The Big Fat Silly Honest Tour de France 2022 Q&A for Beginners

[BR2]

The Tour '22 in 10 seconds. Go.
100, okay?

Sports spectacle, 109th edition, 22 teams, 7 of them French, with 8 riders each, 21 days of racing plus two resting days, one overall winner, 3328 racing km from Copenhagen to Paris, two individual time trials.
Top favourite 23year old Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, who won the last two editions. Most dangerous challengers could be Primoz Roglic (Slovenia), Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark), Aleksandr Vlasov (currently nationless) and Ben O'Connor (Australia).

Ah, forget it. Nobody expects Pogacar to lose this. But then, there are no safe bets in cycling. One can always be taken out by a woman who wants to greet her grandparents.

There are also nice views, castles, landscapes, wild fans, lots of stage winners and, you can be sure of that, crazy stories along the way.

What is a time trial?
I am too bad at explaining. Look here:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOFJALsanxg

Yes, it's a single rider against the clock. Each man on their own. Fastest guy wins, no slipstream, no real tactics. Just try to go as steadily and fast as you can. Try to be as aerodynamic as possible without losing power...

Why does the Tour de France not start in France?
Sometimes it starts in France, sometimes it doesn't. This year it indeed sets off in a place I would call Kopenhagen, but they call it Købnhavn there.
Why do they start there? Well, as always money rules the world. The organizers of the Tour, the ASO (Amaury Sport organisation), want to promote their product in as many countries as possible. Cities also (need to) pay quite a bit of money to feature prominently in the Tour. In addition, the riders might want to see something else now and then. The viewers most likely do.

Can I take part, too?
No. It's not like the Boston Marathon.
They are actually all professionals. Yes, they get paid to ride their bike and, apart from the occasional picture with a shampoo bottle, not much else. Some get paid really well, some can just pay their rent, but it's a full time job and, you wouldn't believe it, these guys are incredibly talented. Even those finishing last might be Olympic champions in another cycling discipline like track, or maybe they have worked all days for their leader. Anyway, no, they are not losers, they are the best cyclists in the world, and the chance that you are equally good is extremely slim.

But if I train really hard, will somebody give me a contract then?
Maybe. There have been riders who got a pro contract after training hard on their own – Primoz Roglic for instance, or guys who worked out on their home trainer. So I don't want to discourage you. It's possible. But usually you will have ridden your bike A LOT and done races during your teenage years already. Oh, you are a teenager? Well, go ahead. Just keep your balance.

Aren't they all doped anyway?
Wrong forum. Go here: https://forum.cyclingnews.com/forums/the-clinic.20/
Just as a general remark though I want to say that yes, cycling has a solid history of doping, but it's also a sport that is very aware of this problem (unlike others, uhem).

 

[BR2]

So, is it a team sport now or an individual sport?
It's simply both. The whole team might ride to get one rider on the podium, but in the end only that one rider will stand there, be named the winner and worshipped by the fans.

What is a break-away? Sounds separatistic.
There are some riders at the start who are pretty good, but they will, most likely, not win the overall classification. They are still trying to get something out of this Tour: a stage win, some tv time for them and their sponsor, a tactical advantage for their team. So they attack and try to get away from the main field (peloton), usually at the beginning of the stage. If they are strong enough and on the other hand not good enough to pose a threat for those riders who really want to win the whole Tour, the teams will let them go at one point, because they can't keep every single rider under control over the whole stage.

If the break-away riders are lucky the remaining peloton, afterwards, is not strong enough, not united enough or simply too stupid to catch them later. Unless a wonder happens that's only possible on a stage with certain ups and downs though. On an entirely flat stage with broad roads a full peloton has an enormous advantage and will most likely catch the break riders who have put their noses in the wind the whole day easily before the finish.

