Winners
Nairo Quintana
The Colombian has been the best climber over the course of the third week, and finally picked up the stage win which his performance over the course of the Tour has deserved. Quintana followed a move by Rodriguez midway up the climb, and the two were quickly joined by Froome. However it was the Movistar rider who looked the most comfortable for the final few kilometres, responding to an attack by the yellow jersey before moving clear with apparent ease to take the stage win. This was a superb win for the 23 year old, who moved himself above Alberto Contador into second place overall, and will also be presented with the white jersey and the polka dot jersey on the podium in Paris.
Chris Froome
Froome really hasn’t looked at his superb best for the last few days, and his final attack which briefly distanced Rodriguez and Quintana seemed to be nothing more than a bluff in an attempt to deter attacks from his two companions. The fighting spirit that has characterised Froome’s performances over the last three weeks seemed to leave him over the final couple of kilometres as he rolled in 29 seconds down on Quintana, perhaps reflecting on what he has achieved, capturing a second yellow jersey in as many years for Team Sky
Joaquim Rodriguez
While Froome has been fading in the third week of the Tour, since Mont Ventoux Joaquim Rodriguez has been going from strength to strength. The Spaniard went into that stage in eighth place, but a strong performance all week, his second place today was enough to find himself a place on the podium in Paris. The Spaniard was the first of the major contenders to attack on the final climb as he looked to eat into his 53 second deficit to Alberto Contador, before working well on the front of the leading trio to establish a large gap on the chasers. Rodriguez has now appeared on the podiums of all three grand tours, but is still to win any of the three week races. Perhaps we will see him take on the Vuelta in a month’s time to try and break that duck.
Andrew Talansky
Another rider who has improved as the race has progressed, despite getting dropped by the pace of Sky at the very bottom of Semnoz, the American rode impressively to finish alongside Contador and in the process move into the top ten overall at the expense of Michal Kwiatkowski. Talansky may have finished a distant 13:19 behind Nairo Quintana in the young rider classification, but he has certainly confirmed his billing as a future grand tour contender, performing well whether climbing or time trialling, and displaying the fighting spirit that has earned him his ‘pit bull’ nickname.
Losers
Alberto Contador
Contador has never really looked at his pre-ban best in this Tour, and today was no different as he faded on the final climb, relinquishing his second place to Quintana and the final spot on the podium to Rodriguez. The Spaniard seemed to be suffering as he tried to keep the leaders within reach, but seemed to be resigned to his fate for the first time in the race as the yellow jersey group rode away. Contador isn’t used to losing grand tours, and the void between himself and Froome in this race might have been a shock to the Spaniard. Defending his Vuelta title may have been an option for the Saxo-Tinkoff rider, but instead this may be the last we see of him this season as he looks ahead to July 2014.
Michal Kwiatkowski
The Polish champion has had a superb Tour de France as he confirmed the stage racing potential which we first saw at last year’s Tour de Pologne and this year’s Tirreno-Adriatico. However, with Talansky riding so superbly at the front of the race, Kwiatkowski ended the day in an agonising eleventh place as he came in 18th on the stage. The steep climb was never going to suit the Omega Pharma-Quickstep rider, and he also seemed to struggle in the heat as he slipped backwards. However I’m sure Kwiatkowski will look to the positives of his performance this Tour, especially as he has achieved it all with only Peter Velits alongside him in the mountains.
Stage 21 Preview
The final procession into Paris as the riders set off from the Palace of Versailles, taking in the famous gardens before setting off into the capital.
In one final nod to the history of the race, the hundredth Tour pays homage to Jacques Anquetil by following some of the roads of the old GP des Nations, a race which the Frenchman won an incredible nine times.
With 64 km remaining the peloton will swing onto the Rue de Rivoli for the first time, and will follow a finishing circuit that will go around the Arc de Triomphe for the first time in the race’s history.
Scenario
With the green jersey already secure on the back of Peter Sagan, some of the excitement has gone out of the final day in Paris, but we should still look forward to a sprint royale on the cobbles of the Champs Elysees.
With a very tough final week, it could perhaps come down to which of the sprinters have suffered the least in the Alps. Peter Sagan should have coped the most easily with the mountains, but he really hasn’t been close to Cavendish, Greipel, and Kittel in the big bunch sprints, so we should instead look to these three for the winner.
Cavendish would be my pick for the stage, as although he may not be in top form, he certainly knows how to win in Paris, and will be tough to beat if his leadout train can get its act together. Andre Greipel’s Lotto Belisol team will provide stiff opposition in the battle of the leadout trains, and the German can be certain to be put in a good position by the likes of Marcel Sieberg and Greg Henderson.
As for Kittel, he seems to have been the fastest in the first two weeks, but this will be his first completed grand tour, and it takes experience or very special rider to be able to win on the Champs Elysees with three weeks of racing in the legs. He will win beneath the Arc de Triomphe in the future, but perhaps this year may be slightly too soon.
Stage Win: Mark Cavendish
Yellow Jersey: Chris Froome
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