2016 Tour de France: Peter Sagan third stage win – Chris Froome still comfortable

Yesterday Peter Sagan racked up his third 2016 TDF stage win beating Alexander Kristoff, who appeared confused about where the finishing line was, by just a few centimetres. This win takes Sagan's overall total of Tour de France stage wins to seven. 

 

Despite the tricky and hectic finish into Bern, there were no changes to the overall times of the GC contenders. 

Rest Day: Bern 

Today is the second rest day in the Tour – a time to relax and prepare for four tough, crucial Alpine stages, which will decide the winner. 

Chris Froome with a lead of 1'.47 over Bauke Mollema, his nearest rival, and a very strong team remains handily placed. He has nearly three minutes over Nairo Quintana seen as his biggest rival and only eight riders are within five minutes. Froome has yet to show any weakness. However, in 2013 and 2015 when he won  the Tour he was not at his best in the final week.  

Peter Sagan looks to have won the Green Jersey for the 5th time as he now has 405 points to Mark Cavendish's 291. Rafa Majka leads the Polka Dot with 127 points to Thomas de Gendt's 90. This is a decent lead but there are still plenty of mountain points to come, so it is not yet decisive. Adam Yates continues to hold the White Jersey (best young rider) with 3'03 over Louis Meintjes. Meintjes is his only serious rival as third placed, Warren Barguil, is at 16'30.   

#TDF2015: Rohan Dennis goes like the wind – will wind cause chaos today?

Previous World Record Hour holder Rohan Dennis surprised Tony Martin, Fabian Cancellara and Tom Dumoulin with a blistering ride around Utrecht. Dennis was the only rider to break 15 minutes completing the 13.8 kilometre course in a record speed of 55.446 kph (34.4 mph). He beat Tony Martin by five seconds, who finished in 15.01. Martin explained afterwards that he couldn't cope with the heat.

Vincenzo Nibali was the fastest of the four overall favourites finishing with 15.39, so leading Chris Froome (15.46), Alberto Contador (15.54) and Nairo Quintana (15.57). There were good rides by other overall contenders – Rigoberto Uran (15.36), Thibaut Pinot (15.37) and Tejay Van Garderen (15.38). These results appear to further confirm recent results that Chris Froome's time trialling form is considerably below what it was in 2012 and 2013.  

Stage 2: Utrecht to Zealande

Today's stage (166 kms) really is pan flat – starting at 4 metres altitude in Utrecht much of the day is spent at sea level or one metre with the highest point being six metres. With no shelter from the wind this could be a very tricky stage with echelons forming and the potential for splits in the peloton. This will surely be a win for one of the sprinters with Mark Cavendish, Alexander Kristoff (28 today) and André Griepel being the most obvious favourites. Whether it is a big bunch sprint will delend on what effect the wind has. 

Unfortunately there are likely to be crashes today, so hopefully everyone will come through safely.

It would be great to see Mark Cavendish notch up his 26th Tour de France stage win, especially as he hasn't won a stage since Saint Amand Montrond when he beat Peter Sagan in a stage where the wind blew the peloton into small groups.     

2014 Tour de France: Kittel wins Parisian King Sprint – Nibali crowned

Marcel Kittel won his second successive stage on the Champs Elysée having won last year. This time he beat Alexander Kristoff into second place. Kristoff was in the lead as the line approached by Kittel had his characteristic strength to put in a last spurt in the fianl 50 metres or so that moved him clear and won the stage. This takes Marcel Kittel's overall stage total to 8 – 4 wins in 2013 and 4 this year, so he is beginning to move into exalted company!

 

Vincenzo Nibali was duly crowned as the 2014 Tour de France winner. There was no change overall, although the time gaps have changed as little as Nibali made sure he rode over the finishing line with his team, so Jean-Christophe Peraud, for instance, gained a few seconds. When you are leading by well over seven minutes a few seconds lost on the final stage changes nothing.

Nibali has now won all three Grand Tours – France, Italy and Spain. He joins only five other riders who have managed this feat: Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Felice Gimondi, Bernard Hinault and Alberto Contador.  

