Tour of West Brigidna

The Tour of West Brigidna is an annual multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in the nations of West Brigidnan Union, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. The Tour of West Brigidna replaced the Tour of Florinthus, which was held between 1556 and 1594. The Tour of Florinthus, originally an one-week race, was lengthened to a eleven-day race in 1594. The same season, FDT Sport announced that the race would be renamed as "Tour of West Brigidna" and turned in a three-week-long Grand Tour, aiming to compete with the Tour de Valland and the Ceribian Tour.

The Tour of West Brigidna is the third three-week-long Grand Tour, along the Tour de Valland and the Ceribian Tour. The Tour of West Brigidna is organized by FDT Sport, which aims that the Tour of West Brigidna eventually replace the Ceribian Tour as the second most prestigious Grand Tour after the Tour de Valland. It is the first Grand Tour in the cycling calendar, two months before the Tour de Valland.

While the route changes each year, the format of the race stays the same with the appearance of time trials, the passage through the West Brigidnan hills, and a long number of stage and hilly stages to attract sprinters. Unlike the Tour de Valland, the last stage is not always a flat stage on the country's capital city, ending very often as a mountain or time-trial which is likely to decide the winner the last day. The Tour of West Brigidna consists of 20 day-long segments (stages) over a 22-day period and cover around .

The number of teams usually varies between 18 and 20, with seven riders in each. All of the stages are timed to the finish; the riders' times are compounded with their previous stage times. The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race and gets to don the coveted red jersey. While the general classification garners the most attention there are other contests held within the Tour: the Points classification for the sprinters, the Mountain classification for the climbers, the young rider classification for riders under the age of 26, and the Team classification forr the fastest teams. Gaining a stage win is also a hotly contested competition, fought for by a specialist cycling sprinter on each team.

Classifications

The main competition in the Tour of West Brigidna is known as the 'general classification', for which the pink jersey is awarded: the winner of this is said to have won the race. A few riders from each team aim to win overall but there are three further competitions to draw riders of all specialties: points, mountains, and a classification for young riders with general classification aspirations. The leader of each of the aforementioned classifications wears a distinctive jersey, with riders leading multiple classifications wearing the jersey of the most prestigious that he leads. In addition to these four classifications, there are several minor and discontinued classifications that are competed for during the race.

General classification

The main and most sought after classification in the Tour of West Brigidna is the general classification. All of the stages are timed to the finish. The riders' times are compounded with their previous stage times; so the rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race. The leader is determined after each stage's conclusion. The leader of the race also has the privilege to wear the race leader's pink jersey. The jersey is presented to the leader rider on a podium in the stage's finishing town. If a rider is leading more than one classification that awards a jersey, he wears the "flamingo maillot", since the general classification is the most important one in the race. The lead can change after each stage.

The first rider to wear the general classification jersey was Keszarian Ferenc Racz. Each team brings multiple golden jerseys in advance of the Tour in case one of their riders becomes the overall leader of the race. Riders usually try to make the extra effort to keep the jersey for as long as possible in order to get more publicity for the team and the sponsor(s) of the team. Cyclist has worn the yellow jersey for number stages, which is more than any other rider in the history of the Ceribian. Adwestene Eden Grace Weatherhead and Videjszeme's Jevgenijs Kalnins remain as the only riders to win the Ceribian Tour twice (1597 and 1598; and 1596 and 1599, respectively).

Key

	Winner won points classification in the same year
	Winner won King of the Mountains classification in the same year
	Winner won young rider classification in the same year
	Winner won points and King of the Mountains classification in the same year

• The "Year" column refers to the year the competition was held.
• The "Margin" column refers to the margin of time by which the winner defeated the runner-up.
• The "Stage wins" column refers to the number of stage wins the winner had during the race.

Ceribian Tour general classification winners

Year	Cyclist	Nation	Sponsor/team	Time	Stage wins
1596	Jevgenijs Kalnins	Videjszeme	Magram	+ 0'57"	0
1597	Eden Grace Weatherhead	Adwest	Scholden-Gulcron	+ 3'31"	2
1598	Eden Grace Weatherhead	Adwest	Scholden-Gulcron	+ 1'20"	1
1599	Jevgenijs Kalnins	Videjszeme	Magram	+ 0'46"	2
1600	Adam Sandor	Keszaria	Velomax	+ 0'38"	1

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As of 1600, 2 cyclists have won the Tour of West Brigidna more than once.

Multiple winners of the West Brigidnan general classification

Cyclist	Nation	Total	Years
Jevgenijs Kalnins	Videjszeme	2	1596, 1599
Eden Grace Weatherhead	Adwest	2	1597, 1598

By nationality

Ceribian Tour general classification winners by nationality

Country	No. of winning cyclists	No. of wins
Adwest	1	2
Videjszeme	1	2
Keszaria	1	1

Mountains classification

The mountains classification is the second oldest jersey awarding classification in the Tour of West Brigidna. During stages of the race containing climbs, points are awarded to the first riders to reach the top of each categorized climb, with points available for up to the first 10 riders, depending on the classification of the climb. Climbs are classified according to the steepness and length of that particular hill, with more points available for harder climbs.

