Stage 20, the last stage of the 2012 Tour was part processional and part bike race. The last stage always is.
The first 50k or so is for pictures, offers of congratulations, conversation, and to give the guys time to soak up the final moments of this epic bike race. Just finishing the Tour is a remarkable feat, especially this year. Of the 198 riders who started the race this year, only 153 finished, the lowest number in many years. Most of them abandoned due to injuries suffered in the many crashes this Tour.
Today was a day for all the remaining riders to celebrate not just those that won 1 of the 4 jerseys or finished in one of the top 3 places on the podium.
In the Tour de France – to finish is to win.
The 4 jersey winners: Van Garderen, Wiggins, Sagan & Voeckler.
Champagne is always present on the last stage of ever Tour, hard to tell if Wiggins had any.
Winner Bradley Wiggins, 2nd place Christopher Froome and Sky teammates.
The peloton making their way to Paris.
George Hincapie riding in his last, a record-setting 17th Tour de France.
Jens Voight doing what he does – fighting for a stage win in a breakaway.
All the winning jerseys and the world champ, Cavendish.
Cavendish wins, Sagan 2nd, Goss 3rd
The last part of the race is all-out racing. This year the team of the yellow jersey was also racing to win the stage so they had to stay at the front of the peloton more than is typical for the…. Sky also had to do most of the work initially to chase down the break, but eventually got Liquigas and Saxobank to pull. I never thought the break would make it even when it was getting down to the wire. It rarely happens on the Champs-Elysées and it certainly wasn’t going to happen this year – not with Cavendish going for a record-setting 4th win here.
With a lead-out of Tour winner Bradley Wiggins, then teammate Edvald Boasson-Hagen, Cavendish got the win he seemed destined for. Green jersey wearer Peter Sagan came from the pack to pass Matthew Goss from the winless GreenEdge team who got 3rd.
Cavendish is the first to win 4 times on the Champs-Elysées
Everything today worked as planned for Sky just as the whole Tour has.
George Hincapie raced in his 17th and final Tour de France. He will be sorely missed, there aren’t many like him: loyal and devoted to his team and a leader to his younger teammates. Having Hincapie on the road is like having a director sportif on the road. I hope he stays involved with professional cycling. This was not a close Tour – the time gaps were the largest I can remember. More about that later.
Check back later this week when I post my thoughts on this year’s Tour – its winners and losers.
Final General Classification:
1. WIGGINS, Bradley (SKY PROCYCLING) 87:34:42
2. FROOME, Christopher (SKY PROCYCLING) + 3:21
3. NIBALI, Vincenzo (LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE) + 6:19
4. VAN DEN BROECK, Jurgen (LOTTO BELISOL) + 10:15
5. VAN GARDEREN, Tejay (BMC RACING) + 11:04
6. ZUBELDIA, Haimar (RADIOSHACK-NISSAN) + 15:43
7. EVANS, Cadel (BMC RACING) + 15:51
8. ROLLAND, Pierre (EUROPCAR) + 16:31
9. BRAJKOVIC, Janez (ASTANA) + 16:38
10. PINOT, Thibaut (FDJ-BIG MAT) + 17:17
11. KLÖDEN, Andreas (RADIOSHACK-NISSAN) + 17:54
12. ROCHE, Nicolas (AG2R LA MONDIALE) + 19:33
13. HORNER, Christopher (RADIOSHACK-NISSAN) + 19:55
14. SÖRENSEN, Chris Anker (SAXO BANK-TINKOFF BANK) + 25:27
15. MENCHOV, Denis (KATUSHA) + 27:22
16. MONFORT, Maxime (RADIOSHACK-NISSAN) + 28:30
17. MARTINEZ, Egoi (EUSKALTEL-EUSKADI) + 31:46
18. COSTA, Rui Alberto (MOVISTAR) + 37:03
19. VORGANOV, Eduard (KATUSHA) + 38:16
20. VALVERDE, Alejandro (MOVISTAR) + 42:26
Stage 20 Results:
1. Mark CAVENDISH, Sky, in 3:08:07
2. Peter SAGAN, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 0
3. Matthew Harley GOSS, Orica-GreenEdge, at 0
4. Juan José HAEDO, Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank, at 0
5. Kris BOECKMANS, Vacansoleil-DCM, at 0
6. Greg HENDERSON, Lotto-Belisol, at 0
7. Borut BOZIC, Astana, at 0
8. André GREIPEL, Lotto-Belisol, at 0
9. Edvald BOASSON HAGEN, Sky, at 0
10. Jimmy ENGOULVENT, Saur-Sojasun, at 0
11. Tyler FARRAR, Garmin-Sharp, at 0