Tour de France 2015

Another tough mountain stage, very tough climbs especially Tourmalet. Will be interesting what will be the tactics of all teams with contenders for the general today. Hope to be a great stage.

Rafal Majka clinched a beautiful breakaway win today, Daniel Martin also produced a fine effort but finished second. As far as the general classification contenders are concerned things were quite peaceful, Froome didn't attack and wasn't attacked but Nibali and Rodriguez got dropped once again and their overall hopes are all but over.

Stage 11 results

1 Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo 5:02:01

2 Daniel Martin (Irl) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team +01:00

3 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Argon 18 +01:23

4 Serge Pauwels (Bel) MTN - Qhubeka +02:08

5 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar +03:34

6 Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits +03:34

7 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing +05:11

8 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team +05:19

9 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky +05:21

10 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo +05:21

General classification after stage 11

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 41:03:31

2 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team +02:52

3 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team +03:09

4 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team +03:59

5 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky +04:03

6 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo +04:04

7 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal +04:33

8 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo +04:35

9 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin +06:44

10 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing +07:05

Froome is very good when you look at tactics.I think that is big advantage for him when you compare him with others.He knows when he has to give his best,and when he can allow himself a slower race.

Not any action between the favourites today, they probably think about tomorrow's stage which will be one of the toughest stages in this years tour. Nice win for Rafal Majka who proved that last years two stage wins were not an accident. Tomorrow will be a different story I think.

I agree about sharp.We can expect a situation which is not similar to todays,in my opinion.

The toughest stage of the Pyrenees is coming up today, featuring four serious climbs in 195km of pain. The finish is at the end of a special category climb, 15.8km long at 7.9%. This is the day when Chris Froome could finish off his rivals or maybe when one or two of his rivals could bounce back into the race for the yellow jersey.

Here are the odds for stage 12 at William Hill:

Chris Froome - 1.08

Nairo Quintana - 8.00

Alberto Contador - 34.00

Tejay Van Garderen - 51.00

Alejandro Valverde - 101.00

Geraint Thomas - 121.00

Robert Gesink - 121.00

Pierre Rolland - 251.00

Vincenzo Nibali - 251.00

Warren Barguil - 351.00

Good luck!

Today Froome can make big advatnage against the rivals.This stage is stage when if you cycle very good,difference can bi very big.

If someone wants to compete with Chris Froome today is the stage. All the contenders will have to show what they are capable of if they wish to cut down the Froom advantage. One thing is for sure will be tough for everybody.

Great victory for Purito Rodriguez today, he rode with the breakaway and then dropped them all on the final climb to clinch his second win of this year's Tour and third overall.

Chris Froome managed to control all the attacks from his rivals and arrived at the finish alongside all  of them. Vincenzo Nibali finally had a decent day as he managed to keep the pace of the yellow jersey group and bounced back inside the general classification top ten as Warren Barguil crumbled.

Stage 12 results

1 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha 5:40:14

2 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team +01:12

3 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale +01:49

4 Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Movistar Team +04:34

5 Louis Meintjes (RSA) MTN - Qhubeka +04:38

6 Jan Barta (Cze) Bora-Argon 18 +05:47

7 Romain Sicard (Fra) Team Europcar +06:03

8 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale +06:28

9 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team +06:46

10 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky +06:47

General classification after stage 12

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 46:50:32

2 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team +02:52

3 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team +03:09

4 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team +03:58

5 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky +04:03

6 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo +04:04

7 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo +05:32

8 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal +07:32

9 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team +07:47

10 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing +08:02

We'll have a transition stage on Friday, with a bunch of hills in the second half of the race. In theory the route would suit Peter Sagan but I doubt that his team will spend energy to reel in the eventual breakaway groups. Michael Matthews would be a good bet but I don't know whether he has recovered from the first week crash.

Here are the odds for stage 13 at BetVictor:

Peter Sagan - 11/4

John Degenkolb - 8/1

Zdenek Stybar - 14/1

Greg Van Avermaet - 14/1

Alejandro Valverde - 20/1

Edvald Boasson Hagen - 20/1

Bryan Coquard - 25/1

Matteo Trentin - 25/1

Alexander Kristoff - 25/1

Lars Ytting Bak - 25/1

Michael Matthews - 33/1

Tony Gallopin - 33/1

Thomas De Gendt - 33/1

Jan Bakelants - 33/1

Good luck!