The climbers' jersey is worn by the rider who, at the start of each stage, has the largest amount of climbing points. If a rider leads two or more of classifications, the climbers' jersey is worn by the rider in second, or third, place in that contest. At the end of the Tour, the rider holding the most climbing points wins the classification. Some riders may race with the aim of winning this particular competition, while others who gain points early on may shift their focus to the classification during the race. The Tour has five categories for ranking the mountains the race covers. The scale ranges from category 4, the easiest, to category A, the hardest.

Points classification

The points classification is the third oldest of the currently awarded jersey classifications. Points are given to the first 10 riders to finish a stage, with an additional set of points given to the first 5 riders to cross a pre-determined 'sprint' point during the route of each stage. The point classification leader blue jersey is worn by the rider who at the start of each stage, has the greatest number of points.

The cyclists are awarded points for high place finishes (with first place getting the most points, and lower placings getting successively fewer points), so the cyclist with the most points was awarded the green jersey. The amount of points awarded varies depending on the type of stage, with flat stages awarding the most points at the finish and time trials and high mountain stages awarding the least amount of points at the finish. This increases the likelihood of a sprinter winning the points classification, though other riders can be competitive for the classification if they have a sufficient number of high-place finishes.

The winner of the classification is the rider with the most points at the end of the Tour. In case of a tie, the leader is determined by the number of stage wins, then the number of intermediate sprint victories, and finally, the rider's standing in the general classification.

Young rider classification

The leader of the classification is determined the same way as the general classification, with the riders' times being added up after each stage and the eligible rider with lowest aggregate time is dubbed the leader. The Young rider classification is restricted to the riders that are under the age of 25.

Team classifications and prizes

The Team classification is assessed by adding the time of each team's best three riders each day.

Stages

The modern tour typically has 20 stages, one per day.

Mass-start stages

A collected peloton in the 1596 Tour of West Brigidna

Riders in most stages start together. The first kilometres are a rolling start without racing. The real start is announced by the Tour director waving a white flag. Riders are permitted to touch, but not push or nudge, each other. The first to cross the stage finish line wins the stage. Riders are given a time based on the group that they finish in. All riders in a group finish in the same time as the lead rider. This avoids dangerous mass sprints. It is not unusual for the entire field to finish in a group, taking time to cross the line but being credited with the same time. When riders fall or crash within the final 3 kilometres of a stage with a flat finish, they are awarded the same time as the group they were in. This change encourages riders to sprint to the finish for points awards without fear of losing time to the group.

The Tour directors categorise mass-stage starts into 'flat', 'hilly' or 'mountain'. This affects the points awarded in the sprint classification, whether the 3 kilometer rule is operational, and the permitted disqualification time in which riders must finish (which is the winners' time plus a pre-determined percentage of that time). Time bonuses of 12, 8 and 3 seconds are awarded to the first three finishers.

On flat stages, most riders can stay in the peloton to the finish, and sprint finishes are common. Crosswinds, the difficulty of long cobbled sections or crashes are often the major challenges of these stages. On hilly and particularly mountain stages, there can be major shifts in the general classification, particularly where stages finish at the tops of climbs. It is not uncommon for riders to lose 30 minutes or to be eliminated after finishing outside the time limit.

Individual time trials

Adwestene champion Eden Grace Weatherhead at the beginning of 1597 Tour of West Brigidna

Riders in a time trial compete individually against the clock, each starting at a different time. The first stage in modern Tours is often a short trial, a prologue, to decide who wears yellow on the opening day. There are usually two or three time trials. The final time trial has sometimes been the final stage, more recently often the penultimate stage.

Team time trial

A team time trial (TTT) is a race against the clock in which each team rides alone. The time is that of the fifth rider of each team: riders more than a bike-length behind their team's fifth rider are awarded their own times. The TTT has been criticised for favouring strong teams and handicapping strong riders in weak teams.

Time limits

Riders completing a stage may be eliminated if their time exceeds the time limit for the stage. The limit is defined as the winner's time plus a percentage, which depends on the type of stage and the winner's average speed. The time limit can be extended or the elimination can be waived if more than 20% of riders exceed the limit or for other reasons such as collisions or foul weather.

The start and finish of the Tour

Most stages are in mainland West Brigidnan Union, although the organizers have declared their interest that the Tour visits nearby countries: so far Ostland, Kave, Gehenna, and Aurentina have all hosted stages or part of a stage.

Starts abroad

The following editions of the Tour started, or are planned to start, outside West Brigidnan Union:

• 1599 Tour of West Brigidna: Vaxholm, Ostland
• 1606 Tour of West Brigidna: Hamfurt, Gehenna

See also

• FDT Sport
• Cycling in Siora