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Cycling

The Tour de France.


The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. The
Tour was first held from the 31st May to 5th July 1903. It ran over six stages starting
in Paris and stopping in Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Nantes before
returning to Paris. The first winner of the tour was Maurice Garin.
Today the race covers more than 3,600 kilometres (2,200 miles) and lasts
three weeks. The Tour is the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand
Tours" (Tour de France, Giro dItalia, Vuelta a Espaa). It attracts riders and teams from around the
world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages. Individual times to finish each stage are
aggregated to determine the overall winner at the end of the race. The rider with the lowest aggregate time at the
end of each day wears the leader's yellow jersey on the next day of racing. Since 1975, the climax of the final stage
has been along the Champs-lyses.
The two most famous riders in the history of the Tour are Eddie Merckx from Belgium and the American, Lance
Armstrong. Merckx was the most successful rider with 5 Tour wins (34 stages 1969-1974) until Lance Armstrong
became the most successful rider with 7 wins (1999-2005). One of the most successful Italian riders was Marco
Pantani who won the Tour in 1998.
Spectators Medias
12 to 15 million spectators 100 TV channels, 70 radios, 400 newspapers
70 % men and 30 % women and press agencies, 70 websites
80 % of spectators French and 20 % non-French (2,300 journalists of 35 nationalities).
6 hours of presence at the roadside on average Broadcasting in 190 countries. 60 countries
transmit live coverage
Website: 14 million visitors

Le Tour and Doping.
There have been allegations of doping in the Tour de France since the race began in 1903. Early Tour riders
consumed alcohol and ether, to dull the pain of competing in endurance cycling. Riders began using substances to
increase performance rather than dulling the senses. Organizing bodies such as the Tour and the International
Cycling Union (UCI), and government bodies, commenced policies to eradicate doping.
There have been many scandals involving doping and the Tour de France. In July 1967 Tom Simpson (the leader of
the British team) famously collapsed and died during stage 13, after taking amphetamines. From 1974 onwards
riders were then tested for amphetamines. This caused riders to turn to more dangerous drugs. From the 1980s
the steroid era began.
Doping reached its peak in the 1990s and 2000s. In 1998 the
Festina affair (named after the Festina team) saw many
prominent riders banned. In 2006 the Operacin Puerto
investigation also saw many important riders banned, including
the Italian Ivan Basso and the favourite Jan Ullrich. After this the regulations became tougher and although he won
the 2007 Tour, the American Floyd Landis had his title taken away from him when the authorities found he had
taken illegal substances.

Mountain Biking.
Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over
rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share
similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance
durability and performance in rough terrain.
Mountain biking consists of separate categories: cross country, trail riding, all
mountain, downhill, freeride, dirt jumping and trials. The majority of mountain
biking is recreational.
This individual sport requires endurance, strength and balance, bike handling skills,
and self-reliance. Cross Country mountain biking requires different skills and a higher fitness level than other types
of mountain biking.
Mountain biking can be performed anywhere from a back yard to a gravel road, but the majority of mountain
bikers ride off-road trails. These are either country back roads, fire roads, or singletrack (narrow trails that wind
through forests, mountains, deserts, or fields). Because riders are often far from civilization, they need to be self-
reliant. Riders learn to repair their broken bikes or flat tires to avoid being stranded miles from help. Many riders
carry a backpack, containing all the essential tools and equipment for trailside repairs, and many riders also carry
emergency supplies in the case of injury miles from outside help. Club rides and other forms of group rides are
common, especially on longer treks.
Vocabulary.
allegations= an accusation or blame for a problem or event. the peleton=the pack or group of riders.
to consume/consumed=to eat, to drink or absorb something. yellow jersey=shirt worn by race leader.
to dull=to stop pain or feelings in the body. to involve/involving=to include.
to collapse=to fall down quickly. era=a period of time.
prominent=famous or important. title=Trophy.
to ban/banned=to forbid or stop a cyclist from riding in races.
off-road=a rough surface, usually a path in the countryside. to enhance=to improve.
durability=to continue to work/perform. endurance=to continue, to suffer, to tolerate.
rough terrain=not smooth surfaces (example: country trails/tracks).
recreational=for pleasure, not professional. self-reliant=to be independent.
Cycling verbs
to attack to pedal to climb to change pace
to accelerate to change/shift gears to ride to crash
Phrasal Verbs
to overtake to break away to speed up to slow down

QUESTIONS:
-Is cycling an important sport?
-Is the Tour de France an important race? If so, why? If not, why not?
-Is the Tour de France an exciting sport?
-Is cycling a clean sport?
-What problems does drug use cause for the image of sports?
-How can authorities eradicate doping?
-Are doping problems only found in Cycling?
-Should drug use be allowed? Would this solve the problem?
-What do you think are the differences between Mountain biking and Professional cycling?
-Which do you prefer and why?
-Do cyclists need different skills for the tour de France and for Mountain Biking?
CYCLING PHRASAL VERBS:
Change the sentence. Put a phrasal verb instead of a verb.
-Jones is going very fast...he has gone past the Peleton.
-It is important to decrease speed when going down hill.
-If you want to win the race you need to pedal faster.
-Armstrong has cycled ahead and left the Peleton behind!

CYCLING STORIES:
Now write two cycling stories. One based on the tour de France and why it is an important race and the second
story on Mountain Biking.
Use cycling verbs and phrasal verbs and the vocabulary above.







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