We'll have a transition stage on Friday, with a bunch of hills in the second half of the race. In theory the route would suit Peter Sagan but I doubt that his team will spend energy to reel in the eventual breakaway groups. Michael Matthews would be a good bet but I don't know whether he has recovered from the first week crash.

Some of this transitional stages could be tricky and I even didn't exclude some action between the favourites although is not very likely. Hope that we will see some action especially between the green jersey contenders.

Team BMC's Greg Van Avermaet won the uphill sprint in stage 13 to grab his first ever Tour de France win while Peter Sagan was once again second at the finish line. The general classification contenders all crossed the line together and safely, as expected.

Stage 13 results

1 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team 4:43:42

2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo

3 Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:03

4 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:00:07

5 Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNL-Jumbo

6 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky

7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team

8 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo

9 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team

10 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team

General classification after Stage 13

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 51:34:21

2 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:02:52

3 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:03:09

4 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:03:58

5 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:04:03

6 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:04:04

7 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:05:32

8 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal 0:07:32

9 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:07:47

10 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing 0:08:02

Stage 14 will be a spectacular one, with a very steep 3km climb at the finish. It's one for the likes of Valverde and Rodriguez but it all depends on how their teams would be able to control the race up to that climb.

Here are the odds for the stage at BetVictor:

Alejandro Valverde 4/1

Joaquim Rodriguez 6/1

Christopher Froome 8/1

Daniel Martin 14/1

Jakob Fuglsang 20/1

Alberto Contador 25/1

Nairo Quintana 25/1

Alexis Vuillermoz 25/1

Good luck!

Stage 14 will be a spectacular one, with a very steep 3km climb at the finish. It's one for the likes of Valverde and Rodriguez but it all depends on how their teams would be able to control the race up to that climb.

I'm agree Johnny it could be really interesting at the finish, like Betvictor odds shows the bookies expecting yellow jersey contenders to be involved in the action.3km are maybe not enough for big differences but we could see some seconds between the favourites.

Steven Cummings from South African team MTN-Qhubeka grabbed a special victory today on stage 14, his team's first ever Tour de France stage win right on Mandela Day. The general classification contenders also battled on the final climb, with Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana gaining time on Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing), Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Alberto Contador (Tinkoff Saxo). Quintana also leapfrogged van Garderen into second spot.

Stage 14 results

1 Stephen Cummings (GBr) MTN - Qhubeka 4:23:43

2 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:00:02

3 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:03

4 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx - Quick-Step 0:00:20

5 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:00:29

6 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar 0:00:32

7 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Lampre-Merida

8 Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing

9 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Movistar Team

10 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge 0:00:33

11 Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:07

General classification after stage 14

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 56:02:19

2 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:03:10

3 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:03:32

4 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:04:02

5 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:04:23

6 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:04:54

7 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:06:23

8 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:08:17

9 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal 0:08:23

10 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing 0:08:53

Sunday's stage 15 could well finish in a mass sprint, there are some climbs but all of them are in the first part of the stage so the teams could help their sprinters get back to the front of the race in time for the final dash.

Here are the odds for stage 15 at BetVictor:

Mark Cavendish 4/1

Peter Sagan 4/1

John Degenkolb 5/1

Andre Greipel 8/1

Alexander Kristoff 11/1

Michael Matthews 20/1

Arnaud Demare 25/1

Bryan Coquard 25/1

Edvald Boasson Hagen 25/1

Good luck!

Andre Greipel clinched his third win at this year's Tour de France, overpowering Degenkolb, Kristoff and Sagan in the final sprint. Cavendish was suffering today and he barely made it to the finish inside the time limit. No changes in the general classification.

Stage 15 results

1 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal 3:56:35

2 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin

3 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha

4 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo

5 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) MTN - Qhubeka

6 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team

7 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits

8 Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica GreenEdge

9 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida

10 Florian Vachon (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement

Steven Cummings from South African team MTN-Qhubeka grabbed a special victory today on stage 14, his team's first ever Tour de France stage win right on Mandela Day. The general classification contenders also battled on the final climb, with Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana gaining time on Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing), Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Alberto Contador (Tinkoff Saxo). Quintana also leapfrogged van Garderen into second spot.

It was a great stage in the end, Froome once again proved that he is still in great shape and despite the power attack from Quintana at which he didn't respond right away, in the end he was able not only  not to loose any time but  in fact making time on all of his opponents.Great signs for him.

