Tour de France, 2007: Stage 20 Preview: The End Is Here (And I'm Clean)
http://www.byjamesraia.com/articles/70/1/Tour-de--France-2007-Stage-20-Preview-The-End-Is-Here--And-I039m-Clean/Page1.html
By James Raia
Published on 07/27/2007
No city is more closely connected to the Tour de France than Paris. Between stage departures and finishes, the country's most renowned city has been part of the world's most renowned cycling event more than 130 times.
Despite its race history dating to 1904, the relationship between Paris and the Tour is in a bit of a rut.
With infrequent deviations — including the 1989 dramatic concluding time trial and overall title won by Greg LeMond — the race each year since 1975 has ended with what is often described as a celebratory final-day ride into Paris.
No city is more closely connected to the Tour de France than Paris. Between stage departures and finishes, the country's most renowned city has been part of the world's most renowned cycling event more than 130 times.Despite its race history dating to 1904, the relationship between Paris and the Tour is in a bit of a rut.
With infrequent deviations — including the 1989 dramatic concluding time trial and overall title won by Greg LeMond — the race each year since 1975 has ended with what is often described as a celebratory final-day ride into Paris.
No city is more closely connected to the Tour de France than Paris. Between stage departures and finishes, the country's most renowned city has been part of the world's most renowned cycling event more than 130 times.
Despite its race history dating to 1904, the relationship between Paris and the Tour is in a bit of a rut.
With infrequent deviations — including the 1989 dramatic concluding time trial and overall title won by Greg LeMond — the race each year since 1975 has ended with what is often described as a celebratory final-day ride into Paris.
With the final overall standings decided, the tired field celebrates its pending arrival with moments of joy along the way.
By tradition, riders share glasses of champagne, don wigs, dye their hair or wear odd-colored socks. They pat each other on the back and acknowledge television cameramen for most of what is usually an estimated 90-100 mile trek.
And via further tradition, when the field arrives in Paris it rides toward the cobblestoned Avenue des Champs-Elysees and then makes 10 fast-paced laps in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators.
One rider gets the race's final-day stage glory. There may be a final adjustment deep in the top-10 standings. Or, maybe one of the race's jersey competitions, other than the winner's Yellow Jersey, will be determined
One recent example occurred in 2005. Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan was sixth overall and trailed American Levi Leipheimer of Santa Rosa, Calif., by two seconds at the beginning of final stage to Paris.
The final stage usually ends in contest among sprinters. But Vinokourov rode aggressively throughout the day and bolted to the front in the waning kilometers. He moved past Leipheimer, surprisingly won the stage and dislodged the American from fifth place.
But who knows how the peloton will ride Sunday on the concluding day of the 94th Tour de France?
Two teams departed the Tour de France this year via riders' positive drug tests. Michael Rasmussen of Denmark, the race leader for 10 days, was kicked out the race by his team for lying about his location after missing out-of-competition drug test appointments.
The final-day route is 146 kilometers (90.7 miles) from Marcoussis. And as per usual, the field will make its fast-paced circuits around the cobblestones and with Arc d'Triomphe and Eiffel Tower as part of the backdrop.
But will the riders celebrate? Will they ride wearing black armbands as a symbolic protest? Or will they exchange any over end-of-the-race enthusiasm for a somber ride across the final line?
Despite its race history dating to 1904, the relationship between Paris and the Tour is in a bit of a rut.
With infrequent deviations — including the 1989 dramatic concluding time trial and overall title won by Greg LeMond — the race each year since 1975 has ended with what is often described as a celebratory final-day ride into Paris.With the final overall standings decided, the tired field celebrates its pending arrival with moments of joy along the way.
By tradition, riders share glasses of champagne, don wigs, dye their hair or wear odd-colored socks. They pat each other on the back and acknowledge television cameramen for most of what is usually an estimated 90-100 mile trek.
And via further tradition, when the field arrives in Paris it rides toward the cobblestoned Avenue des Champs-Elysees and then makes 10 fast-paced laps in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators.
One rider gets the race's final-day stage glory. There may be a final adjustment deep in the top-10 standings. Or, maybe one of the race's jersey competitions, other than the winner's Yellow Jersey, will be determined
One recent example occurred in 2005. Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan was sixth overall and trailed American Levi Leipheimer of Santa Rosa, Calif., by two seconds at the beginning of final stage to Paris.
The final stage usually ends in contest among sprinters. But Vinokourov rode aggressively throughout the day and bolted to the front in the waning kilometers. He moved past Leipheimer, surprisingly won the stage and dislodged the American from fifth place.
But who knows how the peloton will ride Sunday on the concluding day of the 94th Tour de France?
Two teams departed the Tour de France this year via riders' positive drug tests. Michael Rasmussen of Denmark, the race leader for 10 days, was kicked out the race by his team for lying about his location after missing out-of-competition drug test appointments.
The final-day route is 146 kilometers (90.7 miles) from Marcoussis. And as per usual, the field will make its fast-paced circuits around the cobblestones and with Arc d'Triomphe and Eiffel Tower as part of the backdrop.
But will the riders celebrate? Will they ride wearing black armbands as a symbolic protest? Or will they exchange any over end-of-the-race enthusiasm for a somber ride across the final line?