Q on TDF stage 21.

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

novetan

Über Member
Assuming the 2nd rider is just 5 sec behind the leader coming into stage 21, is the battle still on for the last stage? Or the commissioner already declare the winner and the 2nd rider can only fight for the sprint and stage win. What if the 2nd rider won the sprint/stage by a massive 30 sec fr the pack. Means actually his ahead by 25 sec fr the winner. What will happen?

I also heard fr the commentary that Pogacar, even though he has toasted the champaign, still has to be careful as he may encounter mechanical problem, puntured tyres etc, as all this can hindered his wins. So am confused. I'd hv thought the nearest rival has to be gentleman enough to wait for him to battle it out. Or no meaning to race at all.

So there are two confusing issues here.
 

greenmark

Guru
Location
Geneva
The winner is not declared until the end of the last stage.

The last stage has the same rules as any other stage. The time taken to complete it counts towards your total time. You have to finish the stage to complete the full tour.
If 2nd place took 30 seconds on the last stage and overtook a 5s lead, then that counts.

But that is highly unlikely to happen. First off, by the last stage there has never been a lead that narrow. And even if there were only a 5 second lead at the beginning of the stage, the yellow jersey leader and his team would stick to the 2nd place like a limpet to make sure there would be no break.

So although the final winner is not officially declared, by the beginning of the 21st stage the winner is already known.
 

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
unless the organizers decide to stick a TT as the final stage , which doesn't happen very often in the tdf .......
1626677302098.png
 
Imagine if Saturday's ITT had been the final stage - drama?? Damp squib more like.

Fignon/Lemond was a one-off. Well almost ... but I didn't really find Pog-vs-Rog all that exciting. It's just watching a number tick over in the bottom-right corner of the screen 😠
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
You should find your answer in this thread.
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/tdf-final-day-is-there-an-etiquette.277437/

But I'll try to answer your specific question
Assuming the 2nd rider is just 5 sec behind the leader coming into stage 21, is the battle still on for the last stage?

I think what you were asking is if the second rider in the General Classification (yellow jersey) was 5 sec behind is the battle still on for the overall race?

It's a hypothetical question and it hasn't happened for a long, long time. Normally the yellow jersey has a significant lead (minutes) by the time stage 21 comes around, so the question doesn't arise. But let's imagine ...

If it did happen, would the race still be on? Probably, yes. We don't know because it hasn't happened (in recent memory).

But you need to consider: how would rider #2 gain 5 sec on rider #1 on a flat stage?

It's going to be incredibly difficult. Rider #1's team will prevent rider #2 from getting away from the bunch, and will constantly chase them down. Also the teams with sprinters will do the same as they want the race to end in a bunch sprint to give their star sprinter a shot at glory on the Champs Élysées. So it's going to be very difficult if not impossible for rider #2 to finish with a clear gap of 5 sec ahead of rider #1. Several teams will be working to prevent it.

But what if rider #2 is a sprinter? They could grab 6 bonus seconds by finishing second in the bunch sprint, or 10 bonus seconds by winning. That would be enough to overtake rider #1 and take yellow. And as a sprinter they would be going for the stage win anyway.

But how likely is it that someone capable of wining the sprint in Paris is also in the #2 spot? To be that high in GC they will have to have done well time trials and mountain stages throughout in the race. They can't possibly be capable of winning a sprint too. No one can do that. Can they?

Wout van Aert says they can!
 
OP
OP
N

novetan

Über Member
You should find your answer in this thread.
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/tdf-final-day-is-there-an-etiquette.277437/

But I'll try to answer your specific question


I think what you were asking is if the second rider in the General Classification (yellow jersey) was 5 sec behind is the battle still on for the overall race?

It's a hypothetical question and it hasn't happened for a long, long time. Normally the yellow jersey has a significant lead (minutes) by the time stage 21 comes around, so the question doesn't arise. But let's imagine ...

If it did happen, would the race still be on? Probably, yes. We don't know because it hasn't happened (in recent memory).

But you need to consider: how would rider #2 gain 5 sec on rider #1 on a flat stage?

It's going to be incredibly difficult. Rider #1's team will prevent rider #2 from getting away from the bunch, and will constantly chase them down. Also the teams with sprinters will do the same as they want the race to end in a bunch sprint to give their star sprinter a shot at glory on the Champs Élysées. So it's going to be very difficult if not impossible for rider #2 to finish with a clear gap of 5 sec ahead of rider #1. Several teams will be working to prevent it.

But what if rider #2 is a sprinter? They could grab 6 bonus seconds by finishing second in the bunch sprint, or 10 bonus seconds by winning. That would be enough to overtake rider #1 and take yellow. And as a sprinter they would be going for the stage win anyway.

But how likely is it that someone capable of wining the sprint in Paris is also in the #2 spot? To be that high in GC they will have to have done well time trials and mountain stages throughout in the race. They can't possibly be capable of winning a sprint too. No one can do that. Can they?

Wout van Aert says they can!

That sums up very neatly. Tks
 
Top Bottom