Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/10/08

Today's stage was the first real mountain stage, with two 2nd category climbs, the second being a mountaintop finish. Not only will you see the true mountain climbers come out of the peloton and battle for points, but you will also see the overall contenders mark each other, and either gain some advantage or limit their losses. However, that's only the stuff you'll see on television, because that's where all the drama is on a climbing stage.

The side of the race you won't see is what happens to the heavily muscled sprinters, and the high tempo boys who've blown their wads emptying the lead groups of the weaker men. Usually the sprinters end up at the back of the race in a big group they call the autobus. The autobus will pedal just fast enough to get inside the time limit set by the stage winner. However, if the mountain stage is too difficult and they can't make the time limit, just by having a large enough group, they will usually prevail on the judges to keep all the autobus riders in the race. This is why it is very important for the sprinters to stick together in the mountains, otherwise, they might be going home early. The high tempo boys who have blown up will find small groups of riders going their same natural climbing pace, and these groups, fittingly enough called grupettos, will cross the finish line minutes after the winner, but well ahead of the autobus.