Does every team have an official captain?
No. There is no official captain like in football. The team might have a dedicated leader, a rider they think has the best chances for a podium, and they might decide that it's best to go all in, use all their other riders as helpers. They might also go with a two leaders or a trident approach. They might also not really have a leader but see who the strongest of them is during the race. Or, they intentionally forget about the overall and concentrate on stage wins and some tv time for their sponsors. Maybe for instance they have a great sprinter who can win a few stages and the sprinter's classification.

What does a helper do, actually? Are they really necessary?
Depends. If you want to win the whole Tour, it's pretty tough without helpers. Especially if you're a favourite and people try to act against you. Isolate you. Attack you repeatedly. Use your bad day. Then helpers can help you close the gaps, meaning, they ride in front of you, put their noses in the wind, and you can follow them and do not have to spend nearly as much energy as you would have to if you needed to fight against the wind on your own. (You can't imagine the benefit of a slipstream at those speeds.) They might also bring you drinks and clothes from the team car, so you don't have to drop back and spend energy to come back to the top, they can help to bring you back to the main field if you have had an unforeseen incident. Yes, as a candidate for a good placing in the overall classification, it's really important to save energy... But helpers can also play other tactical roles, they can control the stage for you, so some random outsider doesn't get away, or they help you with positioning.

A sprinter usually needs a lot of helpers (=domestiques), first to control the flat (sprinter's) stages – bring back the break of the day – then to position you well in the sprint and give you a good slipstream before you start your real sprint. They will also aid you in getting over the mountains within the time limit (a certain percentage of the winner's time), which is not always easy to make if you're a sprinter, meaning you have, by default, quite a bit more muscles and hence weight than the mountain goats.

 

[BR2]

If I want to be on the winner's side, who should I bet on?
Pogacar.

And if I'm a gambler, who should I bet on then?
I am not giving financial advise, but Aleksandr Vlasov looks like one of the guys who could surprise if Pogacar decides to quit to become a farmer on stage 18. He has shown really good potential in earlier years, has switched to Bora this season and so far that's working out really well. He's a good time trialer, too, which is always important.

Then as an outside bet there's for instance Jack Haig from Bahrain Victorious – who wouldn't bet on someone from a team with the name victorious? Especially since they were pretty stunning last year.

Daní Martinez would usually be a helper of former winner Egan Bernal, but now that Bernal has had a tough accident and is still out of races, Martínez might profit; he's had a good start to the season. But actually I don't believe he's the best bet in gambling terms.

Are all cycling races 3 weeks long??!
Nope. Some last 1 day, some a few days, and three of them 3 weeks. That's why they are called the Grand Tours (GTs): Giro d'Italia in late spring, Tour de France in summer, Vuelta d'Espana in early autumn. Italians will tell you the Giro is the best, Spaniards will tell you the Vuelta is the best, but truth is, the Tour makes up for about 70% of the sponsors' reward. Most of the best riders of the world will be at the start, and because for many of them it's the most important race of the season, they are in top shape. So, love it or hate it, yes, the Tour is absolutely the biggest thing in cycling.

Can women not do the Tour de France?
It's the first year they are actually really getting something like their own Tour de France. The Tour de France Femmes. Less stages, less height, less of almost everything, but hey, it's a lot more than before when they got one day. Women's cycling is developing, but it's a fight. (The parcours this year actually isn't too bad.)

Can riders from all over the world take part? It seems they are all from France, Belgium or Slovenia?
Riders who are chosen by their teams can take part whether they are from the Bahamas or Iceland. But of course cycling is more popular in some regions, there are certain structures in youth development in some countries, idols, training races. Also, sometimes it's not so easy for riders to switch from the broad, steady roads of their home countries to the small, winding, steep country roads of rural Europe, where most of the professional races happen. And yeah, some riders have to face racism, too.

My geography knowledge is abysmal, but Slovenia – isn't that the small country near – anyway, isn't it – small?
I'd say so. But obviously they have some good cyclists. Reasons why that is so are debated. But they definitely have some mountains and like outdoor sports.

