Tour de France 2012: Stage 20 Rambouillet to Champs Élysées, Paris

Is it really that time of year again that me and Nick Barlow (amongst others) give you our last look at what lies in the day ahead on the road of France (an any other country) as part of the Tour de France.

First up let's short out what happened yesterday.

The man the Dutch call the "Banana with sideburns" showed why he is the man who have spent 7 days in yellow in Paris-Nice, five in the Tour of Romandie, seven in the Critérium du Dauphiné and now 13 days in Le Tour. Let us not forget he was a rather unripe banana on the second day of this year's tour. He opened more time on everyone, even his own team mate who once again in the Time Trials came second. I suspect that these two now will go into the Olympics and after helping try and secure Mark Cavendish his gold will be going head to head with Fabian Cancellera and Tony Martin amongst others to try and lift the other men's road cycling gold on the course over many roads I have ridden a bike on around Hampton Court.

In the end Vincenzo Nibali lost more time to end up 6'19" behind Wiggo overall. Froome ended up with a Dusty Bin time of 3'21" behind his team mate. With Richie Porte coming fifth  yesterday Sky managed to half the gap between themselves and Radioshack-Nissan in the team race. But it was because they were using all their men to keep the pace high until just Froome was left with Wiggins that they despite domination of the race failed to secure the team prize, which if the aggregate of each teams best 3 riders each day.

Today's final stage is usually only a ceremonial roll into Paris until the race hits the most famous Boulevard in road race cycling. The only things for certain are that the four wearers of the jerseys will be toasted with champagne. Laterne Rouge Saur- Sojasun rider Jimmy Engoulvent who is 3 hours 57 minutes slower than Wiggins will be given a red lamp to carry for the press and Wiggins with the World Champion, Nowegian Champion and other 5 remaining team mates will lead the race briefly at the start of the circuits of the Champs Élysées.

Even though the tour organisers decided to try and spice things up with two Category 4 climbs. Just in case that competition were tight heading towards Paris. As it isn't maybe the race will let Thomas Voeckler take both of those in the Polka Dot King of the Mountain Jersey, or maybe he will share the honours with Fredrik Kessiakoff with him he had a tough battle in the Pyrénées. So maybe expect the peleton to give them a point each. With not much contest, the other riding as the escort on the Côte de Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse and shortly afterward the Côte de Châteaufort.

As always on the last day the intermediate sprint will occur on the third crossing of the line of the Champs Élysées. Last year it was contested as Mark Cavendish's Green Jersey was still in play. This year the peleton may well have already let a few riders get a little up the road. So they will be working to stay away and there will probably be no sprint.


Tejay van Garderen is safe in the other Jersey for best Young Rider and I fully expect to see him as leader of the BMC team when the race starts next year, maybe with Cadel Evans helping him as a super domestique.


What everyone will want to know however is can Mark Cavendish do it again. Yesterday for Cav is all about being number 1, but not in stage winning, he finished the stage in 1 hr 11 mins 11 seconds. He wants to see just one number 1 next to his name today and that is a the front rather than afterwards. 

He has never lost on the last day of the Tour de France. He is already the only man to have won this famous stage three years in succession and the way he rode into Brive la Gaillarde on Friday it would be very rare to see anyone bet against him, especially as both the top two in the GC have already vowed to help lead him into prime position off the Place de la Concorde that last time into that straight that he owns. If he does it will be the seventh win by a Brit in this year's Tour from four different riders (or 1/3 of all the finishes) breaking the record of 2009 when all six were won by Cav.

Can André Greipel or Matt Goss spoil the party? Looking at the difference between the three of them on Friday and how Mark has won here in the past I'd say it looks unlikely, but you can never know.


Here is how he won in 2009, when a Brit for only the second time raced to 4th place, tomorrow that Brit should also be breaking records as he rides in for yellow.

In 2010 after Mark Renshow had been kicked off the Tour he did it himself. And rather like on Friday he left the rest of the sprinters for dead with an attack from a long way out.

Then last year when even despite having the luxury of two of his team in front of him off the last bend it has been the closest so far, because it was into a head wind.

