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

---

Today’s time-trial, the third and longest of this Tour, ended the way most of us thought it would. The soon-to-be anointed 2012 Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins won today finishing 1:29 ahead of his closest rival – no surprise here either – Chris Froome, his Sky teammate and 2nd place finisher overall.

As impressive as Cavendish was yesterday in his win, Wiggins was just as impressive on that black and yellow TT bike. He looked like a machine turning the cranks, completely aerodynamic, powering forward and setting the best time at every single time check. Sky has the biggest budget of all the pro ranked teams and it shows. Sky claimed 3 of the top 5 spots in Stage 19: Richie Porte, another so-called domestique took 5th.

The biggest disappointment today was Cadel Evans who finished in 52nd place and worse than that he got passed by his teammate, Tejay Van Garderen who started the time-trial 3 minutes after Evans. Must have been a horrible moment not just for Evans but for Van Garderen too. Evans slipped from 6th overall to 7th but at least he stayed in the top 10. I hope Evans can recover and redeem himself (for himself, not fans) in the Olympic games. What we saw in this year’s Tour is not typical of Evans, hopefully he’s okay. He was a great Tour champion last year and hopefully can come back one more time and truly compete. He will not want this to be his final mark on the Tour de France.

Van Garderen had a solid time-trial finishing in 7th place for the stage. His effort wasn’t enough to move him from 5th to 4th but 5th place overall in what’s just his 2nd Tour was outstanding. Especially when you consider he wasn’t riding for himself until late in the Tour. It’s likely he would have podiumed if he had been protected instead of Evans.

Nibali, in 3rd place overall had a good time-trial for him, finishing in the top 20 and securing the 3rd spot on the final podium. Nibali didn’t race in his home country’s grand tour, the Giro in order to give himself the best shot at the Tour de France and his finishing 3rd is a victory.

Otherwise there isn’t much left to say about Stage 19. After 3 weeks of racing there were tired legs and bodies and guys just wanting to finish. The sprinters and teams (other than the top finishers like Wiggins, Froome, Nibali and Van Garderen) were saving their legs for the biggest sprint of them all – the sprint along the  Champs-Elysées tomorrow in Paris.

Tomorrow’s stage is more of a processional than a race – until they get to Paris and the real racing occurs for one last time in this year’s Tour. It is every sprinter’s dream to win on the Champs-Elysées, but with Cavendish looking for a record setting 4th win tomorrow, it’s unlikely anyone else’s dream will be realized. Stage 20 will likely be just another example of the domination in this Tour by team Sky.

I love the Tour and will enjoy the celebration by Wiggins, Froome and their teammates as they toast their success with champagne while riding their bikes – something I have yet to ever do but thinking I should. I’ll also love watching Peter Sagan, Van Garderen, and of course Voeckler on the podium claiming their jerseys – and I’ll love watching  all of the riders celebrate their victory – finishing the Tour de France.

Vive le Tour!

Stage results

• 1. Bradley WIGGINS, Sky, in 1:04:13
• 2. Christopher FROOME, Sky, at 1:16
• 3. Luis Leon SANCHEZ GIL, Rabobank, at 1:50
• 4. Peter VELITS, Omega Pharma-Quick Step, at 2:02
• 5. Richie PORTE, Sky, at 2:25
• 6. Patrick GRETSCH, Argos-Shimano, at 2:28
• 7. Tejay VAN GARDEREN, BMC Racing, at 2:34
• 8. Vasil KIRYIENKA, Movistar, at 2:46
• 9. Rein TAARAMAE, Cofidis, at 2:50
• 10. Jérémy ROY, FDJ-BigMat, at 3:05
• 11. David ZABRISKIE, Garmin-Sharp, at 3:12
• 12. Matthieu SPRICK, Argos-Shimano, at 3:20
• 13. Ruben PLAZA MOLINA, Movistar, at 3:24
• 14. Daniel OSS, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 3:27
• 15. Anthony ROUX, FDJ-BigMat, at 3:34
• 16. Vincenzo NIBALI, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 3:38
• 17. Christian VANDEVELDE, Garmin-Sharp, at 3:40
• 18. Bert GRABSCH, Omega Pharma-Quick Step, at 3:43
• 19. Jens VOIGT, RadioShack-Nissan, at 3:49
• 19. Andreas KLÖDEN, RadioShack-Nissan, at 3:49
• 21. Christophe KERN, Europcar, at 3:56