What qualities does a professional cyclist need?
Being able to push watts while being skinny. Stamina. Balance and bike handling skills. Will to train a lot. Some „race intelligence“ and knowledge about positioning within a peloton doesn't hurt. And you shouldn' be afraid of wind, cold, high speed, hard falls, crossing dogs, horses or black cats or crazy spectators jumping in your way.

Why are cycling races so long? It's not very viewer-friendly, is it?
Because it's an endurance sport. Maybe not so nice for people with little time, but if you want a tipp: you don't have to watch from start to finish just because they show it all on tv. On a flat stage you can look at the estimated finish time, follow a live ticker, and tune in 15km before the end... or even 5...

What are the stages I absolutely need to watch this year?
I think the must see stages for the overall (classement général) are:

5 (Lille to Arenberg)
12 (Briancon to Alpe d'Huez)
18 (Lourdes to Hautacam)
20 (Lacapelle-Marival to Rocamadour)

The first stage is nice as an introduction and to get to know a few competitors, though. 7 and 13 could be fun. Whatever you do don't tune in on stage 3 before the last 20km. You're gonna die of boredom unless you're Danish and super proud your country gets shown on tv again. Also, the last stage is only for celebration and a final sprint, nobody will do anything but chat, drink champagne or think about their failures before, let's say, 25km from the finish.

Why are there so many boring stages, with only tarmac? Why not more gravel, cobbles, mud, obstacles...?
This is road cycling. One of the very specific features of road cycling is that there is a huge slipstream effect: The rider in front, in the wind, has to spend much more energy than the one behind who's shielded from the wind. On gravel or in mud this effect is not as big. The rolling resistance is a lot higher. You don't roll, you push with every pedal stroke. That's why with more difficult grounds the sport becomes even more about raw power and less about tactics. Tactics on the other hand are what makes road cycling really interesting: Yes, the strongest rider usually wins the overall of the Tour. But on his day, whether it's a one day race or a stage win, almost any rider can win through tactics, hazards, circumstances. It makes it much more fun and interesting, in my eyes. If however you really like mud, gravel, sand, jumping, you can check out cyclocross, gravel races or mountainbike events:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclo-cross

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravel_cycling

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_bike_racing

 

[BR2]

I don't get it. Today this Chris something won, but some Slovenian is leading? Eh?
He won the day (stage), but the winner of the Tour will be the one who needed the least time overall to reach the Champs-Elysée. 21 racing days. A stage win in the Tour is really nice and amazing, but only an overall win brings eternal glory...

I think that jersey with the dots looks ridiculous. What is it for?
It's the jersey for the leader in the climber's classification. On top of the important mountains (or big hills) you can get points for this classification if you reach them first. They are added throughout the race. Usually the biggest and most important mountains will give you big points, the minor ones minor points. Understood? Well, the details are worth a book, but let's keep it this simple. It's dotted because when this jersey was first introduced (1975) the chocolat company that sponsored it wrapped their chocolate in the same design. Yes, the jerseys, like everything in cycling, are sponsored. There's also a sprinter's jersey (points given at the end of sprint stages and for fastest at dedicated intermediate sprints during the stage: green), a young rider's jersey (an actually outdated jersey given to the best rider U26. Pogacar is going to win it anyway, but since he's going to prefer to wear the posher yellow one, but the sponsor wants to show off the white jersey nonetheless, the second in the classification will wear it for him). There's also a team classification, but they don't get a special jersey. Last day's hero (most attacking rider) will get a red starting number.

