Today is another tough day in the Pyrenees mountain range in southern France. The mighty Port de Bales will be scaled and descended, with the summit coming around about 20 km from the end, with a fast (and dangerous) descent to the finish in Luchon. Click for more stage background

47 Tour de France stages have finished in Luchon over the years. Wow! They must love bike-racing in that town.

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: 188 KM or 116.8 miles. How far is that?

188 kilometers is the sam as 117 miles. That's the length of the M25 motorway in the UK. So now you know!

Estimated Length of Time:5:00 How long is that?

Today is another five-hour day in the saddle for the racers. At this point in the race, some of the guys will really be getting worn out. Fatigue, scrapes, bumps, bruises, and even saddle sores will be taking their toll. Yikes!

Terrain: mountainous.

Number of Climbs: One cat 4, two cat 2, and one HC climb. 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: 6000 How much would you have to eat?

It's another big mountain day in the TDF, and that means a lot of calories will be burned. 6000 calories? How about a whole chicken, 8 slices of bread, a fruit smoothie, 4 bananas, and a giant bowl of cereal and milk. I'm full!

I think that its fun to watch each of the guy's reactions when they win a stage. Mark Cavensish obviously expects to win, but some of the guys who win from a break, or even Fabian Cancellara's reaction when he won the opening time trial are really cool. The guys who win a lot are experts, they zip up their jerseys and make it look pretty, but I like the winners who have emotion. They are so excited to win and they are overwhelmed. They fought hard and it paid off. Their expressions tell a story, and the fact that they forget to zip their jerseys, or look perfect even makes it better. When I won my medal in the Olympics, I couldn't stop crying, and it was not because I was sad, but because I was so relieved and excited...

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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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