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If you look closely at this pack of riders in the Tour de France, you'll see some of the best cyclists in the world.
仔细观察环法自行车赛上的这群车手，你会看到世界顶尖自行车手的身影。
They're here in the back.
他们在队伍中靠后的位置。
They're keeping up but also resting while their teammates in the front do most of the work.
他们在休息但并没有掉队，因为前面的队友出了“破风”所需的大部分力。
It's a technique called drafting and it's what helps them survive the three-week race around France.
这是一种战术，名为“风拽”，顶尖车手们要撑过长达三周的环法比赛就离不开这一技巧。
But drafting only really makes a difference on these parts of the route: the long flat and hilly stages.
但是，这一效应只在那些漫长但相对平坦的丘陵赛段才起作用。
Eventually these riders reach stages where they won't be able to rely on others.
最终，他们将迎来指望不上队友的赛段。
They have to rely on their own strength and endurance to win the race.
这时，他们就只能依靠自己的力量和耐力才能赢得比赛。
That happens here on the climbs.
这一情况就发生在这里的爬坡阶段。
They're the most brutal and exciting parts of the race
这是整个比赛最残酷也最刺激的部分，
and they're what makes the Tour de France the most famous bike ride in the world.
也是环法自行车赛成为世界上最著名的自行车赛的原因。
The Tour de France began as a desperate ploy to sell more copies of the sports newspaper, L'Auto.
环法自行车赛原本是体育报纸《自行车报》为增加销量做出的垂死挣扎。
The paper was struggling, so 1903 its editor, Henri Desgranges organized a 19 day, 2,400 kilometer bike race around the country.
1903年，该报主编亨尼.德格朗日组织了一场为期19天、全程2400公里的自行车比赛。
It went on to become such a success that L'Auto made it an annual event.
这场比赛最后取得了巨大的成功，于是，该报把它变成了一个年度活动。
Year after year they added new routes to make the tour more challenging and also more interesting for people to follow.
为了得到人们的持续关注，他们还逐年开发新的路线，增加比赛的挑战性和趣味性。
By 1908, L'Auto's sales had more than doubled.
到1908年，《自行车报》的销量就已经上涨了一倍不止。
Then in 1910, one of Desgranges' writers, Alphonse Steines, suggested adding a new twist to the route: the Tourmalet.
1910年，德格朗日手下的编辑阿尔方斯·斯坦尼斯建议给比赛新增一个弯道：图尔马莱。
It was a brutal 19 kilometer uphill climb ascending 1400 meters to the summit.
这一赛段十分残酷，到达顶峰需要爬坡19公里，克服1400米的海拔差。
To see if this was even possible Steines jumped in his car to make the climb.
为了考察这一方案是否真的可行，斯坦尼斯还自己开车试爬了一回。
He drove up, but his car got stuck in the snow at the top, he suffered from hypothermia and nearly died.
他上去了，但到了山顶以后他的车困在了雪了，他自己也差点被冻死。
But nonetheless he sent a telegram saying: Tourmalet crossed. Very good road. perfectly passable.
但他还是发了一封电报说：成功翻越图尔马莱。道路很好。可以圆满通行。
So the Tourmalet made its debut in the 1910 Tour.
1910年的环法赛上便出现了图尔马莱的身影。
French cyclist Octave Lapize was the first to make the climb successfully.
法国自行车手奥塔夫·拉皮兹则是第一个成功登顶该峰的选手。
But he had to walk up some parts and famously called officials assassins when he reached the summit.
但他还是走了一段才到顶的，登顶后，他还留下了那句环法组委会简直就是“刺客”的名言。
But he went on to win the whole tour and his statue was placed at the top of the Tourmalet.
但他接下来还是赢得了整个比赛，他的雕像也被放置在了图尔马莱峰上。
Since then, climbs became a staple of the Tour de France.
从那时起，爬坡成了环法自行车赛的一个主要项目。
This year the route is made up of 21 stages over 23 days.
今年的路线共21个赛段，历时23天。
It features 30 major climbs; seven of them are in the tour's most difficult category.
大型爬坡段共计30个；难度最大的就有7个。
Including the Tourmalet, which is part of the event for the 86th time.
