Tour de France 2013 Standings: Updated Results, Leaders, Times and More
The Tour de France is celebrating its 100th birthday, and the centennial event is certain to be a memorable one.
This event is undoubtedly the most prestigious cycling race in the world, with the winners being immortalized in the sport's glorious history. This year, it will feature 21 stages over the course of 23 days from June 29 to July 21.
For the first time in the championship's history, the athletes will travel to Corsica. The island will be the host to Stage 1 at the beginning of the grueling 3,404 kilometers that ends in Paris. You can find complete route information at LeTour.com.
Fans can watch the action on NBC Sports on television or using the channel's online streaming. With the 2013 race being wide open, make sure you do not miss a second of the action.
Finally, make sure you check back here for constant updates throughout the race for standings, stage times and more for the Tour de France.
Leaderboard
1 of 22Final Standings (via LeTour.com)
| Place | Cyclist | Overall Time |
| 1 | Christopher Froome | 83:56:40 |
| 2 | Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas | +04:20 |
| 3 | Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver | +05:04 |
| 4 | Alberto Contador | +06:27 |
| 5 | Roman Kreuziger | +07:27 |
| 6 | Bauke Mollema | +11:42 |
| 7 | Jakob Fuglsang | +12:17 |
| 8 | Alejandro Valverde | +15:26 |
| 9 | Daniel Navarro | +15:52 |
| 10 | Andrew Talansky | +17:39 |
Final Jersey Wearers
Yellow Jersey: Christopher Froome
Green Jersey: Peter Sagan
Polka-Dot Jersey: Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas
White Jersey: Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas
Team Leaders: Team Saxo-Tinkoff
Combative Leader: Christophe Riblon
Stage 21
2 of 22Christopher Froome officially won the 2013 Tour de France after coasting into the finish line behind the sprinters.
As is tradition on the final day, the yellow jersey holder enjoyed champagne at the beginning of his run (via the Inner Ring):
"Froome sips champagne for the cameras pic.twitter.com/YI7KnJUK76
— the Inner Ring (@inrng) July 21, 2013"
Eventually, he caught up to his Sky Procycling teammates and crossed the finish line with all of them in an emotional moment for the champion. Theoretically, he was in 114th place on the day, but he will not mind that too much.
While the general classification was mostly settled before the stage started, the event's top sprinters still came into final day with plenty to prove.
In the end, it was Marcel Kittel who came away with the final victory at the Champs-Élysées, finishing with a time of three hours, six minutes and 14 seconds. This caps a great showing from the German rider, who led all competitors with four stage wins at this prestigious event.
Kittel narrowly edged out some familiar names down the stretch, including Andre Greipel and Mark Cavendish, who finished in second and third respectively.
Peter Sagan managed to get fourth place, which was enough for him to win the overall sprinting competition in the Tour.
Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas also had an impressive showing from beginning to end, winning both the best climber competition and best young rider. He will obviously be a top contender for the championship for many years to come.
This caps a fantastic month of coverage for the Tour de France with an incredible showing by all riders who finished this grueling event.
Stage 20
3 of 22Colombian star Nairo Quintana made a big splash on Saturday as the 23-year-old holder of the white jersey traversed the treacherous 125-kilometer course from Annecy to Annecy Semnoz, and managed to finish first with a time of three hours, 39 minutes and four seconds, according to the Tour de France's official website.
Not only did winning Stage 20 allow Quintana to move into second place in the overall standings, but he also took the polka dot jersey from Christopher Froome as the race's top climber. One thing that he couldn't take from Froome, though, is the top spot in the overall standings.
In fact, it appears as though nobody will be able to catch Froome as just one stage remains, and he leads by more than five minutes. That means Froome is all but guaranteed to take a scenic ride down the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday with champagne in hand to celebrate a Tour victory.
Quintana's accomplishments shouldn't be forgotten, though, as the youngster was dominant on Saturday. Joaquin Rodriguez finished 17 seconds behind Quintana, which vaulted Quintana past him in the standings. Froome finished in third, 29 seconds behind Quintana, but it barely put a dent in his lead.
The standings were shaken up quite a bit as a whole aside from the top spot with Quintana moving up, Alberto Contador moving down, and a number of other cyclists getting shuffled.
Sunday will be a great day for Froome, but Quintana has a lot to look forward to. He has emerged as the premier climber in cycling, which is something that will make him a top contender in next year's Tour de France and beyond.
It was already apparent that Quintana was a very talented cyclist, however, his dominance in Stage 20 confirmed that he will be a force to be reckoned with for a very long time to come.
