Riders race for one of the four main jerseys:

• Maillot Jaune (Yellow) for overall leader
• Maillot Vert (Green) for the rider with the most points
• Maillot a Pois Rouges (Polka Dot) is for the King of the Mountains
• Maillot Blanc (White) for the leading young rider

The team award is for the fastest team and the Combativity award for the most aggressive rider. The slowest rider over the race is the lanterne rouge and traditionally had to carry a red light under the saddle.

As well as time, each stage awards points for finishing towards the front and in intermediate sprints. Mountain stages award points for the first riders over each summit on the way too. As well as earning points towards the main prizes the top racers in each stage get prizes for their efforts. The most aggressive rider on each stage can wear a number with white on red rather than the usual black on white on the next stage.

9 June 2011
Last updated at 18:32 GMT

Sir Chris Hoy credits his cycling success to former coach Geoff Cooke

Cyclist Sir Chris Hoy has nominated Manchester-based former national cycling coach Geoff Cooke to be a London 2012 torch relay runner.

The four-time Olympic track champion described Mr Cooke from Crumpsall as an “unsung hero” of British cycling, who had helped him and others to success.

Sir Chris is leading the call for the public to nominate people to be among the 8,000 torch-bearers.

He said he wanted to see nominations for people who “made a difference”.

A Carry The Flame website has been set up to enable people to submit nominations.

Each of the nominated torch-bearers will run a mile during the 70-day relay.

‘Truly honoured’

Speaking about Mr Cooke, who was the national coach for 10 years, Sir Chris said: “You will never meet a person more enthusiastic and passionate about his sport; always smiling and always keen to encourage people to enjoy riding their bikes.

“He helped out on many of my training sessions in earlier years and is one of the unsung heroes of British cycling over the last 50 years.”

Mr Cooke, 66, who represented Britain at Olympic level and who still coaches as a volunteer at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester, said he was “overwhelmed” by his nomination.

He said: “The thought of being part of the London 2012 Olympic torch relay is so exciting and I’m truly honoured to have been nominated to participate.

“I shall be keeping my fingers crossed that I am selected.”

McKeown was one of Britain’s three gold medallists

Britain secured eight medals, including three golds, at the latest Para-cycling World Cup event in Spain.

Shaun McKeown won his first World Cup title in his time trial race.

Handcyclist Rachel Morris and David Stone in the trike event each won gold and silver.

Morris won the road race and was runner-up in the time trial while Stone claimed the time trial but lost to Italian rival Giorgio Farroni in the road race.

There were also two silvers for handcyclist Karen Darke and a bronze for Welsh newcomer Mark Colbourne.

McKeown, who won silver in the pursuit in March’s Para-cycling Track World Championships, performed superbly to win gold with team-mates Rik Waddon and Darren Kenny sixth and 11th respectively.

Morris and Stone had both won golds at the first World Cup event in Sydney and continued that form.

Morris, who is a double leg amputee and powers her bike with her arms, finished second to American Monica Bascio in the time-trial but gained revenge in the road race with a 10-second win.

Also in the field was former wheelchair racer Chantal Petitclerc, the winner of 14 Paralympic gold medals on the track, who has made the switch to handcycling.

The event provides qualification points ahead of the 2012 London Paralympics with the next World Cup round taking place in Baie-Comeau, Canada from 8-10 July.

The only sour note for the British squad was a crash in the women’s tandem event involving Lora Turnham and her pilot Fiona Duncan, with the latter suffering a broken collarbone.

There was another crash in the men’s road race which resulted in Russ White finishing outside of qualification points.

“With all European nations fielding strong teams, it was always going to be a tough competition,” said GB coach Chris Furber.

“But we managed to take respectable eight medals against a world-class field.

“Our most experienced road riders delivered and we are particularly pleased with performances from our new talent.

“We missed out on a few qualification points this weekend and we will be looking to claw them back at the final World Cup round.”

Synopsis

Matt Dawson and special guests Chris Boardman and Magnus Backstedt take an in-depth look at the most gruelling sporting event in the world – cycling’s Tour de France.

Including a look ahead to this year’s Tour, which starts on July 2 at Passage du Gois, La Barre-de-Monts.

Wiggins has been in good form all week in the Alps

Britain’s Bradley Wiggins clinched the biggest win of his road-racing career with success in the Criterium du Dauphine race in the Alps.

