sportsPond53: October 2015

Friday, October 30, 2015

The Arc de Triomphe welcomes the weary but exuberant riders with open arms

Team Sky rides a tremendous Le Tour to finish 2nd to Movistar in the team classification

André Greipel erases any doubt that he was indeed The Gorilla with his 4th stage win in Paris

Make it two Le Tour championships for Chris Froome

Podium photo opportunities for both top finishers and their children

At some point Peter Sagan will punch his way through to stage wins and a GC podium finish

I love Le Tour de France, and I love Paris, so it is an emotional ceremony at the end of it all

The Movistar duo of Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana ride a tremendour Le Tour, and finish 3rd and 2nd

French rider Thibaut Pinot hasn't had the best of Tours, so his victory in the penultimate Stage 20 must be sweet

British Chris Froome has Le Tour championship well in hand, but must ride the ceremonial last stage to Paris

Le Tour rule: You don't take advantage of the maillot jaune when there is a problem, but Vincenzo Nibali did

Contender Nairo Quintana gained 30 seconds on the maillot jaune, who came in third in the stage

Frenchman Pierre Rolland won a podium spot with the lovely ladies as the most aggressive ride

I imagine that if I were ever to ride Le Tour, recreationally of course, I'd be stunned at the landscape

Tour gladiators Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana battle in vein to gain time on the maillot jaune

It was Frenchman Romain Bardet with an exhausted but exuberant salute to the crowd at the finishing line

The mind is willing, but the body is spent. Tejay Van Garderen had to abandon a well raced Tour, due to illness

Fresh off a Giro d'Italia victory, Alberto Contador had high hopes but clearly his legs weren't so fresh for Le Tour

Stage 17 goes to the daring Simon Geschke, as contenders and non-contenders get desperate for wins and time

There must be such camaraderie at the start line, as Chris Froome, Joaquim Rodriguez and Peter Sagan show

Frenchman Thomas Voeckler is a fan favorite, and is a 12-year mainstay of Le Tour

Rubén Plaza does it good, in the end, leaving Peter Sagan with another almost-victory

If the climb is arduous for me, then the descent is easy but nerve-wracking

Tejay van Garderen and BMC ride a very calculated Tour to keep him in GC contention

The man they call The Gorilla - André Greipel - one arms the obligatory victory salute for his third stage win