Is the last stage of le tour a mere formality?



JamesAA

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Aug 10, 2013
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After today's TT and 2nd to last stage, Phil and Paul made it sound like the podium was already set. Spots 2 and 3 are still relatively close, however. So is the last stage in the tour pretty much a formality? Is there some sort of cyclists "code" to not mess up the order of the top 3? Pinot is close enough to leap frog ahead of Peraud on the final stage. He's only 30 seconds behind, yet when I hear Paul and Phil talk it sounds like the order will not change on the final stage.
 
It is a flat stage so it can be very hard to get any time. As long as you come in with the group, you get the same time. Also, breaks are near impossible because the sprinters want to Duke it out and their teams will not let a break survive.
 
Originally Posted by Colnago62

It is a flat stage so it can be very hard to get any time. As long as you come in with the group, you get the same time. Also, breaks are near impossible because the sprinters want to Duke it out and their teams will not let a break survive.
Makes sense. So there is not some sort of unspoken code, for instance that would frown upon a 3rd place man trying to leap frog someone in 2nd? In the case of this year's tour, the 3rd place guy (Pinot) is only 30 seconds being the #2 spot. Will he not try to go for it and see if he can move up a spot?
 
His name would be mud if he tried . Although there is no rule against it .
 
Not sure if it is an unspoken rule or just near impossible to do that makes it not happen. Lemond beat Fignon on the last day of the Tour so it has happened.
 
It is an unwritten code Lemond won final stage but it was an ITT then. Of course the sprinters will race today.
 
Originally Posted by jhuskey

It is an unwritten code Lemond won final stage but it was an ITT then. Of course the sprinters will race today.
The contenders are all marking each other anyway, jersey for jersey, and all peloton finishers get the same time. They'll let breakaway of non-contenders go for a while, but the sprinters' teams will always reel them in. Green is up for grabs til the very end.

In the 1947 Tour, Jean Robic broke away on the last day and won. He was not popular with other riders.
 
In the history of the TdF, with the exception of tours when it was a TT, the Maillot Jaune only ever has changed hands once on the last stage, the 1947 tour which oldbobcat already mentioned. Particularly since 1975, when the finish was moved onto the Champs-Élysées, it has developed into rather more ceremony than competition, essentially a dog yummy for the Parisians, complete with several laps around the city so they can join in the celebration.
 
Originally Posted by oldbobcat
The contenders are all marking each other anyway, jersey for jersey, and all peloton finishers get the same time. They'll let breakaway of non-contenders go for a while, but the sprinters' teams will always reel them in. Green is up for grabs til the very end.

In the 1947 Tour, Jean Robic broke away on the last day and won. He was not popular with other riders.
Green is up for grabs, except in years when the guy wearing it has almost 200 points on the next guy.
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I suspect that the leading group into Paris let Jens get his one lap break in as a farewell gesture this year, before they reeled him back in.
 

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