The Tour de France: Stages Twenty and Twenty-One

Stage twenty would provide the last opportunity for those with any GC ambitions to do something about it. Of course, it was always unlikely that anyone would dethrone Chris Froome from the top spot, but with Qunitana, Rodriguez, Contador and others looking to get on the podium, it was always likely to be an eventful day. In the end, it turned out that Quintana was the strongest, winning the stage and, in the process, taking runner-up spot. He was followed by Rodriguez, who finished 18 seconds down and secured third place on the podium, with Froome finishing third, 29 seconds down on the winner. Contador finished 2:23 down and consequently lost his podium position. With such an impressive display from the Colombian youngster, not only did he manage to secure the white jersey, but also the polka dot jersey.

Stage twenty-one was the usual procession. After three weeks of racing, all the riders were able to enjoy to an easy ride into Paris, this time later in the evening and taking in the Arc de Triomphe for the first time. There were the usual attacks - with David Millar and Juan Antonio Flecha giving it their all, but there was never any question that this would come down to a sprint finish. The question was would Cavendish achieve an unprecendented fifth win in along the Champs-Élysées, or would it be the turn of someone else? On the day, it turned out that Kittel would be the sprinter to triumph over Greipel and Cavendish. Whether it was due to a better leadout train or better legs, Kittel has shown himself to be a force to be reckoned with! All that remained was for Froome to stand on the podium and collect his yellow jersey, along with the other jersey wearers - Quintana and Sagan, who appeared to win the green jersey with ease. It was certainly an exciting edition of the Tour de France, but can it be topped in 2014?

The Tour de France: Stages Eighteen and Nineteen

Stage eighteen was very much one for the GC contenders, as riders had to negotiate the climb of Alpe d'Huez twice. Although, ultimately the win was taken by a rider who had got into an earlier breakaway group, it was here that time could be gained or lost by those in contention for the GC. In terms of GC ambitions, the biggest losers were the Belkin boys, Ten Dam and Mollema, as well as Contador for Saxo-Tinkoff, having lost a further minute to Froome. Quintana, on the other hand, was incredibly strong and managed to put time into his nearest rival, Contador. It is evident that the podium positions could change, so that Quintana ends up in second and Contador in third, as Quintana is a powerhouse on the climbs.

In the end, it was Christophe Riblon who was the first French winner of this year's tour, finishing ahead of van Garderen who had looked strong all day, but may have been hampered by having to chase back on after a mechanical problem, as he had to exert extra energy. He was not the only one to suffer from not having enough energy, as Christopher Froome showed signs of weakness for the first time this tour, so that he ended up getting Richie Porte to go back to the team car to get some energy gels, even though they were outside the feeding zone limits. This would lead to a 20 second penalty for both Froome and Porte and a fine for the two riders and their director sportif, although Froome asserted they hadn't been able to get food at the appropriate time because their car had a mechanical issue. With such a significant buffer, Froome clearly felt it was safer to risk a penalty than to go without food for the last few kilometres.

Stage nineteen turned out to be another victory for the breakaway and with much less action in terms of the GC, although there were a few changes such as Ten Dam and Rogers dropping out of the top ten and Valverde and Navarro moving up, with Kwiatowski losing a position and ending up in tenth place. Izagirre and Hesjedal were the first to get into a breakaway, but as Izagirre dropped off it was left to Pierre Rolland, who had made his way out of the chasing group up to the breakaway, and Hesjedal to keep it going. The pace was too much for Hesjedal who faded. Although Pierre Roland claimed his pursuit of the polka dot jersey was over, having secured points on this stage, he is only one point behind Froome.

Eventually, it was left to Rui Costa to go on the attack out of the chasing group, catching Rolland with 19 kilometres to go and quickly passing him. In the end it was he who took the victory, finishing just under nine minutes ahead of the rest of the peloton, with Andreas Klöden in second and Jan Bakelants in third.

