The beautiful French countryside is on display during the Tour de France.

Cycling is a sometimes mysterious world with its own rules and etiquette to go along with it. Bicycle racing has its own language as well, a mix of French, Italian, Spanish and sport-specific words that might sound a little odd to the casual fan. We’ve put together a lexicon for the upcoming Tour de France.

Here’s a sampling:

Bidon – French for water bottle. Racers can go through dozens a day in a hot stage.

Bonking – When a rider suddenly feels no energy in his legs and the body depletes its glycogen, the carbohydrate sugar that fuels the muscles. Typically happens in the mountain stages, but can occur anyway when a racer doesn’t eat and drink enough. Team CSC manager Bjarne Riis was well on his way to winning the 1996 Tour when five-time winner Miguel Indurain “bonked” on the Les Arcs climb in the Alps.

			Related Information: Read Get Up to Speed on the Tour de France. Read the lastest about the Tour and Team CSC at www.csc.com/cycling. Visit the official Tour de France site.

Breakaway – When a solitary rider or group of riders pulls off the front of the main bunch. Strategy and luck have a lot to do with whether the break will arrive successfully at the finish line. If there’s a rider who’s considered dangerous in the overall classification, the other teams will collaborate to bring the breakaway back. But sometimes if a rider is so far down in the overall standings or if the main bunch is too tired to work, a strong breakaway can survive to fight for the victory.

Bunch sprint – The massive charge to the finish line at the end of a stage when most of the riders are still together in one group. Several big stars make a name for themselves in specializing in this type of racing.

Caravan – One of the highlights of the Tour de France is the publicity caravan that travels ahead of the race. A procession of advertising cars, floats, vans and motorcycles leaves two hours before the racers and winds slowly along in front of the tens of thousands of fans who wait for the race and receive cheap souvenirs that are thrown out along the way.

In the 2005 Tour, Lance Armstrong and Team CSC’s Ivan Basso battled it out in the mountain stages.

Climbers – The best climbers are usually thin, lightweight spindly characters who know how to suffer. Climbing requires a unique balance between weight and power, though bigger riders such as Eddy Merckx and Miguel Indurain have been able to get up the hills. Modern climbers have adopted a high-cadence pedal stroke to produce the maximum amount of power on the long, 12-mile climbs of the Alps.

Combativity award – A daily award given to the rider who livens up each stage during the Tour. The classification began in 1952 and since 1998 the rider is marked by a red start number rather than a jersey so he won’t stick out too much in the crowd and negate the chance of surprise. A panel of race officials and journalists decide who earns each day’s honor, and there’s a running total for an overall classification as well. Former Team CSC rider Laurent Jalabert won the award in 2002.

Contre-la-montre – French for time trial, also called the race of truth or race against the clock when riders head out on the course one at a time.

CSC’s team manager Bjarne Riis directs rider Jens Voigt from team car during a race.

Directeur sportif – French for sport director, whose duties include handling everything from race-day tactics to overseeing the preparation and training of athletes. A team manager typically handles more of the business end of the team, working with sponsors and contracting riders. At Team CSC, Bjarne Riis is team manager, but often acts as sport director in such races as the Tour de France. Other CSC sport directors include Kim Andersen, Dan Frost, Alain Gallopin, Tristan Hoffman and Scott Sunderland.

Domestique – French for servant, the domestiques are the unsung heroes of any Tour team. They sacrifice their chances for overall victory to help the team’s stars stay out of trouble by blocking the wind, chasing down dangerous breakaways, carrying water and food to others and, in some cases, even giving up their bicycles if the team leader has mechanical difficulties. The classic image of an old-style domestique has somewhat faded as modern riders are typically given chances to ride for their own glory at some point during the season.

Drafting – It’s easier to ride behind someone else than to ride at the front breaking through the air mass, so riders will take turns cutting the wind and then save energy riding on the wheel of the bike directly in front of them. Studies suggest upwards of 40 percent energy can be saved by drafting. Team leaders such as Ivan Basso will not ride at the front of the race until the most decisive stages. Taking away the individual time trials, when riders race one at a time, Basso will be at the front of the main bunch only on the steepest climbs, an extraordinary testament to teamwork.

