Here it is, the final stage of the 100th edition
of Le Tour de France. Seems like the race only started three weeks ago. The
133km stage to Paris from the glittering palace of Versailles comprises a
parade to the heart of the city of light then 10 laps seven kilometres each of
the Champs-Élysées. For the very first time the riders get to go around the
world’s most famous bit of traffic furniture and worst roundabout, the Arc de
Triomph.
Yours truly picked up the race at the civilised hour of
4.00am to catch the twilight finish just as the peloton was about to hit the
famous thoroughfare. The Ps were busy pointing out many of the famous landmarks
and monuments of Paris like they were auditioning for jobs as English speaking
guides on those sightseeing buses. And it wouldn’t be the last day of Le Tour
without Paul’s obligatory Jardin des Tuileries lecture.
It was going to be a long night after three weeks of hard
racing and Gabriel Gate prepared Boeuf à la Ficelle aux Légumes de Printemps or
poached beef with spring vegetable. No butter but I guess you could dab a
little knob on the veggies if so desired. The lack of butter this Tour made me
wonder if Gabs had been listening to the advice of the dietary gurus. However, the
Beurremetric counter crossed the line on an artery clogging 634g.
As the riders hit the Champs-Élysées, Troll DJ busted out
Art vs. Science’s ‘Parlez Vous Francais?’ The Champs-Élysées is a busy street
and we are getting down with everyone we meet. The sprinters started getting
busy and getting down as the laps counted down to the finish. As the sun set
the riders popped on their flashing LED lights. Some donned fluoro vests and
plastered their bikes in reflective tape for extra visibility.
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Be sure to get an Eiffel of Paris
A rumour had circulated Cannonball Peter Sagan was going to
do an Evil Knievel jump over the Arc de Triomph on his bike. It wasn’t to be,
however he thrilled the spectators with a jump over the Orica-GreenWEDGE team
bus. He didn’t achieve quite enough clearance and took the aircon unit clean
off.
A fast and furious sprint finish to the line saw Argonaut
Marcel Kittel take his fourth stage win of the Tour pipping favourite Mark
Cavendish (Oooomega Farmer – Quick Stop) and Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol).
Under darkening skies came the podium presos. Vases and
umbrella stands were the order of the day. The Arc de Triomph became a canvas
for a fancy projection show. The Eiffel Tower sparkled in excitement. Tour Down Under organisers could learn from this and light up Rundle Mall in Adelaide.
At the end of 21 days and more than 3,000km of racing the
history books will record:
Richie Froome (Sky) – Yellow Jersey
Peter Sagan (Cannonball) – Green Jersey
Nairo Quintana (Moviestar) – Polka-Dot AND White Jersey
Taxo Sinkoff – Team Winner
Christophe Fabulon – Super Combative
This concludes Le Wrap for the 100th edition of
Le Tour de France. I hope you have enjoyed following it as I have writing it every
day of the Tour. Before I go, I have to agree with Paul Sherwin's observation
the other week - Chris Froome looks strange on a bike.
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