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Stage 19
4 of 22Friday's trek from Bourg-d'Oisans to Le Grand-Bornand is in the books, and with it only two more stages remain in the 2013 Tour de France.
Rui Alberto Costa won Stage 19 with a time of five hours, 59 minutes and one second. He was followed closely by Andreas Kloden, Jan Bakelants, Alexandre Geniez and Daniel Navarro in the penultimate stage in the Alps.
Costa's win was his second of the 2013 Tour and third overall in his career at the event, and ITV Cycling had this post on Twitter as the Portuguese rider celebrated a win for himself and Team Movistar:
"He's done it again! Rui Costa celebrates his second stage win of this year's Tour #tdf pic.twitter.com/mApovpvu73
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 19, 2013"
Britain and Sky Pro Cycling's Christopher Froome would retain his yellow jersey and overall lead despite finishing nearly nine minutes behind the stage leader on Friday. BBC Sport confirmed:
"Britain’s Chris Froome retains his overall Tour de France lead after Stage 19 which was won by Portuguese Rui Costa http://t.co/H8vOQ4NX7U
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 19, 2013"
It was a brutal day for field just two days before the 2013 race will conclude in Paris Champs-Elysees.
Wet, rainy conditions and five categorized climbs made this one of the toughest stages at the Tour de France so far. Starting in Bourg-d'Oisans and moving North toward Le Grand-Bornand, the riders had to deal with slick conditions and the considerable weight of the different climbs in Stage 19.
As you can see in this ITV Cycling tweet, nothing was easy in the Alps on Friday:
"It can't be easy climbing in these conditions. Watch live here http://t.co/lgp0OOYUFX #tdf pic.twitter.com/85mcxEpetV
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 19, 2013"
It was Costa who set the pace early, and the Team Movistar rider managed to cross the finish line 48 seconds before Kloden. Still 24th and over 42 minutes behind Froome in the general classifications standings, the stage win was a nice moral victory for Costa, but not much else.
In addition to the yellow jersey, Froome also is now the leader in the climber standings. Since he'll be wearing yellow on Saturday, Pierre Rolland will wear the polka-dot jersey in his stead.
Peter Sagan (points) and Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (youth) both retained their leads in different classifications, while Team Saxo-Tinkoff still has a lead of over three minutes past Radioshack Leopard in the team standings.
On Saturday, the riders will face their final mountain test. Stage 20 moves from Annecy to Annecy-Semnoz, and features a steep climb to the summit of Semnoz that might just decide how the final podium shakes out on Sunday.
Stage 18
5 of 22Christophe Riblon came through with a thrilling win on a tough mountain stage for the home country on Thursday.
The 18th stage clearly had the makings of a potentially exciting race. The incline of Alpe d'Huez proved to test the mettle of the riders as much as expected. Riblon proved to be the fittest.
This was France's first stage victory of the event this year. It was a huge win for Riblon as he took possession of the Polka-Dot and Combative jerseys after his performance.
Riblon had to rally to catch American Tejay van Garderen with less-than three kilometers remaining in the stage. Riblon saved his best for late as his endurance proved superior to van Garderen. The American ultimately had to settle for second place, 58 seconds behind Riblon.
Moreno Moser of Italy was third. Though he didn't figure in the top three spots, Christopher Froome held on to the yellow jersey as overall leader after finishing seventh.
The race itself was great, but tour officials have to do something about the fans' access to the riders. There were two incidents that could have been especially dangerous that The Guardian's Barry Glendenning wrote about in his blog.
Tejay van Garderen had to shove a fan out of his way as the man attempted to run alongside him and make contact at one point. Froome was also harassed by a fan whose intent seemed to be encouragement, but was overzealous and ill advised.
This comes after Mark Cavendish was doused with urine earlier in the event. Hopefully something will be done to control the environment before someone gets injured.
Stage 17
6 of 22Christopher Froome trudged through rainy conditions and surprisingly held off Alberto Contador to win the Stage 17 time trials and extend his overall lead on the field.
The race's overall leader, Froome finished in a time of 51 minutes and 33 seconds, barely edging out Contador, who seemed like the favorite heading into the stage. A short, 20-mile trek from Embrun to Chorges in the French Alps, Wednesday's final time trial had all the makings of a trek conducive to Contador's style or racing.
And for much of the early going, it seemed like the 30-year-old Spaniard would to just that. He opened up a lead on Froome in the early part of the race, gliding ahead of the pack and looking like he'd take a major bite out of the Englishman's overall lead.