How on earth do the commentators recognize all the riders? And how do I do it? They all look the same.
A combination of many factors. Everyone has their own strategies, I guess, but first of all the commentators have a list of the riders and their starting numbers, which you will find here: https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france/2022/gc/startlist

The specific jerseys will at least help you to recognize Pogacar. Should he, for whatever reason, not wear any special jersey, you will recognize him by his hair sticking out of his helmet in a very peculiar way, even though he has become a trendsetter and people now try to imitate him. There are many more hints: Riders wear their team's jersey. With the help of the starting list you can reduce the possibilities. The Jumbo riders wear helmets with their first names written on them.
Guillaume Martin is the rider with brown curly locks coming out from under his helmet, hunched low on his bike, who's always attacking for no obvious reason but to get a top10 in GC.
Mikel Landa is the guy who climbs so elegantly you would like to be him.
Daní Martinez is the Ineos rider with the pirat's beard.
Primoz Roglic might wear blue shoes.
Romain Bardet is the tall, really skinny DSM rider (black jersey with blue stripes).
Van der Poel is the guy who looks like his shoulders are too big to be a cyclist.

And so on. You will learn with time. And sometimes, like me and a certain cycling commentator, you will fail miserably to recognize Jonas Vingegaard.

Why do the teams have such funny names? I mean, sure, Movistar sounds cool, but Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux?
Teams are named after their main sponsors. Yes, if you want to, you can pay like 10 or 20 million a year and get YOUR name on some of these jerseys as well. Then they will be called „Blue Roads No2“ for instance. If you pay half and your best friend pays half, maybe they will be called „Blue Roads No2-Freddie McNamahan“. I honestly don't know how long a name is allowed to be. It certainly looks like it's got no limits, that's because it's not easy to get rich sponsors if you're a cycling team. Maybe because cycling has a bad reputation in some areas. Maybe because they are so fast you hardly see them. But then the commentators do their best to pronounce the FULL names every time.... So, it certainly pays off to sponsor a team. But such few componies want to give their millions to cycling that a lot of teams are not financed by just one sponsor.

Why do some riders wear jerseys different from their team's normal jersey?
Possibility 1: They are current leaders in the overall (yellow), mountains (red dots), points (green) or young rider's (white) competition.
Possibility 2: They are national champions and their jersey is paying tribute to that, for instance by sporting their national flag. Former champions usually wear small signs/flags on their arms.
Possibility 3: They are the current world champion (white with rainbow stripes) or former world champion (small stripes on the arms).

I thought real men had muscles. Why are they all so skinny? Don't they get sick easily?
Now, what's up with that sexism, hm? Don't you think they all look pretty cool in their lycra outfits? Anyway, cycling, as everyone will tell you, is watts per kilogram in the end. Especially arm muscles are regarded as unneccessary weight, so riders try to get rid of that stuff by not doing too much weight lifting or helping in the household and such. They do have some good muscles in their legs, core muscles are also important to avoid back pain, but the goal is always to be „lean“ which, yes, in some cases is a euphemism for unhealthily meagre. Sometimes it just means lean. And that's how you get up a mountain with the best.

How much does it cost to watch a cycling race live?
Are you kidding me? Might cost you some calories to get up the mountain where you want to watch, because on a flat they are gone so fast you think you might just as well watch a shooting star.

You mean, I can just go there and shake hands with all the top athletes?
You can try at the start of the stages, but in general the Tour is not the best place for that. It's incredibly busy and full of people and riders might want to avoid germs and such. But those riders do other races as well, and there they are usually pretty relaxed and open to take a selfie with you.

If you go and cheer for them at the roadside try to not behave like a complete idiot, remember, it's broadcast on tv all over the world... and the internet doesn't forget.

 

[BR2]

I see them eating and drinking all the time. How do they pee? Or poo? Are they even human?
They do pee, but they try to do that when you're not watching. Sometimes you catch them. Better, the camera takes too long to turn away. Some do it while sitting on the bike, sometimes they stop in a group during a more quiet moment of the race. Sometimes they don't care whether someone's watching, 'cause, you know they really want to win the race... or at least not get left behind... and of course they are human... in part. They rarely poo during the race though. It's so rare, you can get pretty famous if you do.