Tour de France 2012: Stage 6 Épernay to Metz

So yesterday there was another crash inside the 3km banner. This time is was Tyler Farrar (GAR) who brought down several other riders including the leader in the points classification Peter Sagan (LIQ). The peleton had yet to capture all of the 4 man breakaway at this point who had left something in reserve for the final km and had made the capture difficult.

Difficult though not impossible, especially with the Sky train working to keep Bradley Wiggins safe on one side of the road, the BMC train on the other working for the same purpose for Cadel Evans plus other chains such as Lampré, Argos and Orica-Greenedge all working to bring it back for their sprinters.

 The crash meant that Sagan missed out to all his main rivals André Greiple (GER) took his second stage in a row, Matt Goss (OGE)  took another second, Juan José Haedo (ARG) third and after his lead out train leaving him with just Edvald Boasson Hagen over 1km from the finish and in second Mark Cavendish did salvage 4th having returned back to the front after slipping back down. It was Cavenndish who had taken most points available at the intermediate once again, from Mr Second Goss, Mark Renshaw (RAB) and Sagan. Overall the Green Jersey contest (the only one to change yesterday looks like this:

• Peter Sagan 155pts
• Matt Goss 137
• André Greipel 132
• Mark Cavendish 119
• Allesandro Pettacchi LAM 91

With another supposed sprinters stage today at the end of 207.5km of racing and the 45 points on offer plus whatever they can salvage in intermediate expect the sprinter to be scrapping it out again.

First up for them is the intermediate sprint at Saint-Mihiel 135km into the stage. We've seen already that it seems hard to beat Cavendish to these, he may only pick up a signle point advantage over his nearest rivals but with Goss and Renshaw taking the two places behind him and possibly others it means that Sagan will lose a few points here once again.

We do have one climb today just 10km after the sprint at Côte de Buxières so the signle point will go to whichever member of the breakaway wants it. But it is only 2.2 km long with a gradient of 3.8% so it is only a category four. After resting a day will King of the Mountains Michael Morkov (STB) find himself out in front again? With just a single point on offer I would doubt it.

That leaves us with the final km and as we have seen already it isn't just on the corners that crashes can happen. With so many teams looking to get their man the win either to help in the green jersey of to take that illusive first stage win wheels may collide. One sprinter who will take no further part in this tour is Marcel Kittel of Argos who was was at or off the back for most of the Tour so far, so for whatever reason he was struggling. He withdrew yesterday bringing the number of riders left down to 194.

Tour de France: Stage 5 Rouen to Saint-Quentin

 When you are  hurtling along at 70km/h on a wide straight piece of road in the bunch of sprinters the last thing you need is come across a water bottle. Yet apparently this is what led to the domino affect that brought Robbie Hunter down in the South African champion's jersey and just behind him as circled the rainbow jersey of Mark Cavendish had nowhere to go. He hit the ground and emerged covered in dirt but with a shattered helmet and ripped left shoulder on this jersey and skin.

The ensuing chaos meant that a group of only 12 riders hit the line together with smaller pockets of riders coming along behind. Lotto-Belisol had the perfect lead out for their man André Greipel, ahead of Alessandro Petacchi (LAM), Tom Veelers (ARG), Matt Goss (OGE) and Peter Sagan (LIQ).

But because the crash happened at 2.6km from the finish everyone who was in the pack was thankful to be given the same time so there was no change in the Overall General Classification.

But it meant that all the hard work that Cavendish had put in down the road at Fécamp taking 4th place in the intermediate sprint behind the three riders in the break away was more than wiped out as his main rivals for the Green Jersey Griepel and Goss leapfrogged him in that competition on the line with Sagan increasing his lead.

Today's stage is 196km of flat racing from Rouen to Saint-Quentin. As usual the day after he crashes I expect Mark Cavendish to be bullish and up to make amends. The intermediate sprint at Breteuil is 109km into the stage. Cavendish has taken the last two of these. If he is up for racing this one we will know that he still has designs on green knowing that anything can happen to any of his opponents between here and Paris. If he doesn't contest it he may no longer be looking for Green but he'll know that one more win and he will equal Lance Armstong for stage wins in the Tour but more importantly for a sprinter it will equal André Darrigade, the French sprinter who between 1953 and 1964 won 22 stages in Le Tour. When Darrigade was World Champion in the 1960 Tour his only stage win was on stage 5 so maybe a little poetry of history will see his record equaled today.

