A small digression into language inspired by today’s so-called “Queen Stage” of the Tour de France. There are many French words that are used in English coverage of the sport, terms like maillot jaune, flamme rouge or rouleur usually don’t require translation. But there are a few French words that are “false friends”, they’re French words used in English but not used in French coverage of the sport.
The Col de la Loze is the newest paved climb in the Alps and the high point of the 2020 Tour de France. It’s also a confounding climb and the world’s most sporty cycle path.
“Remember the name, the Suc au May” said Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme when the route of the 2020 edition was unveiled last October.
Here’s a refresher of the climb on the route of Stage 12 of the 2020 Tour de France, this climb might shape the stage result but has a place in cycling’s history as a focal point of cycling’s supposed “golden age”, an era when the likes of Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault all made their way to an isolated village in central France to be roared on by tens of thousands of spectators.
You probably know the 2021 Tour de France won’t start in Copenhagen any more, instead it’s been switched to Brest, on the western tip of Brittany. Behind the decision there’s been politicking as the city of Rennes was also a candidate but it rejected the Tour, the new local government said non on environmental grounds and this is likely to be a trend in France, the Tour and other races must change to meet and reflect new environmental demands.
A hard day in the Alps, today’s stage is up and down all day with 4,600m of vertical gain.
Another day, another summit finish and this time with the giant Col de la Madeleine in the way.
The race goes into the Alps with a short stage and a big summit finish, today is a big test of form and fitness with a long climb that’s the hardest summit finish of the week.
If the Critérium du Dauphiné is a condensed version of the Tour de France, this year’s edition is even more concentrated, five stages and all with uphill finishes. After the lively Tour de l’Ain last weekend, we’ll see another round of Jumbo-Visma vs Team Ineos, only this time practically every other contender for the Tour de France and their full-strength squads are coming too.
For years French teams faced a headwind in the shape of high payroll taxes but this system is now rewarding them. Coupled with stable sponsors and home advantage when it comes to hosting the Tour de France, the three French squads in the World Tour are in a stronger position these days relative to their rivals.
The blog has looked at the finances for Team Sky/Ineos and Ag2r La Mondiale for years now but there’s now a third team to add with Groupama-FDJ. They also publish their accounts and there’s plenty of detail, right down to how much their helmet sponsor paid in the year.