Simple is not so quick, but Bob Roll has a great new book out that explains a lot about it.

OK, as simple and clear as I can be--

About 200 guys enter the race, arranged in teams invuited to participate. Each indivuidal and each team is commefcially sponsiored. The sponsirs have different interests and expecations based on how much of the freight they've undertaken to pay. But not all 200 finish-- there is attrition expected daily and as the phases of the race go on. To fininsh you have to ride EACH sceduled day-- so a boo-boo on the knee is something you either ride with, or it knocks you out. No injured reserve status.

Prizes are given for shortest overall time accumulated (Lance races for this) AKA the "GC" or General Classification. A rider of his caliber has many sponsorhips and he shares his overall prize $$ with other riders on his team. They ride so as to give him every possible chance of winning the GC prize. Each team member has specific skills to devote to this and final team membership takes all this into account. (If it were horses, think steeplechasers.)

Prizes are also given for sprints, and the sprinters are usually quite poor at mountain climbing on the bike but they are specialists at racing in short bursts. They concentrate on the flat stages, and there are sprints at the end as well as sprinkled into the race couse itself. Teams that focus on sprints also have riders who help the sprinters get up front when it matters, in time to break through the wannabes and come across the line first. (In horse terms, think American Quarter Horse.)

Prizes are given for mountain climbing, and teams organize around that too. (Cross-country eventers or foxhunters.)

A GC rider is usually a generalist who is good at all apsects of cycling and who has the stamina to survive three weeks of varied terrain and varied race conditions. A GC-contending rider will let the sprinters have their fun and not worry about their GC ranking while that phase of the race is going on, because they know that the mountains will separate the men from the boys and the well-organized (well-sponsored) teams from the less-well-organized teams.

So by the time the whole three weeks have been run, the GC winner has managed to get round the course in the shortest total time.

~Susan