图尔马莱赛段就是其中之一，这也是图尔马莱赛段第86次进入环法路线。
More than any other climb in the Tour's history.
该赛段也成了比其他任何赛段资格都老的赛段。
These climbs are where the tour is ultimately won or lost.
这些坡道也是最终决定比赛胜负的因素。
These are the long, flat, and hilly stages that are usually about 200 kilometers long.
这些是路程较长的平路四段和丘陵赛段，长度一般在200公里左右。
Here cyclists ride together in a formation, called a peloton.
这两个阶段，车手们会排成一个队形，也即“车群”。
It allows cyclists to save energy by sitting behind another rider or drafting.
位置靠后的车手便能够借助“风拽”效应节省体力。
At high speeds, riders use most of their energy to pedal against wind resistance.
高速行驶时，骑手们大部分的体力消耗都用在了对抗风形成的阻力的上。
But when a rider stays close behind another, they're sheltered from much of that.
但当一个车手紧跟另一个车手时就能很大程度上免去这一麻烦。
So, pedaling becomes much easier and they can keep up with the front riders.
踩踏板就会轻松很多，还能跟上前面车手的步伐。
The way to measure this is to look at how much power a cyclist generates.
测量这一效应的方法就是看车手的马力。
Here at the front of the peloton, a Tour de France rider will generate at least 300 watts of power.
就位于车群前部的车手来说，他们至少需要产生300瓦特的马力。
I jumped on a bike to see what that feels like and just two kilometers holding 300 watts was really really hard.
我还亲自试了一下，发现以这样的马力骑2公里都会非常非常累。
By comparison when a rider is behind the lead in the peloton, they only need to generate about 240 watts to move at the same speed.
相比之下，车群里落后于那些领队的车手只需要产生240瓦的马力就能够获得相同的速度。
Holding 240 watts for two kilometers felt remarkably easier.
以240瓦的马力骑2公里感觉就轻松多了。
So even though these two might finish a 200 kilometer flat stage at the same time,
所以，即便他们同时完成了200公里的平地赛段，
one is going to be way less tired than the other.
其中一个人肯定会比另一个人累得多。
That's why you see some of the tour's best riders here in the back.
这就是为什么大家会看到整个比赛最厉害的一些车手会在这一赛段落后的原因。
They're drafting up their teammates whose job it is to do the hard work now
他们是在借助队友给他们制造的“风拽”效应，而他们的队友的责任就是在这个阶段发力，
so that the team's best cyclist is rested for the most difficult part; the mountains.
让车队最优秀的队友能够休整一下，为最困难的山地赛段做准备。
Where they'll have to be on their own.
因为，在那里，他们就只能靠自己了。
When the peloton starts pedaling uphill, it slows down.
开始爬坡以后车群的速度就会逐渐降下来。
At this stage the race is less about fighting wind resistance and more about gravity, which affects all riders the same way in the peloton.
这时，比赛的难点就不再是风阻而是重力了，而重力对车群所有选手的影响都是一样的。
So, now every rider in the front and the back needs to generate an extraordinary amount of power to keep up pace.
所以，现在，前排和后排的所有选手都需要产生很大的马力才能避免掉队。
In 2010 for instance, Danish cyclist Chris Anker Sorensen made it to the front of the pack on the Tourmalet climb.
就拿2010年的环法赛来说，丹麦自行车选手克里斯·安克尔·索伦森在图尔马莱赛段一马当先。
"Look at the face on Chris Anker Sorenesen. Dishing out the pain at the front end."
“看看克里斯·安克尔·索雷森的脸，痛苦都已经写在他脸上了。”
As the lead, he dictated the pace of the whole group.
作为领队，他带动着整个车队的节奏。
This chart shows his power output on the final climb.
这张图显示了他在最后一个爬坡赛段的马力输出情况。
He averaged 415 watts for more than 11 minutes.
平均马力超过415瓦的时间有11分钟不止。
"Face of Chris Anker Sorensen now, really dishing out the pain."
“现在的克里斯·安克尔·索伦森，表情真的很痛苦了。”
And around here he peaked at an incredible 590 watts.
