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Jackie: 2013 sees the 100th race of the Tour de France.
Richard: So for this week's podcastsinenglish.com we're talking about the world's most prestigious cycle race.
Jackie: You're keen on... on the Tour de France, Richard, why is that?
Richard: [laughs] Well, yes, as you know, I come from the Isle of Man and one of my compatriots, Mark Cavendish, is one of the top riders in the Tour de France so I'm really supporting him.
Jackie: So is he going for the yellow jersey, then?
Richard: No, he's going for the green jersey, the points winner.
Jackie: I'm still a little bit confused about the jerseys. Now the yellow jersey is for the overall winner.
Richard: Yes, the overall, the best general rider really. Each stage is timed and they add up the timings from all the stages. The person with the lowest time wins the yellow jersey.
Jackie: So the person who wins the yellow jersey was the quickest.
Richard: Overall, yes.
Jackie: Right and what about the green jersey, then?
Richard: Well, the Tour de France, they recognise that there are different skills involved in... in cycle riding and as well as the green and the yellow they have the polka-dot jersey, for instance, red-polka dots, and that's the king of the mountains, so they have a special jersey for the riders which are best at riding high mountains.
Jackie: So the people who get to the top of the mountains, they'll get points for that.
Richard: They get extra points that go towards the polka-dot jersey. And the green jersey is for the best sprinter which Mark Cavendish is. Often you see quite a flat stage, all of the riders in a big group, the peloton, they get to the end of the race and then, it's a sprint finish and that's when Mark Cavendish really goes for it, goes for the front and he gets the points for coming first.
Jackie: Right, okay, and there's one more jersey, isn't there Richard, there's the white jersey.
Richard: Yes, that's for the best young rider. They're 25 or under.
Jackie: Okay. So those are the main four jerseys that people are going for but there are also stages aren't there, Richard? I mean the race is what, 21 days and each one of those is called a stage, isn't it?
Richard: Yes. Um... you've obviously got some flat stages, some hilly stages, the mountain stages where you get the polka-dot jersey and you also have er... two individual time trials.
Jackie: Right, okay. So is it possible, Richard, then, to win the Tour de France without actually winning any of the stages?
Richard: Yes and it's actually been done 6 times in the past as well. Because it's the overall, general, best rider. You don't have to win any particular stages, you just have to be near the front in all of them.
Jackie: Now it's an individual sport, you know that... the main winners and everything, but it's also a team sport as well...
Richard: Definitely. There are 20 teams, each has 9 riders.
Jackie: Right
Richard: And what happens is one is designated the leader and the... the jobs of the other... the other riders is to help that leader in each of the stages.
Jackie: And how do they go about doing that?
Richard: Well, for instance for Mark Cavendish, you'll often see in some of the stages and he'll be in a train, they call it a train, so they'll have 5 or 6 riders in front of him, he'll be at the back...
Jackie: ...in the slipstream
Richard: ...in the slipstream and then when it comes right down to the end they drop off and then he goes forward in a sprint, [he] comes out of the slipstream and then goes for the line.
Jackie: So he's using a lot less energy then.
Richard: Exactly
Jackie: Have you ever seen a Tour de France then, Richard?
Richard: [laughs] Only on the telly I'm afraid.
Jackie: I think it would be great fun to go and see it, don't you think?
Richard: Well, it's one event where the crowd really gets involved. They can really... they can almost, and they actually do, touch the riders as they are going by.
Jackie: They stand very near, don't they?
Richard: They do, don't they? And they're just crazy.
Jackie: And some people, I understand, camp for weeks before the event just to get a really good spot.
Richard: Exactly
Jackie: Well, I think you should go one day.
Richard: [laughs] Perhaps I will.
Jackie: Allez, allez, allez.
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