VeloVeritas

This morning at 07:00 we had Serge Gainsbourg with 'sea, sex and sun,' it's noon now and we've got Jane Birkin, '69, annee erotique.'

Do these people never give it a rest?

We're nearly at the stage start, Dave has done the biz all the way up from Bordeaux.  ...That was written yesterday, just before we arrived in Longjumeau and the last stage of the Tour.

Subdued Tour watching isn't really our thing.

We had thought that there would be a 'party buzz' at the start, but it all seemed a tad subdued.

The pre Champs race route is actually a little strange, bleak new towns, then back into the country before diving in through 'the projects' to the city of Paris.

The bridge over the Seine always takes you by surprise - all of sudden, it's all there, the river, the skyline, the Eiffel Tower.

Wonderful.

We had a good view of the race though.

Our day is up on PEZ here, if you ever do go to the last stage, you either have to stake your claim to a spot early or get yourself a seat on one of the tribunes.

The whole route is lined with fans hours before the start and once the race hits town, it's all but impossible to get a 'hang spot.'

Best watch it in a bar a little way from the Champs - the prices on the race route are diabolic - then after the race finishes, sprint back to the Champs and grab a barrier spot.

Robbie has been looking forward to this moment.

There's a lull between the race finishing - when a lot of folks bolt - but there's a second wave comes back to watch the laps of honour, which is are a really nice thing to see.

If you've followed the race it's a good ending - it eases the pain of having to go home.

Cheerio Lance, and good luck.

L'Equipe has all the race stats today, including who won that:

I detailed the prize money out before the race, (all in euros):

• 300/day for wearing the polka dot jersey.
• 25,000 for winning King of the Mountains.
• 500/day for best young rider on each stage.
• 300/day for wearing the white jersey.
• 20,000 for winning the best young rider.
• 2,000/ stage (except tt's and last stage) for most aggressive rider.
• 20,000 for being most aggressive rider overall.
• 2,800/stage for best team.
• 50,000 for being best team at the end of the race.
• 8,000/stage for the win.
• 25,000 for winning the green jersey.
• 350/day for wearing the yellow jersey.
• 450,000 for winning the GC.
• 200,000 for finishing second.
• 100,000 for finishing third.

With that in mind, here's what the various teams won, rounded up to the nearest thousand euros:

• Astana 489
• Saxo. 293
• Rabo. 193
• Caisse. 115
• Euskal 95
• Shack. 92
• Omega 90
• HTC 89
• Lampre 82
• QStep 78
• BBox 76
• Garmin 55
• AG2R 48
• Cervelo 40
• Katusha 39
• Sky 37 (16th)

Other Stats

• Sky's best finisher was Lövkvist, 17th @ 20:46
• Brad was 24th @ 39:24
• Sky finished 11th team @ 2hrs 5 min 28 seconds

L'Équipe aren't kind; 'Sky ... arrived at the Tour with big ambitions ... no stage victory and no one in the top 15.'

Word is they are chasing Nicolas Roche - they could do a lot worse.

Anyway, Dave and I are clawing our way up through England and like he always says at times like these; 'Your Tour credentials are no good to you now!'

For sure.

We hope you enjoyed our rantings about one of the best Tours for years, thank you for reading.

San Sebastian and the Tour of Poland, this weekend - but it's just not the same.

Gallery

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