Nibali is a very worthy winner – he has clearly been the best rider in this year's Tour. You can speculate what would have happened if Chris Froome and Alberto Contador hadn't crashed out of this year's Tour but what is important is that Nibali finished and they didn't. I fancy that if Froome hadn't crashed and injured himself on Stage 4 from Le Touquet to Lille, it is very likely that he would have lost considerable time to Nibali on the cobbles the next day.

Le Tour 2014 has been great for France with two French riders on the podium – Jean-Christophe Peraud and Thibaut Pinot along with Romain Bardet in sixth. Of course, Pinot also has the White Jersey as the best young rider. 

The Tour de France continues to become increasingly global with Ramunas Navardauskas as the first Lithuanian stage winner and Rafa Majka as Poland's first winner of the Climbers' Jersey. Ji Cheng, clear winner of La Lanterne Rouge at 6.02:24 down on Nibali, is the first Chinese rider to compete in the Tour and the first to finish. 

•••

Earlier in the day Marianne Vos deservedly won the first La Course - the race on the Champs Elysée for women. See details here. Unfortunately, Lizzie Armistead crashed out.

2014 Tour de France: the finale + La Course

 Stage 21: Evry to Paris Champs Elysées 137.5 kms

Today the riders cover the last 137.5 kilometres of the 3653 km total of the 2014 Tour de France. It will be a procession and celebration until the peloton reaches the Champs Elysées, where the racing will begin. The stage tends to finish in a bunch sprint. Marcel Kittel won last year beating André Griepel and Mark Cavendish. Will Kittel win again this year. Quite probably but it depends on how tired he is after the mountains. If it isn't Marcel then I'll go for either Griepel or Alexander Kristoff, who has already won two stages. 

Barring accidents the Jerseys and the podium places have been decided with Vincenzo Nibali, the overall winner of the 2014 Tour and Jean-Christophe Peraud second and Thibaut Pinot third wearing the White Jersey as Best Young Rider. Peter Sagan is the easy winner of the Green Points Jersey, while Rafa Majka has the Climbers' Jersey. 

La Course

This is a race for women and will be held on the Champs Elysées over 90 kilometres. It will precede the men's stage and the is result of a successful campaign to reintroduce a women's race at the same time as the Tour as used to be the case in the past. It is hoped that the La Course 2014 will be start of a  annual women's French stage race. 

World Champion Marianne Vos is the favourite.

More details and preview here.

 

2014 Tour de France: Kristoff takes 2nd stage win in Nîmes

 

It was so near for the two-man breakaway with Jack Bauer caught within 50 metres of the line after they had been out in front for almost all of the 222 kilometres of the stage. Had they just ridden for the line then they might have just made it but they started fencing and that was just enough for the peloton to swallow them. Fine second stage win for Alexander Kristoff with Peter Sagan taking third place and racking up yet more Green Jersey points but still no stage win this year. Surely there is no stage left in this Tour that will suit Sagan. André Griepel featured in 4th place, while Marcel Kittel was surprisingly only 11th. Perhaps reflects that the sprint teams were rather disorganised at the run-in or Kittel may just be tired after mountains.

See updated list of Tour de France stage winners – 1903 to 2014 as Norway finds a rider to follow on from the great Thor Hushovd.  

 

No change in the overall classification with Vincenzo Nibali leading by 4:37. In the Green Jersey competition Peter Sagan now leads Bryan Coquard by 402 points to 226 points. Short of crashing Sagan has won the jersey he doesn't need any more points!

Tomorrow is a rest day before three tough days in the Pyrénees where the battle is likely to be for 2nd and 3rd place with Valverde, Bardet, Pinot, Van Garderen and Peraud being the main contenders.      

2014 Tour de France: Alexander Kristoff takes his 1st Stage win@St Etienne

Alexander Kristoff won his first Tour stage this afternoon in Saint-Etienne against a strong field of sprinters beating Peter Sagan into 2nd place. André Griepel crashed late in the stage and Marcel Kittel was dropped on the final climb. However, as well as beating Sagan, Kristoff also saw off Arnaud Demarre, Matteo Trentin, Danielle Bennati and Bryan Coquard. See updated list of all-time Tour de France stage winners here. 

Overall there is no change in the Yellow Jersey competition, although doubtless there will be changes after tomorrow's first Alpine stage. Peter Sagan now holds the Green Jersey with a 150 point advantage over Bryan Coquard.