Weekly Online Lesson Online Lesson Archives Grade Level: 6-12 Subject: Sports/Geography

Le Tour de France

On July 25, 1999, the 86th Tour de France came to an exciting end for America. Tour de France (TdF) is the world's premier cycling event—the cycling equivalent of the Superbowl for football, the World Cup for soccer, or the World Series for baseball. It's 20 grueling days of racing that takes riders literally around France, up steep alpine terrain, ending at last in Paris along the famed Champs-Élysées.

In the final tally, the winner of the 1999 event was former World Champion Lance Armstrong of Plano, Texas, a US Postal cycling team rider. Winning the Tour de France is certainly impressive enough, but when you consider the fact that Lance was diagnosed with cancer three years ago, his achievement is an inspiration.

This week's online lesson is about the Tour de France, and about the great personal and professional victory of an extraordinary American cyclist.

Le Tour de France

The lesson begins with a visit to France and the official Tour de France Web site, where you'll find the complete story on this year's event. This site is also a great place to learn more about the sport of cycling and the rich history of the event.

Start by reading Armstrong's Yellow Parade on the home page. This article is a great overview of the race and a warm tribute to Armstrong, not to mention the exceptional riders who placed.

If you don't know much about cycling and the TdF, go to the Bicycling Magazine's Beginner's Guide to quickly get up-to-speed. You can also find beginner's information at the Tour de France F.A.Q. page. Read up on Tour History for a better understanding of the history and traditions of this race. Next read Overall Standings, which will help you figure out how the race is scored and how the winners are determined. What are the jerseys for and what do the different colors mean?

If you're studying French, or if you just want to learn a little bit of cycling lingo, go to the Cycling Jargon Glossary. Which terms are closest to their English equivalents?

If you're interested in learning the details about this year's race, go to the online Map of the 99 tour. If you have a browser with Flash, try The Flash map. Once you've looked over the whole race course, click the numbers (1-20) to learn more about each stage of the tour. You should definitely check out the 9th stage, Le Grand-Bornand - Sestrières, a climb so tough that some riders never make it to the finish. Each stage features photos, a stage summary (resume), and other features. There's a lot more here, so have fun exploring and learning as much as you can about the race.

More About Lance Armstrong

Now spend some time learning more about Lance Armstrong, his life, and his impressive cycling achievements. Visit Lance Armstrong Online and begin by reading the introduction. If you have a computer with Real Audio installed, you can hear a special audio tribute to Armstrong produced by an Austin radio station.

Next, follow the Inside Stuff link to read information about Armstrong's cycling career. Visit his Career-Schedule page for a race-by-race view of his past years' schedules. Go on to Journal '99 to read his online journal, including entries for each stage of the 1999 Tour de France. Click on any of the stages you want to read his comments. You definitely want to read Lance's comments on Stage 20 and his victory parade through Paris.

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