Versailles / Paris Champs-Élysées July 21 Mark Cavendish has won the final sprint in Paris for the last four years. Kittel will be out to stop him and looking to book end his own Tour. Sagan and Greipel won’t be far away, either. And of course the human power plant will be trying to generate … More Trivia de France: Stage 21
Annecy / Annecy-Semnoz July 20 The penultimate day of the Tour is often a time trial. But not this year. Any thoughts the riders have of Paris will have to wait. For whilst the stage is short at just 125km, more brutal climbing awaits in one of the true alpine jewels of France. After three … More Trivia de France: Stage 20
Bourg-d’Oisans / Le Grand-Bornand 19 July If the riders thought climbing Huez twice was painful, Stage 19 might just have them crying in their musettes. No chance to rest up like the day after Ventoux. Today the peloton has another two HC and two Category 1 Cols to get over, including the Col de la … More Trivia de France: Stage 19
Gap / Alpe-d’Huez July 18 Christian Prudhomme assures his own place in Tour history by sending the poor riders up the 21 switchbacks of Huez, not once but twice. In addition to the fact the descent from the first HC climb is especially dangerous (not to mention threatened by protestors), there’s also another problem as … More Trivia de France: Stage 18
Embrun / Chorges (ITT) 17 July Today’s start town, Embrun, likes to refer to itself as “The small Nice of the Alps.” Not sure which town holds the mantle of “The big Nice of the Alps”. The TDF isn’t the only big sporting event that will take place here in the Summer of 2013. On … More Trivia de France: Stage 17
Stage 15, Givors / Mont Ventoux 14 July Well, well. Does it get any bigger than today for a French cyclist? 100th Tour. Bastille Day. Longest stage of the 2013 race. Summit finish on Mont Ventoux. Talk about prestigious. You can bet Voeckler and Rolland will have been eyeing this stage off for the last … More Trivia de France: Stage 15
Stage 14, Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule / Lyon 13 July The first ever stage of the Tour de France ended in today’s finish city of Lyon, on 1 July, 1903. By any definition the stage was epic. It started 471km away in Paris at 3pm in the afternoon. 60 riders started, and the stage winner, Maurice Garin, didn’t … More Trivia de France: Stage 14
Stage 10, Saint-Gildas-des-Bois / Saint-Malo 9 July On the rest day between the sixth and seventh stages of the 1910 Tour, French cyclist Adolphe Heliere drowned whilst swimming near Nice. He was the first rider to die during the Tour de France. Sadly he wasn’t the last.
Stage 9, Saint-Girons / Bagnères-de-Bigorre 7 July Today’s start town is named after Saint Girons, a saint from fifth-century Landes who evangelized the awesomely-names province of Novempopulania. The town’s coat of arms is a bell. Ring-a-ding-ding.
Stage 8, Castres / Ax 3 Domaines 6 July Ax-3 Domaines is a ski resort in the Pyrenees, close to the Principality of Andorra. This means climbing. And plenty of it.
Carbon Addiction 