We hear a lot of the French cycling terms over the season. Traditionally, it was the language of the peloton although English has started to win over in recent years. It hasn’t taken long to use the first French loan word either – peloton! Often its misspelling is a sign of who follows professional cycling year-round and who might only tune into ITV4 over the summer to watch Le Tour.
French cycling terms
Common French Cycling Terms
Peloton
The main group of cyclists, the literal translation is a platoon. This is surely the most well-known of all the French cycling terms
Domestique
A helper on the team, their purpose is to take the wind, run errands and hunt down the breakaway
Grimpeur
The fancy French word for a natural climber like Romain Bardet
Maillot (Jaune, Vert, à pois rouges, Blanc)
The various jerseys – yellow, green, polka dot and white – that are won in the Tour de France. Maillot Jaune is one of the most commonly used French Words by the English-speaking cycling media
Souplesse
A hard-to-define smoothness in pedalling style, usually synonymous with class too
Contre la Montre
Time Trial – its literal translation is against the clock, invoking a heroic battle of riders against time. You might hear it in tv coverage pieces or in a race roadbook
Brevet
A long, timed cycling event. The Brevet is often a card that is stamped to provide evidence a route has been completed properly
Randonneur
Someone who takes part in super-long rides, potentially with a brevet. These are people who do audaxes or the trans-continental race
Chamois
Once bib short pads were made from chamois leather. Now the plucky, lucky chamois is safe thanks to modern fabrics but the name has stuck
Derailleur
Back in the day, riders had to stop, undo their wheel and flip it over to change gear. Then Simplex came up with the first rear derailleur as we know it today (there’d been other rod push ones not using cables). Campagnolo improved on it and everything else since has been a refinement of what SunTour put out in the 1960s
The word itself comes from the French expression for a train derailment
Directeur Sportif
Often shortened to DS so journalistic bad spelling isn’t exposed. The DS is the head honcho of the team. They’ll be the ones in the team car shouting at riders to go faster. The translation is just ‘sporting director’ but you’re more likely to hear the French cycling word version instead
Echelon
The French cycling term that French people don’t use! The English-speaking world reckons it makes sense though for the formation of riders in a crosswind. The real word is further down
Flamme Rouge
Named for the red flag that marks the last kilometre of a stage. I suppose it looks like a flame too
Grand Départ
The big depart! Day 1 of the Tour de France
Hors Catégorie
In relation to mountains, the HC ones are ‘beyond categorisation’. The most difficult climbs in the Tour de France, these were ones that a car wasn’t expected to be able to summit
Lanterne Rouge
The red lantern originates from the backs of train carriages which always had red lights. The person in the last place in Le Tour earns this infamous and surprisingly affectionate title
Musette
It’s the bag that riders get to eat their lunch from at the feed zone. It translates to haversack or more cynically a nosebag
Palmarès
The achievements of a rider’s career. It translates as a prize list and is a record of a rider’s wins
Pavé
Almost interchangeable with cobbles now in English cycling parlance
Portage
It’s the French to carry, unsurprisingly it’s used for when a rider carries their bike
Puncheur
It translates as it sounds but describes a rider who specialises in rolling terrain with short climbs. Often synonymous with Classics riders like Philippe Gilbert and Julian Alaphillipe
Randonnee
Similar to the Randonneur, the Randonnee is the long-distance event a randonneur takes part in
Revitaillement
Revitaillement is supplying or supplies, in cycling it refers to the feed zone
Rouleur
Another rider type, the Rouleur is a roller who can sit at the front of the peloton and drive the pace all day. Once the mountains arrive though, they’re done
Soigneur
From the French verb to take care of, it literally means caretaker. The soigneur looks after riders’ needs and provides general support
Tête de la Course
The head of the race, it’s usually seen shown on TV whilst showing the front breakaway group
Velo
The French for bike, it comes from one of the original names for a bicycle, the velocipede. The velocipede had cranks on the front wheel to be pedalled, making steering an interesting pastime, on the plus side no mucky drivetrain!
Velodrome
Like what an aerodrome is to aeroplanes, a velodrome is to velos…or bikes! The short indoor track is used in the world of track cycling, a sometimes interconnected discipline that’s also very separate in its traditions and history. The likes of Geraint Thomas, Chris Boardman and Rik van Steenbergen are famous for being successful in both forms of cycling
More Obscure French Cycling Terms
The following list of French cycling words are ones that you’re unlikely to hear very often in TV commentary. Probably just when David Millar or another commentator feels like showing off their linguistic skills. These are the proper cycling terms in French and are full of phrases and idioms.
Bordure
This is the actual word the French use for echelon, it means border or edge
Visser
An acceleration – it comes from visser la poignée or to twist the wrist like a motorcyclist on the throttle
Grosses cuisses
Literally big thighs but the term is in relation to swollen or sore legs
Se tétaniser
When your legs are frozen solid by the cold, there can also be spasms or cramps
Se refaire une santé
To recover or to regain health
En facteu r
To quietly slide off the front of the peloton like a postman, the opposite of a fierce attack
Paquet
Another word for the peloton. A paquet is a group of riders.
Des fourmis dans les jambes
To feel frisky, the literal meaning is “ants in the legs”
Péter le feu
Farting fire or in great shape and confidence
Gros cul
A big butt, slang for a sprinter
Faire l’élastique
To hang on the back of a group – to stretch the elastic as you fall back and then re-join the group
Larguer
To be dropped but a term more normally used when a ship sets sail
Coup de cul
A short sharp hill
Bidon au miel
Literally a bottle of honey but slang for a sticky bottle or help from the team car
Faire un trou
To get a gap
Boucher le trou
To fill the hole or close a gap
En chasse patate
Potato hunting – the origin is unknown but it’s when you’re stuck wasting energy in the no man’s land between the breakaway and peloton
Brûler le ravitaillement
To ride straight through the feed zone without collecting a musette
Chantier
It means building site but is cycling slang for a selective climb or another strategic point where everyone starts to work
Exploser le paquet
To blow a group of riders apart
Avoir la soquette légère
Having a lightweight sock, so to feel as if you’re pedalling with ease
Jambes en cotton
Legs of cotton or to feel weak
Partie de manivelles
A group ride
En danseuse
To stand up on the pedals, like a dancer
Les cocottes
Slang for the brake hoods
Cuit
Literally it means cooked and is slang for tired
Piocher
It comes from the verb to dig but on a
Pédaler avec les oreilles
To rock so much on the bike it’s as if cranks are attached to your ears
Dans le rouge
To suffer because you’re above your threshold – in the red
Braquet d’asthmatique
A gear so easy that someone with asthma is able to turn it – suggesting a rider is struggling
Avoir tout à gauche
When your chain is on the inner ring and the biggest sprocket on the cassette, ie everything is to the left
En garder sous la semelle
Soft pedalling, it literally means to “save something under your sole”
Jouer des coudes
Jostling for position or elbowing your way through
Fumer la pipe
To be so at ease on the bike while others are struggling – “smoking the pipe”
Frotter
To rub shoulders, in particular, whilst in the peloton
Les deux jambes sur la même pédale
To be so tired you struggle to turn the pedals – “two legs on the same pedal”
Finir sur la jante
To finish on the rim, like how when you’ve punctured and have to ride slowly to stop the tyre rolling off
Le bon wagon
The winning breakaway is “the good wagon”
Sur la Plaque
Sur la Plaque means to o ride in the big chainring or “on the plate”