Sunday's stage 15 could well finish in a mass sprint, there are some climbs but all of them are in the first part of the stage so the teams could help their sprinters gehnnyt back to the front of the race in time for the final dash.

You were right Johnny, mass sprint in the end and Greipel was the man once again. He is 12 points closer to the green after that stage but I think not many chances for him in the next days with all this mountain stages.Sagan still a strong favourite for the jersey.

They asked Cavendish before the stage who will be at the second place today and without any hesitation he said- Sagan :D

Tricky route in Monday's stage 16, the final climb and the subsequent descent might inspire a few attacks among the general classification contenders.

Here are the odds for stage 16 at BetVictor:

Alejandro Valverde 10/1

Vincenzo Nibali 12/1

Joaquim Rodriguez 16/1

Michal Kwiatkowski 16/1

Daniel Martin 20/1

Peter Sagan 22/1

Tony Gallopin 25/1

Wilco Kelderman 25/1

Jakob Fuglsang 28/1

Thomas Voeckler 28/1

Romain Bardet 33/1

Sylvain Chavanel 33/1

Tanel Kangert 33/1

Michael Matthews 33/1

Good luck!

Ruben Plaza clinched a fine breakaway win today, he attacked on the last climb and managed to hold on to the lead despite a desperately spectacular descent from Peter Sagan, who finished second once again.

Vincenzo Nibali is finally showing some signs of improvement, he attacked and gained around half a minute on the other general classification riders. Tony Gallopin dropped out of the top ten after arriving a few minutes after the yellow jersey group.

Stage 16 results

1 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Lampre-Merida 4:30:10

2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:00:30

3 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) IAM Cycling 0:00:36

4 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:00:40

5 Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing

6 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale

7 Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) MTN - Qhubeka 0:00:53

8 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:01:00

9 Luis Angel Mate (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:01:22

10 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar

General classification after stage 16

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 64:47:16

2 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:03:10

3 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:03:32

4 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:04:02

5 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:04:23

6 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:05:32

7 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:06:23

8 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:07:49

9 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing 0:08:53

10 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:11:03

Rest day tomorrow (Tuesday) ahead of four big and decisive mountain days in the Alps.

Ruben Plaza clinched a fine breakaway win today, he attacked on the last climb and managed to hold on to the lead despite a desperately spectacular descent from Peter Sagan, who finished second once again.

 

Vincenzo Nibali is finally showing some signs of improvement, he attacked and gained around half a minute on the other general classification riders. Tony Gallopin dropped out of the top ten after arriving a few minutes after the yellow jersey group.

 

Surprise, surprise :`o Sagan is second once again.  ;D

I think Nibali has  improved every day trough the tour and probably he will be even better in the 3rd week. Some needed rest for all riders tomorrow and a big promise for a great race after that. Still nothing over yet.

Surprise, surprise :`o Sagan is second once again.  ;D

I really feel sorry for him, he raced his heart out every single day but always missed out on the win... Last chance will be on Sunday but I don't think he will be able to beat Greipel in a flat sprint.

Let's have a look at the situation in the other classification, concerning the green jersey, polka dot jersey and white jersey.

Points classification - Green Jersey

1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 405 pts

2 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal 316

3 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 264

4 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Etixx - Quick-Step 192

5 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar 122

6 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 109

7 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step 78

8 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 77

9 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal 76

10 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 70

Mountains classification - Polka Dot Jersey

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 61 pts

2 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha 52

3 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 41

4 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky 40

5 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 38

6 Serge Pauwels (Bel) MTN - Qhubeka 33

7 Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo 32

8 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 32

9 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 32

10 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 28

Young rider classification - White Jersey

1 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 64:50:26

2 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:07:53

3 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:10:00

4 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:28:44

5 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:44:36

6 Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing 1:07:29

7 Adam Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge 1:15:36

8 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 1:28:03

9 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Argon 18 1:34:54

10 Louis Meintjes (RSA) MTN - Qhubeka 1:44:51

Green and White seem all but secure for Sagan and Quintana but I expect some changes in the mountains classification in the next few days.

The Tour enters the Alps today with stage 17, which features five registered climbs. The steepest climbs are in the second half of the stage, particularly the Col d'Allos that comes right before the final climb and features a treacherous descent. Valverde or Nibali could well attack on that descent.

