Le tour auprès la série Netflix. Article in french and english just as in the series.
J’ai pris la plaisir récemment à regarder la deuxième saison de la série Netflix sur le Tour de France. Quelle drame ce sport ! Je n’aurais jamais imaginé que le cyclisme susciterait telles réactions aux sportifs aussi que les spectateurs. Je comprends maintenant les strategies, les tactiques ainsi que la force et le courage nécessaire dans ce sport qui est en fait un sport d’équipe.
Some tour de France terminology to explain this sport.
Le maillot Jaune – The coveted yellow jersey. The winner of the GC / General Classification / and finally winner of the Tour gets this jersey. A cycling team works together to help their main rider win the GC.
Jonas Vingegaard of Jumbo Visma and his rival Tadej Pogaçar of UAE Team Emirates are the GC favourites, the danish Vingegaard winning 2 Tour de France in a row.
Jonas Vingegaard d’équipe Jumbo Visma l’a gagné l’année dernière pour la deuxième fois ayant battu son adversaire Tadej Pogaçar d’Emirates UAE.
Le maillot Vert – The green jersey is for the top sprinter. Jasper Philpsen d’Alpecin–Deceuninck a le remporté.
Le blanc à pois – The polka dot white jersey for the top winner of mountain stages or climbers. Pour les grimpeurs.
Le peloton – The peloton is the main group of cyclistes in a race. They cycle together so as to economise strength and stamina. Riding behind one one another protects one from the wind and the excess energy required otherwise. The peloton is essentially “a traffic jam at 200km/hour”.
L’échappée – The breakaway. When cyclists break away from the peloton so as to increase chances for a stage win. A breakaway in the early stages of a race, for instance, can be a risk because often the peloton is able to catch up as a race nears the end and the sprinters are ready to sprint away to the finish line. The breakaway group requires a lot of strength and stamina as they don’t have the protection that the peleton provides.
La chute – Crashes. Can be fatal. Hazards of this sport. Masochistic brave or stupid ?
The peleton faces its fair share of crashes. Needless to say they fall like nine pins.
Quelles sont mes équipes favoris ?
Alors que Jumbo Visma et UAE sont les équipes le plus fort et bien financé, moi j’aime bien Bahrain Victorious et Soudal QuickStep. Les gars de Bahrain Victorious sont sympas et cools, l’année dernier avoir fait #rideforGino après la chute et le mort de son co-équiper Gino Mader.
What maketh a leader
Another of my favourite teams in the 2023 season apart from the heart on sleeve kind cyclists of team Bahrain Victorious was the belgian team Soudal QuickStep.
The stage 18 win by Danish champion Kasper Asgreen of QuickStep was especially spectacular. QuickStep needs their first stage win in the Tour, and Kasper Asgreen goes all in as he breaks away from the peloton early on in the race. Formidable or folly?
Miraculously Asgreen keeps up his distance from the peleton, cycling harder than ever throughout this stage. He begins with a one and a half minute lead from the peleton but the peleton charges on…
All the while the sprinters are getting antsy in the peleton. It is time to breakaway themselves and prepare for the sprint to the finish.
It is here that the QuickStep team leader the frenchman Julian Alaphilippe helps his teammate Asgreen to keep up with his breakaway lead. He blocks the path of the peloton and the sprinters trying to make their breakaway. Even a 1 second slowing down or buffer against the sprinters can help his teammate with a stage win.
The race nears the finish line and the peloton are at the breakaway hero Asgreen’s heels coming at him at a breakneck speed. The sprinters are only seconds away, also desperate for a stage win. Only 10 seconds between them…
Asgreen touches the finish line just seconds before the whirlwind that is the peloton surges past.
This stage win was unique as it is not often that breakaways are able to keep their pace and lead right till the end. Quick Step’s team work led by Julian Alaphilippe ensured a win for the Danish. A team leader enables his team members to excel in the field and that is what Alaphilippe displayed without getting a stage win himself.
Big loss and disappointment for sprinter and le maillot vert holder Jasper Philippsen.
Another display of leadership came from the french AG2R Citroën team. But not before some drama and child-like tantrums from their moody Australian leader Ben O’ Connor.
Ben O’ Connor was supposed to be the team’s winning horse. Unable to perform and get a stage win for his team, O’Connor is unable to keep his cool. He is reactionary and in an extremely negative state. The team managers find it increasingly difficult to manage his mood swings. What are they going to do?
The managers decide who is boss and change their strategy. They place their bets not on leader Ben O’ Connor but on the silent assassin Austrian Felix Gall. Because let’s face it, while Connor believes he is born leader, his behaviour shows otherwise.
Connor resists the change and tries for a personal win while he was meant to help his teammate get a stage win. But he’s not nearly up to the mark and fails.
Soon enough he realises he’s better off helping is team mate.
This change in strategy turns out to be a blessing in disguise for O’Connor. He feels more freedom as he is relieved of the pressure of a personal stage win as well as vying for the coveted GC. Ben O’Connor finally displays his suppressed leadership qualities by supporting his team-mate Gall for a stage win. And like a true leader, he shows genuine happiness in seeing his team-mate thrive and get his team a win.
Who is going to win Tour de France 2024? Will Tadej Pogaçar surpass Vingegaard and win the his third Tour de France at Champs-Élysées?
Between The Hither And The Farther Shore 
wow you know so much! I like the style – will read again!
Thank you so much paper plane pilot ❤😉