The Tour de France: Stages Sixteen and Seventeen

It was hardly surprising that after a series of difficult stages and with even more tough stages to come, stage sixteen turned out to be one for the breakaway. A large break was able to get away, as GC contenders were happy to bide their time. 26 riders got into the break, including the likes of Jeannesson, Coppel, Navardaukas, Gilbert, Meyer and Rui Costa, as none were a threat in terms of the GC. In the end, it was Costa who managed to take the victory. Although the peloton didn't cross the line for another 11 minutes, there was still plenty going on in the background, as attacks were taking place, with Contador trying to take back time on Froome, only to misjudge a corner and nearly come off his bike. Froome followed his line and almost came off, too. In the end, they made it across the line safely, but some of the GC contenders lost time, including Fuglsang and Dan Martin.

Stage seventeen was a time trial stage that was going to be much more of a challenge than the first time trial, as the climbs were tougher and the weather more changeable. Some of the riders started off on normal road bikes and changed to time trial bikes once they had got past the climbs, whilst others decided to use road bikes with clip-on tri-bars. This was a decision which may have cost Alberto Contador the stage victory, because whilst Froome opted to change to a time trial bike, Contador did not, and Froome ended up winning the stage by nine seconds. The top ten also featured Rodriguez, Kreuziger, Valverde, Quintana, Kwiatowski, Fuglsang, Talansky and van Garderen. A number of GC riders lost time, including Ten Dam and Mollema. Thus, Contador is now in second place on the GC, 4:34 behind Froome, with Kreuziger in third, Mollema in fourth and Quintana in fifth. The next big test for the GC riders is L'Alpe d'Huez, which they will have to ride up twice in the next stage! Ultimately, it appears that everyone is now pretty much riding for second place.

The Tour de France: Stages Fourteen and Fifteen

Stage fourteen turned out to be day for the breakaway men. After a surprising stage twelve, the GC contenders were happy to sit back and let a group of 18 go down the road. Having slipped up previously, Sky made sure that Froome was securely placed at the front, so there would be no more unexpected attacks. Amongst the 18 riders were David Millar, Tejay van Garderen, Lars Bak, Simon Geschke, Jan Bakelants, Blel Kadri, Andrew Talansky, Michael Albasini, Julien Simon, Matteo Trentin and a number of others all looking to take the stage victory. As the stage neared the end, it looked as though Julien Simon was going to take the win, having gone off the front, but some of the other riders had managed to bring him back and it ended up being a sprint, which Trentin won ahead of Albasini and Talansky. The rest of the peloton rolled in about seven minutes later.

Stage fifteen, on the other hand, was very much a day for the GC contenders, as Movistar took control of the race, hoping to set up the stage for their superstar climber, Quintana, who would eventually go on the attack. Ultimately, the work put in by Peter Kennaugh and Richie Porte at the front helped decimate the field, so that when Froome went off to catch Quintana, there was no one who could match him. Having caught Quintana, it didn't take long for Froome to overtake him and it was he who ended up victorious at the top of Mont Ventoux. Froome managed to put even more time into his rivals, with Quintana finishing 29 seconds down, Nieve and Rodriguez 1:23 down, Kreuziger and Contador 1:40 down. Once again, Froome has shown he is the dominant force in the 2013 Tour de France and there were no visible cracks in Sky's performance this time, either.

The Tour de France: Stages Twelve and Thirteen

Stages twelve and thirteen were both designed with the sprinters in mind, but both threw up some surprises. In stage twelve it did come down to a bunch sprint, but there was a major crash within the last three kilometres which put paid to Greipel's chances of contesting the sprint and picking up points in the green jersey competition. Others were also caught out, including Sky's Edvald Boasson Hagen, who rode to the finish, but would later be declared out of the race, having broken his shoulder. The real surprise came at the finish line when Marcel Kittel powered past Cavendish, taking the victory and, no doubt, a huge amount of confidence from being able to beat 'the fastest sprinter in the world.'