Here are the odds for the stage at BetVictor:

Vincenzo Nibali 6/1

Alejandro Valverde 6/1

Chris Froome 8/1

Joaquim Rodriguez 9/1

Thibaut Pinot 16/1

Romain Bardet 16/1

Nairo Quintana 20/1

Alberto Contador 20/1

Pierre Rolland 20/1

Jakob Fuglsang 22/1

Rafal Majka 25/1

Daniel Martin 28/1

Good luck!

Beautiful breakaway win for Simon Geschke today, he attacked before the penultimate climb and held on to the advantage to clinch the most important success of his career.

There were some big changes in the general classification as well. First Tejay Van Garderen dropped out of the race due to illness and then Alberto Contador hit the deck on the last descent and lost over two minutes to his rivals, dropping to fifth overall. Froome and Quintana arrived together at the finish, around 15 seconds clear of Valverde and Nibali.

Stage 17 results

1 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 4:12:17

2 Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team +00:32

3 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx - Quick-Step +01:01

4 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr +01:36

5 Mathias Frank (Swi) IAM Cycling +01:40

6 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo +02:27

7 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky +03:02

8 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Movistar Team +03:04

9 Serge Pauwels (Bel) MTN - Qhubeka +03:05

10 Adam Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge +03:21

General classification after stage 17

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 69:06:49

2 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team +03:10

3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team +04:09

4 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky +06:34

5 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo +06:40

6 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo +07:39

7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team +08:04

8 Mathias Frank (Swi) IAM Cycling +08:47

9 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing +11:47

10 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin +13:08

Beautiful breakaway win for Simon Geschke today, he attacked before the penultimate climb and held on to the advantage to clinch the most important success of his career.

 

There were some big changes in the general classification as well. First Tejay Van Garderen dropped out of the race due to illness and then Alberto Contador hit the deck on the last descent and lost over two minutes to his rivals, dropping to fifth overall. Froome and Quintana arrived together at the finish, around 15 seconds clear of Valverde and Nibali.

 

I'm very sorry for Tejay, this was so tough for him to leave the race in such a way.

As  for Contador I think he is probably almost out of chances for the top 3 now. I think he was a little too greedy this season trying to win the Giro and the Tour in same year, and the history from the last years shows that this kind of experiment is almost certain failure. In fact I didn't think that he would win the tour even without the participation in Italy. But I guess it was some kind of insurance for him from a possible failure in the tour. Anyway he loosed the race long before this crash from today.

Stage 18 will be brutal, with seven categorized climbs which include a special category one. Another chance for Quintana to attack Froome or maybe another chance for Froome to tighten his grip on the yellow jersey.

Superb victory for Romain Bardet today, he broke away on the penultimate climb, then descended brilliantly to increase his lead, pulled off another solid climb and another brilliant descent to clinch the win. He also managed to break into the overall top 10 with today's performance.

There were a few attacks among the big names, Contador, Quintana and Nibali tried to put Chris Froome in difficulty but the Team Sky leader stuck to their wheels. However, Froome didn't look as brilliant as he was earlier in the Tour, perhaps fatigue is kicking in even for a superman like him.

Stage 18 results

1 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 5:03:40

2 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar +00:33

3 Winner Anacona (Col) Movistar Team +00:59

4 Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing

5 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team

6 Serge Pauwels (Bel) MTN - Qhubeka +01:01

7 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar +01:50

8 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team

9 Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team +01:55

10 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin +03:02

General classification after stage 18

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 74:13:31

2 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team +03:10

3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team +04:09

4 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky +06:34

5 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo +06:40

6 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo +07:39

7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team +08:04

8 Mathias Frank (Swi) IAM Cycling +08:47

9 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing +12:06

10 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale +13:02

Superb victory for Romain Bardet today, he broke away on the penultimate climb, then descended brilliantly to increase his lead, pulled off another solid climb and another brilliant descent to clinch the win. He also managed to break into the overall top 10 with today's performance.

 

There were a few attacks among the big names, Contador, Quintana and Nibali tried to put Chris Froome in difficulty but the Team Sky leader stuck to their wheels. However, Froome didn't look as brilliant as he was earlier in the Tour, perhaps fatigue is kicking in even for a superman like him.

Really nice win for Bardet who's got his chances now for the Polka-dot jersey, infact he has equal points 68 with Purito and I guess this battle also will be very interesting, Froome is also a contender there. Not so much action amongst the favourites in this stage but they all looking extremely tired now. Still two more days for Froome to survive in the Alps but really it could happen anything.

