Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/2/2011

The Tour de France is known for being many races within the main General Classification race. The different colored jerseys riders compete for reflect the race within the race, along with all the different sprint lines on each stage of the the three week race. The top of each categorized climb is a finish line awarding points for the mountain jersey and intermediate sprint lines are also finish lines awarding points for the sprinters jersey (and bonus seconds in years' past). However, the rules for the sprinters' points are different this year. Instead of two or three sprint lines worth a few points (6-4-2),there is only one intermediate sprint line worth 20 points, with points going to the first 15 across, just like the stage finish line of a designated mountain stage. To offset the massive amount of points for the lone intermediate sprint, flat stages are now worth 45 points, with points awarded down to the first 15 placings in increments of two after the first 5, instead of the usual 35 and 25 placings. The medium stages are now worth 30 points serving up points for 15 placings same as the flats, instead of 25 and 20 placings. Mountain stage points are unchanged. The teams vying for the green jersey this year will have to stay awake for the half-way point of each stage, instead of just ramping up the peloton in the last 50 kms to catch the breakaway.