The Tour de France comes around every summer and brings with it some great French terminology, but if you’re left confused about who wins which ‘maillot’, or what red lights and flags have to do with cycling, we’ve compiled a glossary of cycling jargon.

Tour de France language

Caravane

Procession of team cars, publicity and sponsor vehicles.

Contre la montre

‘Time trials’ – when cyclists ride solo around a race course, the one with the fastest time wins.

Domestique

A cyclist who supports the lead team rider, riding between them and the team car to bring supplies.

Etape

‘Stage’ – each tour is usually made up of about 20 stages, made up of flat and mountain terrain, as well as time trials.

Equipe

‘Team’ – team sponsors range from postal services to television networks .

Flamme rouge

‘Red flag’ – marks the last kilometre of the stage, which can often encourage a group of sprinters to start speeding up and battling for first position.

Hors Categorie

‘Not rated’ – mountain climbs are categorised from 1-4, but really tough climbs are so difficult, they aren’t rated.

Grand départ

The official start of the tour. In recent years, the départ has taken place in areas outside of France, such as Yorkshire, UK and Utrecht, Netherlands.

Lanterne Rouge

‘Red light’ – refers to last rider in the race. A lot of publicity comes with this and some domestiques (a rider who works for the benefit of the team leader) have been known to ride slower to try and achieve the lanterne rouge.

Maillot Jaune

‘Yellow jersey’ – overall leader of the tour, who has ridden in the least amount of time. The most famous award in the tour.

Maillot Vert

‘Green jersey’ – given to the rider who has gained the most amount of points. Points are gained for reaching various points at different stages throughout the tour.

Maillot à pois

‘Polka dot jersey’ – also known as ‘King of the Mountains’. Refers to the rider who has performed best at mountain stages of the tour.

Maillot blanc

‘White jersey’ – same premise as the yellow jersey, but for the under 26 years of age category.

Tête de la course

‘Head of the course’ – the rider currently at the front of the stage.

Peloton

The main group of riders who usually stick together for the majority of the race and break away just before the finish.