此时，他的马力值更是达到了590瓦特这一令人瞠目结舌的水平。
"Terrific riding by Chris Anker Sorenson, but how long can he keep this up?"
“克里斯·安克尔·索伦森的表现非常惊艳，问题是，他还能坚持多久呢？”
Now look at American cyclist Chris Horner.
现在我们来看来自美国的车手克里斯·霍纳。
Even though he was several positions behind Sorenson, his power output was almost the same.
尽管他比索伦森落后几名，但两人的马力输出几乎是一样的。
The faster Sorenson climbed, the harder it was for the rest of the peloton to keep up.
索伦森爬得越快，车群的其他人就越难跟上。
And so the formation started to break up as weaker riders fell behind.
所以，随着较弱的骑手逐渐落后，车群就会逐渐瓦解。
“The others are all cracking one by one.”
“剩下的选手一个接一个地散开了。”
This is the moment in the race when the tour's best riders switch from drafting to relying on their own strength to get ahead.
这也是最佳车手们从依靠“风拽”前进转向依靠实力领先的时刻。
"Andy Schleck has finally attacked and Alberto Contador has gone with him. The race is breaking up behind them."
“安迪·施莱克终于发起进攻了，紧随其后的是阿尔贝托·康塔多，其他人都被他们甩在了身后。”
Like two of the best riders here: Luxembourgian Andy Schleck and Spaniard Alberto Contador,
就比如这两位：卢森堡人安迪·施莱克和西班牙人阿尔贝托·康塔多，
who were coasting in the back of the peloton during the long flat stages.
在漫长的平地赛段两人都躲在了车群后方。
But here they are halfway up the Tourmalet, breaking away for the win.
但到了图尔马莱半坡的时候，他们已经和其他人拉开了距离，准备夺取比赛的胜利。
Each likely generating well over 400 watts for the final eight kilometers.
最后八公里，两人的马力都远超过了400瓦特。
Contador in the yellow jersey, was the overall Tour de France leader but only by eight seconds.
黄色衣服的康塔多最终夺得了总冠军，但只领先了8秒。
In second place was Schleck, who would try and lose him on this climb.
第二名是施莱克，他正试图在这个坡道甩开康塔多。
“Andy Schleck is riding like a man possessed”
“安迪·施莱克骑得跟着了魔一样。”
It was neck-and-neck to the very top.
一直到山顶两人都是齐头并进之势。
"It's Schleck on the right. Contador! Schleck wins! Contador takes second!
“右边的是施莱克。康塔多！史莱克领先了，康塔多第二名！
Schleck edged Contador by a hair at the top of the Tourmalet to win the stage.
施莱克在图尔马莱顶部险胜康塔多，赢得了本赛段的胜利。
But since he didn't lose him, Contador kept his overall lead and went on to win the Tour de France.
但由于他并没能彻底甩掉他，所以康塔多保住了他的总体领先地位，最终赢得了整个比赛。
This kind of drama is only possible in the mountains and this year's route makes climbs particularly important.
这种戏剧性的场面只可能发生在山地赛段，而今年的路线尤其重视爬坡的山地赛段。
This year's Tour is being called the highest in history because of how many climbs there are over the course of three weeks.
由于今年为期三周的比赛时间里，选手们需要爬的坡格外多，所以今年的巡回赛也被称为史上海拔差最大的一次。
Just one day features seven climbs.
一天之内选手们就要爬7个坡。
Even after more than two weeks in the race, riders climb to 2,770 meters above sea level where the thin air makes climbing even harder.
即使比赛进行到两周多以后，在海拔2770米以上的赛段，稀薄的空气也会进一步加大攀爬的难度。
That's what makes the Tour de France the most grueling and prestigious race in this sport.
这就是为什么环法自行车赛是自行车这项运动中最艰苦也最有声望的比赛的原因。
The winner isn't simply the strongest rider
因为最后的赢家将不仅仅是体能最强的选手，
but the one who endures the most pain and ultimately has what it takes to conquer the mountains.
也将是承受痛苦最多并真正拥有征服群山所需特质的选手。