Just so that I don't accidentally support them and shock my grandma: Who are the bad boys among the riders?
Well, there are some riders who've had their scandals. Gianni Moscon, Dylan Groenewegen, Miguel Ángel López, Quinn Simmons... I don't want to name and shame anyone, but you're attracted to them, right?

And the nice ones? The ones I can bring home?
Well, there's Romain Bardet, but I think he's taken. https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ba...ng-alaphilippe-in-liege-bastogne-liege-crash/
Primoz Roglic is the most gracful loser you'll ever see. If you want Thibaut Pinot you have to fight Redhead Dane. There's Jasper Stuyven, I don't know much about his character, but he comes from a chocolate family, which should make a good impression. Simon Geschke is vegan. Marc Hirschi is amiable. Guillaume Martin has a degree in philosophy, but his books are said to be rather bad. Louis Meintjes is one for the quiet families, you won't even recognize he's there.

Are there gay riders as well?
Probably. But I don't know of any who have made it public.

Why is everyone so crazy about this Mathieu van der Poel guy? He's not going to win the Tour, is he?
Probably not. But first of all he's good looking. Second, he's the grandson of very popular late French rider Raymond Poulidor and son of popular Dutch rider Adrie van der Poel. Third, he's pretty good, multiple world champion in cyclocross (riding through mud), a more than decent mountainbiker and a hell of a one day racer. Often attacking, riding offensively, good for suprises, meaning high entertainment factor.

You think I'm a fan? Wrong. But it's impossible to argue against his quality.

Is Tadej Pogacar the GOAT? And does he have goats?
He's certainly the cycling GOAT of the 21st century so far. Only Eddie Merckx can better him, and that guy rode in the stone age or something. Pogacar seems to be able to almost win at will, he doesn't care much that we are supposed to live in an age of specialization, he can climb, time trial, sprint, has an incredible recovery and in addition has good bike handling and is tactically skilled. As far as I know he doesn't own goats, though. That's Thibaut Pinot.

 

[BR2]

What is the most mythical place in the Tour de France?
That's a question of personal preference more than historical meaning, I guess. This year the Tour is visiting Alpe d'Huez which is definitely a giant among the cycling climbs.
Then there's the finish on the Champs-Elysée.

And in other years the Tour likes to visit the Mont Ventoux, but after doing it twice in one stage last year, it's getting a pause this year.

How fast do they go, on average? Are they faster than a horse? Faster than my pick-up? And what's their top speed?
On a normal rather flattish stage they might go around 45km/per hour on average. Don't know how much your pick up does. On a descent the riders can reach more than 90km per hour.

Is cycling at that speed dangerous?
Compared to what? Sure it's dangerous. There are a lot of crashes. But, to be fair, considering the amount of kms these guys ride every year, there are surprisingly few serious or fatal accidents. Collarbones are the most endangered part of cyclist's bodies, unfortunately they break all the time. Overall, training on non closed roads seems to be the most dangerous factor in a pro cyclist's life. (Yes, they race on closed roads. That's why they don't have to avoid cars apart from their own team cars or motos apart from the camera motos.)

Dude, sometimes those guys look like they don't even try. Why are they so lazy?
Depends. Is it the early in the race? They are saving energy for the later stages. Is it late in the race? They are tired. Are they climbing a mountain? Chance is, that mountain is so much steeper than you realize on tv, and they are also going so much faster than you realize. Check the profile. And then do an 18% climb yourself. Remember the cameras follow them on the motos, which doesn't let the viewer recognize the speed.

 

[BR2]

Who is the oldest and who is the youngest competitor this year? Is 30 old for a cyclist?
First of all: 30 is never old. But a cyclist is already in the late summer of his pro life at 30. Let's say, July or August. Peak age, on average, is more like 24-28 today. But 30 is still good. Yes, there are quite a few that are in their end 30s, like Philippe Gilbert (39) who will turn 40 during this year's Tour, or Jakob Fuglsang (37). Quinn Simmons will probably be the youngest rider at the start at age 21. Overall the riders at the Tour tend to be a bit older, probably, because experience has some advantages. Or maybe because people know them and sponsors care about names.

