Stage 20 - Paris - Wrap-up of Tour de France

Mark Cavendish (Sky) has written the big story for today’s final stage of the 2012 Tour de France. He launched his sprint with 400 meters to go. Matt Goss (Orica GreenEdge) gave chase, but could never catch him. "Super Nova" Peter Sagan made a mad dash and nosed out Goss, but could not eclipse the "Manx Missile."

This was Cavendish’s 3^rd stage win for the 2012 Tour, his 4^th consecutive stage victory on the Champs Elysées in Paris, and his 23^rd stage triumph over 6 years at the TDF. This was a "down year" for him personally, compared to his 2011 Tour, because he sacrificed the defense of the green jersey in order to ride in support of Team Sky’s priority goal: Bradley Wiggins’ quest for the yellow jersey. The team hit its chief target, with Mark’s and Chris Froome’s successes being bonuses.

There is speculation that Cavendish could leave Team Sky next year for a team that would concentrate on helping him win the green jersey and more stages. However, he has two more years on a 3-year contract with Sky that pays him $3.75 million per year.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/jul/22/tour-de-france-mark-cavendish?newsfeed=true 

At that level of base salary, and sharing prize money and glory with Wiggins for two more years, I would think twice about moving.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Summary of prizes:

GC winner–yellow jersey–Bradley Wiggins (Sky)
Sprint Points winner–green jersey–Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale)
Climber Points winner–polka-dot jersey–Thomas Voeckler (Europcar)
Youth GC winner–white jersey–Tejay Van Garderen (BMC)
Team prize–RadioShack-Nissan-Trek.  (Sky lost this prize by less than 6 minutes.  All on stage 11.)
Super Combative prize–Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank)
Lanterne Rouge (last place overall)–Jimmy Engoulvent (Saur-Sojasun)

Placement of American Riders:

5. Tejay Van Garderen (BMC)
13. Chris Horner (RadioShack-Nissan-Trek).  Bruyneel wanted to leave him off the roster!  Horner got the last laught there!
33. Levi Leipheimer (Omega Pharma Quickstep)
38. George Hincapie (BMC), his 17^th Tour–most ever by anyone.
60. Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Sharp)
100. David Zabriskie (Garmin-Sharp)
151. Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Sharp), bravely fought through early injuries, almost ended as Lanterne Rouge.
Did Not Finish: Thomas Danielson (Garmin-Sharp), injury Stage 6
Also DNF: Canadian Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp), injury Stage 7.  U.S.-based Garmin was snake-bit.

What’s next? The Olympic Games, starting in one week, feature 18 different bicycle events for men and women, with 500 cyclists competing. Great Britain will try to dominate the men’s road racing and sprinting events in the Olympics, as they did the Tour de France, with Cavendish, Wiggins, Froome and David Millar (Garmin-Sharp). All the big names from the Tour will be competing for their respective countries, and will do their best to prevent a British sweep of the two biggest races of the year.

The 2012 Tour de France is now in the books. Thank you to everyone who followed my blog. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I had writing it.

Here are some parting shots of Paris--not the usual perspectives. 

Au revoir, et à la procaine!

Night view of Paris from the Palais de Chaillot at the Trocadéro.

A different perspective of the Eiffel Tower.

One of several rose windows in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, with organ pipes in the foreground.

Gargoyles on the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

The famous Moulin Rouge night club.

A Place du Tertre mime, taking a break and talking to his wife.  Yes, even mimes have families.

Tombs of La Fontaine (author of fables) and Molière (author of comedic plays), among 100's of notables buried in Paris' famous Père Lachaise cemetery.