Newbie to Tour with 4 questions

1)How did the 4 leaders of stage 2 (that were leading for most of the race)
get up front? They don't show the beginning of the race on OLN.
2)Why was Lance wearing a green jersey if it's supposed to be for a sprint
leader?
3) If Lance finished 63rd (ahead of Dave Z who was 71st) how is Dave Z on
top of the overall standings? In other words, when/how do the overall
standings change?
4) How do you win the whole tour? Some of this is confusing to me as you can
see. Thanks

chris wrote:
1)How did the 4 leaders of stage 2 (that were leading for most of the race)
get up front? They don't show the beginning of the race on OLN.
2)Why was Lance wearing a green jersey if it's supposed to be for a sprint
leader?
3) If Lance finished 63rd (ahead of Dave Z who was 71st) how is Dave Z on
top of the overall standings? In other words, when/how do the overall
standings change?
4) How do you win the whole tour? Some of this is confusing to me as you can
see. Thanks

4) Fastest total time = overall winner.
3) They finished in the same group. Same group = same time awarded.
Zabriskie finished the Stage One TT two seconds faster so he still
leads.
2) The green jersey is worn by the points leader, the yellow by the
overall leader. On the second stage of the Tour they are the same rider
but a rider can only wear one jersey at a time.
1) They passed the rest of the peloton. :-)

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Bob wrote:

2) The green jersey is worn by the points leader, the yellow by the
overall leader.

Dumb question: why aren't the points leader and overall leader one and the
same? (Guess: points awarded for other than just time?)

"Bill Sornson" wrote in message
...
Bob wrote:

2) The green jersey is worn by the points leader, the yellow by the
overall leader.

Dumb question: why aren't the points leader and overall leader one and
the
same? (Guess: points awarded for other than just time?)

Points are awarded for placement in intermediate sprints along the course.

At the end of the first stage (or the prolog when there is one, which
is usually...) they are one and the same. By tradition, the second
place finisher of stage one or prolog wears the green jersey.

On Mon, 04 Jul 2005 04:40:19 +0000, chris wrote:

1)How did the 4 leaders of stage 2 (that were leading for most of the
race) get up front?

It's called a breakaway, they work harder than the rest for a few
minutes until they're clear. If the rest decide that there is someone
dangerous in the breakaway then a couple of teams will work together at
the head of the peleton to bring them back. On the flat stages any
breakaway is very likely to be caught a few km before the finish by the
teams that have sprinters in contention. So why do they bother to
breakaway? Every French paper will have front page pictures of Voeckler
which is good for him and his team.


They don't show the beginning of the race on OLN.

If your TV coverage is inadequate try the internet. I like Cyclingnews
at http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2005/tour05/?id=default


2)Why was Lance wearing a green jersey if it's supposed to be for a
sprint leader?

Wearing two jerseys would be too hot for Zabriskie :-) As there are no
sprint points given in Time Trials (which the Prologue is), the green
jersey goes to the second, and presumably the polka dot to the third in
the Prologue. Eddy Merkx (who else?) has arrived in Paris with yellow and
green three times -- and once with the Mountains jersey too!


3) If Lance finished 63rd (ahead of Dave Z who was 71st) how is Dave Z
on top of the overall standings? In other words, when/how do the overall
standings change?

When the riders finish in a bunch everyone in that bunch is given the same
time. This cuts out the huge crashes that would result if the times were
given exactly as they crossed the line. To compensate a bit, the first
three get time bonuses (20, 12 & 8 seconds) as well as their points. Any
contenders for the overall victory (called General Category or GC) will be
sitting in the middle of the pack avoiding crashes and letting the
sprinters have their fun until the first mountain stage on Saturday. It's
possible that Discovery could elevate Armstrong to the lead after the Team
Time Trial tomorrow, but CSC are rated quite highly for the TTT too, and
they may make an extra effort to keep Zabriskie in yellow.


4) How do you win the whole tour?

Lowest time taken over all the stages. The sprinters are winning at the
moment by a few seconds, but in the mountains the leading climbers will be
taking 30 minutes off them every time.

You've got to remember that this race is three weeks longs, the riders
cannot go flat out all the way, and that tactics play a very large part.
So does money, teams and riders will try to buy each other off if they've
got a position to protect. It's the combination of colossal physical effort,
team work and tactics that makes the big tours so fascinating.


Mike

On Mon, 04 Jul 2005 04:40:19 +0000, chris wrote:

3) If Lance finished 63rd (ahead of Dave Z who was 71st) how is Dave Z on
top of the overall standings? In other words, when/how do the overall
standings change?

I haven't watched much of the tour this year yet--but this might help you
understand the times: all of the riders in a finishing pack receive the
same time on that leg of the tour. This is to discourage the whole
enchilada from sprinting the last couple kms--a dangerous proposition
indeed!

The overall winner of the tour is the rider with the shortest overall
time, but there are many other ways to win other little victories and
prize money. Other posts explain these. Big shots like Lance usually stay
in the back during the first few days to stay out of harm's way, a sprint
for the finish ain't worth the potential wreck and broken collarbone.