Tour de France: The 101st edition of the Tour de France is history and celebrates in Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) a winner who shone above all others and, without detracting from their performance, also the two Frenchmen Jean-Christophe Peraud (Ag2R -La Mondiale) and eclipsed Thibaut Pinot (FDJ.fr). From a German point of view, the day wins and the seventh overall place of the Czech Leopold König from the Raublinger Team NetApp-Endura were particularly pleasing. Chapeau!
With this photo review we would like to take you with us again for three weeks of excitement, drama and tragedy - step by step, stage by stage.
1st stage | Leeds (UK) – Harrogate (UK)
Royal glamour and Marcel Kittel's first stage win at this Tour de France. Three more would follow. Yellow and green jerseys were then handed out by Duchess Kate. Those who expected Mark Cavendish to win in Harrogate were mistaken. Jens Voigt received the climber's jersey at the start of his 17th and final Tour de France. [ Link ]
2nd stage | York (UK) – Sheffield (UK)
The profile of the second stage resembled that of an Ardennes classic. The fans lining the roads made this stage a special event, culminating in Vincenzo Nibali revealing his ambitions for the first time in this Tour by taking the yellow jersey from Marcel Kittel with his solo victory. [ Link ]
3rd stage | Cambridge (UK) – London (UK)
Another great day for German cycling at this Tour. Team NetApp-Endura was active thanks to Jan Barta, who ultimately won the award for most active rider of the stage. The stage win in front of Buckingham Palace went to Marcel Kittel – with arguably his strongest sprint of the Tour. [ Link ]
4th stage | Le Touquet Paris Plage – Lille
The day that marked the beginning of the end for favorite Chris Froome. The defending champion crashed and suffered a fractured hand. He bravely continued and was able to witness Marcel Kittel's third stage win at the finish. [ Link ]
5th stage | Ypres (Belgium) – Arenberg Porte du Hainaut
Many had been waiting for this stage. A touch of Paris-Roubaix wafted through the Tour de France, although for the riders it was more like a downpour. Chris Froome crashed again, Nibali was always on top form on the cobblestones and pulled away from his rivals. The victory went to a superb Lars Boom. [ Link ]
6th stage | Arras-Reims
Fourth German stage win at this year's Tour de France – this time by André Greipel. The "Gorilla" thus shows that he is in good form and that he was unfairly criticized on previous stages. [ Link ]
7th stage | Epernay-Nancy
Italian Matteo Trentin photobombed Peter Sagan's finish line photo. On a stage that seemed tailor-made for the Slovakian rider , he ultimately came up short. Team Omega Pharma-QuickStep somewhat compensated for Mark Cavendish's painful withdrawal with their stage win. Team NetApp-Endura had once again provided the early excitement. [ Link ]
8th stage | Tomblaine-Gérardmer La Mauselaine
The first day in the Vosges Mountains saw the first clashes among the favorites. Alberto Contador, in particular, tried to put pressure on the competition, including overall leader Vincenzo Nibali, on the final climb. The Frenchman Blel Kadri secured the stage win with a solo attack. [ Link ]
9th stage | Gerardmer-Mulhouse
Tony Martin! The rider from Eschborn plowed through the Vosges Mountains as if there were no tomorrow and, in addition to his solo victory, also won the King of the Mountains jersey. Behind him, Frenchman Tony Gallopin pulled off a surprise. He outsmarted overall leader Vincenzo Nibali with a breakaway and captured the yellow jersey one day before the French national holiday. [ Link ]
10th stage | Mulhouse - La Planche des Belles Filles
The French national holiday saw a merciless Vincenzo Nibali on the final climb. The Italian caught a bravely riding Joaquim Rodriguez in the finale and reclaimed both the stage win and the yellow jersey. Another Spaniard had already abandoned the race by that point. Alberto Contador withdrew from the tour after a crash in which he broke his shinbone. [ Link ]
11th stage | Besançon-Oyonnax
Tony Gallopin strikes back. The Frenchman had to relinquish the overall lead on the previous stage, but he showed he was fit again after the first rest day. He attacked relentlessly in the finale and deservedly celebrated the stage win – ahead of John Degenkolb. [ Link ]
