The 2016 Tour de France starts on Saturday 2 July with a 188km stage along the coastline and across Normandy before the finish in Sainte Marie du Mont, better known around the world as Utah Beach, one of the landing sites for the Allied Invasion of 1944. It’s a day for the sprinters. Perhaps we’ll see Mark Cavendish in the hunt for that elusive yellow jersey and a healthy Marcel Kittel in the mix.
Chris Froome attacks on the road to La Pierre Saint Martin, dropping Nairo Quintana, putting both time and doubts into all his rivals. This was the moment the race was won.
The conclusion of the 2015 Tour de France, the final stage is part victory parade, part criterium. The Champs Elysées are reserved for the riders, a privilege only accorded to cyclists and visiting heads of state. In the end a sprint finish.
The first will be last and the last will be first. FDJ’s Alex Geniez attacked first and was the last of the early breakaway to be caught while Thibaut Pinot was sat at the back of the peloton at the start and was the first to win the stage.
Nairo Quintana took the fight to Chris Froome with a series of attacks, his last chance to take first place.
Have they saved the best for last? Today offers the final battle between Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana. Almost Everyone else seems on their knees and reduced to defending their position in the top-10 so we could have a duel between the top two riders on the arena of Alpe d’Huez.
It’s live from start to finish and don’t miss the early finish today, an hour earlier than usual.
How do you define a champion? Maurice De Muer, manager of Luis Ocaña, described it as someone who was capable of acting alone to turn around a bad situation to their advantage. Does this fit Vincenzo Nibali? He’s been down out in France this July but was the only rider willing to take big risks today and earned the stage win.
A massive day in the Alps, today’s stage is harder than tomorrow’s dash to Alpe d’Huez as it’s got more climbs and more technical descents with no time for a breather before the underrated climb to La Touissuire.
It’s live on TV from start to finish.
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An uphill start and then rollercoaster roads for the battle to get in the breakaway, today’s route should reward the bold. The Col du Glandon sits too far from the finish to deliver fireworks but it’ll be selective before the scenic novelty of the Lacets de Montvernier.
Eduardo Sepúlveda panicked. His chain was broken and he’d just seen his Bretagne-Séché Environnement team car drive past without spotting him. The Ag2r La Mondiale team car stopped to enquire, offered him a wheel which was no Usero the rider and, inexplicably, he climbed in the Ag2r car to make up the 300 metres separating him from his team car. It’s a basic premise that you have to complete the course on your own and Sepúlveda was caught and disqualified from the Tour de France. He got a 200 Swiss Franc (CHF) fine too. Think about it: you ride in a car and get disqualified for such a serious offence… and then a light cash fine.
The fines levied by the UCI are bizarre. The sums are often so inconsequential that they never match the gravity of the deed.