Another big mountain stage today in the Alps, stage 19 has four categorised climbs in just 138km. It will be a rather short stage but the climbs will be long and steep, especially the Col de la Croix de Fer (22.4 kilometre-long climb at 6.9%) and the final climb to La Toussuire (18 kilometre-long climb at 6.1%).

We'll see a big battle for the polka dot jersey between Bardet, Rodriguez and Fuglsang. And hopefully an open battle between Quintana and Froome for the yellow.

Here are the odds for stage 19 at BetVictor:

Nairo Quintana 11/4

Chris Froome 11/4

Alberto Contador 11/1

Pierre Rolland 14/1

Vincenzo Nibali 16/1

Alejandro Valverde 16/1

Joaquim Rodriguez 17/1

Jakob Fuglsang 20/1

Rafal Majka 22/1

Romain Bardet 28/1

Thibaut Pinot 33/1

Good luck!

A sensational Vincenzo Nibali redeemed his Tour de France today, he had the courage to attack no less than 62km away from the finish line, caught Pierre Rolland who was leading the race at that point and then dropped him on the endless last climb of the day. Not only that he won the stage but he also made an important leap forward in the general classification.

Speaking of the general classification, Nairo Quintana finally launched a real attack and managed to get half a minute on Chris Froome. Might be too little too late, but at least it gives us hope for another solid and entertaining attack tomorrow. In other news, Geraint Thomas crashed out of the top ten after a terrible day for him while Romain Bardet nicked the polka dot jersey off the back of Purito Rodriguez.

Stage 19 results

1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 4:22:53

2 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team +00:44

3 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky +01:14

4 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:02:26

5 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale

6 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team

7 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing

8 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo

9 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo

10 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) BMC Racing Team

General classification after stage 19

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 78:37:34

2 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team +02:38

3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team +05:25

4 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team +06:44

5 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo +07:56

6 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo +08:55

7 Mathias Frank (Swi) IAM Cycling +12:39

8 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing +13:22

9 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale +14:08

10 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar +17:27

A sensational Vincenzo Nibali redeemed his Tour de France today, he had the courage to attack no less than 62km away from the finish line, caught Pierre Rolland who was leading the race at that point and then dropped him on the endless last climb of the day. Not only that he won the stage but he also made an important leap forward in the general classification.

 

Speaking of the general classification, Nairo Quintana finally launched a real attack and managed to get half a minute on Chris Froome. Might be too little too late, but at least it gives us hope for another solid and entertaining attack tomorrow. In other news, Geraint Thomas crashed out of the top ten after a terrible day for him while Romain Bardet nicked the polka dot jersey off the back of Purito Rodriguez.

 

Nibali has heart of a champion and he proved that today with that brave attack so far away from the finish line. Quintana make some time on Froome but it's tough for me to imagine that Chris will have so disastrous day tomorrow which could cost him the yellow jersey. Anyway I expecting to be an exiting stage.

Stage 20 on Saturday will be an epic one, just 110km long but with two legendary climbs: Col de la Croix de Fer and Alpe d'Huez right at the finish. Quintana would need a small miracle to take the yellow jersey off Chris Froome but I hope he will at least give it a shot.

Here are the odds for the stage at BetVictor:

Nairo Quintana 10/11

Chris Froome 10/3

Vincenzo Nibali 10/1

Alberto Contador 16/1

Romain Bardet 20/1

Thibaut Pinot 20/1

Alejandro Valverde 22/1

Pierre Rolland 25/1

Joaquim Rodriguez 33/1

Rafal Majka 40/1

Jakob Fuglsang 50/1

Robert Gesink 50/1

Tanel Kangert 66/1

Andrew Talansky 66/1

Good luck!

Thibaut Pinot forgot all his worries and misfortune at this year's Tour with a magnificent victory on Alpe d'Huez, well deserved for the way that he has fought throughout the race.

Nairo Quintana did drop Chris Froome on the last climb and gave him almost a minute and a half but the yellow jersey stays on the Team Sky rider's back. Maybe Quintana will regret not having attacked Froome more seriously in the previous stages. Chris Froome also took the polka dot jersey off Romain Bardet today.

Nibali was in good shape today as well but he was very unlucky to have a flat tire right at the start of the final climb.