Gruppetto – An Italian word for the stragglers that come up far behind the climbing specialists in the hardest mountain climbs. The riders push just hard enough to make the time limit so they won’t be disqualified, but easy enough to limit the suffering. The French call it the “autobus.”

Lanterne Rouge – The last-placed rider in the overall standings. The “honor” of being last has been somewhat diminished in recent years as race organizers have frowned upon publicity surrounding the placing.

Mechanics assist fallen riders and repair broken bikes on the spot.

Mechanics – Most big teams have three to six mechanics to maintain, clean, build and repair the team’s bicycles. Mechanics ride with the sport directors in the team cars during the race to make repairs during the race.

Mountains – The very first mountain climb was Ballon d’Alsace in 1905 in the Vosges mountains of eastern France. In 1910, the Tour introduced the first high peaks in the Pyrénées and introduced climbs in the Alps the following year. The first mountaintop finish was in 1952, the same year the Tour saw the Alpe d´Huez, which would later become the Tour’s most famous climb. Each year, Tour organizers search out new summits and this year the race will climb La Toussuire and Pla-de-Baret for the first time.

Musette – A cloth shoulder bag handed to riders at feed zones filled with drinks and food. Lance Armstrong got his handlebars tangled up in a fan’s musette when he crashed inthe 2003 Tour on the climb up Luz Ardiden.

Overall classification – Also called the general classification, or GC, it’s the cumulative time of all the racers. The rider with the least amount of time is the race leader.

Peloton – French for group, in cycling it means the main bunch of riders. When the main bunch splits up, there can be several pelotons.

The final podium of the 2005 Tour, with Team CSC’s Ivan Basso (left), Lance Armstrong (center) and Jan Ullrich (right).

Podium – Reserved for the top three placings or leaders in the different classifications. The modern Tour travels with a mobile podium that fits inside a large truck that can be moved from stage to stage. Podium girls grace the stage during the awards ceremony. France has won the most Tours, followed by Belgium, the United States, Italy and Spain.

Point sprints – Points are awarded at intermediate sprints and at the finish line of each day’s stage. Cumulative points decide the green points jersey.

Prize money – In 2005, €2.9 million in prize money was awarded. Stage winners receive €8,000 with €200 going to 20th place. The overall winner received €400,000, traditionally split among the teammates, with €170,000 for second and €92,000 for third, with €400 for the bottom finishers. The yellow jersey wearer is awarded €350 per day.

Prologue – A short time trial, not longer than 10 kilometers, was introduced in 1967 to showcase the start of the race and award the first race leader’s jersey.

Rouleur – A French for "roller" descibing a cyclist capable of riding long, hard pulls at the front of the peloton, typically on flatter stages. A rouleur is not necessarily a domestique, but simply a rider with a smooth, powerful pedal stroke.

Soigneur – French word for a staff member of the teams who takes care of the riders. The soigneur’s duties include giving massages, preparing and handing out race meals, assisting riders at the hotels and other menial tasks.

Team car – Official cars that follow behind the racers usually driven by the respective sport director along with a soigneur and mechanic. Tactics are often decided from within the team car, from which the sport director will radio ahead the commands to the riders.

Team CSC riding in formation in the 2005 Tour team time trial.

Time bonus – Time bonuses are won in sprints along the course and at stage finishes and are actually seconds subtracted from a rider’s cumulative time. Intermediate sprints—usually three per day during the Tour—are placed along the course with the intent of livening up the racing in the flatter stages.

Time limit – Racers must cross the line within a certain percentage of the winner’s time or face elimination from the race. The percentage varies depending on the difficulty of the stage. On the flatter, easier stages, the time limit is as low as five percent while on harder mountain stages it can be almost 20 percent. Race officials sometimes waive the rule under duress—for example, if a rider has overcome a crash or if a large chunk of the field would be cut.

Transfers – The race doesn’t always start and finish in the same town, so riders and the Tour caravan must travel to the next start village. The first transfer by train was in 1960 and the first air transfer was in 1975. Riders went by air in 1974, but everyone else traveled by boat from England to France.