The Dauphine!

[equus123]

I like him. I don't know why (I really don't "know" him at all) but I like him

[Kano]

I"m confused.
(not necessarily a new thing)

New to this whole bike racing thing, ony ever heard of the TdF before this spring when people started talking about something called the Giro - thought that was helmets!

This "the dauphine" is a bike race?

NOT the future queen of France?

Kind of like the TdF?

And it's GUYS?
(when I realized what "we" were talking about here, I thought, hey, a womens race that seems to be famous!)

Shouldn't a guy race be "the dauphin" ???

Or does the guy who wins "the Dauphine" get the next queen of France as his prize ,
and if so, who IS she these days?
Do they still have one?
( or does HE get to be the queen of France? )

Karen in Boise

[mimitabby]

Thanks Kano.
You're not the only one clueless here.

[Kalidurga]

Kano, according to Dave Zabriskie, it's the "Dolfin-ay" Speaking of whom, Mr. Z is currently 3rd place in the GC, less than 30 seconds behind the lead: Velonews.com. Woo-hoooo! I guess without Floyd around to goof off with, Dave's gotten serious about his riding.

Oh, and I believe it's called the "Dauphine (feminine) because it's considered the "Queen" of the classic tours.

[margo49]

To all you "clueless" TE gals/women/personnes:

The human brain does not distinguish between thinking about riding a bike, actually riding a bike or watching (eg and for no particular reason (ahem, ahem ) Ree-charrr Vee-renque riding a bike on television.
So if you hooked my head up to one of those Imaging Magnetic Resonance Whatever Machines that go "ping" and "beep" ... you would see my brain light up the same (that is either yellow or pink depending if it is the Giro or the TdF!!) as if I myself was riding that very same stage/route...

Watching cycling on television is much cheaper than a psychologist and you sweat less than actually riding and don't have to "dress for the horse" I mean bike. You can just sit there with your water bottle and feel the high.

[equus123]

I"m confused.
(not necessarily a new thing)

New to this whole bike racing thing, ony ever heard of the TdF before this spring when people started talking about something called the Giro - thought that was helmets!

This "the dauphine" is a bike race?

NOT the future queen of France?

Kind of like the TdF?

And it's GUYS?
(when I realized what "we" were talking about here, I thought, hey, a womens race that seems to be famous!)

Shouldn't a guy race be "the dauphin" ???

Or does the guy who wins "the Dauphine" get the next queen of France as his prize ,
and if so, who IS she these days?
Do they still have one?
( or does HE get to be the queen of France? )

Karen in Boise

Kano, I can help a little with you're confusion.

In pro cycling the biggest races of the year are considered the "Grand Tours". There are 3 - 1 in Italy (Giro d'Italia), 1 in France (Tour de France), and 1 in Spain (Vuelta a Espana). It doesn't get any bigger or harder than these three stage races. A stage race refers to a series of races over the course of 2 days or 3 weeks (as in the Grand Tours). They have road race stages and individual time trial stages and team time trials - from pancake flat terrain to the steepest mountain climbs somebody on 2 wheels can ascend.

The Giro is in June, the Tour is in July, and the Vuelta is in September. The races that these pros do prior to the Giro are generally referred to as the "Spring Classics" which represent training races for these guys whos goals are to do well in the Grand Tour races.

The Tour de France is considered the crown jewel of bicycle racing, eclipsing the Giro and the Vuelta. Nothing is more important the "the Tour" for cycling fans and those racing in it. Over the last 60 years, the Dauphine Libere has been used as the last and final tuneup before the Tour starts in early July. All pros aiming to finish well in Paris race in the Dauphine because they 1) measure the current state of fitness they're in (also some of the Dauphine stages are the same climbs used in the Tour de France of other years), and 2) they get to see what their competition's fitness is as well. The Dauphine is only one week long so it's close enough to the Tour to measure fitness and short enough to recover completely in time for the start of the Tour.

The name comes from the Dauphine region of France that the races are held.

[maillotpois]

The "Dauphine Libere", which is the full name of the race, is also the name of a local newspaper which sponsors the race.

ETA (from cyclingnews):

The Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, named after the daily newspaper of the French Alps just after World War II, celebrates 60 years of existence this year. It's a family affair; created and run for a long time by Georges Cazeneuve, the event has been under the guidance of his nephew, Thierry, a respected cycling journalist, for the past 20 years.

As a result of this long tradition, all the great champions of modern history have used the Dauphiné as a rehearsal for the Tour de France: same venue in the Alps, same mix of prologue, sprint, breakaway, long time trial, uphill finish and high mountain stages, but all grouped into one week, from Sunday to Sunday.

Nowadays, probably even more than in the past, the Dauphiné remains a Tour contender's favoured preparation race, alongside the Tour de Suisse (Tour of Switzerland). It's highly prestigious, the standard of the race has been significantly reinforced by the concept of the ProTour, but so close to the Tour, less than one month before the start, every move is interpreted in relation to the Tour, with top favourites hiding their strength or potential Tour contenders spending too much energy to win.

[Kalidurga]

Oh my gosh, maillotpois, where did you find that quote?!?! I almost snorted iced tea all over my monitor when I read that.

Gotta love DZ

[PinkBike]

there go my favorites to win. vino-cracked. hushovd-cracked. valverde-who?
very impressed with DZ today, but i'll bet his jaws hurt from clenching them up the ventoux! what an amazing climb! and levi and contador were right there, levi didn't even look like he was working at all. i hope the Disco team are just gaging their fitness and holding back for the biggie - The Tour!

[margo49]

Ahhhh, but what a ride (again) from Moreau.
And did you see that Evans came in 4 th. Watch this man!

[Kalidurga]

there go my favorites to win. vino-cracked. hushovd-cracked. valverde-who?
very impressed with DZ today, but i'll bet his jaws hurt from clenching them up the ventoux! what an amazing climb! and levi and contador were right there, levi didn't even look like he was working at all. i hope the Disco team are just gaging their fitness and holding back for the biggie - The Tour!

I need to subscribe to cyclingtv. Somehow, though, I don't think my boss would appreciate me screaming for DZ (or Vino) when I'm supposed to be working...

[maillotpois]

Oh my gosh, maillotpois, where did you find that quote?!?! I almost snorted iced tea all over my monitor when I read that.

Gotta love DZ

That quote came out a week or so ago, I think. He is SO funny. He's also quite shy and modest, so it's so tongue-in-cheek that I just love it.

[Thorn]

I"m confused.
(not necessarily a new thing)

New to this whole bike racing thing, ony ever heard of the TdF before this spring when people started talking about something called the Giro - thought that was helmets!

This "the dauphine" is a bike race?

NOT the future queen of France?

Kind of like the TdF?

And it's GUYS?
(when I realized what "we" were talking about here, I thought, hey, a womens race that seems to be famous!)

Shouldn't a guy race be "the dauphin" ???

Or does the guy who wins "the Dauphine" get the next queen of France as his prize ,
and if so, who IS she these days?
Do they still have one?
( or does HE get to be the queen of France? )

Karen in Boise

Beautiful play on words...yes, the fight for/to be the queen of France! Shared this with several people--they loved it, too!