Tour glossary terms

Cavendish: Will be looking to add to his list of victories in July during the 'bunch sprints'

A helpful glossary of terms with everything you need to know to get up to speed during the Tour de France.

Arrivée: The French cycling term for finish line.

Attack/jump/kick/take a flyer: When a rider produces a burst of speed to move ahead of his/her competitors.

Bidon: The French term for water bottle.

Breakaway: A rider or group of riders who have a lead over the peloton.

Blowing/bonking/popping: A rider who has completely run out of gas and drops off the pace.

Bridge a gap: To ride out of the peloton and catch a breakaway group which is further up the road.

Bunch sprint: A mass dash for the line at the end of a stage when most of the peloton is still in tact.

Cadence: The number of revolutions per minute which a rider turns his/her pedals.

Directeur sportif (Sports Director): A member of a team’s management staff who directs the race tactics and strategy from the team car.

Domestique: These are the riders who sacrifice their own chances of success for the team leaders. They ferry food and water, provide spare wheels and even surrender their bikes in the event of a mechanical problem.

Dropped: When one or more riders loses contact off the back of the peloton or breakaway group.

Echelon: A form of slipstreaming which allows riders to gain maximum draft in a crosswind. Riders commonly fan out in echelons right across the road.

Flamme rouge: The red banner which the riders pass under when there is only one kilometre left of a stage to go.

Grand Départ: The opening stage of the Tour.

Grand Tour: The highest category of stage race recognised by cycling’s governing body, the UCI. Only three Grand Tours exist - the Tour de France, Spain's Vuelta a España and Italy's Giro d'Italia. Each one lasts for 21 stages, with two rest days in-between.

Gruppetto (autobus): This is the group of riders who have dropped off the pace on a mountains stage. The group usually consists of sprinters and non-climbers whose sole aim is to finish within the day's time limit.

Hors-category: The hardest category of mountain included in the Tour, which is calculated using length and average gradient. Literally translated it means beyond categorisation.

Lanterne rouge: The rider who is last on the general classification. The term means 'red lantern’ and refers to the light which was traditionally found at the back of a railway train.

Lead-out man: A rider who specialises in guiding the team’s star sprinter into position during the final stages of a race. The star sprinter waits in the lead-out man’s slipstream for as long as possible before accelerating to the finish line.

Musette: A food bag which is handed to riders as they pass through the feed stations.

Palmares: A list of each riders’ achievements.

Parcours: The French word for ‘course’, which can be applied to each stage separately, or to the race route as a whole.

Peloton: The main group of riders in a bike race. Cyclists form groups as riding within them helps save energy.

Prologue: A short time trial (commonly less than 8km long) which kicks off a stage race or Grand Tour. It is used mainly to showcase the riders, and as a way to get the yellow jersey on someone's back right away.

Radio Tour: The radio station that keeps the Tour participants and spectators informed about what's happening in the race.

Rouleur: A domestique who specialises in steady, consistent riding and can take long turns on the front of a group of riders for hours at a time.

Slipstream: The still air behind a rider which is significantly easier for another cyclist to ride in.

Soigneur (carer): A member of a team’s backroom staff whose job is to look after the riders. They perform many duties such as giving massages, handing out feed bags and doing the riders’ laundry.

Sprinter: A rider who is capable of accelerating very quickly and able to battle it out for victory on the flatter stages of races.

Team car: In Grand Tours, two team cars follow the riders and each one commonly contains a directeur sportif and mechanic. It is from these that the DSs dictate strategy and mechanics are able to stock spare parts. Team doctors are also commonly present to treat any wounded riders quickly.

Team leader: The rider whom the rest of the team is generally working for in the hope of achieving goals such as an overall victory or stage win.

Team captain: Sometimes but not always the team leader. The team captain is an experienced rider who is in charge of what happens out on the road, subject to the instructions of the directeur sportif.

Tempo: The pace of a group of riders out on the road, such as a breakaway or peloton.

Teté de la course: The leading rider or group. Translates from French to ‘head of the course’.

Time bonus: Time bonuses are awarded for high-placed finishes in certain stages, as well as at intermediate sprints.

Time limit: Every rider must finish with a certain percentage of the winner's time or they are eliminated from the race. The percentage varies from stage to stage. A slow, flat stage can be as low as five percent, whilst for a fast, mountain stage it can be 16-17%. In certain circumstances the race organisers have discretion not to eliminate riders, for example if doing so would eliminate a very large part of the field.

Time trial: Where riders race not against each other, but against the clock, either solo or in teams.