Professional cycling can be quite the grind. Cyclists need to ride across differing conditions, as well as manage energy. After all, many pro cycling races are more than 100 kilometers, making energy management a must. The same can be said in Tour de France 2021, the official game for the marquee cycling event. If you’re new to the Tour de France franchise, you might be struggling not to blow up, a term used for when riders run out of energy. If you need help with preventing this, we’ve got you covered.
Before conserving energy, it’s important to note how to check your rider’s energy levels. There are three bars on the bottom-right portion of the screen. The yellow bar indicates the pace at which you are exerting yourself. The blue bar shows how much stamina is left. Finally, the red bar indicates how much attack energy you have remaining.
To control the exertion level, you’ll need to get familiar with LB or RB for Xbox, and L1 and R1 for PlayStation. These are the effort controls. LB/L1 allows the user to lower the exertion level, while RB/R1 does the exact opposite and raises the level.
You’ll want to raise the level when your cyclist is losing ground, and other riders are passing you by en masse. On the other hand, you’ll want to lower it, particularly below the blue lines that extends out of the circle, if your energy levels get too low for comfort.
Additionally, you’ll also want to get familiar with two other parts of energy management: feeds and aerodynamics. Feeds are used to re-energize your body and can be accessed by hitting Y/Triangle. There are two separate feeds, one for attack and the other for stamina, and you’ll only have a certain amount in your possession. Use these feeds wisely.
On the other hand, Aerodynamics allows your rider to use the natural decline in elevation to speed down hills and mountains without having to use any energy. If you’re heading down a sharp hill or mountain, hit and hold RB/R1 to use aerodynamics. Stop using RB/R1 once elevation stabilizes.
