Tour A-Z

A

Alps: The Tour riders will face some of the most demanding Alpine mountain climbs (without the help of a ski lift) for five days in the race. There's also some steep roads in the Pyrenees as a warm-up.

B

Broom Wagon: The mini-bus that follows the riders on every stage and picks them up if they fall too far behind or drop out. The degrading act also includes the official `stripping' of the race number.

C

Crack: Also referred to as bonk, knock or just mere exhaustion. The riders can lose up to half an hour on a stage if the legs crack and seriously destroy their race chances.

D

Domestique: The support man in the team who protects and helps the leading riders. Their duties include racing back to the team van for drinks or handing over their bike if the better rider punctures.

E

Echelon: The diagonal shape that the riders form to help cut down on cross winds on some of the open road stages.

F

Feed Station: Usually at three of four points along the stage, the riders pick up a bag of high-energy bars and isotonic drinks. Afterwards they will eat up to 8,000 calories to recover for the next day.

G

Grimpeur: This is the name given to a rider who specialises in hill climbs. Some grimpeurs in this year's race include Marco Pantani of Italy and Richard Virenque of France.

H

Honking: Another hill-related term, honking refers to the swaying action as the rider stands on the pedals while climbing.

I

Injection: If you believe Paul Kimmage, some of the riders will be injecting amphetamines or worse on some of the demanding stages to get them to the finish. Cycling has had its fair share of doping scandals but it has pioneered blood testing for drugs in a battle to clean up the problem.

J

Jerseys: As well as yellow for the overall leader, the polka dot jersey is worn by the King of the Mountains (the best man on the hills) while the green jersey is given to the points leader (the most consistent finisher each day).

K

King: While we're talking about kings, Eddy Merckx is the undisputed King of the Tour de France. The Belgian rider won his first Tour back in 1969 and then another four as well as an unequalled 34 stage wins.

L

LeMond: The American Greg LeMond will be remembered for producing the most exciting Tour finish ever. In 1989 he overtook Laurent Fignon in the last stage to win by eight seconds, the closest finish in the history of the race.

M

Musette: This is the goody bag which contains all the rider's food as well as the bidon - the squeezy drinking bottle coloured in the familiar red of a popular drink sponsor.

N

Neuchatel: Ireland is not the only other country to host the 1998 Tour de France. Stage 18 will pass into Switzerland and finish at Neuchatel. It's only a brief stop, however, as it's straight back to France the next day.

O

Origins: The first Tour started on July 1st 1903 when 60 riders set out on the 2,500 km route over 19 days. Since then the race has only been stopped by two World Wars and now attracts a viewing audience of 950 million around the world.

P

Peloton: One of the more familiar terms refers to the total group of riders that set out each day. Also known as the bunch, the peloton can swallow up breakaway riders with phenomenal ease.

Q

Quota: Each rider must finish within a certain time quota each day or face elimination. Many factors determine the time quota but generally it's 8-12 per cent of the winner's finishing time. For example, if a rider finishes 10 per cent of the time behind the winner of the stage (at average speed 4446 km per hour), then he's out.

R

Roche: As Ireland's only Tour winner, Stephen Roche found his place in Tour history but Sean Kelly made quite a mark also. Only two men rode more than his 14 Tours and in total Kelly won five stages and four overall points jerseys.

S

Soigneur: She (or he) is the rider's best friend. The soigneur is the team masseur who spends at least a half an hour with each cyclist for the all-important rub down and recovery before the next days stage.

T

Time Trial: The stages where the riders race against the clock. Setting off at one-minute intervals, it's every man for himself over a range of distances. This year the prologue time trial is just 5.6 km but later they will have a 58 km challenge at Correze and a 52 km route into Le Creusot. The Tour is often won or lost in the time trial as Stephen Roche will tell you.

U

Ullrich: It now appears that last year's winner Jan Ullrich is over all his problems. He had gained a lot of weight and lost a bit of respect but the German is back to his best and a strong favourite to wear the yellow into Paris on August 2nd.

V

Visors: No rider worth his name will be seen without the latest in eyewear fashion, although they are necessary when you race down a mountain at nearly 50 miles an hour. Like everything else they use, the shades are super-lightweight and super-trendy.

W

Winner: There's no honour greater in cycling that winning the Tour de France. It's worth a few quid also with 5,457,000 francs (£575,000) going to the top placed finisher. This money, however, is usually spread out among the winner's team-mates and he makes his real money in appearance fees at the short-stage races that follow.

X

X-Ray: It's not too uncommon for a rider to end up in the X-ray room of the local hospital. Crashes are a familiar sight even on the flat stages and a fall coming down the mountains can be disastrous. One race favourite, Marco Pantani, smashed his leg in six places after a serious crash during a descent in 1995.

Y

Yellow: At the end of the day the only thing that matters to the riders is the yellow jersey - or maillot jeune to be specific. The riders get to keep each jersey they get every day they lead the race so may end up bringing home a whole suitcase full.

Z

ZZZs: After 3,850 km of racing around France (and Ireland), those riders who make the finish in Paris will be looking forward to plenty of sleep.