Tour de France 2012: Stage 3 Orchies to Boulonge-sur-Mer

Today Le Tour finally enters France, but what f our last day in Belgium.

Had Mark Cavendish lost too much speed because of the weight lose to make him more able to get over hills? With his team concentrating on yellow would he be able to win sprints as there will be no train?

Well yesterday I was standing in front of my TV for the last 3 km , not following what Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin were telling me watch but keeping a track on the yellow helmet and rainbow jersey. For a change in a bunch sprint the combination made it easier to spot Cav. He was surfing off various wheels not one of which was his own team mates. At times he was following Mark Renshaw (RAB), habits are hard to break, then he got on the wheel of Oscar Freire (KAT) then when it mattered he found himself third wheel on the back of André Greipel (LOT) and his lead out man. Then he pounced just when it matter to take his 21st stage in the Tour de France and to move him into second in the Maillot Vert Green Jersey competition behind Peter Sagan (LIQ) who trailed in 6th. It was a 1-2-3 of former HTC riders though with Matt Goss (ORG) coming in behind Greipel.

Of course Cav was a top sprinter before he was given a lead out train, that was just a tool to help him win more and more easily. Yesterday he showed all the skills he learnt as a track scratch and Madison racer to get to the line just at the right time and in the right place leading for all of 1m of a 207500 metre race.

So the King is not dead, at least not yet. Though he is likely to be slumbering at least after Senlecques today. That at 119 km into the race is today's intermediate sprint but it comes before the tough last 67 km. Starting with the high point of the day at 193m above sea level Côte de L'Eperche (Cat 4) at 132 km, we then have the Côte de Mont Violette (Cat 3) at 163.5km. Then the last 16km of hell Côte de Herquelingue (Cat 4) at 181km, Côte de Quéhen (Cat 4) at 185km, Côte de Mont Lambert (Cat3) at 190.5km then the Category 4 climb to the finish at 197km to Boulogne-sur-Mer. One added element as we twist this way and that towards the sea will be the wind. This may well be a factor which breaks up any pack as much as the climbs and descents so contenders will have to be aware and stick near the front all the time.

So it is a tough stage today and not one for the mass sprint finish. We will see if Sagan can manage to keep up over the category 3 Côte de Mont Lambert before trying to repeat his stage win from Seraing. Also from that stage Phillippe Gilbert (BMC)  led the main group of 45 almost up to the bolting three riders. He may well want to launch his own attack this time to ensure he has his own win. But when he launched his attack to take his stage last year it was to counter his new team mate Fabian Cancellera so we shall see what those guys do in the finish today. We've seen that the legs of both Cadel Evans and Bradley Wiggin have been able to keep with almost anything that has be put to them on the uphill finishes so far.

Giro d'Italia Stage 10

Yesterday's stage did turn into a sprinters stage but with that corner just before the finish causing problems.

Read into it what you will but the sprinters did seem to take two different approaches to the corner. Matt Goss appeared to slow and wanted to take a wider entrance into the corner while others were going in hot braking later in time to turn at the far crash barrier before reapplying the full pressure for the straight.

Whatever you views and I know I exchanged some via twitter with the Red Jersey wearer himself and a number of sports fans who unlike me hadn't tweeted live before the race was finished.

Today's stage is deemed to be a medium mountain stage. It is certainly lumpy on the way from Civitavecchia to Assisi today but the kick up the end is the only categorised climb. It may only be a cat 4 but it does go up very steeply all of a sudden in the final 4 km.

There is actually a double climb into Assisi although the first one does have slopes of a maximum 15% gradient leading up to 2.4km from the finish. The average gradient from 4km to there is 9.2%. This is where the field will really splinter. Unlike yesterday it will not be approaching that slope at sprinters pace because the sprinters will not be keeping up with events at the front.

There is then just over a km of descent before hitting a traffic island before the final climb at 1.2km, which goes through the city gate and a narrowing of the road and over cobbles. This may at 8.5% average gradient not be as bad as the first part of the ascent, but there has been littler recovery time between the two and so the leader to the line will have made whatever move happens on that first kick to be in a position to go for the line.

