The scenario is this; the tour has made it through the stage 19 tt and the yellow jersey is leading by <10 seconds. Obviously that is a gap that could be overtaken by second place if he were to somehow get away during the circuit or on the way in to Paris somewhere.
Tactics and the obvious factor that he’d most likely get caught aside…
Since it is a small gap, does stage 20 become a race like every other stage or does it stay a victory lap for the man in yellow??
The team of the 2nd place rider can try all the cheeky moves they want but it would very likely be to no avail. The leading rider’s team would never let the 2nd place rider get any intermediary bonus sprint seconds and the sprinters would never let the 2nd place rider get the victory. Such a scenario might make for a more tense final stage, but even with just a one second deficit there’s virtually nothing the 2nd place rider could do to gain time.
It is a parade until they start the loops around Paris, then it is a race. Usually though, it is the sprinters day, and if the scenario of the chicken and Contador is 10 seconds apart, I doubt very much that either out sprints Boonen, Hunter, Hushovd, ect., ect. They would just have to make sure that any group they are in, are not gapped… There won’t be any early attacks like normal flat days…
“The team of the 2nd place rider can try all the cheeky moves they want but it would very likely be to no avail. The leading rider’s team would never let the 2nd place rider get any intermediary bonus sprint seconds and the sprinters would never let the 2nd place rider get the victory. Such a scenario might make for a more tense final stage, but even with just a one second deficit there’s virtually nothing the 2nd place rider could do to gain time.”
People have really short memories.
Ask Vino about this one, and what the time bonus for the stage win can do to the final GC…
I didn’t think about the sprinters, but you’re right, a contador/levi/kloden/evans, etc. or anyone going for the OA would not be able to take the win away from the sprinters.
Ask Vino about this one, and what the time bonus for the stage win can do to the final GC… \
I remember that finish, that was great. It’s OK to go for the stage win if you are not in contention for yellow. No one looks badly at what he did ,since he was not close… Now Lance could not go for it, that would be cheeky…
“Bernard Hinault is the only rider who has won on the Champs-Élysées while wearing the yellow jersey on the shoulders and he did it twice. The first time was in 1979 when he broke away with Joop Zoetemelk, who finished second that year. Hinault did it again in 1982 when he managed to outclass the whole peloton with a monumental sprint.”
Of course at the time, Zoetemelk was 10+ minutes(!) down in second place, so his attack was more a show of defiance than anything, but it was quite a sight to see the Yellow Jersey chasing down second place, with the two of them dueling to the end.
If it’s within 20 seconds on Sunday, it’s a bike race. You can bet there will be a serious throwdown. Could be some great stuff.
Hurricane Bob
Not since 1989 has the Champs decided the outcome… *
Vino moved up from 6th to 5th, not 2nd to 1st. And, there was much controversy that day, as the early laps were done in a deluge and for safety reasons (the Champs Elysses is cobbled) the race director called the race “official” with about 6 laps to go, meaning Lance officially won the yellow jersey well before the stage was finished, but there still would be a sprint finish. There was much controversy when Vino was given his time bonus as the race had already been called officially over, but in the end the French ruled Vino could have his time bonus bumping Levi down to 6th. Needless to say the Levi camp did not take kindly to this ruling.
A fun and interesting day, but not exactly an argument that a 2nd place rider 10 seconds down has any kind of a shot at overcoming the deficit in the ceremonial stage.
Not since 1989 has the Champs decided the outcome… * \
Ok, that was a ITT, when before that did the yellow change in Paris??? I still can’t believe they haven’t made a movie of that story either. I suppose if Fignoine had won, there would at least be a French movie…