The Team Sky rider led by one minute and 26 seconds going into the 117.5km final stage and retained that advantage over Australia’s Cadel Evans.

Spain’s Joaquim Rodriguez, who won Saturday’s stage, made it back-to-back wins by taking Sunday’s finale.

Wiggins finished in 10th place, 11 seconds behind the Spaniard.

The win is a massive boost to the Londoner ahead of the Tour de France, which begins on 2 July.

He is the third Briton to win the traditional Tour de France warm-up race after Brian Robinson in 1961 and Robert Millar in 1990.

Wiggins took the overall lead in the race after a storming display in stage three’s time trial on Wednesday.

He then produced a considerable effort on the mountain stages to control the race and maintain his lead.

“We have a plan for the Tour de France and the Dauphine was part of the plan. I’m not 100% yet,” said Wiggins, whose best Tour de France finish was fourth place in 2009, but he struggled in the mountains last year.

“I am just going to have to ride my race, not put myself in the red in trying to follow [Alberto] Contador and [Andy] Schleck.

“It’s clear that the podium is certainly a real possibility, but others like [Belgian] Juergen van den Broeck can also get there.”

Rodriguez broke clear in the last kilometre of the stage from Pontcharra to the mountain resort of La Toussuire.

Thibault Pinot of France was second and Dutch rider Robert Gesink was third on the stage – both eight seconds behind the Spaniard.

Stage results:

1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa/Katusha) 3 hrs 24 mins 30 secs

2. Thibaut Pinot (Fra/FDJ) +8 secs

3. Robert Gesink (Ned/Rabobank)

4. Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel/OmegaPharma-Lotto)

5. Alexandre Vinokourov (KZH/ Astana)

6. Chris Sorensen (Den/Saxo Bank) +11″

7. Cadel Evans (Aus/BMC Racing)

8. Kanstantsin Sivtsov (BLR/HTC – Highroad)

9. Janez Brajkovic (Slo/RadioShack)

10. Bradley Wiggins (GBR/Team Sky)

Overall standings:

1. Bradley Wiggins (GBR/Team Sky) 23 hrs 33 mins 24secs

2. Cadel Evans (Aus/BMC Racing) +1:26″

3. Alexandre Vinokourov (KZH/Astana) +1:49″

4. Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel/OmegaPharma-Lotto) +2:10″

5. Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa/Katusha) +2:50″

6. Christophe Kern (Fra/Europcar) +3:05″

7. Jean Christophe Peraud (Fra/AG2R) +3:30″

8. Kanstantsin Sivtsov (BLR/HTC – Highroad) +4:14″

9. Janez Brajkovic (Slo/RadioShack) +4:22″

10. Thomas Voeckler (Fra/Europcar) +4:30″

15 June 2011
Last updated at 17:48 GMT

Lord Coe visited Box Hill, on the route of the road cycle races, last month to meet young enthusiasts

The Australian Olympic road cycling team is to begin training in Surrey this summer ahead of London 2012.

The Olympic road cycle races and time trial events will both take place in Surrey during the London Olympics.

The Australian team will return next summer, when they will base themselves in the county to prepare for the Games.

“I am delighted a team with as strong a sporting pedigree as Australia has decided to train their athletes here,” said Councillor Denise Saliagopoulos.

“I’m sure Surrey will give them a welcome they will never forget and I hope their presence will encourage even more people to take up the sport.”

Continue reading the main story

London 2012 – Begin your journey here

• Sport, news and more 2012 information

• BBC London 2012

The Australian Olympic Committee does not want to reveal the exact location of its training camp for security reasons.

“It is vital that our athletes acclimatise in the lead up to the Games and we appreciate the people of Surrey allowing our road cyclists to train there before the competition,” said Australian Olympic Team boss Nick Green.

“There is great rivalry between Team GB and Australia in cycling but we’re sure the people of Surrey will support our cyclists as they prepare to go for gold at the Games.”

Antigua and Barbuda, the Cayman Islands and the Croatian Paralympic Team have already announced they will train in Surrey.

The county council said it was also in advanced talks with a number of other nations.

Essex cyclist Alex Dowsett says he has noticed an improvement in his time trials since he joined Team Sky at the beginning of the year.

Dowsett has finished in the top five in time trials in Qatar and Spain (twice) so far in 2011.

He also won the London Nocturne Criterium race last weekend.

