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... will tomorrow be a race for the GC rather than a procession?
Yup, been done before but unless we're talking single digit seconds then will be virtually impossible to achieve.
to be honest whatever the result today tomorrow will be as it always is, a sprinters stage. Cav will want to make it three in a row and HTC will do what it takes to prevent any breaks getting clear.
Another repeat of [url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Tour_de_France ]1989[/url]?
Nope, for the GC the tour ends today. partly because it's practically impossible to gain even a few seconds (barring mechanical or accident) on the other GC contenders but also it would be considered poor form.
1989 was different as the last stage was an individual time trial so there were opportunities to make up time.
I was wondering about this - if Contador, who arguably is only behind due to bad luck (the crash caused by the kid) is just a few seconds out at the end of the TT, then he might feel justified in going for it tomorrow, against tradition. But it's next to impossible to get away on the last stage. I reckon that if there are only a handful of seconds in it, there might be a few behind-the-scenes conversations going on.
Personally, I hope that Cadel can finish the TT with a double-digit lead.
Surrounded By Zulus - Member
... will tomorrow be a race for the GC rather than a procession?
Unlikely, seems to be an unwritten rule that the last day is ceremonial, even with a small time gap. I think the last time recently the race was decided on the final day was when they ran a TT into Paris (Le Mond & Laurent Fignon, 1989). Lemond won by 8 seconds, closest gap ever in tour history. I doubt that even if Schlek or Evans is leading by a second or two at the end of today anyone will take them on, besides Trek & BMC would just control things.
No, the tour GC ends today. Tomorrow is a celebration and a day out for the sprinters. 1989 ended on an individual time trial, and after that result there won't be another! Green jersey will be up for grabs though.
If it's single digit seconds I reckon they'll fight it out.
I'm sure Lance and Kaiser Jan sprinted it out one year, although there were time bonuses across the line in those days.
Matt
Even if the gap is only 1s, and even if they decide to break with tradition, there still won't be any change on GC tomorrow. It's simply impossible to do on a flat stage like that. Far too much advantage to sitting in the draft, and far too easy for a team to close things down.
Different if there were time bonuses on offer, but there aren't.
I'm sure Lance and Kaiser Jan sprinted it out one year
It never happened. There was discussion before the TT about it happening if Jan closed the gap down, but in the event he didn't.
...and every year, right about this time, the same question gets asked. It's a bit of a new-to-the-Tour question tbh.
It ain't going to be a concern chaps, Cadel has this in the bag 😀