I've heard that Chris Froome guy won a lot of Tours. Is he no good anymore?
Ehm. Well, we all get old, don't we? He's had a very bad accident and ever since he's not competitive anymore, but he's still a four time Tour winner.

Which rider has the coolest social media account?
Don't ask me, that's not my speciality. Personally I think Michal Kwiatkowski is a pretty funny guy, but he doesn't post THAT much, similarly Benoît Cosnefroy. Definitely follow Thomas de Gendt as long as he's still riding. Pinot has the best goat content. Well, and Nairo Quintana has this on offer:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp7J9fqhmo8

 

[BR2]

How do I pronounce...

How To - Say my name! Pronunciation thread

I thought we could gather pronunciations of rider's names - and maybe also place's names. (First of all it would help me if I ever make that commentary try and secondly) there are often questions about it, as last seen in the Rob Hatch thread. We have members from many different countries with...

forum.cyclingnews.com

Why are so many cycling expressions French? And what do they all mean?
Cycling is a very traditional sport which likes its myths, it's atmospheric places and expressions. And French sounds nicer than, let's say, German, no?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=103bx_Waacc


Peloton: Main field.
Rouleur: Rider who can hold a steady high tempo for quite some time
Puncheur: Rider with a strong „punch“, that is a strong sudden acceleration
Barrage: in case a rider drops team cars are ordered by the „commissaires“ to get behind a rider or group of riders so that they don't hinder the race and the rider cannot use the slipstream of the cars to get back
Directeur sportif (DS): something like a supervising coach in a race, sits in the team car and communicates with the riders over radio

Tell me some random piece of information so I can show off when I meet Urska Zigart, Anna van der Breggen or Annemiek van Vleuten. Wait – who are they even?
Filippo Ganna, 2-time world champion in the Individual Time Trial and Olympic champion in track cycling will start the Tour de France for the first time.

Philippe Gilbert has won 4 of the 5 „monuments“ of cycling, aka the most important one day races. Only Milano-Sanremo he never won.

The stage to Arenberg, stage 5, features parts of the famous Paris-Roubaix race, notorious for its tough cobbles.

The Planche des Belles Filles, visited on stage 7 (with some additional way added, hence now the Super Planche des Belles Filles), and also part of the Tour de France Femmes, is said to come from the time of the Thirty Years' War. „According to legend, young women from Plancher-les-Mines fled into the mountains to escape Swedish mercenaries as they feared being raped and massacred. Rather than surrender, they decided to commit suicide and jumped into a lake far below.“
This is the real story though, according to wikipedia: „The name Belles Filles literally means "daughters in law", but is actually derived from the local plant life. The mountain is attested from the 16th century as lieu peuplé de belles fahys, a "place inhabited with nice beech trees" in the local dialect. Belles fahys later became corrupted into Belles Filles, though there remains a nearby village of Belfahy. Meanwhile, Planche, "board", is derived from the nearby small town of Plancher-les-Mines.“ The cycling commentators will usually tell you the heroic girls' story, though.

By the way Zigart is a cyclist and Pogacar's fiancée, van der Breggen a now retired former world champion and van Vleuten the 39 year old world ranking leader.

Just in case I really like the Tour, which race can I watch next? And during the Tour evenings, if I can't get enough, are there races from the past I could watch?
Let me recommend the one day race in San Sebastian to you: July 30th, one week after the Tour.

For old races Youtube is your friend, I'd recommend Paris-Roubaix 2016 or the Olympics 2016 to you. Worlds 2021 were pretty great... and if you have a lot of time at your hands: Tour 2020, Giro 2017 might be nice races from the more recent past.