Stage thirteen should have been just more of the same, really, but instead everything blew apart. It was clear that Omega Pharma Quickstep were determined to take charge of the race, keeping the pace so high that riders were struggling at the back, including Marcel Kittlel. Hearing news of this simply motivated the team to continue onwards and soon more gaps appeared, something which the side winds also contributed to. Unfortunately, for Movistar, Valverde had a mechanical issue at the wrong moment, so that even with most of his team-mates around him, it was going to be a struggle for him to get back on. Indeed, it turned out that he and his team-mates would be swept up by Kittel's group and none of them would catch up with the peloton.

Consequently, Valverde lost his second place position on the GC, and has now fallen out of the top 10, so that it looks as though Movistar have only Quintana as their main man. This turned out to be not the only change to the GC, as Saxo-Tinkoff decided to put in a surprise attack, with a number of other GC contenders including Laurens Ten Dam and Bauke Mollema making it into the group. Of those looking to win the green jersey, Cavendish and Sagan made it across, with Greipel losing out once more. Sky and other GC teams were fighting to bring the breakaway group back, but all their efforts were to be in vain, as the group ended up finishing 1:09 down on the winner. Despite the best efforts of Sagan, Cavendish was finally able to win his second stage of this year's tour.

In terms of the GC, it must be worrying times for Sky, seeing how strong the other teams are and not being able to respond, especially since they are already two men down. The question is whether there will be any more unexpected fireworks in the next stage, although it is only a medium mountains stage, or whether those aiming for the GC will wait for the high mountains of Mont Ventoux to attack.

The Tour de France: Stage Eleven

The time trial is known for being the 'race of truth,' as there is nowhere to hide when you're all by youself with no team-mates to pace you up the climbs and protect you from the wind. To be a true GC contender, it therefore helps to be a decent time trialist. Stage eleven would show who was still in with a shot of taking the yellow jersey and who would end up having to target stage wins. There were no surprises to see Rodriguez and Schleck struggle, whilst Dan Martin also had a hard day in the saddle, as did Quintana who ended up conceding his young rider's jersey to Kwiatowski who put in an incredible performance to finish the time trial in fifth position.

Ultimately, the GC riders were looking to limit their losses to Chris Froome, as the expectation was he would outperform them, which turned out to be the case. Cadel Evans, Alessandro Valverde and Alberto Contador all lost time. Being the last man to leave the start line, Froome had the benefit of knowing how all his rivals were doing and from the first time check it was looking good for him. Indeed, he clocked in with an even faster time than Tony Martin, the world time trial champion and fastest man in the stage up to that point. He looked on with trepidation as Froome came across the second time check a couple of seconds faster than him, believing his chances of a stage victory were slipping away.

However, when Froome finally crossed the line, he was actually 12 seconds down on Martin's time, but this didn't bother him, as his main objective was to put time into his rivals which he did. He now leads the GC by 3:25 ahead of Valverde, 3:37 ahead of Mollema, and 3:54 ahead of Contador. The race isn't over yet, as stage nine showed that it is possible to isolate Froome and that Sky are not invincible. It's just for the other riders to get their act together and think tactically, instead of waiting for Froome to have a bad day, as this may never happen!

The Tour de France: Stage Ten

After a rest day came a day for the sprinter's and so, of course, the focus turned to the usual suspects - Cavendish, Greipel, Sagan and Kittel, and the rest. As the sprint wound up, Cavendish brushed against Tom Veelers, Kittel's leadout man, and Veelers came down. Cavendish said that it was just because the road was bearing left and, indeed, when the commissaires looked at footage from the end of the stage they decided that no one was at fault and so Cavendish was not penalised. Even though Veelers was brought down, there was better news for his team-mate, Kittel, who managed to sprint across the line first, ahead of Greipel, Cavendish and Sagan. Luckily for Cavendish and the other sprinters there will be a number of other opportunities to sprint their way to victory this week, though tomorrow's focus is the individual time trial, which is really a day for the time trial specialists and GC contenders.

