Tour de France: Stage 20
The penultimate stage of the Tour de France was an explosive 125km affair with no time for the riders to catch their breath as they faced six category climbs before ending on one of the numerous summit finishes of the tour.
Having worn the prestigious yellow jersey for two weeks since his win on the first summit finish of the tour, team Sky rider, Chris Froome, has continued to extend his incredible five minute lead over his opponents. However, despite this immense time cushion it has not been plain sailing for the Kenyan born rider. Having been isolated on the Pyrenees, attacked on the flat and, along with the rest of Team Sky, been subject to criticism over the strength of the team as a whole unit, Froome and his team have been pushed to their limits during the centenary edition of the biggest cycling competition in the world.
The penultimate ride of the Tour de France was not going to be different to the past 14 days as there was more than just the General Classification standings to be sorted out as the King of the Mountains jersey, the white and the green jersey all had to be fought for as well as the team competition. However, both the Green and White jersey, the points jersey and young rider jersey respectively, had been all but confirmed as Sagan sat 98 points ahead of nearest rival going in to Saturday's 20th stage and by the end of the day the Slovakian rider had extended this lead to over a hundred which destroys any hope of Cavendish catching the young rider. The rider from the Isle of Man will have to attempt to secure a consolation prize by winning the sprint in Paris on Sunday. Cavendish has been undefeated on the Champs Elyse since his first ever Tour de France but this year he has and will continue to be challenged until the very end.
Quintana who had 10'36" over his nearest White jersey rival, Kwiatkowsk of Poland, going into Saturday's stage had one of the most spectacular rides the Tour has ever seen by a debutant. The 23 year old Colombian stormed up the final climb of the stage following his General Classification rival, Rodriguez, as he accelerated up the mountain and stretched away from the Yellow Jersey group. After a few attacks from Froome, the race leader finally gave in and allowed the Movistar rider to win his first stage in a Tour de France. If a stage win was not enough, Quintana also secured the White Jersey and with earning 50 point in the the last climb, the promising rider leapfrogged past Froome and Rolland to secure the King of the Mountains jersey. An incredible performance by a young man who is set to end his revolutionary tour by standing in second place on the podium in Paris on Sunday evening.
With Quintana having a storming stage, Contador was left behind after what has been a difficult few days for the Spanish rider. Having been in second place for almost two weeks after Movistar rider, Valverde, lost ten minutes after a broken wheel early on in the Tour, the Saxo-Tinkoff rider fell to fourth position and out of a podium place. Despite this disappointment, Contador and his fellow Saxo Bank riders were given the consolation prize of securing the lead in the Team Classification ahead of AG2R.
Team Sky proved all the critics wrong on Saturday's stage as the whole team pulled together to secure yet another fantastic performance for their team captain. His right hand man who is sure to be given the title of team captain soon, Richie Porte, has been invaluable to Froome during this tough tour and the two close friends are set to celebrate their yellow jersey win tomorrow as Froome goes in to the last stage of the Tour with more than a five minute lead. The 135km run on Sunday will act as more of a victory parade for Froome than a race - just as it was for Bradley Wiggins just twelve months ago.
Having worn the prestigious yellow jersey for two weeks since his win on the first summit finish of the tour, team Sky rider, Chris Froome, has continued to extend his incredible five minute lead over his opponents. However, despite this immense time cushion it has not been plain sailing for the Kenyan born rider. Having been isolated on the Pyrenees, attacked on the flat and, along with the rest of Team Sky, been subject to criticism over the strength of the team as a whole unit, Froome and his team have been pushed to their limits during the centenary edition of the biggest cycling competition in the world.
The penultimate ride of the Tour de France was not going to be different to the past 14 days as there was more than just the General Classification standings to be sorted out as the King of the Mountains jersey, the white and the green jersey all had to be fought for as well as the team competition. However, both the Green and White jersey, the points jersey and young rider jersey respectively, had been all but confirmed as Sagan sat 98 points ahead of nearest rival going in to Saturday's 20th stage and by the end of the day the Slovakian rider had extended this lead to over a hundred which destroys any hope of Cavendish catching the young rider. The rider from the Isle of Man will have to attempt to secure a consolation prize by winning the sprint in Paris on Sunday. Cavendish has been undefeated on the Champs Elyse since his first ever Tour de France but this year he has and will continue to be challenged until the very end.
Quintana who had 10'36" over his nearest White jersey rival, Kwiatkowsk of Poland, going into Saturday's stage had one of the most spectacular rides the Tour has ever seen by a debutant. The 23 year old Colombian stormed up the final climb of the stage following his General Classification rival, Rodriguez, as he accelerated up the mountain and stretched away from the Yellow Jersey group. After a few attacks from Froome, the race leader finally gave in and allowed the Movistar rider to win his first stage in a Tour de France. If a stage win was not enough, Quintana also secured the White Jersey and with earning 50 point in the the last climb, the promising rider leapfrogged past Froome and Rolland to secure the King of the Mountains jersey. An incredible performance by a young man who is set to end his revolutionary tour by standing in second place on the podium in Paris on Sunday evening.
With Quintana having a storming stage, Contador was left behind after what has been a difficult few days for the Spanish rider. Having been in second place for almost two weeks after Movistar rider, Valverde, lost ten minutes after a broken wheel early on in the Tour, the Saxo-Tinkoff rider fell to fourth position and out of a podium place. Despite this disappointment, Contador and his fellow Saxo Bank riders were given the consolation prize of securing the lead in the Team Classification ahead of AG2R.
Team Sky proved all the critics wrong on Saturday's stage as the whole team pulled together to secure yet another fantastic performance for their team captain. His right hand man who is sure to be given the title of team captain soon, Richie Porte, has been invaluable to Froome during this tough tour and the two close friends are set to celebrate their yellow jersey win tomorrow as Froome goes in to the last stage of the Tour with more than a five minute lead. The 135km run on Sunday will act as more of a victory parade for Froome than a race - just as it was for Bradley Wiggins just twelve months ago.
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