Professional Cycling

Purists in the cycling world can tell you that road cycling is the classic and arguably most beautiful manifestation of cycle sport. Professional cycling is probably most famously associated with the Tour de France, a three week bicycle race around France, covering roughly 3,500 km over 21 days. The race came to be in 1903 and has been run each year since, excepting for a four year gap caused by the instabilities of the First World War and an eight year sabbatical prompted by the Second World War.

Recently Lance Armstrong has elevated the degree of exposure enjoyed by cycle sport, especially in the English speaking world, through his heroic fight testicular cancer and his record seven consecutive victories in the Tour de France. To put this into perspective, you ought to remember that only five men before Armstrong have was able to win as many as five Tours, never mind seven. And the Spaniard Miguel Indurain was the only person of the riders to handle five in a row http://bestbikespoint.com/.

Cycling Teams

To be cycling in the Tour de France will be competing at the pinnacle of professional cycling, and it is only the most talented and dedicated athletes which can make the cut into professional cycling teams. Each one of these professional cycling teams is managed by way of a cycling manager who coordinates the riders' race calendar and publicity appearances. The director sportif is another major player within the team setup and it is this individual's job to direct the tactical assault launched upon a competition by his team leader and supporting riders. Tactics play a massive role in determining the victor in regards to road cycling, which means more cohesive an approach taken by the team, the better the race results will soon be for the team and the sponsors.

Typically a master cycling team will contain a team leader, a team captain and several domestiques, otherwise known as team workers. With respect to the race, there may be a couple of team leaders, a strong sprinter for flat races, or a strong climber for the tougher terrain. Essentially the team leader is the rider within the team who's most likely to win the race. The team captain will generally be the most wily or tactically experienced rider; it is his job to coordinate the team in order to create the perfect tactical position from which the team leader can flourish in his duty of winning. The domestiques play an essential role in supporting the team leader. They try this by sheltering the first choice from prevailing winds and getting food and drinks from the team's backup vehicle.

Battlefields of Cycle Sport

Pro cycling teams compete on the Pro Tour, which include the three week long tours of France, Italy (Giro de Italia) and Spain (Vuelta a España), as well as famous single day races, otherwise known as the "classics" ;.Several of those single day races, including 250 km to over 300km, reward top finishers with points for the World Cup. This competition awards a special jersey to the most consistent cyclist at the conclusion of the season.