Don't bike without a tail light
« Radio Shack - Opportunity Lost | Home | Old People Crossing »
The Lanterne Rouge
By spokesman | July 28, 2010
The Lanterne Rouge refers to the rider who finishes last in the Tour De France. The term Lanterne Rouge translates to Red Lantern and is derived from the red lantern that was placed on the cabose of a train. The engineer would look at the light from the engine to make sure that no cars had come uncoupled.
This year the Lanterne Rouge was Adriano Malori. He finished 4 hours 27 mins and 3 seconds behind the Alberto Contador.
197 cyclists began the tour and 170 finished. Finishing is a major achievement. You must finish within the time limit each day or you can be eliminated.
Years ago, the riders from the Tour De France would race in criteriums all over France after the tour. Tour finishers were paided to participate in these criteriums and it was a large part of their earnings. In those days, the Laterne Rouge would often be invited to particpate in these criteriums and would be a celebrity. Despite finishing last in the Tour, the Laterne Rouge is still a very strong cyclist. Adriano Malori was the Time Trial World Champion for riders under 23 years old. He completed the queen stage of this year’s tour over the Col Du Tourmalet at more than 19 miles per hour. If you ever met him on the road, you wouldn’t be able to hang on his wheel for more than 30 seconds.
If you like this post then please consider subscribing to my full feed RSS . You can also subscribe by Email and have new posts sent directly to your inbox.
Topics: Professional Racing |
August 19th, 2011 at 3:39 am
I learned a lot from this post, great help for me, thank you!