Tour de france what does gc mean

A strong endurance rider who excels at maintaining a high speed over a long period of time to win stage sprints or time trials. An experienced rider in charge of executing the team strategy and ensuring each rider goes to the right place at the right time.

This may be a climber on a mountain stage, a sprinter on the flats or the GC contender. A teammate who helps the protected rider, whether by sheltering them from the wind, physically buffering them from other riders or bringing more water from the team car.

When riders arrange themselves in a single or double line to gain aerodynamic shelter from the rider in front of them. Riders will then rotate to the front of the line, breaking wind for their teammates.

When one or more riders escape from the peloton and rides ahead of the main bunch. Riders or groups of riders who are trying to catch up with the break but are stuck between the break and the peloton. The group of riders off the back of the peloton. EF's GO blog offers the latest on travel, languages, culture, international careers and student life.

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Call us: Home Welcome to EF. Programs See everything we do. A powerful rider who can perform high-velocity burst finishes. A strong endurance rider who excels at maintaining a high speed over a long period of time to win stage sprints or time trials. An experienced rider in charge of executing the team strategy and ensuring each rider goes to the right place at the right time. This may be a climber on a mountain stage, a sprinter on the flats or the GC contender.

A teammate who helps the protected rider, whether by sheltering them from the wind, physically buffering them from other riders or bringing more water from the team car.

When riders arrange themselves in a single or double line to gain aerodynamic shelter from the rider in front of them. Riders will then rotate to the front of the line, breaking wind for their teammates. When one or more riders escape from the peloton and rides ahead of the main bunch. Riders or groups of riders who are trying to catch up with the break but are stuck between the break and the peloton.

The group of riders off the back of the peloton. Home Welcome to EF. Programs See everything we do. Offices Find an office near you. About EF Who we are. Careers Join the team. The latest on travel, languages and culture by EF Education First. The unsung heroes of the team, selected to look after their team leader. Domestiques keep their lead riders safe, fed and watered and will work to chase down breakaways or try and dictate the pace of the stage.

Each stage has a dedicated feed zone, where the riders knock the pace off to collect musettes small bags containing food and drinks from their team soigneurs. The general classification sorts the riders according to their cumulative time, plus or minus any bonuses or penalties.

The rider who has taken the least time to complete the race so far wears the fabled yellow jersey. As well as the finish line, each stage features an intermediate sprint where there are points and prize money to be won for the first riders across it.

The tougher the climb, the more points there are available for that ascent. The leader of the mountains classification is the King of the Mountains and wears the polka-dot jersey. Named after the red light hung on the back of a train, the lanterne rouge is the rider placed last on the general classification. The iconic yellow jersey, or maillot jaune , is worn by the general classification leader. The green jersey is the prize awarded to the points classification leader. A distinctive white jersey with red polka-dots, awarded to the leader of the mountains classification.

The white jersey is worn by the highest-placed young rider in the general classification.