The 22-year-old told BBC Essex: “Where I’ve exceeded expectations is in the time trials. I never really envisaged getting results this early.”

The Commonwealth Games silver medallist, who lives near Maldon, says his performances have given him more confidence.

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“It’s helped to consolidate, in my mind, that I am good enough to take on the role of competing in the time trial in the London 2012 Olympics,” he added.

Dowsett led from start to finish in the London Nocturne, and lapped the peloton before the half-way stage.

“Once I got the lap and back into the group, then barring anything major happening, that was it,” Dowsett continued.

“It would be very difficult for them to get rid of me because of the slip-streaming effect.

“It was an amazing feeling to know you had the race won with the majority of it still to go. I was just riding around with a big smile on my face.”

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Riis admitted to using drugs in 2007

Cycling’s governing body has announced new legislation to bar riders who have failed a drugs test from working in the sport after they finish racing.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) has ruled that anyone failing a test from 1 July will not be allowed to work in any back-room capacity.

However, the ban will not be applied retroactively to past riders.

That means Bjarne Riis, who admitted doping when he won the 1996 Tour de France, can continue as a team boss.

A UCI statement said: “We aim to prevent anyone found guilty of infringing the regulations during his cycling career from obtaining a licence.”

Saxo Bank-SunGard manager Riis is not the only rider with a drugs history currently involved at the highest level in the sport – Kim Andersen, who tested positive three times, is a sports director at Andy Schleck’s Leopard-Trek team.

The new regulations do allow banned riders to join a team after a five-year absence if they committed only one doping offence that was not sanctioned by a two or more year ban.

The new rule applies to any rider who wishes to join a team as “a general manager, team manager, coach, doctor, paramedical assistant, mechanic, driver or other function as specified on the licence”.

20 June 2011
Last updated at 14:49 GMT

The world’s top riders will compete in the road race during the opening weekend of the Games

Olympic 2012 organisers have pledged to protect an area of natural beauty in Surrey when up to 50,000 spectators attend the cycling road race.

The 15.5km (9.6 mile) stretch of the circuit at Box Hill includes the National Trust’s Zig Zag Hill.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Locog) said it would respect the natural habitat.

Simon Lillistone, LOCOG’s cycling road race manager, said it had a legal duty to protect the environment.

He said: “As a responsible organiser we have to respect the natural environment in which we are holding the race.

‘Mass trampling’

“There are European laws and legislations that mean that we have to respect the habitats in that area.”

The world’s top riders will compete in the road race during the opening weekend of the Games and Team GB has high hopes of medals.

Continue reading the main story

London 2012 – Begin your journey here

• Sport, news and more 2012 information

• BBC London 2012

The race route takes cyclists from The Mall, through west London and then out to Surrey and back.

Andrew Wright, the National Trust countryside manager for East Surrey, said: “Those habitats are absolutely hallowed turf in terms of conservation.

“We have got a legal duty of care to ensure those rare plants and insects are managed and looked after.”

Mr Wright said access would be restricted on some of the slopes.

“Mass trampling would be really bad news for some of these habitats,” he added.

“We are working hard to find alternative areas on the route for people to enjoy the race.”

Soler was King of the Mountains at the 2007 Tour de France

Doctors have reduced medication to Juan Mauricio Soler, seriously injured in a crash during the Tour of Switzerland, after his condition improved.

The 28-year-old Movistar rider remains in an induced coma following the crash on Thursday during the sixth stage.

But, after Soler made “favourable” progress on Friday, doctors said on Saturday that the swelling in his brain appeared to be coming down.

The Colombian also fractured his skull and broke his ankle in the accident.

“The health status of Juan Mauricio Soler has further stabilised and there are no signs for an intracranial pressure, which is considered by the doctors as a positive sign,” official race doctor Roland Kretsch said after consulting with hospital doctors in Saint Gallen.

Soler crashed in the village of Gloten, 11 km (seven miles) into the sixth stage.

“All of a sudden there was a footpath with a five-centimetre edge dropping to the road level,” Australian rider Baden Cooke told the Associated Press. “Soler had no time to brake at all.”

Soler fell on to a spectator and then smashed into a fence, suffering multiple fractures as well as bleeding on the brain.

“The fence did not move at all so Soler took the full impact,” added Cooke.

Solar’s accident comes only two months after Belgian Wouter Weylandt died in a crash during the Giro d’Italia.