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 13 Report and Results 2013 Tour De France

173k from Tours to Saint-Amand-Montrond

Flat

Weather: sunny, 25-27c/77-82f; crosswinds expected on the open road.

Stage 13 profile

In a pre-race interview today, Mark Cavendish was full of praise for Marcel Kittel. He said the German—who has won three stages here already—is the best sprinter at the Tour right now. I am paraphrasing, but Cav also suggested that Kittel has established himself as one of the best sprinters in the world, and that this Tour might mark a sort of changing of the guard. “It’s the cycle of life,” he said.  It was strange to hear the 28-year-old speaking as though Kittel were part of a “new generation” of cyclists coming up who could be supplanting him as the fastest in the world.

Stage 13 continues to the southeast

As I mentioned yesterday, Team Sky lost Edvald Boasson Hagen to the big crash that happened with about 2.6k to go on stage 12. That is the second important cog in their wheel to be forced to abandon the race (Kiryienka missed the time cut in stage 9). Boasson suffered a broken bone in his shoulder when he went down hard as riders crashed in front of him and he could do nothing to stop his bike from hitting the pile-up and throwing him to the ground. With Kennaugh and Thomas riding out their own injuries, Chris Froome will have to get the best out of the remainder of his team to keep him protected and help him conquer the Alps next week.

The little hill that pops up in the last 10k of the stage is reported to be insignificant. The sprinters should be able to control the finish. Wind in the wide-open stretches may be a big factor today.

TO THE ACTION:

At the start six men go clear.

The 6-man break consists of: Przemyslaw Niemiec (LAM), Cyril Lemoine (SOJ), Luis Mate (COF), Ruben Perez (EUS), Yohann Gene (EUC), and Kris Boeckmans (VCD). Niemiec is highest place on GC at +24:58. 

Km 28: With 145k left to ride the leaders have a gap of 2:30 to the peloton.

-120k: the lead is up to 3:42.

Stage 12 Report and Results 2013 Tour De France

 

218k from Fougeres to Tours; flat

Weather: Sunny, temp 73-80 f (mid 20’s c); winds 10-15mph

Judges said crash not Cav's (R) fault

Not everyone agrees about who was at fault in the Mark Cavendish-Tom Veelers crash incident the other day. As you know, Cav paid a price already when someone threw urine at him during the time trial on Wednesday. Despite the Tour De France race judges’ ruling, Mark Cavendish has been disinvited to the Boxmeer Classic bike race later this month. A published quote from the race organizer displayed strong feelings against the Manxman.

TO THE ACTION:

A 5-man break got away at km2: Mori (LAM), Flecha (VCD), Gavazzi (AST), Delaplace (SOJ), Sicard (EUS).

Stage 12 Profile

No one who could threaten the overall standings is in the break. The highest placed rider in the break is Manuele Mori at about 50 minutes back.

The GC riders will look at this as a rest day, while the sprinters’ teams will want to chase down the break and set up a bunch sprint finish.

The riders have a nice cross tailwind helping them down the road, which gives the GC guys an even easier day.

Stage 12 route

km42: The lead maxes out around 9:00.

-125k: The gap to the peloton is 7:21.

-115k: the lead is 6:39.

-113.6k crash, Kadri, Geniez: Kadri goes over the handlebars, his bike bounces off the road and spins up into the air, narrowly missing an Orica GreenEdge rider on the right (Michael Albasini I think).

-100k: The gap is now 6:20 as the riders have just gone through the feed zone.

-99k: Crash: Smukulis.

-94k: Bike change, Andy Schleck.

EBH (Boasson Hagen), bike change.

-85k: The lead is 5:34 now.

The tailwind has the race going ten minutes ahead of the fastest expected time.