Today's Stage 13 is a tough one; no big mountains are on the course, but with five categorized climbs, the legs will be burning by the finish! Expect a breakaway group to beat out the sprinters today. Click for more stage background

Revel has hosted seven TDF finishes in the past, including one in 1995 that our pal Lance Armstrong would rather not remember; he was out-sprinted at the line by the Ukrainian Sergei Uchakov. Not to worry, Lance went on to have a couple of decent Tour moments after that.

Start Time: 12:00 p.m. Central European Time.

Stage Type: Road Race. Explain

Riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first at the end of the course. Members of teams together to work to give advantage to their fastest riders or to their rider best placed in the overall standings.

Stage Distance: 196 KM or 121.8 miles. How far is that?

196 kilometers is the same distance as 121 miles. If you were in a car going 60 MPH down the freeway, this would take two hours. It is expected that the riders will complete the distance today in four and a half hours. That's pretty darn fast!!!

Estimated Length of Time:4:30 How long is that?

4 1/2 hours is about the length of time it takes your mom to wake up, brush her teeth, make breakfast for you, do the dishes, bring you to school, put gas in the car, drive to work, and finally take a coffee break. So tell her "THANKS MOM, I LOVE YOU!"

Terrain: hilly.

Number of Climbs: Three Cat 4, two Cat 3 climbs. What does "cat" mean?

"Cat" is short for "category." The climbs are rated according to how long and hard they are. They are ranked Category 1-4, with 4 being the "easiest" (I'm not sure they're so easy!) and 1 being the "hardest." But wait- there's even a harder one! Climbs that are rated "Hors Categorie" (above category) are longer and steeper than a Category 1. That sounds HARD!

Estimated Calories: 4000 How much would you have to eat?

Today isn't one of the big huge mountain days, but the riders will still be burning through some serious calories. They'll eat a pretty big breakfast several hours before the start, lots of drinks and snacks on the road, and nice healthy dinner after the finish. Have you ever had a nice French dinner? Yuuummmy!

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Are you hungry?

By Mari Holden at Velo Betty

It's really important for the cyclists to eat and drink while they are on the bike. In a race like the Tour de France the riders can barely keep up with replacing the amount of calories that they burn. So, they have to make sure that they eat while they are riding. Normally they will carry some small bars and gels in their jersey pockets. But, they can go back to their team cars in the caravan to get more food and bottles. There are guys on the team who are designated to help the other riders, and they will make many trips to the car. Their job is really important because they are helping the other riders on the team. There are also areas called "feed zones" where each team has people waiting by the side of the road to hand their riders bottles. They normally hand the bottles to their riders in "musettes which are like cloth purses for food and bottle. That way each rider can get a couple bottles and some food all in one bag. The cyclists have to eat so much every day that they actually get tired of eating and have to work hard to get their calories. So, sometimes the teams add some of the riders favorites in their musette bags... Things like small sandwiches, and cookies are favorites...

 

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