General classification

• 1. Bradley WIGGINS, Sky, in 84:26:31
• 2. Christopher FROOME, Sky, at 3:21
• 3. Vincenzo NIBALI, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 6:19
• 4. Jurgen VAN DEN BROECK, Lotto-Belisol, at 10:15
• 5. Tejay VAN GARDEREN, BMC Racing, at 11:04
• 6. Haimar ZUBELDIA AGIRRE, RadioShack-Nissan, at 15:43
• 7. Cadel EVANS, BMC Racing, at 15:51
• 8. Pierre ROLLAND, Europcar, at 16:31
• 9. Janez BRAJKOVIC, Astana, at 16:38
• 10. Thibaut PINOT, FDJ-BigMat, at 17:17
• 11. Andreas KLÖDEN, RadioShack-Nissan, at 17:54
• 12. Nicolas ROCHE, Ag2r La Mondiale, at 19:33
• 13. Christopher HORNER, RadioShack-Nissan, at 19:55
• 14. Chris Anker SÖRENSEN, Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank, at 25:27
• 15. Denis MENCHOV, Katusha, at 27:22
• 16. Maxime MONFORT, RadioShack-Nissan, at 28:30
• 17. Egoi MARTINEZ DE ESTEBAN, Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 31:46
• 18. Rui Alberto FARIA DA COSTA, Movistar, at 37:03
• 19. Eduard VORGANOV, Katusha, at 38:16
• 20. Alejandro VALVERDE BELMONTE, Movistar, at 42:26

The dominance of Team Sky continued today – this time with a different star – sprinter Mark Cavendish. Never has it been more clear why the world’s fastest man on a bike has the nickname “Manx Missile”. Cavendish looked like a short range missile when he shot from the peloton to take his 2nd stage win in this year’s Tour and 22nd overall. Cavendish rocketed past the two remaining riders in the front, Roche and Sanchez and made them appear like they were standing still – he was going so bloody fast – since the Brits are taking over the Tour I thought I would jump on the bandwagon.

Seriously though, it was amazing how fast Cavendish exploded from the pack and sprinted to the finish.

Stage 18 most believed, would be a stage that would be won by someone in a break and until fairly late it appeared that’s how it would be. The peloton didn’t even catch the remaining riders from the breaks until inside the last kilometer.

The break had 16 riders, many from the 13 teams without a stage win this Tour. The peloton was selective of who they let get away, there were numerous attacks at the gun, but a break wasn’t allowed to form until almost an hour into the stage. Their lead built up to as high as 3 minutes before different teams committed 1 or 2 riders to the front of the main group to chase them down. We saw Euskaltel-Euskadi, Quickstep, Ag2R, Rabobank, Sojasun and Liquigas all commit to chase the break down. As the gap was reduced to around 1 minute when the riders in the break started attacking each other. Vinokourov, Hansen, Paolini, Kloden, Roche and LL Sanchez tried to stay alive to battle for the win, but to no avail.

Nearing the finish with 3 kilometers to go, Sky made their plan known and went to the front to reel in the remaining 6 riders. Around the final kilometer yellow Jersey wearer Wiggins led out Cavendish with Boasson-Hagen between them. Once Wiggins peeled off Boasson-Hagen provided the final lead-out and at the 300 k mark Cavendish took matters into his own hands – make that legs. The charging peloton engulfed the remaining riders except for Roche and Sanchez, Cavendish ever so briefly hovered on their wheel before – BOOM he was gone and they wondered what the hell happened. Sagan and Goss managed to claim 2nd and 3rd, but no one was remotely close to Cavendish.

Truly amazing strength and speed!

Cavendish has been bottled up this Tour as he and the team focused on getting and keeping the yellow jersey and 2nd place. How bottled up Cavendish has been was evident today in the way he rocketed to the finish. I’ve never seen anything like it. You must see the video shot from above to truly appreciate what he did – Manx (he’s from the Isle of Man) Missile (no explanation needed) – indeed.

There was no change in the overall classification, none was expected. It was obvious that all the jersey competitions are over – the green has been since Stage 1 really, yellow since Stage 7 and the polka-dot jersey for King of the Mountain was cemented yesterday. Apparently giving Mr. Voeckler, his team, and sponsors time to complete his ensemble for today’s stage.

In the words of Phil Liggett (tweaked), Thomas looked resplendent in polka-dots.

Stage results

• 1. Mark CAVENDISH, Sky, in 4:54:12
• 2. Matthew Harley GOSS, Orica-GreenEdge, at 0
• 3. Peter SAGAN, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 0
• 4. Luis Leon SANCHEZ GIL, Rabobank, at 0
• 5. Nicolas ROCHE, Ag2r La Mondiale, at 0
• 6. Tyler FARRAR, Garmin-Sharp, at 0
• 7. Borut BOZIC, Astana, at 0
• 8. Sébastien HINAULT, Ag2r La Mondiale, at 0
• 9. Daryl IMPEY, Orica-GreenEdge, at 0
• 10. Samuel DUMOULIN, Cofidis, at 0

General classification

• 1. Bradley WIGGINS, Sky, in 83:22:18
• 2. Christopher FROOME, Sky, at 2:05
• 3. Vincenzo NIBALI, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 2:41
• 4. Jurgen VAN DEN BROECK, Lotto-Belisol, at 5:53
• 5. Tejay VAN GARDEREN, BMC Racing, at 8:30
• 6. Cadel EVANS, BMC Racing, at 9:57
• 7. Haimar ZUBELDIA AGIRRE, RadioShack-Nissan, at 10:11
• 8. Pierre ROLLAND, Europcar, at 10:17
• 9. Janez BRAJKOVIC, Astana, at 11:00
• 10. Thibaut PINOT, FDJ-BigMat, at 11:46

I’m not above repeating myself: What a long strange Tour it’s been.

