event

Winning a jersey on The LONDON-PARIS by Tour de France

Jul 2022

Covering the 500km from London to Paris in three days is a big enough challenge in its own right but, here at Hotchillee, we know that there are some riders who also want the added spice of a bit of good natured competition. For those riders, there’s three jerseys up for grabs on the LONDON-PARIS road route.

Groups 1 & 2 will have timing chips for the event. The men’s competition takes place in Group 1 and women’s in Group 2. They will be competing for a Sprint (Green) and Climb (Red) jersey each day and the Overall (Yellow) jersey will be awarded in Paris.

Points details

Points are the same for the Red Climb, Green Sprint and Yellow Overall

1st – 25, 2nd – 20, 3rd – 17, 4th – 15, 5th – 12, 6th – 10, 7th – 9, 8th – 8, 9th – 7, 10th – 6, 11th – 5, 12th – 4, 13th – 3, 14th – 2, 15th – 1

Tie-break: in the event of a tie on points for the awards, the tie-break rules are as follows:

Climb – the winner shall be the rider awarded the greater points on ‘The Wall’ on Stage 1
Green – the winner shall be the rider awarded the greater points on the Green section on Stage 1
Overall – the winner shall be the rider with the fastest time on the Yellow section on Stage 1
Team Overall (4 riders per team) – the winning team shall be decided by each team’s best 3 times on the Yellow section on Stage 1

Cycling Plus Yellow GC

On Stage 1 in the UK we will have a 6km Yellow race section with a Yellow flag at the start and finish of the Yellow section. There is a Hotchillee pink flag with 1km to go. Riders are timed across the yellow flags with the first rider crossing the first flag setting off the clock and points will be awarded for the first 15 riders to cross the second yellow flag.

The points for this Yellow section, plus the total points for the Climb and Sprint for each day will result in the Overall Leader Male and Female ranking and ultimate winners in Paris.

Tips for the Cycling Plus Yellow GC

Knowledge is power
Yep, it’s doing the research on the rider-cards again, knowing where in the stage the timed GC section is and, as it’s a longer one, whether there are any kicks where you could launch an attack.
Threshold efforts
It’ll be a 15-20 minute effort so you’ll be working at or just above threshold. Within the context of riding three days, this sort of effort every day can take a toll. Prepare by including some 20-minute FTP efforts in your long training rides.
Not first across the line
It’s your time that counts, so it can pay to let the initial flurry of attacks go and ride the section at your pace and with the wheels you want to follow.
Tag onto a team
Look out for the top teams who’ll tend to be riding GC sections as a team time trial. Jump onto their trains, take a few pulls to keep them sweet and ride them to yellow.
Forge alliances
Unless you’re unbelievably strong, you’re not going to be able to solo to GC glory and, if you try, will probably just end up towing a grateful string of riders behind you. Work with teams, other riders and agree to let the final kilometre decide.

Bike Radar Red Climb

Although there aren’t any genuine cols on the way to Paris, there are enough lumps and bumps for the mountain goats to have some fun. Red flags will denote the start and finish of the climb.

Points are awarded for the top 15 riders on the climb.

A pink HotChillee flag will be placed 1km from the top of the climb if the distance of the climb is greater than 2km.

Tips for the Bike Radar Red Climb

Rider-card research
Again, do your research into when the climb is each day and what it’s like. Make sure you’re up near the front of the bunch well before the fireworks go off at the blue flag.
Training
It’s typically going to be a 5-6 minute effort, maybe with a finishing sprint. Work on 5-minute Zone 5/VO2 efforts in training.
Climb to your strengths
If you know you’ve got a decent 5-minute w/kg output but lack a finishing kick, go early, long and drop the punchier riders. However, if you have got a finishing jump, cover the moves, follow the wheels and wait.
Know your numbers
Having a good idea of what your 5-minute power output is and riding to this can be the best way of seeing where you stand in the bunch climbing hierarchy without risking a terminal blow-up.
Mix it up
You’ve got three bites at the cherry so, if your tactics don’t work on Day 1, try something different the next day.

Cycling Plus Green Sprint

Green flags at start and finish of the sprint.

The flags are generally 1km apart. The peloton will generally speed up as it gets closer to the initial green flag.

There is no timing but points are awarded for the first 15 riders to cross the second green flag.

Tips for the Cycling Plus Green Sprint

Race safe
This applies to all three jerseys as, although a bit of competition is fun, the priority is everyone getting to Paris. Listen to instructions from the Hotchillee Ride Captains, look before you sprint, hold your line and don’t let the red mist descend in your quest for Green.
Do your homework
Look at your rider-cards for where the day’s Sprint Section is, be ready for the acceleration and try to move up near the front of the group.
Train your sprint
A kilometer can feel like an awfully long way and, even if a few riders are playing cat and mouse, you’re looking at a hard one minute plus effort and then an all-out 15-20 second final sprint. Add these sorts of efforts into your training – most flat Zwift races end with this sort of finish.
Find a mate
If you’ve got a mate who’s happy to give you a lead-out, this can be your best bet. Ride Captain lead outs can sometimes be bought with beers.
Rush the gap
As you come into the final 200-250m, you don’t want to be right on the wheel of the rider ahead of you. Let a gap go out to a bike length or two, accelerate through that tunnel of slipstream and sling-shot past to glory – just be aware of riders behind you doing the same!