Le Tour Dispatch: Stage 21

Well my friends, it’s over. 2024’s edition of the grandest of Grand Tours began way back in a different country, in a different month, with a beautiful and challenging Grand Départ in Firenze which saw one of the French riders of a generation take a brilliant victory, and wear the yellow jersey for the first time in his career.

Since then, records have been broken and history has been made on multiple fronts, from the first stage winners from Ecuador and Eritrea, and number 35 for Mark Cavendish, to the many new records, most of them set by Tadej Pogačar – climbing records, the number of yellow jerseys worn, and the small matter of a Giro-Tour double.

176 men started, and 141 finished - 35 the victims of crashes and injury, illness, or the time cut - and every one of them with a unique story to tell. A total of 3498 kilometres were covered and 52,330m of altitude climbed, creating more beautiful, memorable moments than you can shake a stick at. From the exhilarating gravel stage to the crosswinds - real or anticipated; sprint battles and daunting mountain challenges, rolling breakaway days and explosive two-up sprints to the line that didn't go quite the way we were expecting them to. Two time trials, weather that mostly played ball, and breath-taking scenery almost every day. It has been one to savour, and the memories will live long.

Of course, a Grand Tour never did run completely smoothly, and we had our fair share of heartache and controversy. From the fan who threw crisps at Tadej and Jonas, to another who waved a flag in Guillaume Martin's fan; the absurd fine for Julien Bernard of Lidl-Trek for greeting his family during the first time trial, the resurgence of covid, some relegations, and a few crashes – the high-speed drama Mads Pedersen's in particular sticking in the mind, along with the seemingly inevitable interruption of Roglič's perennial Tour curse.

So to the final stage, beginning alongside the marina in Monaco, cycling fans jostling for position in the shadow of luxurious high rises and superyachts. It was the first time in history that the Tour de France didn't finish in Paris; the move to Nice is a one-off, as a result of the Paris Olympics, and the race will return next year. It wasn't the first time the race concluded with a time trial, though: in 1989, the race for the GC win hung in the balance between Laurent Fignon and Greg Lemond, with the American taking the win in the end by just eight seconds. Presumably, with a tough day of climbing right from the off and a 33.7km course to tackle, organisers ASO may have hoped for a similar outcome in Nice, but circumstances conspired to deprive the final stage of its drama, at least in terms of the over-arching narrative.

The day began with all the focus on one man: Mark Cavendish. Though much had been made prior to the race of how disappointing it must have been for him not to be able to complete his career-long Tour de France odyssey on the Champs-Elysée, there was a quiet dignity in watching the greatest sprinter of all time ride alone along the streets of Monaco and Nice. It was a chance for him to take some time to reflect on his magnificent career, and even better, an opportunity for his teammate Davide Ballerini to ride almost two minutes faster than Cav, allowing the man himself to finish the race as Lanterne Rouge. A position that feels somehow fitting, for a rider who has spent so long just making time cuts on arduous mountain stage by the skin of his teeth, in order to allow him the opportunity to race to glory 35 times, on the flat stages. He rolled over the line and into the arms of his wife and children, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

As the early part of the day's start list was predictably made up of a selection of sprinters, rouleurs and lead-out men, the appearance of diminutive climber Lenny Martinez of Groupama-FDJ struck a somewhat discordant note, reminding out that despite his early season winning streak, he had been pretty much anonymous in this Tour, underperforming by his own impressive standards. The mini machine is obviously no slouch uphill and concurrently, a rather handy time triallist, and he put in a huge effort to take three minutes off the fastest time and head into the hotseat, where he spent a large part of the day giving everyone else something to think about. 

The next rider to garner warranted attention, but not for his time trialling prowess, was Biniam Girmay. The Eritrean to took the road on a brand new, stunning green machine, and soaked up the adoration of the crowd, which included a significant Eritrean contingent, before heading straight to his waiting teammates at the end of his effort.

And that was the part of the understated beauty of yesterday's stage. While finishing a Grand Tour on a time trial has the danger of falling flat after three weeks of drama, and while Paris is absolutely iconic and the Champs irreplaceable in the pantheon of cycling's best venues, the one thing stage 21 had going for it was the chance to see each rider have his moment, allowing the riders, and the fans, the space to celebrate them and remember their stories from this race, and just as in other time trials, seeing riders who aren't normally featured given their moment in the limelight, whether it be just for a few seconds churning their way up La Turbie or Col d'Eze, or as part of the dynamic drone footage sweeping along the Mediterranean coast. And they all deserve that moment. 

