Not just one but nine victory laps of the Champs Elysées. The final stage is part parade, part criterium and both pointless and essential.
Tour de France
Tour de France Stage 20 Preview
The only time trial of the Tour de France but the distance compensates for the absence. 54km is long for any race but as the 20th stage it’s going to feel even longer for some.
Tony Martin winning the stage and Vincenzo Nibali staying in yellow seem as certain as the passage of time but the podium places are still up for grabs.
Tour de France Stage 19 Preview
North to Paris! The race leaves the Pyrenees behind with 200km to ride to Bergerac. This is no rest day but it doesn’t have the same strategic interest as the previous days in the mountains nor tomorrow’s time trial. A sprint seems likely but because it’s the last chance for many teams to win a stage this is the last battle.
Roads to Ride: Hautacam
Does it exist? Stage 18 of this summer’s Tour de France finishes in Hautacam but many maps don’t show anywhere called Hautacam. But it’s testimony to the geopolitical force of the Tour and the tourism industry that, like an invading army, the map of France gets rewritten.
What is certain is that the climb exists and if it is a relative newcomer to the Tour de France, it’s a case-study of Pyrenean climbing with an irregular road.
Tour de France Stage 18 Preview
The final mountain stage of the Tour de France and a great way to end given the short distance, the mighty Col du Tourmalet and then the road to Hautacam, one of the hardest climbs in the Pyrenees.
Le Jargon Cycliste
Have you ever had ants in your legs and found yourself sporting a lightweight sock? Or did you end up pedalling with two legs on the same pedal?
The French cyclists and TV commentators often talk about le jargon cycliste but they don’t mean the technical terms such as watts per kilogram, haematocrit or press-fit bearings. Instead le jargon is a long list of poetic phrases and slang.
Tour de France Stage 17 Preview
The shortest road stage of the Tour and possibly the best thanks to the repetition of Pyrenean passes before a famous summit finish. It’s live on TV from start to finish.
The Last Words of Daniel Mangeas
Daniel Mangeas is the voice of the Tour de France. If you’ve been to the race you’ll know his voice and even if your experience of the Tour is via English-language broadcasts you’ll have heard him as background noise during an interview or live commentary.
He will retire soon, finishing a run of 41 consecutive Tours. He’s another fixture of French cycling with his distinctive tone, a verbal torrent of statistics and encouragement. In a perfect twist he’ll end his career in the same place where it began, although this time by plan rather than accident.
Tour de France Stage 16 Preview
The first of a Pyrenean trilogy, today’s stage is a marathon effort with its distance and the HC climb and descent of the Port de Balès saved for last.
Can A Frenchman Make The Podium In Paris?
With Vincenzo Nibali in command the race is on for the other riders to seize their chance. Can a Frenchman can finish on the podium in Paris? Yes because Romain Bardet and Thibaut Pinot are duelling for the white jersey, just 16 seconds separate them while Michał Kwiatkowski is 14 minutes behind. Barring a double disaster a Frenchman will stand on the podium on the Champs Elysées.
Enough smart answers, the real question is whether a Frenchman can finish in the top three overall? Bardet is third overall and Pinot fourth but there are three mountain stages and a long time trial to come.
It’s a result many in France want to see but there’s also wider support for this outcome. But could it be a big dream and a rude awakening awaits? On the rest day here’s a look at the GC contenders.