What are the types of riders in The Tour?

Climbers are usually lightweight, skinny riders. They may not have the strength to compete on the flats with more muscular guys, but when the grade pitches upwards, you’d think these guys filled their tires with helium. In the past, climbers often had the best shot at overall Tour victory because the long alpine ascents allowed climbers to extend their lead over the less-vertically inclined competition.

With one goal in mind, the sprinter is a powerful and muscular rider with a daring level of confidence that allows them to crank up to speeds over 40mph while simultaneously navigating the crowded confines of the peloton. The classic sprinter’s tactic is to save energy all day so as to be as fresh as possible for the final runup to the finish line. This works great on purely flat stages, but if there are any hills or crosswinds along the way, the sprinter cannot hide the whole time and will be forced to do some work if they want to compete for the win.

A puncheur is a rider who specializes in short and steep, “punchy” climbs. Usually falling somewhere between a pure climber and a pure sprinter, puncheurs may not have the endurance to compete for the overall GC win, but there will be many individual stages where they can find success.

In recent Tours, Time Trial Specialists have dominated in the General Classification competition.These riders are a sort of allrounder but with a focus on putting out large amounts of steady power over a long period of time. In the Tour, this is great for long climbs and individual time trials (which there are usually one or two of). While these riders are still spry enough to battle with the best pure climbers, they tend to save energy elsewhere in the race by being muscular enough to compete on the flats and smaller climbs.

Most racers fall somewhere in between these categories. For example, it is advantageous to be a climber with a solid sprint or a puncheur who can still handle a big alpine climb.