What about this Dutch, eh, no, Belgian rider... Rico or something... Remo... wasn't he supposed to be a wonderkid? Doesn't he start here?
It's Remco, Remco Evenepoel. He's still the wonderkid, but he's not yet riding the Tour this year. Will do the Vuelta, though, if you want to watch him. Logic-is-your-friend will fill you in about everything else you need to know about Remco.

Anything else I need to know?
No. Enjoy.

 

[hayneplane]

Blue Roads. Is this really you? If so welcome back to the forum. Nice write up with a mix of irreverent humour and accessible information.

 

[BR2]

Blue Roads. Is this really you? If so welcome back to the forum. Nice write up with a mix of irreverent humour and accessible information.

Thanks a lot. Also thanks very much @Sandisfan.

 

[BR2]

If you find mistakes tell me, I'll try to correct.

 

[Sandisfan]

Thanks a lot. Also thanks very much @Sandisfan.

I just skimmed them for the time being a lot to read. Very Good. It always nice to see you here even if it's been infrequent lately with the new abbreviated user name.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

There are definitely a lot of good words here, but I'm surprised by the lack of Hodeg related content.

I don't know much about Cosnefroy's online activities, but I once (totally by accident, of course) watched David Gaudu play Farm Simulator, and that is time I'll never get back.

 

[sir fly]

I can't deny it looks and feels like BlueRoads, but until RhD verifies in a proper silliness place I'll stay reserved.

 

[hayneplane]

There are definitely a lot of good words here, but I'm surprised by the lack of Hodeg related content.

I don't know much about Cosnefroy's online activities, but I once (totally by accident, of course) watched David Gaudu play Farm Simulator, and that is time I'll never get back.

Now I am intrigued as to how the bolder even happened

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Now I am intrigued as to how the bolder even happened

I was watching something else on Twitch when his channel was recommended to me. I believe he also plays Pro Cycling Manager, but that wasn't what he did that day.

 

[RedheadDane]

So, is it a team sport now or an individual sport?
It's simply both. The whole team might ride to get one rider on the podium, but in the end only that one rider will stand there, be named the winner and worshipped by the fans.

Unless it's a TTT, which is like an ITT, except there are more people involved.

Possibility 2: They are national champions and their jersey is paying tribute to that, for instance by sporting their national flag.

Some teams are better at this than others. FDJ removes all sponsors from their jerseys, while for a team like UAE - the team Pogacar rides for - you'd need a microscope to actually see a rider is national champion.

If you want Thibaut Pinot you have to fight Redhead Dane.

Not because I want him for myself - I think he has a girlfriend - but because I'm generally opposed to kidnappings, unlike a certain someone...

I can't deny it looks and feels like BlueRoads, but until RhD verifies in a proper silliness place I'll stay reserved.

Are you accusing me of sockpuppeting?! All my silliness is from this one account!

Anyway; I got another question:

What's with the names of Danish riders? Some of them seem to be referred to by a different name than what appears on the result sheet.
That's true. Generally this is because the rider in question has a regular boring "-sen name" as a surname, so it'll be easier to remember said rider by his/her middle name. For example, the guy who won three stages in last year's Vuelta is called Magnus Cort Nielsen, but since 'Nielsen' is one of the most common surnames in Denmark, it's easier to just remember 'Cort'. There's also Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen, but 'Rasmussen' might have some negative associations for a Danish GC rider, so instead he goes by a name no foreign commentators can pronounce, to the point where one even went and called him "Chris Harper" once (The actual Chris Harper is Vingegaard's - and Roglic's - teammate. A man who was born on Thursday, but not on a Thursday.)
Michael Valgren Hundahl used to be Michael Valgren Andersen until he got married a few years ago. Most cycling media seems to have caught up with that fact, except for the CN homepage, for some reason (didn't help that shortly after he got married he had a few bad years, so his name didn't really feature at the pointly end of result sheets anyway...)
The Danish siblings on Movistar are usually referred to as Mathias and Emma Norsgaard. Mathias - the really tall guy; 2.02 metres - is usually listed as 'Jørgensen', which has caused some confusion with his US teammate Matteo Jorgenson. Emma was, obviously, also previously listen as 'Jørgensen', however, since the beginning of this year, she has been listed as 'Bjerg', after getting married to Mikkel Bjerg (whose full name is actually 'Mikkel Norsgaard Bjerg' now) from the UAE team.
Mads Pedersen - the former World Champion - is just Mads Pedersen.