Stage 20 results

1 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr 3:17:21

2 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team +00:18

3 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team +00:41

4 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team +01:38

5 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky

6 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar +01:41

7 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky 0+02:11

8 Winner Anacona (Col) Movistar Team +02:32

9 Wouter Poels (Ned) Team Sky +02:50

10 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Lampre-Merida

General classification after stage 20

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 81:58:33

2 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team +01:12

3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team +05:25

4 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team +08:36

5 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo +09:48

6 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo +10:47

7 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing +15:14

8 Mathias Frank (Swi) IAM Cycling +15:39

9 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale +16:00

10 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar +17:30

Last stage of the Tour de France today, it will be a festive one in the heart of Paris. There's nothing left to fight for except the stage win and the sprinters will surely give everything they got to clinch it.

Here are the odds for stage 21 at BetVictor:

Andre Greipel 13/8

Mark Cavendish 7/4

Peter Sagan 6/1

Alexander Kristoff 15/2

John Degenkolb 8/1

Arnaud Demare 25/1

Bryan Coquard 33/1

Good luck!

I haven't had a chance to follow the race for the last few days, but looking at the results, as the Quintana tightens up the gap between him and Froome, makes it very interesting, as if I was watching the stages.

Thibaut Pinot forgot all his worries and misfortune at this year's Tour with a magnificent victory on Alpe d'Huez, well deserved for the way that he has fought throughout the race.

 

Nairo Quintana did drop Chris Froome on the last climb and gave him almost a minute and a half but the yellow jersey stays on the Team Sky rider's back. Maybe Quintana will regret not having attacked Froome more seriously in the previous stages. Chris Froome also took the polka dot jersey off Romain Bardet today.

 

Nibali was in good shape today as well but he was very unlucky to have a flat tire right at the start of the final climb.

 

Thibaut Pinot fully deserved that stage victory, he was so active in the last week of the tour and finally he was rewarded in the most important stage.

Yeah I think you are right Johnny, Quintana must regret for not attacking more in the previous stages because Froome looked very tired yesterday but I think his Sky teammates were great yesterday, particularly Richie Porte and Wout Poels was in big help for Froome controlling the gap with Quintana so I don't  think it was  so frightening for Chris in the end.

I believe that Chris Froome fully deserved the victory because he was more active and brave than Quintana in certain situations moreover there wasn't  decent time trial stage in this years tour which was big advantage for Quintana.

Greipel won the final sprint, as expected, the big surprise was that Sagan wasn't second or third this time :)

Stage 21 results

1 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal 2:49:41

2 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar

3 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha

4 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) MTN - Qhubeka

5 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ.fr

6 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Etixx - Quick-Step

7 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo

8 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin

9 Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica GreenEdge

10 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team

All the final classifications:

Final general classification after stage 21

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 84:46:14

2 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team +01:12

3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team +05:25

4 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team +08:36

5 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo +09:48

6 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo +10:47

7 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing +15:14

8 Mathias Frank (Swi) IAM Cycling +15:39

9 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale +16:00

10 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar +17:30

Points classification

1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 432 pts

2 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal 366

3 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 298

4 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Etixx - Quick-Step 206

5 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar 152

6 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 139

7 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr 113

8 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 103

9 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 90

10 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 90

Mountains classification

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 119 pts

2 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 108

3 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 90

4 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr 82

5 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha 78

6 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar 74

7 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 72

8 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 64

9 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky 58

10 Serge Pauwels (Bel) MTN - Qhubeka 55

Young rider classification

1 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 84:47:26

2 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale +14:48

3 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin +30:03

4 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr +37:40

5 Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing +1:32:09

6 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo +2:13:43

7 Adam Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge +2:15:24

8 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo +3:02:55

9 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Argon 18 +3:07:35

10 Merhawi Kudus Ghebremedhin (Eri) MTN - Qhubeka +3:09:24

Most aggressive rider - Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale

Team classification

1 Movistar Team 255:24:24

2 Team Sky +57:23

3 Tinkoff-Saxo +1:00:12

4 Astana Pro Team +1:12:09

5 MTN-Qhubeka +1:14:32

6 Ag2R La Mondiale +1:24:22

7 Team Europcar +1:48:51

8 BMC Racing Team +2:41:46

9 IAM Cycling +2:42:16

10 Team Lotto Nl - Jumbo +2:46:59

It was a great tour, exiting till the very end with the battle for the Yellow Jersey. Froome is a deserved winner but Quintana certainly looking like a future winner in the tour. Sagan was very strong, Greipel dominated  the sprint. There was some disappointments too mainly Contador and the way Tejay had to leave while having great race. Definitely a tour to remember and I hope we will see most of these big names in this years Vuelta too.