Meanwhile, it was a long, long time before the young Frenchman Martinez was ousted from the hotseat, and when he was, it was by the man whose time held all the way to the end of the day when the GC superstars came out to play, Harold Tejada of Astana Qazaqstan. We proceed through a long, quiet period of statis during which we enjoyed the beautiful imagery of the south coast of France, and took a breather ahead of the big guns rolling out later. And we smiled at Richard Carapaz' pink and polka dot livery, including the team car, and waved goodbye to Romain Bardet at the Tour one last time, with his most understated pronouncement 'et voila' as he crossed the line.

There was a bit of spice among the later departures outside of the top three, with three head-to-head battles for final placement– Adam Yates and Carlos Rodriguez, with one second separating them in fifth and sixth, (Yates secured his fifth spot comfortably), Giulio Ciccone and Santiago Buitrago with 22 seconds between them in tenth and eleventh, (they switched places after a very strong performance from Buitrago); and Guillaume Martin overturning Felix Gall to move up to 13th after one of the time trials of his career.

In the end though, despite strong rides from Derek Gee, Mikel Landa and João Almeida, it all came down to our super trio, the three riders who have kept us entertained throughout the last three weeks, and once again, there was very little to separate them on the road at first, and light years between them and the next best. As the course wore on though, Pogačar's strength shone through, and he went on to take his sixth stage, a cherry on the top of an already vast, sumptuous and very yellow cake.

Over the course of four Tours de France - a total of 84 stages the accumulated time of Tadej and Jonas is separated by just 1:25. Truly a rivalry for the ages and this year, a champion who will remembered for a long, long time.

The podium ceremonies followed, and the celebrations may not have been backed by the sight of the Arc de Triomphe, but they were beautiful nonetheless, and let's face it, an evening stroll along the coastline is probably a nicer way for the riders to relax after their exertions than trying to navigate their way around the Paris city centre. Until next year, we'll say goodbye for now.

LAST ROUND! LAST SONG! GOODNIGHT AND THANK YOU!

by Stine 'DJ Momo' Agerbæk

Dans Mon Bidon

Without the traditional circuit race in Paris, the only ring of the bell this year will be from the bartender. I’m wiping down the metaphorical counter, sweeping the floors, and quietly closing up as the last few regulars are finishing their final drinks. So no more drinks will be served this race! Goodnight and thanks for all the tips! (If only!)

Alors En Danse

Not much left to say, but since this was the 111th Tour de France, let’s make the playlist an even 111 songs too, eh? As a rule, whenever I play gigs without a particular theme or prior agreement, the last few songs of my set of the night are for me and mainly me. The rest of the night is for the crowd, but those few songs are mine. Tonight I’ll dedicate those three final songs all 141 riders who made it through to Nice. And to those who sadly didn’t make it through. And to every staff member making the race possible for the riders. And to all of us who followed them do so. Yeah, I’m a sentimental sob tonight, okay?

This means one song for the disappointed ones, one for the resilient, and one for the triumphants. And just like that, the magical mystical bike ride that was the 2024 edition of Tour de France is over.

The lights come on. And now, riders and gentlepeople of the peloton! This is the final song of the race! Remember; you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here. Not until the next race at least. Music fades. The lights come on. Take care of each other and Au Revoir.

Before you go...

Social media really comes into its own during the Tour. It's a hotbed of activity both good and bad but on the whole, it's a pleasure to see all the output from the hard-working social media managers from the race itself, the teams, and the riders, and chatting with other fans is always part of the joy of bike racing for me. Here are a few of the highlights from the final day on Twitter.

The people's prince, Thibaut Pinot, living his best life, riding his bike in a thoroughly un-aero fashion whilst drinking a non-alcoholic beverage. We miss you, Thibaut!

This duck that also appears to be a monarch of some sort running up a hill, because IT'S THE TOUR THERE DOESN'T NEED TO BE A REASON!

And so much love for Biniam Girmay, from this abstract celebration of all things green by our very own Emma Bianchi...

To this lovely moment of celebration with his family after he finished his effort. Everyone loves Bini, and it's been amazing to see him thrive and shine at this year's race.

And now it really is over. Except it's not really, because there are a couple of reflective pieces to follow later this week, before we begin to get hyped for the Olympics!

But for the Tour, and the Dispatch, it's really time to bid you au revoir for 2024. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, for joining us for this passion project, whether you dipped in to one or two editions or read every one (if you are in the latter camp I truly love you), from all the team here at writebikerepeat, VIVE LE TOUR!