Tour de France 2013: infographic - by roadcyclinguk.com

RoadCyclingUK's guide RCUK to cycling styles ROADCYCLING UK The Tour de France features the world's best riders doing what they do best, whether it be powerful sprinters churning out enough watts to power a small town, lightweight climbers dancing up impossible gradients, or fearless descenders hurtling to the floor of Alpine valleys at speeds north of 75kph. Here's a detailed look at the techniques they'll use. Standing Climbing 1 Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) El Pistolero has an distinctive climbing style, standing bolt upright behind the handlebars and dancing on the pedals. By doing so, he's able to release a relentless series of accelerations, leaving his rivals exhausted as they attempt to chase him down. (Seated Climbing 2 Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) Cadel Evans has produced some of the gutsiest performances of recent Tours de France by grinding out strong performances in the high mountains to keep pace with the pure climbers. Evans, an aggressive all-rounder rather than a specialist climber, led the pursuit of Andy Schleck to the summit of the Col du Galibier in 2011 and took a massive step towards overall victory. Time Trialling) 3 Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) Young American, Tejay Van Garderen, passed Cadel Evans, his team leader and defending Tour de France champion, on the road into Chartres on stage 19 of the 2012 edition, despite starting a minute behind him. He did so by maintaining a rock steady upper body, his arms stretched before him on the 'skis' of his time trial handlebars. (Descending 4 MA Jens Voigt (Radioshack-Leopard) Few will forget Jens Voigt's descent on a spare bike from the summit of the Col du Peyresourde on stage 16 of the 2010 Tour de France. The Jensie managed to obtain the classic racing tuck on a bike several sizes too small. Extreme Descending 45 Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) Stage two of this year's Tour de France saw the winner of stage one, Marcel Kittel, in real trouble as the sprint specialist fell behind on the climbs. In an attempt to regain contact with the bunch, Kittel adopted the extreme descending position used by braver members of the peloton, sitting on the top tube, placing his hands on the top of the handlebars, and bending his elbows to place his chin on the stem. Design by richardscottdesign.co.uk