 

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

Mads Pedersen - the former World Champion - is just Mads Pedersen.

Another note the results sheet may mislead you, but on this forum Mads Pedersen is not danish most of the time.

 

[RedheadDane]

Another note the results sheet may mislead you, but on this forum Mads Pedersen is not danish most of the time.

In the real world he is 100% Danish! However, if you ask @tobydawq, he wasn't actually born in Denmark.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

What's with the names of Danish riders? Some of them seem to be referred to by a different name than what appears on the result sheet.
That's true. Generally this is because the rider in question has a regular boring "-sen name" as a surname, so it'll be easier to remember said rider by his/her middle name. For example, the guy who won three stages in last year's Vuelta is called Magnus Cort Nielsen, but since 'Nielsen' is one of the most common surnames in Denmark, it's easier to just remember 'Cort'. There's also Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen, but 'Rasmussen' might have some negative associations for a Danish GC rider, so instead he goes by a name no foreign commentators can pronounce, to the point where one even went and called him "Chris Harper" once (The actual Chris Harper is Vingegaard's - and Roglic's - teammate. A man who was born on Thursday, but not on a Thursday.)
Michael Valgren Hundahl used to be Michael Valgren Andersen until he got married a few years ago. Most cycling media seems to have caught up with that fact, except for the CN homepage, for some reason (didn't help that shortly after he got married he had a few bad years, so his name didn't really feature at the pointly end of result sheets anyway...)
The Danish siblings on Movistar are usually referred to as Mathias and Emma Norsgaard. Mathias - the really tall guy; 2.02 metres - is usually listed as 'Jørgensen', which has caused some confusion with his US teammate Matteo Jorgenson. Emma was, obviously, also previously listen as 'Jørgensen', however, since the beginning of this year, she has been listed as 'Bjerg', after getting married to Mikkel Bjerg (whose full name is actually 'Mikkel Norsgaard Bjerg' now) from the UAE team.
Mads Pedersen - the former World Champion - is just Mads Pedersen.

I believe it's been decided that ENB will just be referred to as Emma from now on, and that she will attempt to get that to be the name on her license from next season onwards.

In the real world he is 100% Danish!

For now, perhaps, but who knows what might happen If he moves to Switzerland in the coming months? The flags are quite similar, so he could get confused.

 

[sir fly]

Are you accusing me of sockpuppeting?! All my silliness is from this one account!

No, silly!
I trust your sense.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Nice write up, thanks for the effort

If you find mistakes tell me, I'll try to correct.

Well, this one seems... premature... haha

I've heard that Chris Froome guy won a lot of Tours. Is he no good anymore?
Ehm. Well, we all get old, don't we? He's had a very bad accident and ever since he's not competitive anymore, but he's still a five time Tour winner.

 

[RedheadDane]

I've heard that Chris Froome guy won a lot of Tours. Is he no good anymore?
Ehm. Well, we all get old, don't we? He's had a very bad accident and ever since he's not competitive anymore, but he's still a five time Tour winner.

Froome is old! Any riders born in, or before, 1987 are old. Froome was born in 1985.

 

[BR2]

Nice write up, thanks for the effort

Well, this one seems... premature... haha

I've heard that Chris Froome guy won a lot of Tours. Is he no good anymore?
Ehm. Well, we all get old, don't we? He's had a very bad accident and ever since he's not competitive anymore, but he's still a five time Tour winner.

All this talk about his 5th title...

 

[CyclistAbi]

Roglič used to be a ski jumper?
Yes.