Cycling - La Vuelta a España Important Facts
History - Important Facts - Teams - Stages - Winners
Vuelta a España 2008 |
Local name |
Vuelta Ciclista a España |
Edition |
63rd |
Competition |
UCI Pro Tour |
Distance |
3.133 Km (Through Spain and Andorra) |
Date |
August 30 to September 21, 2008 |
Distinctive Aspects |
-5 mountain finishes
-2 rest days
-67.3 Km of individual time-trials
|
Stage's Profiles |
-10 flat stages
-8 mountain stages
-3 individual time-trial stages
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General Director |
Victor Cordero |
Cycling teams are most important in road bicycle racing, which is a team sport. Also, in track cycling and cyclo-cross, collaboration among team members is also important.
While the riders form the core of a cycling team, a top-level cycling team also has support personnel who perform various tasks in support of the team's racing and training activities.
The rest of the team is supposed to help their captains as their first priority, but depending on the race and the team may also be allowed to ride their own chance. The captains are obviously the riders with the most media exposure.
The leaders of cycling teams are called captains, and the rest of the team is often arranged around supporting the captain or captains. Sometimes riders who represent a secondary goal for the team are called lieutenants.
Like in other team-sports, different team members will have different specializations. There are climbing specialists, sprinters who save their energy for crucial sprints for points, time trialists who work with great efficiency to keep speed high over great distances, and domestiques who guard the team from aggressive riders and assist in ensuring the team stays properly hydrated and fed.
In one day races, one or several leaders are usually chosen to be the riders whose strengths are best matched to the character of the race itself. In stage races, different teams focus on different goals. Not all teams have a leader, though, and simply try to do their best in each and every situation presented to them. Most professional teams keep between 10-20 riders at any given time.
Teams are generally sponsored by companies in exchange for advertising in the form of the team name, prominent placement of logos on official jerseys, and other endorsements.
Although, teams today are focused on obtaining funding from commercial sponsors, several previous editions of the Tour de France were ran by national teams, which did not allow the possibility of commercial sponsorship.
Each team has a group of doctors who are responsible for the riders' physical well-being and are often tasked with making sure that the riders' conditions meet the various regulations, such as those related to doping. The teams have their own mechanics that are responsible for the team's equipment. There are also officers for various responsibilities, such as sponsorship, marketing, and communication.
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