[Closed] TdF Stage 22 - An Ending

And so we come to the 19th hole, it's all gone so fast. Lots to share, for you to read while you get over your hangovers and tour withdrawal. I warn you now, this is quite long, and contains the obvious spoilers. Sorry it was posted so late as well, had to wait quite a while for a lot of this stuff to be made available.

Photos:

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[url= http://www.steephill.tv/2013/tour-de-france/photos/ ]Steephill photos from the entire three weeks[/url]

[url= http://www.itv.com/tourdefrance/tour-de-france-2013-photo-gallery/ ]ITV photos from the entire three weeks[/url]

[url= http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2013/07/tour_de_france_100th_edition_p.html ]The Big Picture tour photos, part one[/url]

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[url= http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2013/07/tour_de_france_100th_edition_p_1.html ]The Big Picture tour photos, part two[/url]

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[s]It had to be him, didn't it? A bit of competition just makes the win that much sweeter.[/s]

Wrote that last night in anticipation, guess I typed way too soon - feel free to blame me. Ah well, he couldn't keep winning forever, 4 in a row will have to do for now. A very worthy winner in Kittel, just a shame I've got the feeling Cav was let down again by his team, they seemed so strong up until the last chicane.

[video] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHwCOk_8R8I [/video]

[video] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as9IRMpX5oU [/video]

Tour giving you road bike fever? Thinking of giving it a go? Might be worth having a read of this

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/humour-tips-for-becoming-a-roadie-14451/

...if a mountain biker says a ride is 'technical', you can assume that there is loose shale, several ledge drops, high-penalty (e.g., death) exposure on one side of the trail, or slick, mossy roots twisting along the singletrack. If a roadie calls a ride 'technical' on the other hand, it most likely means that there is a roundabout somewhere in the ride.

Also if you enjoy that article, you'll probably enjoy this one too..

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/humour-so-you-want-to-be-a-mountain-biker-14501/

And while we're talking about mountain bikes, in case you missed it..

[video] http://vimeo.com/70721410 [/video]

And a few other interesting articles:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/10-conclusions-from-the-2013-tour-de-france

http://www.itv.com/tourdefrance/news/100th-tour-de-france-in-quotes/

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tour-de-france-gallery-100-editions-in-100-photos

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tour-de-france-gallery-history-on-the-champs-elysees

http://www.bicycling.com/tour-de-france/expert-analysis/men-tour-hot-fast-and-sloppy

http://www.cyclesportmag.com/news-and-comment/our-man-in-the-bunch-4-pro-cycling-myths/

http://www.cyclesportmag.com/features/our-man-in-the-bunch-9-tactics/
and
http://www.cyclesportmag.com/features/our-man-in-the-bunch-10-tactics-part-2/

http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/07/news/despite-doubts-losses-and-errors-sky-came-through-as-a-team_296186

http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/07/news/along-the-road-to-annecy-semnoz-a-milestone-jens-voigts-last-attack-in-a-tour_296182 -

It’s almost for sure my last Tour, so I wanted to say goodbye in a special way. I gave everything. I’m happy. It’s almost done for me. I’ve had some great Tour memories. I’ve been on the podium with Andy Schleck and Carlos Sastre. I’m at peace with the Tour.

Come on ITV, offer him a commentary position..

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http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/07/news/the-mild-and-merciless-chris-froome-could-be-winning-tours-for-a-while_296191

I'm planning on giving a few of these a go when I get home..

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.574345205950679.1073741827.168474856537718

[video] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0mH2tcOozs [/video]

[video] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibRnumNeMF0 [/video]

[video] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQJqppHjvfU [/video]

A few useful links

[url= http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2013/us/classifications.html ]Final Classifications[/url]
[url= http://www.velogames.com/tour-de-france/2013/leaguescores.php?league=15194340 ]Fantasy League Standings[/url]
[url= http://www.velogames.com/tour-de-france/2013/leaguescores.php?league=23092808 ]Loser League Standings[/url]

Congratulations to The Blackest Rats by HitamTikus for winning the fantasy league, especially considering he did it without Sagan and with Pinot.. The Hounds of Zaroff by Ceri take 2nd place, and Shavin' yer legs? by Greg Bowie take 3rd. I had to make do with a measly 5th.

However, I had it pretty much sewn up since the end of week one in the loser league, Time to do some crashing winning (losing?) comfortably. The Broom by scaredypants in 2nd, Hoppy on a go slow by Chris Hudson in 3rd. Only the first time we've done that though, so I imagine there will be a bit more competition next year...

And while it's great to look backwards at what has happened in the past few weeks, it's always good to look forwards as well.

http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2013/us/grand-depart-2014.html

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I can see it being very competitive next year, Mollema, Froome, Wiggins, Contador, Evans, Schleck, Rodriguez, Quintana (rumours that he could be riding a BMC next year), Valverde, Porte, etc. etc. Cav to have another chance at yellow, and lots of closed roads for the NIMBYers to complain about.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/andy-schleck-to-ride-for-trek-in-2014

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ten-dam-still-waiting-on-contract-offer-from-belkin

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/david-millar-hints-he-could-retire-in-2014

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ogrady-announces-his-retirement

[url= http://bcove.me/iua94ety ]Jens Voigt's Final Tour[/url]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/africans-inspired-by-froomes-tour-de-france-victory

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/this-yellow-jersey-will-stand-test-of-time-says-froome

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/23404893 - [b]"Froome's next target is September's World Championships in Florence"[/b]

So service will resume as normal sometime early July. Thank you for all the kind words, really appreciate it. I've really had fun doing these threads, and I hope you've all enjoyed the tour as much as I have. If you'd like to show your appreciation then chuck a couple of quid [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/forum/classifieds ]this way[/url] as obviously we couldn't do this without STW, or [url= http://www.papyrus-uk.org/donate ]here[/url] if you'd prefer.

Chapeau and whats more this year you got them all out before the stage actually started

Not a single stage missed, setting a high bar for yourself next year.

...bollocks.

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