2014 Tour de France Stage 21 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 21 of the 2014 Tour de France! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
For the second year in a row, the Tour de France’s final stage has been put back to the evening and will culminate in an atmospheric sprint on the Champs E?lyse?es around 7.15pm. Also like last year, the peloton will ride past the Louvre before starting the first of nine laps of the finishing circuit and pass around the Arc de Triomph rather than turning just short.
After the 80km exhibition ride from the satellite town of E?vry – a chance for the jersey wearers to sup champagne for the cameras – the pace will gradually ratchet up as the sprinters’ teams prepare to light the fireworks. If the green jersey competition’s tight – but don’t expect it to be expected if Sagan’s there – the intermediate sprint on the second lap could also be contended.
Nor will any running green jersey battles prevent the ever hopeful but inevitably doomed breakaways seeking one last hit of publicity by riding in the gutter of the Champs-E?lyse?es.
The city’s cobbles and long drag up to the Arc de Triomph make the circuit a lot harder than it looks. Riders with three weeks’ worth of riding in their legs will be able to taste the finish.
Traditional lore has it that the sprinter who’s shepherded around the last right hand corner in the Place de la Concorde in the second wheel will win the day. Marcel Kittel pulled it off last year but he was run very close by Andre? Greipel and Mark Cavendish – the latter who has won the stage four times in his career.
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