On Eurosport yesterday they were joking that a Francis or Frank or Francisco would have to be the winner in Assisi. In that case Frank Schleck (RNT) is the best placed of any of them in 9th. Francis de Greef (LTB) is more of a time trial specialist in 40th. Francis Mourey (FDJ) coming from a cyclo-cross background might fancy his chances lying in 62nd. Yesterday's winner Francisco Ventoso Alberdi (MOV) is more a sprinter. The others are Francesco Failli (FAR) and Francesco Chelli (OPQ).

Don't see a great deal of potential in fulfilling that prophecy from the Eurosport guys today, but you never know. There may be some divine inspiration from St. Francis of the ilk of the finish.

Giro d'Italia Stage 5

After yesterday's team trial which saw Taylor Phinney, then in the Maglia Rosa (pink jersey) take an excursion off course through some long grass and saw all three of the men most closely affected or involved in Monday's crash start. We have probably the most straight route I recall for any road stage of a Grand Tour.

From the start at historic Roman colony of Modena we go straight and flat to Rimini on the coast. Then following the coast around to Fano for the stage finish there few bumps in the road, but only one warrants a category four rating.

The final 10km are flat and straight leading into the finish itself. So expect another sprinters finish.

I would say without any bends in the final few kms this should be an uneventful run in but after Monday and the crash on the straight I won't be so bold. What I do hope is that the sprinters do race a fair sprint and keep largely to their sprinting line. Because although Fano is mentioned in Dante's Inferno I want all the fire to merely be in the explosive finish and not a hail of angry words, tweets, press interviews after the event.

So as Lithuanian cyclist Ramanus Navardauskas wears the Maglia Rosa there is added incentive for team Garmin-Baracuda sprinter Tyler Farrar to win today. The time bonuses would lift him into the leader's jersey, but I expect that both Mark Cavendish (SKY) and Matt Goss (OGE) will have something to say about him taking the maximum time bonus when it comes down to it.

Leaders both crash and one is out #Giro #GirodItalia

Just 125m from the end of stage three of the Giro d'Italia today there was a massive crash that lead to both the pink and red jersey's hitting the deck hard. It was the second stage in a row that saw a crash in the final stages and some of those affected in that crash, especially Dennis van Winden (RAB), were struggling today covered in gauze.

As the sprint was opening up Mark Cavendish (SKY) was riding fifth wheel with Matt Goss (OGE) at the front. But he had gone for space on the right and a gap developed behind the leading three. Roberto Ferrari (AND) whipped across the road. Despite his best instincts and efforts to try and avoid his rear wheel at that speed Cavendish was clipped by the erratic move and crashed down right in the middle of the road. A following rider, Arnoud Demare (FDJ), just avoiding hitting him in the head, another unable to avoid crashing into this hip and going over the top, and the domino effect carried on.

Picture via Eurosport

Another casualty of the crash however, was the winner of the opening time trial and the proud wearer of the maglia rosa (pink jersey) Taylor Phinney (BMC). He had been riding near the head of the race to keep out of trouble but unfortunately he crashed into the barriers on the right hand side and appears to have broken his right ankle and in the most unfortunate of circumstances failed to have crossed the line under his own steam.



While Cavendish got up to carry his broken bike over the finish line the race leader made a sorry sight crossing it in the back of an ambulance for a DNF mere metres from the line. Geraint Thomas (SKY) will have inherited the maglia rosa in the most unfortunate of circumstances.

Roberto Ferrari will almost certainly be relegated to last spot in this race for causing the incident, if not a greater sanction. While Matt Goss goes one better than yesterday to secure Orica GreenEdge their first win the Giro as well a securing the Red Jersey which hung in tatters around the shoulders of the previous days winner as he walked over the line.

Update it appears that Phinney did manage to cross the line himself but his injuries mean he will not be riding after the rest day tomorrow. So Wednesday's race will probably not contain the maglia rosa as is tradition for a fallen leader.

Update 2 As I called it Ferrari has been relegated from crossing the line 10th to last man.

Update 3 Mark Cavendish has since pointed out that other riders, including himself and his lead out with HTC over the last few years Mark Renshaw  have been kicked out of races for far less than this sudden swerve and attempted hook of a faster finisher. However, with Ferrari being an Italian racer on an Italian team is is possible that no further sanction than relegation to 192nd on the stage may occur.