Great stage again - happy to see Froome clinch it, he’s had to put up with some bullshit this Tour, getting pished on and spat at, so it’s a resilient victory.
Quintana was the strongman in the end - wonder if he thinks he left a bit out there, could have put Froome under pressure earlier on? The parcours was right in his bailiwick, could be a long wait for one as suitable again.
This is the first time I have watched the Tour and I really enjoyed it, but I have a question. Why is Froome viewed to have clinched it when there is one stage left? Do they not race?
The GC is traditionally not contested on the last day - it’s an easy roll into Paris and parade up and down the Champs Elysee. The stage itself will be furiously contested by the top sprinters, and you’ll see some bold attacks, but the GC is over.
Even if the GC were traditionally contested on the last day, it’s next thing to impossible to gain time on a flat stage against a pelaton that doesn’t want to let any breakaways succeed. This same stage profile on any other day wouldn’t ever result in changes in the general classification either, barring crashes and the like.
It has happened that the Tour was won on the last day. But I think that finish was so epic that the organizers have decided to never have a time trial on the last day again.
Since this question comes up pretty much every year, and the quick answers aren’t all that convincing to those who don’t follow cycling, let me answer in a bit more detail.
The Tour de France is not only about who finishes with the lowest aggregate time (aka the GC, general classification). Stage victories are also extremely desirable in their own right, and none more so than winning on the Champs d’Elysees. In addition to that, there are the subsidiary competitions for the Green Jersey (points classification, where riders are awarded points for high placings in both stages and intermediary sprint points) and the Polkadot Jersey (king of the mountains, where riders are awarded points for high placings going across the tops of climbs).
The last stage into Paris is a very flat course. With no hills in sight, it is next to impossible for any single team to drive fast enough to split the pelaton. On the flat, every single rider in the Tour barring injury or illness can keep up with the fastest riders when they can stay out of the wind at the back. Moreover, the pelaton, when driven by one or more teams that really care, can always ride faster than any reasonably sized breakaway.
Now, at this point in the Tour, the GC is wrapped up. Somebody is in the lead, probably by a minute or more. Most teams don’t have anyone within 5 minutes of the lead. But that doesn’t mean that nothing is at stake in the final stage. The stage victory in Paris is one of the most highly sought-after prizes of the year for the sprint specialists, and very often the Green Jersey competition rides on the outcome (this year it doesn’t - Sagan sewed it up in the intermediate stages between the Pyrenees and the Alps with some brilliant attacking riding.) So, the teams of any sprinters that think they have a shot at victory will do everything they can to bring their men to the line without any pesky breakaway out in front. This year, that would include at the least, Lotto Soudal (Greipel), Etixx Quickstep (Cavendish), Giant Alpecin (Degenkolb), and Katusha (Kristoff). Tinkoff Saxo might also go all in for Sagan, who despite contesting every sprint isn’t really a pure sprinter. Between these teams, you have 30+ riders who will be extremely intent on crushing anyone trying to escape off the front.
It isn’t completely impossible to win in a breakaway. See, for example, Alexander Vinokourov’s incredible ride in 2005 - but he only won by a few seconds, and was doped to the gills to boot. He was also the greatest attacking rider of the last two decades. Even worse, Quintana is singularly unsuited to winning in this way. He doesn’t have devastating speed on the flat. He’s only faster than everyone else on 11% gradients. To win in a break on the Champs d’Elysees you need a rider like Tony Martin, a guy with a huge engine to put out an enormous turn of speed for a couple km at the end. If Tony hadn’t crashed out of the Tour, however, he’d be one of the guys chasing breaks down, not in one himself, trying to help Cavendish win in Paris for an unprecedented 5th time.
Happy for Pinot. Aside from the solid TT at the beginning, a truly terrible first half. Really saved his tour with this one. With his time trialling improving and another year of seasoning (and some descending work) he might be back on the podium. Bardet too, although he needs time trialling improvement.
I’d love to see them at the giro to get a grand tour under their belt but they are French so that’s unlikely.
Lotto and Quickstep blow it tomorrow and Degenkolb wins.
Dunno who will win, but I boldly predict Sagan will come second.
