Stage 1 is the opening road race stage after yesterday's prologue time trial. The riders will leave Rotterdam in the Netherlands and head to Brussels in Belgium. No France yet in this Tour de France! Just before Brussels, the racers will pass through Meise, hometown of the greatest cyclist of all time, EDDY MERCKX! "The Cannibal," as he is called, celebrated his 65th birthday this year, and the TDF is honoring him by visiting  his home. That is, if you can call riding through at 25 MPH a visit! The stage should end with a fast sprint finish. Click for more stage background

Rotterdam is the largest seaport in Europe and one of the main ports worldwide. The city is located in the country of Holland. Yes, that's not in France. The Tour often starts in cities outside of France and will sometimes venture into bordering countries mid-race.

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: 224 KM or 139.2 miles. How far is that?

223.5 km is about 138 miles. That's a little bit longer than the distance between Washington D.C. and the city of Philadelphia! That's a whole lot of pedaling!

Estimated Length of Time:5:52 How long is that?

Today's race will last nearly 6 hours! You could watch the new 'Toy Story 3' movie 3 and a half times in that amount of time!

Terrain: flat.

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: 5000 How much would you have to eat?

You would have to eat about 16 slices of pepperoni pizza to equal the calories they'll be burning up today. I hope you're hungry!

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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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