SIR GUESTLING THORN

Day 162

Today’s word from Susie BEWITTERED Full of nervous apprehension and excitement

BEWATTLED To be befuddled and bewildered

I am a happy man at the moment because The Tour de France is on. It is no secret I am a cycling enthusiast and the Grand Tours are for me are a must watch. The athleticism and endurance of these guys riding for three weeks each day (bar two rest days) for up to 190 kilometres is astounding. Often the average speed is over 40 kilometres and hour and they come down mountains at speeds up to 70kph and over, on a thin wheeled bike! There are crashes and horrible injuries. They crash dust themselves off and with torn clothing get up and ride on. Often you can see the skin rash peeking through their jersey or shorts! These are tough men who are super fit and ride with all sorts of injuries. Unfortunately they are not invulnerable and sometimes injury or illness will force them to retire! The tactics and manoeuvring for position to gain time or win a stage are fascinating. There are the General Classification contenders usually the leader of the bigger teams and then those who are riding for stage wins. A stage win in a Grand tour is a big deal and can cement your reputation and win you a contract with a bigger team. A stage win is  great for each team and there sponsors. Sponsors of teams invest a lot of money and like all sponsors they want publicity for their company. Teams have what some may consider odd names like Movistar, Ineos Grenadiers, Lotto Jumbo Visma, Michelton Scott, Cofidis, UAE etc and these are usually because that is their main sponsor or owner of their team. There are specialist sprinters, time trail , climbers and each team has “domestics” who sole task is look after their designated team leader and work for them, keeping them sheltered making sure that are kept out of trouble and given as easier ride as possible in order that they can win. These leaders are talented riders who have that extra something that separates them from the pack. Like in all sports they are all good but some just have that extra something that makes them stand out. Often there is the “breakaway” one or two or more riders who get a gap between themselves and the Peleton of main riders. They try and stay away for as long as possible hoping they might get to the end and have a chance of winning (as happened yesterday) They often get quite close to the finish only to be overhauled by the chasing pack and beaten to the line. Often they are told to ride in the breakaway by their team manager in order to get publicity for their sponsors, the rider knows he has no chance of staying there and certainly not winning, although on the odd occasion this has happened! The main Peleton polices things with each main contender making sure that a rival does not gain time on them or get away. My favourite stages are the mountain climbs. Going up the side of a mountain with gradients of up to 20% for several kilometres is endurance personified. I personally am a poor climber and so I am in awe of these guys going up at 15 to 20 kph. The tactics are fascinating especially when one or more riders try to get away and inject a burst of speed. Those in contention have to try and keep up or work their way back slowly pacing themselves. Sometimes they just cannot keep up and lose vital time to a rival who on that day is just faster than them. I am sure you all know that the leader of the race wears the “yellow” jersey and that other jerseys are worn for the various leaders of categories such as Green for the leader of the sprint prize, white for the best young rider and of course the Polka Dot for the “King” of the mountains!  These are not necessarily the riders who win every stage or sprint or mountain climb but who win the most points overall during the race. Indeed the winner of the Tour does not necessarily have to win a stage but their cumulative time has to be the lowest. I could go on for some time writing about this but in the spirit of brevity and not wishing to bore you I will stop.

Stay well