I’m no cycling aficionado but I have to wonder, exactly why Chris Froome is catching so much shit from the crowds. Is there any evidence that he’s the next Lance Armstrong in waiting? is it because he’s not French? Is it because cycling has such a poisonous reputation that pretty much anyone in the lead has the finger pointed at them?
It’s Sky, rather than Froome himself, AFAICT.
They’re the flash johnny-come-latelys, the best funded and the best team. Plus, they’re connected with Rupert Murdoch’s empire so must be evil in some respect.
Brailsford said in 2010 that they were founding a clean team to produce a British winner of the Tour within 5 years - and there was laughter througout the land. Ignorant rosbif - the British might know time-trialling, and the boards of the velodrome, but a grand tour win was an arrogant pipe dream. They don’t even have any mountains. Certainly looked that way early on, with a couple of shakey outings. They learnt quickly, though, and came to dominate the peleton with Brailsford delivering on his promise three times over.
So before you get to any considerations of doping you’ve got a natural villain somewhat akin to Chelsea or Man City, outfits with no heritage that have spent their way to the top. Bit like when Eden Hazard just won player of the year - that’s something no right-thinking person is going to take any pleasure from and it’s nothing to do with Hazard himself. Just who he plays for.
Then the prospect of doping adds another huge dimension to it - I find these discussions somewhat futile, myself, but for a team founded on a clean agenda many think Sky are very opaque on this issue. It was found that they’d (quietly) worked with a couple of trainers / doctors who have a history of being involved with dirty teams, so that was a ding on their credibility.
I don’t mind them either way - Brailsford, Wiggins, and Froome’s achievements are amazing (esp Wiggins), but I can see why people would dislike Sky. [Personally I’d be amazed if they were balls-deep in doping and just brass-necking the whole world. The way the peleton rides now is very different to the epo era and I just don’t think numerous people can lie like that whilst having things like knighhoods on their shoulders. On a smaller scale, though, pushing the boundaries and exploiting any and every grey area? Probably].
Froome took the polka-dot (climbers) jersey as well (last time that happened was 1970 with Merckx)
Quintana was second overall, second on climbing, but 1st for young riders.
Brian
Since we seem to have knowledgeable fans here, I have a question as well.
During the coverage, the commentators made much of the fact that Chris Froome had teammates with him on most of the climbs. What’s the advantage? I can absolutely see it on a flat stage, at 40km/h; having dedicated drafting partners would let Froome save his energy. But it seems to me that the speeds on the climbs are slow enough that aerodynamics wouldn’t be much of an issue. When there’s a small group together on a climb, and Quintana attacks, and then Porte chases down the attack, what exactly does Porte do when he catches Quintana that helps Froome? Is the drafting still an issue even on climbs (I suppose with a headwind it could matter), is it psychological (having a teammate to offer encouragement to spur you on), someone to pass you food and water bottles, or something else?
Part of it is psychological but also, even though the climbs are slower, there is still some benefit to drafting. You might not be getting the 30% tow that you get at 40+ kph, but even if you are saving 3% over the guy in front, that’s a significant advantage over a long climb.
Another issue is acceleration during attacks. When Quintana rockets off on an attack and Porte chases him down, Porte has to accelerate sharply to avoid Quintana gaining separation. Behind him, the required acceleration from Froome is somewhat less, as he knows that Porte will be checking to make sure Froome isn’t dropped. Accelerating of course requires a lot of energy.
And when the climb isn’t at the end of the stage your teammates are extremely valuable on flat sections before the next climb. On the penultimate stage when Valverde and Quintana attacked and isolated Froome on the Croix de Fer he was in real danger - if the Movistar duo had gained slightly more time and opened up a further gap on the downhill, Froome would have been forced to choose between chasing two riders on his own (or three, as Movistar had another rider up the road who could have dropped back), or letting the gap open wider still waiting for his teammates to catch up.
I think the right guy won and none-too-soon. Another day in the mountains and the tour organizers would be fitting a size:extra-small/short yellow jersey on the tour winner.
It looked like Quintana was just warming up on Alp d’Huez while Froome was about to start heading backwards.
Frankly I’m just elated to see Valverde on the podium and to have watched Ryder Hesjedahl really stretch his legs in two important stages.