Cycling
Let Anton Palzer guide you around the ins and outs of pro road racing
With the Tour de France coming up, we've put together a guide to pro road cycling, so get up to speed on everything from its origins to the top riders.
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Road cycling: the short version
For many of us, when we think of cycling, we’re thinking of road cycling, whether we know it or not. From blink-and-you'll-miss-them time trials to the most famous cycling event of all, the Tour de France, road racing is all about lycra, powerful thighs and sleek-looking bikes.
“In my opinion, road cycling is one of the toughest endurance sports in the world,” says 29-year-old Anton ‘Toni’ Palzer, a former ski mountaineering and mountain running champion, who's now a professional road cyclist for UCI World Tour team BORA-hansgrohe.
The German athlete knows what he’s talking about. Since joining the German team in 2021, he's taken part in Spain's equivalent of the Tour de France, the Vuelta a España, as well as famous one-week stage races like the Tour of Romandie and Tour de Suisse. “In terms of elevation, effort and having to race day after day, it’s super tough,” he says. “Not to mention the crashes, which really aren’t fun. All of that makes racing super hard.”
Anton Palzer racing at the Tour de Romandie in Switzerland
© SprintCyclingAgency
01
How it all started
Road racing as we know it today began in France, Spain, Belgium and Italy as early as 1868. This explains why some of the sport’s biggest events still take place in those countries (more on that shortly). When the Summer Olympic Games returned in its modern format in 1896, road cycling was a key fixture and has remained so ever since.
Cycle racing is one of the oldest sports around
© Nationaal Archief
The first World Championships were held in Germany in 1921 under the auspices of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), which is still the world governing body of cycling. In 1958 a women’s road race was added to the World Championships.
These days it isn’t just Europeans who dominate the sport. Riders from countries as far afield as Colombia, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Africa and Australia continue to produce world-class cyclists, making it a truly global phenomenon.
The World Championships see athletes race for their national federations
© Ernst Lorenzi/Red Bull Content Pool
02
The different races
To the lay-person, many see road cycling just as the Tour de France. But, as Palzer explains, there’s much more to it than that.
“The most important races are the stage races,” Palzer says. “The three big grand tours are the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia in Italy and La Vuelta a España in Spain. These races last three weeks and have 21 stages, with usually just two rest days. As a result, they get the biggest press focus and are seen as the most important races on the calendar.”
The Tour de France, road cycling's most famous stage race
© Kramon
Not every stage race is quite as long, though. “There are smaller stage races like Tour de Suisse and the Tour de Romandie,” explains Palzer. “These races usually last about one week or eight days and are considered the second most important races after grand tours.”
Exhausted just reading about it? Thankfully, there are a number of single-day races that also litter the calendar year. These tend to be more than 250km in length, and that can mean a long day in the saddle. “These are also super important, especially for riders who suit day racing,” says Palzer. “Most of these races take place in Belgium or in Northern France.”
Palzer fights his way forward to the front on a stage of the Tour de Suisse
© BettiniPhoto ©2021
Paris-Roubaix, which is partly raced on cobbles, is a one-day race
© Kristof Ramon/Red Bull Content Pool
Then, to complicate things further, there are individual time trials (ITT) in which cyclists race against the clock on the road. These ITTs can be found in grand tours and week-long stage races. ITTs can range from 30km to 80km, but shorter nine-kilometer ITTs – called prologues – can take place prior to stage races. These determine which rider dons the leader’s jersey at the first stage (more on jerseys in a minute).
Wout van Aert in Time Trial action
© Luc Claessen/Getty Images
03
The team dynamic
“Road cycling is definitely a team sport,” says Palzer. “Cycling is like football. When you see your team win, the striker might score but it’s the team that wins the game, not the player. It’s the same with cycling.”
Tactics play a big part in professional road cycling
© Martin Vesberg/Red Bull Content Pool
Every team has a leader. They are given that role as they are deemed to be the person on the team most likely to win the race or be up there riding with other leaders for the win. The leader has helpers, or ‘domestiques’ to assist them during a race. It’s a domestiques job to protect the leader when they ride in the ‘peloton’, or at the front with the best group of riders. The domestiques do everything in their power to get their leader over the line first.
“Domestiques do everything. From riding in the wind to shelter the leader and conserve his energy to stopping when the leader needs a pee and then getting them back into the peloton. They may also go ahead of the race in a breakaway so that they can help him/her later during the race on a super tough mountain stage,” says Palzer.
Anton Palzer races on the UCI World Tour for the BORA-hansgrohe team
© SprintCyclingAgency
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04
What are the other roles?
A cycling team that rides under a UCI license usually has more than 25 riders, but less than 33. Palzer’s team BORA-hansgrohe have 29 riders in total. So what do they all do?
“There are climbers, who are involved in the latter end of stage races where mountain finishes feature heavily. A lead rider will have climbing domestiques to help him. Then there are riders, called classic riders, who help in the flat stage races or one-day races, and during the lead-out for a rider with sprinting ability when races end in a mass sprint. The sprinters are normally heavier guys; they’re not so strong on the mountains but they have the maximum power output for the last one or two kilometers to fight for the victory during flat stages.
“Normally when you’re a climber you live in the mountains and spend time at altitude, doing altitude training,” says Palzer. “Classic riders can go to altitude training camps too to get better. The sprinters tend to train in flat or hilly terrain.”
Every member of the team will have a specific role during a race
© VeloImages/BORA - hansgrohe/Red Bull Content Pool
There are also riders who are called 'puncheurs' that specialize in races with short but steep climbs. You will also see during a race riders who go on breakaways, these are athletes who blast out from the start line and look to build such a significant time advantage that they can't be caught by the peloton. Finally, the ‘rouleurs’ are solid all-rounders, who can climb, sprint and are good at time trialling. Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock are good examples of riders in this category.
05
What’s the deal with all the jerseys?
Cyclists love a jersey. “The General Classification is the most important jersey and is awarded to the overall winner of all stages,” Palzer explains. So, the winner of the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, then. Or the pink jersey at the Giro d’Italia.
Then, to complicate things, there are other jerseys awarded to the winners of different stages. The King of Mountains jersey (KOM) is awarded to riders who win certain climbs. “It’s difficult with the breakaways, there might be two, or even five riders fighting for KOM points,” says Palzer.
On the flat, there is a jersey for the rider with the most points, which is usually green in most stage races. Riders here will race at specific sections of a course for these points, with some sections giving more points than others. There are often fierce battles to get these points, with a team's chosen sprinter or rouleur battling for that jersey.
When you wear the green and yellow jerseys at a race you get respect
© Kristof Ramon/Red Bull Content Pool
“Then there’s the youth jersey for the younger riders, which is awarded for overall time,” explains Palzer. “You might finish sixth but if you’re the youngest of the six you win that jersey.”
06
Why is the Tour de France so special?
“It’s the biggest cycling race in the world!” says Palzer. “At the Tour de France are the eight best riders of each team, so the level is extremely high. It’s also rich with tradition, from the spectators to the famous climbs. Because of this, there's so much media attention.”
The crowds always turn out for Tour de France
© Alex Broadway
For most riders, Palzer explains, the Tour is the pinnacle of the sport. “When you say you won an important race in Belgium, no one outside of the sport will have heard of it. Everyone’s heard of the Tour de France. If you ask a real cyclist if they want to go to the Olympics or the Tour de France, they would always say the Tour because it’s the highest level of cycling possible.”
47 min
How does the Tour de France work?
We speak to Luke Rowe, who has raced in the Tour de France eight times and been in five winning teams.
07
I want to give it a go. What do I need?
“If you’re a climber, I’d buy a light bike,” advises Palzer. “If I lived in Belgium or flatter parts of the world I’d buy a more aerodynamic bike, which is normally a bit heavier, but faster.”
Of course, not all bikes are created equally. “There is a big difference between a €2,000 road bike and a €50,000 road bike,” says Palzer. “If you’re just starting out, it’s immaterial. As a beginner, the most important thing is that the bike fits and feels comfortable so do some tests and check it out. Feel comfortable with the saddle and the handlebars, and make sure you don’t get pain in your knees or back.
Palzer's team-issue bike is a Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7
© Mainfilm/Red Bull Content Pool
“A helmet is super important, too,” says Palzer. “You don’t need to wear a jersey, but a good bib short is important to help you be comfortable. In terms of shoes, you might want to get into the click system on the pedals to help you stay in the same position. However, if you don’t feel comfortable like that, it’s possible to ride with normal shoes.”
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What else do I need to know?
It's not just about bikes and jerseys. “Nutrition is super important,” says Palzer. “When you ride bikes you burn a lot of calories. It’s important to have food with you or do a coffee stop when you go for a longer ride. A lot of amateurs think they shouldn’t eat a lot because they want to get lean, but if you want to go fast you need food.”
09
Who should we watch in pro cycling?
Wout van Aert
Belgian cyclist Wout van Aert races for the Jumbo-Visma team and is a superstar in both road racing and in cyclo-cross. He has the ability to win any kind of race and on any terrain, if he's on a good day.
Tom Pidcock
Like van Aert, Tom Pidcock can turn his hand to most bike disciplines. The current Olympic cross-country mountain bike champion and cyclo-cross World Champion races for the Ineos Grenadiers and is seen as a classic specialist in one-day races.
Lucas Pöstlberger
Pöstlberger is a teammate of Palzer's at BORA and is seen mainly as a classic. "He’s so strong. He was the first Austrian rider to win a stage of the Giro d' Italia in 2017. He’s a great rider.”
Anna Kiesenhofer
Austria Anna Kiesenhofer won the women's road race gold medal at last year's Olympics. "Nobody expected it. It was super important for the sport. There are riders with more victories but to see someone who is not a favorite win one of the biggest races in the world was great," says Palzer. "It showed that even without a good team, planning everything on your own, it's still possible to have success.”
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