Amateur race the tour de france

This July, 10 women are riding the route of the Tour de France a day ahead of the pros. Here, team member Helen Bridgman shares her experience after 10 days of riding. The last ten days have been a bit of a blur, punctuated by the odd amazing or horrendous bit that sticks in the mind. Everything felt very surreal for the first few days. There was lots of media interest, so the actual riding was almost the easy part. The group gelled easily, riding smoothly and working well together. I loved being back on Belgian cobbles for the early stages, and had a blast smashing them up and getting a PB on the Muur van Geraardsbergen.

Around 15, riders participate - many travelling from other countries to compete - and the event takes place on roads closed by the police to other traffic, with refreshment stops and medical support provided along the route. Stage one Jean-Christophe Currit. Stage two Lilian Jegou Jegou was a former professional peloton rider who retired the previous at Bretagne-Schuller. He had previously ridden for Francaise des jeux for a number of years. Heavy rain meant poor conditions and only people crossed the line at the end. Stage one Robin Cattet.

Around 15, riders participate - many travelling from other countries to compete - and the event takes place on roads closed by the police to other traffic, with refreshment stops and medical support provided along the route. Stage one Jean-Christophe Currit. Stage two Lilian Jegou Jegou was a former professional peloton rider who retired the previous at Bretagne-Schuller. He had previously ridden for Francaise des jeux for a number of years.

Please refresh the page and retry. But if you compare a pro sprinter and an amateur sprinter, or a pro climber and an amateur climber, the amateur will actually have a higher percentage of fast-twitch muscle fibres than a Tour de France pro. Then a few years down the line, as the volume of training starts to convert your ratio of fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles fibres, you can look at doing more endurance rides to match the changes in your body. A t the end of the Tour de France each year I would often take part in some criterium races, doing hour-long races against some pretty fit amateurs. A lot of them could keep up for an hour because their cardiovascular fitness was good.