Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Le Tour de France 2015 – Stage 21; Sèvres – Paris Champs-Élysées

-

HomeDiariesLe Tour de France 2015 - Stage 21; Sèvres - Paris Champs-Élysées

When we spoke to Cav’s personal soigneur, Aldis half way through the stage we knew it wasn’t to be; ‘And Mark, today on the Champs-Élysées?’

Aldis screwed up his face; ‘he’s a little sick…

So 4:1 to Greipel – and the rumours about Cav having to learn to understand Brian Smith’s accent at MTN get ever stronger.

We changed our system and didn’t drive race route for the last stage; instead we drove straight to the digs, got organised, had a shower and headed off across a wet Paris to the finish circuit.

The first two cops we negotiated with were fine, the third one was a jobs worth and the was NO ! way were getting on that circuit.

We drove a kilometre back up the road and the young cop waved us through with a nod.

We crouched down in the wee Nissan as we zoomed past Robocop and checked the mirrors for a kilometre or two.

Champs-Élysées
Some of the police understand the Press Accreditation levels, others don’t ! Photo©Ed Hood

The route took us through the Louvre and along the Rue De Rivoli; the crowd was like the weather – grey.

Champs-Élysées
Joan of Arc in the background. Photo©Ed Hood

But Joan was as gold as ever.

There were zero PDAFF (public displays of affection for Froomey) that we could see.

Champs-Élysées
Heading to the underground carpark with all the other race traffic. Photo©Ed Hood
Le Tour de France 2015 Champs-Élysées
Grey skies above the tower and the VIP areas. Photo©Ed Hood

The atmosphere was flat with a capital ‘F’ – it was damp, which didn’t help, making the cobbles slick but instead of Sky roaring into Town with Froome in their wake, they ambled in.

Champs-Élysées
GC times taken on the first lap meant Sky weren’t too fussed about the remainder of the stage. Photo©Ed Hood

It added to the air of anti-climax which hung over the whole affair.

Champs-Élysées
Last man overall Seb Chavanel gives it a dig. Photo©Ed Hood
Champs-Élysées
Nibali salvaged his race with a tremendous win on Stage 19. Photo©Ed Hood

The racing was predictable with a break of three going away until the mighty Lotto Red Guard turned on the watts and the gap vanished like ‘snaw aff a dike.’

And ‘The Bigs’ just wanting it over and done with.

Champs-Élysées
Lotto take control. Photo©Ed Hood
Champs-Élysées
Greipel takes four stages and secures a place in history. Photo©Ed Hood

Greipel it was – for his 10th Tour stage – but young Coquard was right there; Cav was too far back across the Place de la Concorde and didn’t have his usual winning face on.

Not a bad old Tour for QuickStep though with stages to Martin, Stybar and Cav and Martin’s truncated spell in yellow.

And we got the low down on why Mark Renshaw quit, from Aldis – on the really hot stages, the soigneurs pass up ice socks to the riders to put onto the back of their necks.

The deal is that the rider is supposed to move the sock around so it’s not on the one spot all the time – but the day’s racing was so fast that Renshaw couldn’t take his hands off the bars and the concentrated cold on the one spot on his neck was what sparked the crippling migraine which forced him out.

Champs-Élysées
MTN’s Brian Smith and Louis Meintjes watch the finish. Photo©Ed Hood

On the subject of riders who were forced out, we met Brian Smith – and his wee boy, Joseph – on the Champs with a slight looking chap in a rain cape – Louis Meintjes.

His stomach problems hadn’t full cleared – despite two over night stays in hospital.

His next race will probably be the Arctic Tour in Norway – a wee bit of a change from the baking heat of Southern France in July.

Champs-Élysées
Pizzas for the Tinkov/Saxo squad. Photo©Ed Hood
Champs-Élysées
Sausages on the barbie for MTN – that equipment looks too wee to us for a team of hungry riders and workers! Photo©Ed Hood
Champs-Élysées
Nibbles and fizzy stuff for the Belgian team and their friends and families. Photo©Ed Hood

There was the usual ‘end of term’ vibe around the buses – Saxo had the pizzas in; MTN had the barbie fired up and Lotto had the cheese and wine on the go but at some of the buses it was obvious that they just wanted to clear the decks, ‘soon as.’

Champs-Élysées
Sky do things their way; it’s effective but not exactly popular. Photo©Ed Hood

I stalked the Sky bus at the end; if you’re Scottish – or worse still, a Fifer – the aura is very much, ‘Rapha/Sportiv/Vroomey/I’m a Daily Mail man, myself,’ at it’s worst.

False bonhomie, back slapping, belly laughs, ‘in’-jokes and an air of elitism.

The team has won the Tour three times in four years; a magnificent achievement which is largely down to the vision of Sir David Brailsford and has to be praised.

But as far as endearing themselves to the continental public, they’re non-starters.

Sure, it’s about winning but they seem oblivious to the fact that it’s the ‘people’s sport’ – you can hang over the fence at a French criterium or a Flemish kermis and all it will cost you is a Euro or two for a beer.

Champs-Élysées
Just for one day a year teams are allowed to use UCI-approved “special kit”. Sky have not only racing kit but t-shirts, vehicle livery and – we imagine – Rapha undies. Photo©Ed Hood

You don’t need a £200 Rapha man bag or a ten grand Pinarello.

But listen to me – I sound like our guru Viktor on a bad day.

Fact is, they won the race and it’s not Froome’s fault that Contador and Nibali just were not on their game.

L’Équipe was still, ‘having a pop’ at Froome on Monday telling us – on the front page – that he’s had to defend himself even from the podium over ‘suspicions and criticisms.’

