless you're a strong climber, as in having the ability to put time into the peloton.
Like I said, basic questions but hopefully this will also help other TdF newbies.
A group of riders, such as the peloton, are given the same finishing time if they cross the finish line together. This makes sense from a safety standpoint, especially for the peloton, but how do they determine what constitutes a group?
What is the typical cruising speed of the peloton, assuming flat ground, no wind, and they aren't chasing down an attack? It seems like the peloton speed is usually in the 25-28 mph range.
What is considered a big lead for the GC competition? After 9 stages, I see that around a dozen riders are within 2 minutes of the leader, Roglic. At this point, is there a time past which you can pretty much write off a GC leader? My rough sense is that with a lot of big mountain stages coming up, you just need to stay within touching distance of the leader, so within a minute perhaps?
I also get the sense that you can't win the GC unless you're a strong climber, as in having the ability to put time into the peloton.
Like I said, basic questions but hopefully this will also help other TdF newbies.