2013 Tour de France Race Wrap-up

I posted my picks for the jerseys and the top ten in the General Classification in my stage 1 preview.

Here is a brief look at how I did on my top 10 picks for 2013 Tour de France:

MY PICKS:                                                   ACTUAL RESULTS:

1. Froome 2. Contador 3. Valverde 4. Evans 5. Rodriguez 6. Van Den Broeck 7. Mollema 8. Quintana 9. Porte 10. Fuglsang

1. Froome 2. Quintana 3. Rodriguez 4. Contador 5. Kreuziger 6. Mollema 7. Fuglsang 8. Valverde 9. Navarro 10. Talansky

  

Seven of my ten picks made the top ten in the final classification; Valverde notably finishing lower than I expected, and Quintana, higher. My three picks that did not finish in the top 10 were:

Evans couldn't podium in two Grand Tours

1) Cadel Evans, who finished 39^th, ninety minutes off the winner’s time. I believe I commented before the Tour that Evans had more miles in his legs this year than any of the top contenders. Racing to third place at the Giro d’Italia in May turned out to be more draining than training for the veteran Aussie and 2011 TDF Champ. (Perhaps interestingly, this Tour’s winner and runner up, Froome and Quintana, had come into the race having ridden the fewest miles this season, out of any of the top GC contenders).

Stage 21 Report 2013 Tour De France Final Stage Results

134k from Versailles to Paris

Weather: sunny, 33c (92f)

Versailles

The riders left Versailles for the final stage of the 100^th Tour De France under sunny skies. It is shaping up to be the hottest day of the Tour.  By the time they finish, the skies will have darkened, as the race concludes with its first ever twilight finish.

Hundreds of ex-Tour riders will be on hand for the celebrations at the end. 170 riders will celebrate finishing the 2013 Tour De France after three weeks of intense competition on the roads of France.

Chris Froome will officially solidify his win when he crosses the finish line on the Champs-Élysées, and he will earn Team Sky its second consecutive Tour victory. The Kenyan-born talent who rides for Dave Brailsford’s British team asserted his will all over the race, and finishes with an indisputable five-minute win over second place Nairo Quintana of Team Movistar.

Stage 21 profile

All the jerseys have been decided. Peter Sagan coasts into Paris with the green sprinter’s jersey. The young Slovakian speedster was diligent in both the finish sprints and the intermediate sprints, which have become more significant with the changes in the points system. He also rides into Paris with a green dyed goatee.  Read on...