Let’s change the subject and return to safer ground …

Froome’s win in the GP Montagne – he wouldn’t have pursued that, it comes as a consequence of his being at the head of affairs most of the time over the high cols.

But he’ll not be disappointed with the contribution it makes to the team’s Euro tally for the Tour.

Champs-Élysées
Peter Sagan. Photo©Ed Hood

Sagan; his fourth green jersey in four years with 42 top ten finishes in Le Tour since 2012 – four wins, 16 second spots, six thirds, seven fourths, three fifths, two sixths, a seventh and three ninths.

Remarkable – with his 432 points tally up from 431 in 2014.

Champs-Élysées
Nairo Quintana. Photo©Ed Hood

Best young rider, Quintana; nothing is cast in stone as far as the future goes in cycling but if he keeps on the same trajectory, he’ll win the Tour, for sure.

But ‘IF’ is a big word in bike racing.

Movistar is the team for him – no question, bringing him along just right.

No stage wins for the ‘Telephone Team’ but second and third on GC; the white jersey and the team – not a bad haul.

Third-placed Valverde tops the latest UCI rankings, Movistar are second team to Sky and Spain top the nation ratings.

Champs-Élysées
Thomas De Gendt – most attacking rider of the race. Photo©Ed Hood

The team with most distance off the front – but no stage wins – at 1,977 K was Europcar with Lotto’s Thomas De Gendt ‘le Baroudeur du Tour‘ with 679 K, ‘up the road.’

Lanterne rouge was Sebastien Chavanel @ 4:56:59.

And to close, Sky – who else ?

Champs-Élysées
A McDonald’s brown paper bag caused Froome to changed bikes. Photo©Ed Hood

Froome’s ‘mechanical’ on the circuit ?

A Big Mac bag; a sign of our disposable culture, some might say – will they speak of Froome’s wins in the same tones as they still do of a young Merckx, Ocana, Thevenet or Hinault ?

I think not.

Champs-Élysées
Sky crack the coolbox open. Photo©Ed Hood

But VeloVeritas certainly doesn’t grudge Wout Poels that beer!

Ed Hood
Ed Hood
Ed's been involved in cycling for over 50 years. In that time he's been a successful time triallist, a team manager and a sponsor of several teams and clubs. He's also a respected and successful coach and during the winter months was often working in the cabins at the Six Days for some of the world's top riders. Ed remains a massive fan of the sport and couples his extensive contacts with an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the minutiae and the history of our sport. In February 2023 however, our dear friend and beloved colleague Ed suffered a devastating stroke and faces an uncertain future; Ed has lost his ability to speak, to read, and has lost movement on the right side of his body. He's working with speech and physical therapists on rehabilitation, but all strokes are different and each patient responds differently, so unfortunately recovery is one day at a time. Ed ran his own business installing windows, and will probably not be able to work again. Please consider joining us to make a contribution to Ed's GoFundMe page to help stabilise and secure his future.

Related Articles

Le Tour de France – Day 8: Stage 20, Cerilly to Saint-Amand-Montrond

The Salle de Presse in Saint-Amand-Montrond, 17.30 Saturday 26th July and Carlos Sastre has just won the Tour de France, it won't be official until tomorrow after the big show on the Champs Elysee, but it's won. Personally I'm happy with the result; at least Sastre took the race by the scruff of the neck on L'Alpe D'Huez, an 'exploit.' Evans strategy of following may have been dictated by the weakness of his team, but it would have been hard to be enthusiastic about him as a Tour winner.

Monday in the Flatlands

Mondays in the Flatlands of Belgium aren’t the best; most shops are shut but the flight back to Auld Scotia isn’t ‘til late so use has to be made of the time available. Looking out of the window on Monday morning, the man across the road has his priorities right – ‘keep that Jupiler cold!’

The Girvan 2007 – Day 1: Stages 1 & 2

There's a nip in the air at 07.30 en route the Girvan 2007 as I stand on Kirkcaldy promenade and await the arrival of Davie and the new Nissan. The big, old Peugeot has gone and he's got a new Micra now, complete with CD - Yuppie!

Giro d’Italia – Day 2: Stage 16, Pergola – Monte Petrano

La Gazzetta Dello Sport doesn't like Gibo Simoni, he gets a 3 out of 10 for yesterday's effort, where he contrived to drop 17:59 on the stage - ouch! Saving it for today's stage to Monte Petrano? We'll see.

At Random

Rab Wardell on his 3rd place in the Super Six Round One, Gifford 2010

The first Super Six of the year was held at Gifford on Saturday, to our shame, VeloVeritas were not in attendance. But we've tried to make amends by interviewing third placed Rab Wardell.

John Archibald – Racing with Contador’s EOLO-Kometa squad in 2021

There was never any doubt about Scotsman John Archibald’s talent; but we must lay aside UK results in the context of international racing, they simply don’t count with European team management. At 30 years-of-age our feeling at VeloVeritas was that John’s chances of a contract at the highest level were slim, despite his obvious class, however we’re glad to be proved wrong and John will be racing with Alberto Contador's EOLA-Kometa ProTeam squad next season.

Grant Ferguson – New Scottish Hill Climb and British Cyclo-Cross Champion

Our first question to Grant Ferguson, perhaps better known for his mountain bike and cyclo-cross (he’s reigning British Elite Cyclo-Cross champion, don’t forget) adventures, following his win in this year's Scottish Hill Climb championships was "did you have a back brake this time, Grant?"

Roadside at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and KBK 2018

Roadside at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and KBK 2018. The first classic weekend of the year has been and gone and safely back in a rather snowy Scotland I've got time to reflect on the Classic season opener. The glorious Belgian sunshine all weekend could not lift the thermometer and the riders endured bitterly cold conditions for both Het Nieuwsblad or Kuurne Brussels Kuurne.