The Tour de France: Stage Nine

When Chris Froome took the yellow jersey, everyone seemed to expect that the rest of the race would end up looking pretty similar to the Tour de France of 2012 with Team Sky completely dominating the race. However, stage nine showed that even Sky can have bad days. After the impressive one-two finish for Sky on stage eight, Richie Porte lost about 18 minutes on stage nine, putting paid to his chances of a podium finish. Not only that, but Sky lost a key domestique in the form of Vasil Kiryienka who finished outside the time limit, having worked hard to try to bring Porte back to the lead group. Peter Kennaugh had crashed earlier on in the stage, whilst Geraint Thomas was still nursing an injury. Chris Froome therefore found himself isolated, riding behind a very strong Movistar team.

Movistar were keen to push on, as they wanted to consolidate Valverde's second place position, which meant trying to prevent Porte from getting back to the group. Consequently, none of the riders really had enough left in the tank to put in a sustained attack. It was left to Dan Martin and Jakob Fuglsang to set the race alight, but with Martin and Fuglsang not too far down on the GC, nobody was going to let them get too far ahead. Having won Liege-Bastogne-Liege, it was clear that Martin was in good form and, ultimately, it was he who went on to claim the victory, finishing just ahead of Fuglsang and coming across the line 20 seconds ahead of the next group of riders which included Kwiatkowski, Rodriguez, Valverde, Schleck, Froome, Mollema and Quintana amongst others.

It is funny that so many people were disappointed at Sky's dominance, believing that the race was already decided when there are still two weeks of racing to go. Cycling is an unpredictable sport, though, and so anything could happen!

The Tour de France: Stages Seven and Eight

Stages seven and eight were very different beasts from each other. Stage seven was classified as a medium mountains stage and so there was a question mark over whether the sprinters would get to the finish in order to contest the sprint. In the end, it turned out that the hills were just too much for many of the pure sprinters, such as Cavendish and Greipel. However, some sprinters did make it over the climbs and it was Peter Sagan who finally managed to get the win, after coming second so many times, thus strengthening his hold on the green jersey. He finished ahead of John Degenkolb, who is known as a sprinter who can get over climbs in a similar manner to Sagan. Daryl Impey also managed to finish in the front group, thus keeping hold of the yellow jersey.

Stage eight, on the other hand, was a high mountains stage and gave the GC contenders an opportunity to stretch their legs for the first time in the race. Rather surprisingly, it was Quintana who made the first move, putting in an early attack with about 40km to go. It was Team Sky that were at the front, but there was no sense of panic, as they kept to a tempo, as they are known for doing so well. Although Quintana was going well, he was ultimately brought back, as Peter Kennaugh and Richie Porte kept the pace high for their team leader, Chris Froome. Indeed, the pace was so high that many high-profile GC contenders were dropped, including Cadel Evans and his team-mate Tejay van Garderen. Eventually, even Contador began to suffer.

It must have been disheartening for all the riders, as they watched Chris Froome ride off the front so that he could put even more time into his rivals. Porte stayed behind and kept an eye on things, but decided he had enough gas in the tank to push on, so that whilst Chris Froome took the stage victory and, in the process, the yellow jersey, Porte was able to finish second, 51 seconds down. He was followed by Valverde who was 1.08 minutes down on the winner, Mollema who was 1.10 down and Ten Dam who was 1.16 down. Contador crossed the line in eighth place, 1.45 down on Froome's time.

Of course now it is up to Sky to control the race, but it's a position they're used to and seem comfortable with. Unfortuately, this doesn't bode well for the other teams and unless something unexpected happens, it is hard to imagine Froome being dislodged from top of the GC, even though there are still two weeks left of the race. If other riders don't find a way to challenge Sky's dominance, this could turn out to be a rather boring affair, as it would appear that everyone is now basically riding for third place and the lower placings.

The Tour de France: Stages Five and Six

Stages five and six were sufficiently flat for the sprinters' teams to target them, so that both ended up in bunch sprints. Having said that, stage five was a close call, as the breakaway group weren't brought back until near the end. Although there may have been initial doubts over whether some of the pure sprinters would get up the climbs, when it was clear Mark Cavendish was in good shape, Omega Pharma Quickstep set to work at the front and managed to create the perfect leadout train for Cavendish, who won the race ahead of Boasson Hagen and Sagan. Unfortunately, there was a crash behind, which left some sprinters such as Marcel Kittel unable to contest the sprint and took some riders out of the race.

