Learn to Speak "Tour" French

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TDF - 2005

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uploaded by philip neuwirth

This month traveling in France will require two foreign languages, the usual French, and its strange derivative dialect used to describe the activities of the Tour de France. This highly specific language has developed over the past century and though the technology has changed the references have changed very little and offer a glimpse into the storied history of the Tour when riders shared cigarettes and carried their own gear.

Cyclingnews has supplied a Tour Lexicon to help out for those who may be watching for the first time. Some highlights include:

Domestique: The "helper" on a team, i.e. not the team leader, main sprinter or star climber. Domestiques will shelter their team-mates from the wind, go back to the team car to collect extra bidons (water bottles), chase down attacks, and sometimes get to attack themselves in an attempt to grab a stage win. They are the pawns in cycling's game of chess. In some languages also known as water-carriers.

Lanterne rouge: The last rider in the overall classification. The name derives from the red light on the last carriage of a train, but there is a certain honour to be had from managing to finish the race, albeit last.

Poisson pilote: Often an up-and-coming or veteran sprinter, the "pilot fish" leads out a star sprinter, keeping the pace high at the front of the peloton to prevent any last-minute attacks from finisseurs, before swinging out of the way in the last few hundred metres, leaving his team-mate to come out of his slipstream and battle for the win.

Wheel-sucker: A rider who refuses to cooperate with pace-making and instead constantly rides in the slipstream of others, thus saving energy while irritating his rivals. Also used as a term of abuse. Sometimes accepted as a valid means of a team's tactics, depending on the race situation.

If you happen to catch the English coverage this side of the pond you'll be treated to one of the best guides to the Tour (and one of the best announcers of all time) Phil Liggett... and of course you'll get to hear Bob Roll's own dialect of "Tour" French as he ads colour (or color) to the Tour "day" France.

Here's a partial list: