Tour de France: some French Vocabulary

17/07/2025 1 Comment
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Tour de France: some French Vocabulary

The 2025 Tour de France is the 112th edition of the Tour. It started in Lille on 5 July, and will finish as usual on the Champs-Élysées, Paris, on 27 July.

But easy and tempting as it is to watch it all on English  telly and media, why not tune into a French station and improve your french at the same time.? Here’s some vocab to help you follow.

TOUR DE FRANCE VOCAB (1)

People
une équipe: team
la tête de course: leader
un poursuivant: chaser
un peloton: pack, bunch
un coureur: rider, cyclist
un échappé: breakaway rider
un grimpeur: climber

Equipment
un maillot (jaune): (yellow) jersey
un dossard: bib or t shirt with competitor number
une crevaison: puncture
un bidon: water bottle
un casque: helmet

The Race
rouler: to ride
dépasser:to overtake
une course: race
prendre la tête: to take the lead
une montée: upward slope
une descente: downward slope
une côte: hill, slope
un col: mountain pass
une étape: stage, leg
une chute: fall, crash
la danseuse: standing up on pedals

Tour de France

And did you know...?

….. in 1904  competitor Hippolyte Aucouturier tied a piece of cork to a long piece of string, tied the other end to the back of a car, and bit down on the cork as he followed the car. He was disqualified for cheating of course.

…..the route of the Tour de France changes every year, takes place over 23 days covers over 2,000 miles and always ends on the Champs-Élysées.

……each rider consumes an average of 123,900 calories over the course of the three weeks, equivalent to 495 croissants, 152 full English breakfasts or 200 bottles of champagne!

—–in 1904, several competitors including the 1903 winner were disqualified after allegations that they used trains during the race.

…..in the 1920s competitors smoked cigarettes, sharing the amongst themselves as they rode, as it was believed that it helped them to ‘open up’ the lungs before a hard climb.

…..competitors used to drink alcohol to ease pain during the race, later banned when it was classed as a stimulant.

…..the first Tour de France race was held in 1903 and entry cost 10 francs

…..the youngest rider to win the Tour de France was Henri Comet in 2004 at just 19. The oldest was Firmin Lambot, at the age of 36, in 1922.

Comments

  1. It’s worth mentioning the jerseys in more detail. There are three main ones.
    The yellow jersey (maillot jaune) is worn by the overall leader on aggregate time.
    The green jersey (maillot verte) is worn by the best sprinter, who has most points for finishing consistently.
    The polka dot jersey (maillot a pois) is worn by the king of the mountains who is best in the mountain stages.

    Physical traits tend to dictate who gets to wear a particular jersey. The green sprinter’s jersey is often won by big, strong, tough riders who can fight it out in the rough and tumble of the sprints. The king of the mountains is usually won by small, light riders who don’t have much weight to drag up the climbs.

    Very occasionally someone is good enough to win more than one jersey. The only person to have won all three major jerseys in the same tour, in 1969, is Eddy Merckx, probably the greatest rider ever.

    There are a lot of tactics involved in professional cycling – when to attack, for instance. Merckx was once asked what his tactics for the day’s stage would be. His reply was ‘I’m going to cycle faster than everybody else’. No subtlety necessary.

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