I say it now because it is more true after today’s stage than when I first said it after Stage 14.

First I’ll give you the highlights of today’s stage:

• Another win for a non-GC guy from the early break – Valverde today.

• Voeckler making sure he beat his closest rival for the polka-dot jersey Kessiakoff in all 4 climbs wrapping up the jersey competition. Voeckler finishing 4th overall last year, narrowly missing the podium, will wear the red and white jersey as the best climber in this year’s Tour.

The lowlights:

• Nibali managing to sneak away from Wiggins and company in the fog on the descent of the first climb and join the breakaway. What a move! So what does he do? He sits up and waits for the leaders. Two questions I will forever have: what did Valverde say to get Nibali to leave and why did Nibali do it?

• After Nibali rejoins the Friggins train, he sends his Liquigas teammates to the front to chase down the break – apparently so he can reel them in so he can then getaway to try and win the stage!?

• Near the finish the Friggins duo manage to drop everyone and reduce the gap to Valverde to around :30 and enough road to catch him. What do they do? Nothing. They discuss, Froome jumps ahead obviously wanting to go for the win – and obviously able to do it – but doesn’t. Valverde goes on to win the stage by :19 over Wiggins and Froome. Wiggins being the nice guy he is let Froome finish ahead of him. Like one of the journalists said today – Wiggins should buy Froome a yacht he owes him so much.

 

We are used to seeing the strongest guy, particularly the strongest climber wearing the yellow jersey at this stage in the game and he isn’t.

We’re used to seeing him alone with no teammates because he’s the strongest guy on the team – at least the best climber – he isn’t.

Not this year. Froome is even close in the TT to Wiggins ability and given his climbing prowess it would seem he could have gapped Wiggins enough in the last 2 plus weeks to be wearing the yellow. I would think it would be weird for Wiggins – we all saw the bizarreness of Froome actually waving Wiggins to bridge and join him so he could catch and drop Valverde and win the stage but he didn’t. Froome either decided on his own to drop it or team management communicated it to him through his ear, we’ll probably never know.

Wiggins doesn’t care does he.

And then there’s Nibabli – he’s another strange one. In addition to the “I give up” move and returning to the peloton, he had his team stay on the front setting the pace – which I get if you can set it high enough to put the Friggins train in trouble, but the only person put in trouble by all the work done by Nibali’s team – especially Basso, yeoman’s effort today for his leader – was Nibali! He popped at the point on the last climb when he was meant to attack.

Today’s stage was another disappointing one in a Tour of disappointments.

There was a slight change in the GC: Nibali lost :18 more to Wiggins and Froome, but maintained 3rd place, Van Garderen moved up to 5th after Zubeldia slipped to 7th, and Evans moved up one spot to 6th although he lost more time to the leaders so there was some good news.

 

Stage results

• 1. Alejandro VALVERDE BELMONTE, Movistar, in 4:12:11
• 2. Christopher FROOME, Sky, at :19
• 3. Bradley WIGGINS, Sky, at :19
• 4. Thibaut PINOT, FDJ-BigMat, at :22
• 5. Pierre ROLLAND, Europcar, at :26
• 6. Jurgen VAN DEN BROECK, Lotto-Belisol, at :26
• 7. Vincenzo NIBALI, Liquigas-Cannondale, at :37
• 8. Tejay VAN GARDEREN, BMC Racing, at :54
• 9. Christopher HORNER, RadioShack-Nissan, at 1:02
• 10. Daniel MARTIN, Garmin-Sharp, at 1:11

General classification

• 1. Bradley WIGGINS, Sky, in 78:28:02
• 2. Christopher FROOME, Sky, at 2:05
• 3. Vincenzo NIBALI, Liquigas-Cannondale, at 2:41
• 4. Jurgen VAN DEN BROECK, Lotto-Belisol, at 5:53
• 5. Tejay VAN GARDEREN, BMC Racing, at 8:30
• 6. Cadel EVANS, BMC Racing, at 9:57
• 7. Haimar ZUBELDIA AGIRRE, RadioShack-Nissan, at 10:11
• 8. Pierre ROLLAND, Europcar, at 10:17
• 9. Janez BRAJKOVIC, Astana, at 11:00
• 10. Thibaut PINOT, FDJ-BigMat, at 11:46