12th stage | Bourg-en-Bresse-Saint-Etienne
Saint-Étienne is a favorite spot for sprinters. However, anyone expecting another stage win from Marcel Kittel or André Greipel was in for a surprise. Alexander Kristoff celebrated another major victory after his win at Milan-San Remo in the spring. Team NetApp-Endura had a disastrous day, losing David de la Cruz. The Spaniard crashed while leading the race and broke his collarbone. [ Link ]
13th stage | Saint Etienne - Chamrousse
The tour heads into the mountains and Vincenzo Nibali begins to gain time on the competition – a scenario that would be repeated several times throughout the race. Leopold König of Team NetApp-Endura had a good day, energizing the finale, but ultimately he couldn't match Nibali's pace. [ Link ]
14th stage | Grenoble-Risoul
The 14th stage of the Tour de France took the peloton to the highest point of this year's Tour, the Col d'Izoard, which reaches an altitude of 2360 meters. After the start in Grenoble, the field first had to tackle the Col du Lautaret, which awaited them at the halfway point of the race. The decisive move came on the final climb to Risoul, where Rafal Majka secured the stage victory. [ Link ]
15th stage | Tallard-Nimes
Swiss rider Martin Elmiger broke away in the very first kilometer, and Jack Bauer caught up with him a little later. The New Zealander, who also holds a German passport, became the tragic figure of the stage. He and Elmiger braved the apocalyptic weather conditions in store for the riders in the finale, only to be robbed of the stage win by Alexander Kristoff 50 meters from the finish line. The Norwegian, meanwhile, celebrated his second victory. [ Link ]
16th stage | Carcassonne - Bagnères de Luchon
The longest day of this year's Tour. Michael Rogers secured another victory for his Tinkoff-Saxo team by breaking away from his companions on the descent to the finish, particularly outsmarting the Europcar duo of Thomas Voeckler and Cyril Gautier. [ Link ]
17th stage | Saint Gaurdens - Pla d'Adet
Another day in the Pyrenees. Another brilliant performance from Rafal Majka. The Pole secured his second stage win and also sealed the deal in the battle for the King of the Mountains jersey. Behind him, Vincenzo Nibali, wearing the yellow jersey, extended his lead over the competition. [ Link ]
18th stage | Pau—Hautacam
The mythical climb to Hautacam brought Vincenzo Nibali his third stage win. Once again, the Shark of Messina , as he is also known, showed his teeth. Behind him, the Frenchmen Thibaut Pinot and Jean-Christophe Peraud put in particularly strong performances, but Leopold König also impressed. [ Link ]
19th Stage | Maubourguet-Bergerac
Heavy rain overshadowed the stage. The wet roads proved particularly disastrous for the fast finishers in the finale. Peter Sagan, who had already secured the green jersey at that point, crashed in the last three kilometers, indirectly helping stage winner Ramunas Navardauskas. The Lithuanian had broken away from the peloton twelve kilometers from the finish and won solo. John Degenkolb finished second for the second time. [ Link ]
20th stage | Bergerac-Perigueux
The only time trial of this year's Tour was a clear victory for Tony Martin, who celebrated his second stage win. Behind him, Jan Barta secured the second stage podium for Team NetApp-Endura in this tour. Vincenzo Nibali sealed the overall victory. Jean-Christophe Peraud, despite a puncture, managed to overtake Thibaut Pinot. Leopold König's sensational seventh place overall, achieved through his time trial performance, is truly remarkable. [ Link ]
21st stage | Evry – Champs-Elysées (Paris)
Oh, Champs-Élysées! – This was a sentiment shared by all the German riders in this year's Tour de France. One of them, however, was sung louder than all the others. Marcel Kittel secured the stage win in Paris, just as he had the previous year, bringing his total to four stage victories. Together with Tony Martin and André Greipel, he raised the German record to seven stage wins in three weeks. Bravo! Vincenzo Nibali (general classification), Thibaut Pinot (best rider under 25), Peter Sagan (points classification), Rafal Majka (mountains classification), Ag2R-La Mondiale (best team), and Alessandro De Marchi (most active rider) also had reason to celebrate. [ Link ]
Another highlight was the women's race, which Marianne Vos won. [ Link ]
