This is the traditional stage into Bordeaux: long, flat, and fast! Any sprinters who have made it through the treacherous mountains will be smacking their chops at the chance of a stage win in the famous city of wine. It could be windy and it could be hot, so it won't necessarily be an easy day on the road. Click for more stage background

The city of Bordeaux has hosted TDF stage finishes 79 times before today's stage, making it second only to Paris in Tour appearances. They've probably hosted a wine-tasting or two as well.

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: 198 KM or 123 miles. How far is that?

198 kilometers is about 123 miles. In a car you could do that in two hours (without getting a speeding ticket on the freeway!). Today the riders will cover the distance in 4 1/2 hours. Pretty fast for a bike ride, don't you think?

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

It'll be a four and a half hour day in the saddle for the riders today. That sounds like a long ride, but after yesterday's brutal mountain mayhem, all the riders will be thankful for nice flat ride into Bordeaux. 

Terrain: flat.

Number of Climbs: No climbs today!. 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: 3500 How much would you have to eat?

The riders will savour a relatively easy flat day in the saddle, with the real action coming in the inevitable sprint at the end. Not such a calorie-torcher as yesterday, so lighter meals and snacks will be on the menu. Hey, could you please pass the carrot sticks?

The Tour de France is a bicycle stage race across France each year in the month of July. It was first held in 1903. The race format has been changed many times, but basically it goes like this: Each rider completes the day's course and is given a finishing time at the end. The riders then clean up, eat dinner, and sleep! They start the next day and continue like this for three whole weeks! The different stages take the riders all around France, and even into some other countries. Wow! Some days are kind of short, some really long. After three weeks of racing, the riders' total time is added up, and the rider who has completed the entire course in the shortest amount of time wins. So, the overall winner doesn't win each day's stage; in fact, some  riders have won the Tour without even winning an individual stage! 5 riders have won the race 5 times, but Lance Armstrong is the only one to win it 7 times. The Tour has been run every year since 1903 except for 1915-1918 and 1940-1946 because of thee two World Wars. Let's hope that doesn't happen again!

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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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