Stage six was more of the same, although there was never any doubt that this would end in a sprint. It wasn't to be Cavendish's day, though, as he was brought down in a crash in the final kilometres and had to expend a lot of energy getting back to the group. Apparently, the team radios were down and so Cavendish found himself isolated and without any other riders to support him. In the end it was Lotto-Belisol that created the perfect leadout train for Andre Greipel, who cruised over the line with ease, followed by Sagan and Kittel. Peter Sagan retains the green jersey and having taken second place in the green jersey standings in stage five, Cavendish was overtaken by Greipel after he finished fourth in stage six.

There was also a time split at the finish line, which put Daryl Impey in the yellow, making him the first South African to wear the yellow jersey.

It may be awhile before the sprinters get another opportunity to go for a stage win, as the roads now head upwards, although before heading to the high mountains, there are medium mountains to negotiate, which may give some of the puncheur-type sprinters an opportunity to do something.

The Tour de France: Stage Four

Going into the team time trial, it was Jan Bakelants that was wearing yellow, but Radioshack Leopard were not seriously expected to finish high enough in the standings for Bakelants to retain the yellow jersey. Indeed, this turned out to be the case. Some of the favourites for the victory included Team Sky, Omega Pharma Quickstep and Garmin Sharp and, clearly, any teams targeting the GC as one of their major aims would have to put in a decent performance. The course was only 25 km long, so it was unlikely that any team would lose too much time, but for those chasing yellow it would clearly be preferable to put time into rivals, rather than to lose it.

What was somewhat unexpected was that it would be Orica Greenedge that would come away with the victory and the yellow jersey. After Simon Gerrans' victory in stage three, the pressure for the team to get a stage win was off, and this perhaps helped somewhat. In the end, they finished ahead of Omega Pharma Quickstep by a second; with Sky in third, three seconds behind; Saxo Tinkoff in fourth at nine seconds behind; and Lotto Bellisol in fifth, at 17 seconds behind.

Although Sky may have wanted to take the victory, they were riding with an injured rider, Geraint Thomas, and perhaps there is some relief that they won't have to defend the jersey and control the race, if it means Thomas can hide out in the peloton and work on recovering. Alberto Contador will be glad his team didn't lose too much time to Sky. BMC may be disappointed that they finished 26 seconds down on the stage winners, but it is not an unsurmountable amount of time to make up.

With a flat stage on the horizon, the yellow jersey could be on Simon Gerrans' shoulders for a number of days to come, although that is likely to change when the race enters the high mountains.

The Tour de France: Stages Two and Three

Stages two and three had a similar profile in that they were both set in the medium mountains, meaning that there was an element of uncertainty - would the sprinters hang in on there and contest the sprint at the end or would the peloton be thinned out enough for the puncheurs to make their mark?

It turned out that stage two would end up with many of the top sprinters being shed out the back and unable to stay with the peloton to contest the sprint. There was a little bit of drama towards the finish as an errant dog made its way on to the road as the peloton fast made its approach. Luckily, the dog realised it was in danger and got out of the way, but it could have been carnage! Jan Bakelants decided to make a move, realising he could not win in a sprint, which paid off, as he finished a second ahead of Peter Sagan, Michal Kwiatkowski and the rest of the peloton, taking the yellow jersey in the process.

The sprinters may have hoped that they were in with a chance of a win in stage three, but it wasn't to be, as Cavendish, Greipel and other pure sprinters were distanced. However, the likes of Gilbert, Sagan and Edvald Boasson Hagen managed to stay at the front. Ultimately, it was Simon Gerrans who took the stage victory, though, claiming the first Tour de France win for Orica-Greenedge, having just beaten Peter Sagan to the line. Jan Bakelants managed to hold on to the yellow jersey and will wear it in the team time trial which makes up stage four. It is doubtful Bakelants will keep it beyond that with so many strong teams, but anything is possible!