Chris Horner is the 2013 Vuelta a España Champion

Chris Horner is the first American Vuelta a España winner and oldest ever Grand Tour winner

Stage 21 Preview 2013 Vuelta a España

The 2013 Vuelta a España is not quite over yet, but the mountains are. Tomorrow when the peloton cruises into Madrid for the 21^st and final stage of the race, Chris Horner will become the first American to win the Spanish Grand Tour, and the oldest rider ever to win any Grand Tour. 

Horner had the answer for all of Nibali's challenges

Horner locked his victory with consistent domination in the high mountains, and finally by dropping his main rival, Vincenzo Nibali on stage 20’s fearsome, cloud-covered Alto de L’Angliru. Despite a series of deep attacks from the Sicilian Shark on the steep slopes of the race’s final climb, Nibali was unable to take back the three second deficit to Horner that he began the stage with.

In fact Nibali’s many accelerations depleted his reserves, and Horner was able to pull ahead and finish the stage 28 seconds in front of Nibali. Only Kenny Elissonde of FDJ survived from the early break to take the stage win ahead of Horner. For Elissonde, it was his first win of the season, and easily the biggest of the 22-year-old’s young career.

Horner was 2nd up the Angliru, but ahead of all his rivals

Nicolas Edet of the Pro-Conti Cofidis Team will take home the mountain jersey after collecting the most KOM points over several impressive breakaways. Alejandro Valverde amassed enough high stage finishes to almost certainly win the points jersey on Sunday.

Throughout the three-week race The Basque-based Euskaltel-Euskadi team got more of their riders over the line early than any other team. Maybe it is appropriate that they won the team competition in the team’s final home Grand Tour in this incarnation. The bright orange squad will be taken over by F1 star, Fernando Alonso next year.

Stage 21 profile

Tomorrow’s final stage in Madrid is flat, and perfect for a bunch sprint. The sprinters who survived the mountains will get their last chance to shine. For Horner the stage will be largely ceremonial, a chance to soak in an exceptional triumph.

Stage 21 final 5k race route

Some of this race’s most successful sprinters so far have been Richeze, Boasson Hagen, Meersman, Flecha, Farrar, Matthews and Paolini. No one has been consistently dominant, but Richeze has collected four podium finishes in the sprints.

My pick for stage 21: Maximiliano Richeze.

He has been the most consistent, but has not yet grabbed a win.

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...

Stage 21 Preview 2013 Tour De France

134k Versailles to Paris, FLAT

Stage 21 finishes, as always, in Paris

The 2013 100^th edition of the Tour De France comes to a conclusion on Sunday.  Chris Froome of Britain’s Team Sky has sown up the win after defending his lead for two weeks. He won on top of Ax 3 Domaines on stage 8, and has worn yellow ever since. He even had to defend himself, literally, when he shoved a fan out of the way who had gotten too close to the elite breakaway trio.

The other jerseys are all decided too. All that is left to contest is Sunday’s sprint finish on the Champs-Élysées. The winners will enjoy a leisurely ride into Paris from Versailles, and a nighttime finish has been scheduled for the first time, in honor of the centenary celebration. The finish is scheduled for around 9:30 pm local time. 

Stage 21 Profile

Stage 21 route

Mark Cavendish will try to grab his fifth career win on the famed Boulevard between the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde. Peter Sagan will probably pop another wheelie or two. Let’s hope he comes up with some new tricks soon.

André Greipel and Marcel Kittel wouldn’t mind another notch on their stage-win belts. There is not much more to say about the stage, except, enjoy the pageant and pick your sprinter.

MY PICK: My last pick of the race is going to the Manx Missile from Omega Pharma. Mark Cavendish

I will post full results after the stage, and then a race wrap-up later on, with conclusions from the race, and I will see how I did on my picks and predictions overall. [I think nine of my stage picks came in second]

STAGE 21 Race Report and Final Results 2013 Giro d'Italia

 

Sunday May 26, 2013

197 kilometers; from Riese Pio X to Brescia; Flat

Weather: mostly sunny, 20 c (68 f)

Vincenzo Nibali won the 2013 Giro d'Italia in Brescia today

 

Location of the final stage into Brescia

The peloton leaves the start and begins the last 197-km stage to the first ever race finish in Brescia. Vincenzo Nibali of the Kazakh Astana squad will be celebrating his supreme accomplishment as he brandishes the Maglia Rosa all the way to the final finish line.

*No one is in a hurry to escape today. After 40 kms under partly sunny skies, it is still gruppo compatto;

After route modifications as a result of all the horrendous weather the peloton faced…