Sunday’s historic last stage in Nice drew a near one of many extra memorable editions of the Tour de France in recent times, concluding a last week stuffed with moments to savour.
After early French success, Biniam Girmay making historical past, Mark Cavendish breaking information, and extra, the third week of the Tour de France introduced us but extra speaking factors, drama, and large battles.
We noticed Tadej Pogačar in crush-all-comers mode, the Slovenian profitable even when he did not essentially set out to take action. We noticed a fond farewell to a dash legend and the crowning of the self-discipline’s latest star. We noticed excessive feelings, no presents, and shows within the excessive mountains by no means witnessed earlier than.
Luckily for us, among the most interesting photographers within the sport at SWPix had been available to seize these moments of excessive drama, excessive W/kg, and excessive emotion because the Tour made its approach by means of the Pyrenees, throughout to the Alps, and down south to Nice.
Savour the ultimate week of the 2024 Tour de France with our gallery of the largest moments.
Stage 15: Pogačar stamps his authority
Come the Pyrenees, the battle for yellow was nonetheless properly and really on. Yes, Jonas Vingegaard lay over a minute down on his nice rival Tadej Pogačar. But may their kind be heading in reverse instructions? Could the person in yellow tire after his Giro d’Italia-winning effort in May because the Dane rode additional into kind through the race?
Stages 14 and 15 – the primary visits to the excessive mountains since stage 4’s border crossing – noticed Pogačar seemingly put that concept to mattress. Two large assaults from the two-time champion swept Vingegaard and his Visma-Lease A Bike staff apart, including 1:55 to his GC lead.
He celebrated his third win of the Tour atop the Plateau de Beille in record-breaking vogue as Marco Pantani’s longstanding climbing file crumbled. The win wasn’t a day that sealed the Tour, however with over three minutes within the financial institution for the Alps, Pogačar confirmed that he was properly and really in control of the race.
Stage 16: A scare for Girmay
Heading into the Tour’s last dash stage in Nîmes, Africa’s greatest biking star Biniam Girmay held a certainly unbeatable lead within the inexperienced jersey rankings – his 363-point haul dwarfing second-placed Jasper Philipsen’s 277. The battle was certainly throughout.
But nothing is predictable in Tour de France sprints, and so it proved simply over a kilometre from the end on stage 16. Girmay, the triple stage winner and historical past maker, hit the deck in a late crash, whereas Philipsen sped on to take his third stage of the summer season.
All of a sudden, the factors battle bought much more attention-grabbing, with the Belgian now solely 32 factors down. The sight of Girmay being helped over the road introduced fear to many watchers, however catastrophe was averted. The 24-year-old had prevented any critical harm and picked himself as much as consolidate his lead and make historical past as soon as once more in Nice.
Stage 17: Surveying the wreckage
Up the street, Richard Carapaz was racing to a uncommon breakaway victory at this 12 months’s Tour on a mid-mountain stage forward of the excessive Alps. But some 9 minutes again down the course, the GC battle was unexpectedly erupting as soon as extra.
The slopes of the Col du Noyer on the street to Superdévoluy weren’t anticipated to host a showdown among the many podium contenders, however Tadej Pogačar determined that the mountain could be doing precisely that.
He dropped his fundamental rivals on the way in which up, whereas Remco Evenepoel confirmed his power to go away Jonas Vingegaard behind. Things would come collectively once more earlier than the ultimate climb, although Evenepoel pushed on alone, signalling his intent to battle for second general proper till the ultimate day.
Stage 18: An emotional breakaway win
This 12 months’s Tour de France was one of some main storylines – Pogačar’s supremacy, win quantity 35, Girmay’s ascendance. Another that could possibly be added to these is the restriction of the breakaway.
Five stage wins got here from the break, with two of these coming within the opening two days making the remainder of the race really feel barren by comparability. Not to say the quite a few days the place just one or two males – or no one in any respect – bothered to enterprise up the street on a certainly doomed assault.
Victor Campenaerts’ win was the final of the 5 breakaway triumphs, with the previous World Hour Record holder out-bluffing after which out-sprinting his companions on the way in which to glory in Barcelonnette.
Even extra memorable than the sight of the time trial specialist profitable the closing dash was Campenaerts past the road – an emotional interview following an equally touching video name together with his girlfriend and new child son.
Stage 19: Chasing the unchaseable
If Tadej Pogačar despatched out a message together with his domination of the Pyrenees and that cheeky assault at SuperDévoluy, stage 19 put the writing clearly on the wall for Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel.
Three days remained and the yellow jersey holder loved a wholesome 3:11 lead over second place. He wasn’t going to go away it there, nonetheless. There had been extra wins to be gained, extra time to realize, and extra chasing to do for the one two riders inside 10 minutes of the chief.
With 8.7km to go, Pogačar turned on the afterburners, leaving Vingegaard and Evenepoel in his wake. He was gone, and he’d acquire a mammoth 1:42 on the end, stage win quantity 5 within the bag.
The males in white and polka dots had been virtually in a separate race to the person in yellow. They had been chasing a rider they would not see once more till previous the end line, although there have been loads of his followers lining these painful kilometres to the summit of Isola 2000.
Stage 20: No presents
By this late level within the Tour, discourse had strayed distant from whether or not anyone may really beat Tadej Pogačar and onto questions over whether or not the three-time champion-elect ought to be taking it straightforward and letting different riders win.
After stage 19, some pundits had been of the opinion that he would possibly’ve let Visma-Lease A Bike’s Matteo Jorgenson cling on to take a breakaway win. A day later, on the street to the Col de la Couillole, the Slovenian and his UAE Team Emirates staff had been conspicuous by their absence on the entrance of the race.
The break was up the street – was a ‘reward’ within the offing? Well, Soudal-QuickStep had one thing to say about that, launching Remco Evenepoel right into a Jonas Vingegaard counterattack. End of break, Pogačar within the wheel, Pogačar launches the dash, Pogačar wins. No presents, even when he wasn’t even making an attempt to win.
Stage 21: A last farewell
The last stage of the Tour in Nice seemingly drew a near the Mark Cavendish period. The Manxman, already within the historical past books as maybe the most effective sprinter of all time with 164 wins, got here to France in search of another.
35. That was the magic quantity. One greater than even the best of all, Eddy Merckx, may handle. For Cavendish and his Astana Qazaqstan staff, it was the objective above all others on the Tour, and by stage 5, a day that can place the village of Saint-Vulbas in biking’s historical past books.
With the file on his palmarès, Cavendish may savour a last outing on the Tour de France on the race’s final day in Nice – even when it wasn’t a dream sendoff on the Champs-Elysées.
18 days on from the feelings of the large win, extra flew freely in Nice as he tackled a Tour stage for the ultimate time earlier than later consuming within the second throughout a particular podium ceremony – one to have a good time the person who has gained on the Tour greater than any rider in historical past.
Stage 21: The new cannibal
Who else? The new cannibal, as Tadej Pogačar has been anointed numerous occasions in current seasons, was by no means going to let the prospect so as to add one other win to his bulging record move, was he?
Among the rostrum trio, there was no risk-avoidance, taking it straightforward, racing safely dwelling through the stage 21 time trial. The large three fought for the ultimate stage victory as onerous as that they had for the yellow jersey.
Never thoughts that one mistaken transfer on the Col d’Eze descent may’ve undone three weeks of onerous work for any of them, it was all-out for the win. Pogačar, clearly the strongest man of the Tour, was racing on the roads of his adopted dwelling, too.
His show on the street to Nice underlined the extent of his dominance of this 12 months’s race, six wins and the general by six minutes. Can the brand new cannibal be stopped in 2025?
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