Gallery
Grabbing a Bite
Luis Mate (Cofidis) reaches out to grab a musette from his soigneur while riding through the feed zone. Mate was one of five riders to get into the early break. Musettes are canvas bags that are handed over to the competitors at designated areas on the course. Those racing in the Tour will burn around 6,000 calories in a typical stage so keeping themselves topped up is importance. No rider wants to get to the end of the stage with nothing left in the tank. Thank of the Feed Zone as a NASCAR pit stop, however in a bike race, nobody stops to refuel. This is all done on the fly.