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The riders will take a break today, and so should you!

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

Stage Type: Rest Day. Explain

Cyclists have the day off for rest and recovery.

Stage Distance: 0 KM or 0 miles. How far is that?

0 km is like 0 miles!

Estimated Length of Time:12:00 How long is that?

Terrain: .

Number of 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: Coming soon.

Coming soon.

As any coach or finely-tuned athlete knows, the body needs time to recover from intense workouts so it can rebuild and restore itself. The Tour de France is a very long and grueling event; there is no other cycling or sporting event that requires so much from the human body! The rest days, of which there are two in this year's Tour, allow the riders to try and recover from the super-human effort they've been putting out. Rest and recovery is even more important for growing kids, so let the little myTDF champions take a breather today! TV, games, or reading those great summer books are all a good idea today. A very easy walk around the neighborhood would be OK; this is called "active recovery." Interesting fact: the TDF is the height of any pro cyclists season, the time when they work harder than any other period of the year. So it's not uncommon for the riders to gain 5-10 pounds in body weight within a week of the Tour's finish. Wow!

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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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