"sprint" markings

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 09:47:26 -0700, "Dean" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I recall that course diagrams have certain sections of the
course labelled as "sprint". I never understood what that
really means. Does it mean that it's where people usually
sprint? or required to sprint? or are they the only places
that sprinting is allowed?

They used to say 'Dog!', but they found bike racers couldn't
think and race at the same time, so they changed it.

Still get the same number of questions, though.

OTOH, I'm guessing if you are talking about a stage or event
that has a sprinter point competition, it is an intermediate
sprint for points.

Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on
two wheels...

"Curtis L. Russell" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message

Quoted message said:

OTOH, I'm guessing if you are talking about a stage or
event that has a sprinter point competition, it is an
intermediate sprint for points.

yeah, I meant stage event like tour de france. so do they
award the bonus points to the first person to get to the end
of the sprint section? or do they award the bonus points to
the person who has the fastest time during the sprint
section? Probably not the first way, otherwise the leader
would just pick up all of the sprint bonuses (without even
having to sprint).

--
Disclaimer: This post is solely an individual opinion and
does not speak on behalf of any organization.

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 12:40:45 -0700, "Dean" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Probably not the first way, otherwise the leader would
just pick up all of the sprint bonuses (without even
having to sprint).

Uh, huh, that's what happens. So if your team wants to
support you going for the green in the Tour, they give you a
deputy or two to get you into the intermediate sprints.

OTOH, not all sprints are equal. The stage win everyday is
the big one. The others can be really trivial, except in a
close competition for the sprint jersey. Then every second
can count.

I'm guessing its rare that a person could take the
sprinter's jersey on the strength of intermediate sprints.

Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on
two wheels...

"Dean" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Curtis L. Russell" <[email hidden]> wrote
in message

Quoted message said:

OTOH, I'm guessing if you are talking about a stage or
event that has a sprinter point competition, it is an
intermediate sprint for points.

yeah, I meant stage event like tour de france. so do they
award the bonus points to the first person to get to the
end of the sprint section? or do they award the bonus
points to the person who has the fastest time during the
sprint section? Probably not the first way, otherwise the
leader would just pick up all of the sprint bonuses
(without even having to sprint).

The sprint is not a section; it's a line. The first person
across that line gets a certain number of points, which
goes towards a sprint competition, the second person less,
and the third person fewer still. You're not required to
sprint here unless you care about the sprint competition,
but of course you're allowed to sprint anywhere you like if
you think it will help your goals, or your team manager
demands it.

Curtis L. Russell said:

OTOH, not all sprints are equal. The stage win everyday is
the big one. The others can be really trivial, except in a
close competition for the sprint jersey. Then every second
can count.

I'm guessing its rare that a person could take the
sprinter's jersey on the strength of intermediate sprints.

Depends on event rules, and how heavily finishes are
weighted. In the current TDF rules, finish-lines are fairly
heavily weighted, more so than in the past, I think.

In previous years, I think I can remember seeing reports
about a rider with the sprinter's jersey going into the
third week of the tour, still looking for a stage win.

Remember also, in the sprints, there's actually two prizes
-- points toward the sprinter's jersey, as well as time
bonuses. In the first week of the tour, there is interest in
the time bonuses (especially before the first time trial),
when everybody is still fairly closely bunched together --
time bonuses help overall standings (both individual and
team GC), where points count for the sprinter's jersey.

Thus, once the Tour gets out of the mountains for good, I'm
pretty sure that they're no longer awarding time bonuses for
sprints, and sprints are strictly for points.

However, the rules can vary over time. In the '70s and '80s,
the Tour had a separate red sprinter's jersey -- in this
era, mid-stage sprint points went toward the red jersey, and
the only points awarded toward the green jersey were awarded
at the finish line. Thus, the green jersey was as much as a
"most consistent finisher" award (still going to sprinters)
as it was a true sprinter's award. The red jersey was
dropped after 1989, when the STdF decided they wanted to
shorten awards ceremonies by awarding fewer jerseys; that,
and that it turned out to be reasonably common that the same
rider held both the green and red jerseys, with the result
being that the rider actually wearing the red jersey on any
particular day was often the second-placed rider in that
competition (with the first-placed rider choosing to wear
the green jersey).

Smith

"Kyle Legate" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"Dean" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Curtis L. Russell" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message

Quoted message said:

OTOH, I'm guessing if you are talking about a stage or
event that has a sprinter point competition, it is an
intermediate sprint for points.

yeah, I meant stage event like tour de france. so do
they award the bonus points to the first person to get
to the end of the sprint section? or do they award the
bonus points to the person who has the fastest time
during the sprint section? Probably not the first way,
otherwise the leader would just pick up all of the
sprint bonuses (without even having to sprint).

The sprint is not a section; it's a line. The first person
across that line gets a certain number of points, which
goes towards a sprint competition, the second person less,
and the third person fewer still. You're not required to
sprint here unless you care about the sprint competition,
but of course you're allowed to sprint anywhere you like
if you think it will help your goals, or your team manager
demands it.

Sprints in the TdF usually go 6-4-2 points to the first
three across and bonus seconds are deducted from overall
time. They are usually sponsored by a town along the way and
there's often a cash prize.

Stuart O'Grady of Cofidis has made certain noises about
going for the Maillot Vert (Green points jersey) even though
he's not terribly likely to beat Alessandro Petacchi in many
finishline sprints. So how's he do it? Buy picking up as
many sprint points along the course as he can, as he did in
the Dauphiné Libéré, and try for high placings at the
finish. Stuey proven he's a decent climber so expect to see
him take off in breaks to collect sprint points.

"Dean" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"Curtis L. Russell" <[email hidden]> wrote
in message

Quoted message said:

OTOH, I'm guessing if you are talking about a stage or
event that has a sprinter point competition, it is an
intermediate sprint for points.

yeah, I meant stage event like tour de france. so do they
award the bonus points to the first person to get to the
end of the sprint section? or do they award the bonus
points to the person who has the fastest time during the
sprint section? Probably not the first way, otherwise the
leader would just pick up all of the sprint bonuses
(without even having to sprint).

Here's the TdF rule relating to the green jersey "points"
(sprint) competition Your term "sprint markings" corresponds
to the "intermediate sprints" referred to in the rule.

B) GENERAL INDIVIDUAL POINTS RANKING (art. 2.6.016 bis) The
general individual points ranking is obtained by adding
together the points recorded in the individual rankings
of the Prologue and in each stage, according to the
following tables, and including point penalties:

For ?flat? in-line stages (art. 22-coeff. 1): 35, 30, 26,
24, 22, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7,
6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point for the first 25 riders to finish;

For ?medium mountain? in-line stages (art. 22-coeff. 2): 25,
22, 20, 18, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3,
2 and 1 point for the first 20 riders to finish;

For the "high mountain" in-line stages (art. 22-coeff. 3):
20, 17, 15, 13, 12, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point
for the first 15 riders to finish; (In the event of dead
heat in a stage finish, the riders are credited by the
number of points that they would get, divided by the number
of riders concerned. These points are then rounded up to the
nearest _ point).

For individual time trial stages (art. 22-coeff. 4 and 5)
and the Prologue: 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point
for the first 10 riders to finish.

For each intermediate sprint, the first 3 riders to pass the
sprint finish line receive 6, 4 and 2 points respectively.

In the event of a tie in the general ranking, then the
number of stage victories are added up for each rider,
followed by the number of intermediate-sprint victories;
failing that, the general time ranking is used.

Riders must finish the Tour de France in order to appear in
the final general ranking on points.