TDF 2024:- Stage 21: Monaco-Nice 34Km ITT ***Spoilers***
Stage 21: Monaco-Nice 34Km ITT
July 21st.
Start Time: First Rider 13-40, Last Rider 17-45BST.
Finish: 18-30BST.
The Tour de France serves an ITT on the final day of action. The 33.7 kilometres route between Monaco and Nice features two climbs - 8.1 kilometres at 5.6% and 1.6 kilometres at 8.1%. It’s almost 20 kilometres along the coast to get from Monaco to Nice, but luckily the riders are sent into the mountains after a short stint on the flat. The riders roll of the ramp in one of the most famous harbors in the world. The route descends off La Turbie, to Éze and onto a 1.6 kilometres climb at 8.1%. After reaching the summit of the Col d’Éze on its steepest side the riders continue downhill towards Nice. They reach the Promenade des Anglais and race on the flat along the Mediterranean only to make a U-turn and return to the city centre and finish on Avenue Jean Médecin.
Profile.
Map.
The Climbs.
Final Kilometres.
What to Expect.
A repeat of the Laurent Fignon, Greg Lemond showdown-not!
What is interesting about this final day time trial is that all the top GC men are also the best trialists in the race.
While Vingegaard shone in last year’s Tour time trial, Pogacar has a history of excelling in decisive mountain time trials. Four years ago, he unexpectedly took the yellow jersey from Roglic on La Planche des Belles Filles, winning the time trial by nearly 2 minutes and securing his first Tour de France victory the next day in Paris.
The maillot jeune is hot favourite to take yet anther stage win.
Monaco
Stage town for the eighth time.
City-state and principality
Population: 39,500
MONACO AND CYCLING
Monaco, home to almost fifty professional cyclists, has hosted the Tour de France seven times since 1939, but the race's most memorable passage through the principality was in 1964. On that day, Raymond Poulidor thought he had won the race in the final but made his effort one lap too early. Jacques Anquetil took advantage of this blunder to win the race and pocket a crucial minute's bonus in the final classification, since he was 55 seconds ahead of Poupou in Paris! The Grand Départ of the 2009 Tour took place in Monaco, with Fabian Cancellara winning the inaugural time trial ahead of Alberto Contador and Bradley Wiggins.
Barbagiuan
Monaco's unmissable culinary speciality is barbagiuan. This is a small turnover or large ravioli filled with stuffing and fried in oil. The stuffing is made from chard or spinach leaves (squash in winter), rice, leeks and onions.
Nice
Stage town for the 37th time
Prefecture of Alpes-Maritimes (06)
Population: 345,000
NICE AND CYCLING
Nice is becoming a key city in the Tour de France. Before enjoying the privilege of becoming the first town to host the final finish of the Tour away from its Parisian base. In 1981, Bernard Hinault swapped his rainbow outfit for the Yellow Jersey by winning the prologue. The next two half-stages were won by Freddy Maertens and then by Dutch outfit Ti-Raleigh in a team time-trial, with Gerrie Kneteman taking over the Yellow Jersey. “Nice la très fidèle” (Nice the very faithful), the city's Latin motto, has also been widely respected, with thirty-seven appearances as a stage town in the Tour de France since 1906.
Specialities: pissaladière, fougasse, socca, brissaouda, tapenade, salade niçoise, pan bagnat, porchetta, trulle, ratatouille, daube niçoise, bellet (wine)
Pissaladière
Originating from the French city of Nice, pissaladière is a baked tart that is similar to a pizza, but thicker. In the past, it was usually baked and sold each morning, but today it is traditionally served as an appetizer or a snack, consisting of a doughy base that is topped with anchovies, olives, caramelized onions, and fresh herbs.
Comments
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Thanks again for the informative stage threads Blazing.
Yep, given the climbing and the general Pogness, it's difficult not to see past a Giro equalling six stages.
Visma UAE entertaining lad TadeJ ascending, what more do you want?
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Thanks for the previews BS, great work as usual..
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Pog the massive favourite, given both his form and that these are his home roads. He'll know every tiny crack in the tarmac.
The technical descent won't favour Remco either, but he's targeting the stage so I'm sure he'll have practiced it
Jonas will be good, should be too good for Remco to budge, though it'll be interesting if it's the time he lost yesterday that decides it.
Lots of potential for GC movement in the top 10, and the big question: can Cav lose a minute to Ballerini to claim the Lanterne, or will he gift it to his teammate?
Anyway, here's the Xavier Disley thread on what to expect - no bike changes for starters
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I used to think that as ‘89 was the first Tour I really followed but I think it’s a fitting end for all those who got through the 3 weeks to be able to enter Paris together and share the experience. Having a TT works when there is jeopardy, less so when it is done and dusted.
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Also much more of a party vibe. A lot of the riders are literally close to home, stunning riding.
do it every year!
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When you see how the sprinters have grovelled and suffered to get here it seems churlish to tell them that a bit of parade-riding and then a big sprint is a rubbish ending and you'd rather they went up some big hills alone on a TT bike.
I like the parade, I like the riders getting together one last time and I like the sprint. It's a chance to retell a few stories of the tour and to get a slightly more relaxed perspective on it all.
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Carapaz takes the super-combative prize, seems about right to me
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Weird take, for a race that's pretty much three weeks of stage directed heli-shots for the telly.
Anyway, my point was less about location and more about TT V a neutralised parade ride followed by a city-crit sprint.
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Do you mean finish in Nice every year or with a TT every year?
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Long journey from where? The penultimate stage is held in all sorts of places. I went to Paris for the final stage in 2018 (we were due to go there from our campsite in Brittany two days later but cut the camping short last minute to see Geraint home). The atmosphere was incredible and the crowds 4 or 5 deep around the circuit would suggest your assertion that no-one cares may be wrong. Personally I’d like the procession part to be shorter and then to have a longer circuit in the city though.
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Unfortunate registration plate on the Ineos car behind Blythe with EPO as the middle three letters (it may be EPQ).
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Think they need to increase the dose
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Surprised to see Cav opting for a TT bike. I get it for the riders at the pointy end but not at the back of the field.
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Willier's still got units to ship, I expect they'd be pretty pissed off he wasn't on it while he's going to get half an hour of TV time
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Plus sprinter teams seem to have shot themselves in the foot with race organisers, by not giving any rope to prospective breakaway candidates.
This Tour has had half a dozen Paris processions that saw viewers switching off in droves. Sponsors cannot have amused by the drop in viewing figures.
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.1 -
Oh they're already planning on cutting them. I think they may have put a load in to get Cav the record tbh. Seemed like there were more than the last couple of years. There were what, 7 sprint finishes in the end this year? And there were loads of teams with sprinters as well, too many for one of them getting a rider in the break having an effect on it being able to stay away (very unlike last year)
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Cheers for the threads BS
"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0 -
Cav 17" down on Ballerini at the first check (top of La Turbie)
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Cav 29" down at second check, top of Col d'Eze
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Cavs victory lap of France tour . What's he going to do when he retires
"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0 -
We have watched his entire career here .
"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0 -
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Me too.
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.1 -
Dillier taking the loss with the drafting
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