monty1104
Premium Platinum
The beginning of the end. Some might say that with the forced withdrawals of Contador and Froome due to crashes, that the Tour has been decided for a long time, making it a rather boring Tour. I'm not one of those people. Yes, for a long time now, we have known that Nibali would win. It has still been a great Tour though. The white jersey battle has been thoroughly entertaining, more-so because it has been fought out between two young Frenchmen, on opposing French teams. Majka and Rodriguez doing it out for the polka dot jersey was also a great spectacle.
Stage 21: Evry - Paris
Current Jersey Leaders
Yellow: Vincenzo Nibail (AST)
White: Thibaut Pinot (FDJ)
Green: Peter Sagan (CAN)
Polkadot: Rafal Majka (TST)
Lantern Rouge: Ji Cheng (GSH)
Team: AG2R La Mondiale
General Classification after Stage 20
ITA 1 NIBALI, Vincenzo (ASTANA) 86:37:52
FRA 2 PERAUD, Jean-Christophe (AG2R LA MONDIALE) + 7:52
FRA 3 PINOT, Thibaut (FDJ.fr) + 8:24
ESP 4 VALVERDE BELMONTE, Alejandro (MOVISTAR) + 9:55
USA 5 VAN GARDEREN, Tejay (BMC RACING) + 11:44
FRA 6 BARDET, Romain (AG2R LA MONDIALE) + 11:46
CZE 7 KONIG, Leopold (NETAPP - ENDURA) + 14:41
ESP 8 ZUBELDIA AGIRRE, Haimar (TREK FACTORY RACING) + 18:12
NED 9 TEN DAM, Laurens (BELKIN) + 18:20
NED 10 MOLLEMA, Bauke (BELKIN) + 21:24
Every sprinter's dream is to win on the Champs Elysees. If they do, they get to be part of the biggest podium event of the cycling calendar. My tip is Marcel Kittel, however if it is Peter Sagan that wins, he will be up there twice, as he all also be able to collect the green jersey. Thibaut Pinot will definitely be up there twice. Once as the winner of the white jersey, once as the third placed GC rider. He is a rider that has made the jump into the top echelon of cycling. He was always going to make it, I just expected it to take him a year or two longer. On the other end of the age spectrum, Jean-Christophe Peraud has made the cross from cross-country cycling to road cycling. 8 years ago, he never would have dreamt he would race in the Tour. Now he will stand on the podium, finishing second. Finally, Vincenzo Nibali. He has now finished top 10 in his past 9 grand tours. That is a remarkable effort. He is also only 29. He still has about 5 years of top flight cycling to go. He may end up going down as one of the greats of the sport (if he's not already). What's more is that he is entertaining to watch. He will attack. He will make things happen. A well deserving winner. Well done Vincenzo.
Conversation regarding past cases of PED use or innuendo surrounding current riders will not be tolerated. This thread is specifically about Stage 21 of the 2014 Tour de France, so let's keep it that way.
Thanks to everyone who has made this Tour entertaining to follow on here. While there has been an obvious decline of numbers since Cadel was a contender, it hasn't made it any less entertaining or insightful. Well done all.
Stage 21: Evry - Paris
Current Jersey Leaders
Yellow: Vincenzo Nibail (AST)
White: Thibaut Pinot (FDJ)
Green: Peter Sagan (CAN)
Polkadot: Rafal Majka (TST)
Lantern Rouge: Ji Cheng (GSH)
Team: AG2R La Mondiale
General Classification after Stage 20
ITA 1 NIBALI, Vincenzo (ASTANA) 86:37:52
FRA 2 PERAUD, Jean-Christophe (AG2R LA MONDIALE) + 7:52
FRA 3 PINOT, Thibaut (FDJ.fr) + 8:24
ESP 4 VALVERDE BELMONTE, Alejandro (MOVISTAR) + 9:55
USA 5 VAN GARDEREN, Tejay (BMC RACING) + 11:44
FRA 6 BARDET, Romain (AG2R LA MONDIALE) + 11:46
CZE 7 KONIG, Leopold (NETAPP - ENDURA) + 14:41
ESP 8 ZUBELDIA AGIRRE, Haimar (TREK FACTORY RACING) + 18:12
NED 9 TEN DAM, Laurens (BELKIN) + 18:20
NED 10 MOLLEMA, Bauke (BELKIN) + 21:24
Every sprinter's dream is to win on the Champs Elysees. If they do, they get to be part of the biggest podium event of the cycling calendar. My tip is Marcel Kittel, however if it is Peter Sagan that wins, he will be up there twice, as he all also be able to collect the green jersey. Thibaut Pinot will definitely be up there twice. Once as the winner of the white jersey, once as the third placed GC rider. He is a rider that has made the jump into the top echelon of cycling. He was always going to make it, I just expected it to take him a year or two longer. On the other end of the age spectrum, Jean-Christophe Peraud has made the cross from cross-country cycling to road cycling. 8 years ago, he never would have dreamt he would race in the Tour. Now he will stand on the podium, finishing second. Finally, Vincenzo Nibali. He has now finished top 10 in his past 9 grand tours. That is a remarkable effort. He is also only 29. He still has about 5 years of top flight cycling to go. He may end up going down as one of the greats of the sport (if he's not already). What's more is that he is entertaining to watch. He will attack. He will make things happen. A well deserving winner. Well done Vincenzo.
Conversation regarding past cases of PED use or innuendo surrounding current riders will not be tolerated. This thread is specifically about Stage 21 of the 2014 Tour de France, so let's keep it that way.
Thanks to everyone who has made this Tour entertaining to follow on here. While there has been an obvious decline of numbers since Cadel was a contender, it hasn't made it any less entertaining or insightful. Well done all.