However, it wasn't to be. Froome made a torrid charge to the front, besting Contador and coming away with a nine-second victory over his fiercest rival. As pointed out by Team Sky's Twitter feed, Froome's time in the final trial stage of the 2013 Tour De France was the fastest in history:
"YES! Chris Froome sets the fastest time to win stage 17 at the #TDF with a stunning effort! He extends his race lead #VaVaFroome
— Team Sky (@TeamSky) July 17, 2013"
The Englishman, who finished second at last year's event, now holds a four-minute, 34-second lead over Contador, who moved into second as a result of his finish. Coming in third in Wednesday's Trial was Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver, just one second behind his fellow Spaniard. That helped Rodriguez Olivier stay in outside contention, sixth place overall and behind Froome by seven minutes and 21 seconds.
The trial was an especially dreadful outing for Bauke Mollema. The Dutch rider may have forced himself off the podium in Stage 17, losing two minutes and nine seconds off Froome to fall into fourth place. Mollema had been in second place throughout much of the event, and it will be awfully difficult for him to make up time in the remaining stages.
Thursday sees the return of one of the Tour's most difficult climbs, a 107-mile hike from Thursday from Gap to L'Alpe-Huez. The stage will see riders have to take steep climbs up at two different points of the stage, marking the first time they've went up L'Alpe-Huez twice in the same day. It's not the lengthiest mountain stage in the world, but riders will probably feel like it is by the end of the day.
Froome should be in a solid position to extend his lead. He won two mountain stages already in the event and will have the benefit of teammate backing as he makes his way through one of this year's most treacherous stages.
Then again, the Yellow Jacket-holder looked like he could do just fine by himself on Wednesday.
*For complete Stage 17 information, visit LeTour.com.
Stage 16
7 of 22Rui Alberto Costa from the Movistar Team captured victory in the 16th stage, which featured two Category 2 climbs through the Alps and was mercifully preceded by the Tour's second rest day.
The Portuguese cyclist posted a time of three hours, 52 minutes and 45 seconds to win by a margin of 42 seconds. He is known for his climbing ability and speed, and those were on full display in this magnificent ride.
Costa's efforts boosted him to 20th in the overall individual time classification, though there wasn't much fluctuation at the very top.
Yellow jersey bearer Christopher Froome didn't lose any of his lead, which still stands at four minutes and 15 seconds over Bauke Mollema.
The route from Vaison-la-Romaine to Gap spans 168 kilometers and featured plenty of thrills—most notably when Froome was being pushed by Alberto Contador.
That magnificent duo unfortunately crashed when both riders came into a difficult right turn at a speed too swift to control at such a severe angle. Both were fine and managed to carve out respectable finishes, but it shows just how hard Contador and others are trying to catch Team Sky's leader.
Froome's teammate Richie Porte did his best to hold off Contador's Team Sako-Tinkoff—which lost the team lead on Tuesday—and all other challengers. As documented by ITV Cycling on Twitter afterwards, Porte felt essentially ganged up on:
""I saw a kitchen sink being thrown at us!" Richie Porte on Contador and co. attacking Sky today #tdf
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 16, 2013"
Looking ahead, Stage 17 will be the final of the two individual time trials, but it's not necessarily suited to pure sprinters.
This journey also features two Category 2 climbs, and could allow a climber like Mollema or an all-around dynamo such as Contador to capitalize and turn in a brilliant ride.
Froome can't be protected in a time trial by his teammates, and will have to muster up quite a lot of fortitude to get it done after fending off so many challenges to his lead.
*Stage information was obtained from Bicycling.com. All other Tour De France statistics and information are courtesy of LeTour.com.
Stage 15
8 of 22Christopher Froome entered the day as the overall leader in the Tour de France and he once again showed why with a win in Stage 15.
The longest stage of the competition was 242.5 kilometers from start to finish, and the final stretch was almost completely uphill. However, the talented cyclist showed a late burst to get past Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas at the end and hold on for the win in five hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds.
Additionally, the 50 points earned from finishing first in the final climb give Froome the lead in the climbing competition, taking the polka-dot jersey away from Pierre Roland.
Quintana's strong performance to earn second place allowed him to take control of the white jersey for the best young rider in the field.
There were a number of other impressive showings on the day as the climbers separated themselves from the pack. Mikel Nieve Iturralde and Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver each finished one minute and 23 seconds behind the stage leader for third and fourth place respectively.
Roman Krueziger also helped himself in the overall classification with a fifth-place finish in Stage 15.
However, it is clear from this stage that Froome will be incredibly tough for anyone to catch going forward. He has stuck around on the flat runs and he has dominated the climbing sections, building up over a four-minute lead in the competition.
The rest of the field will do their best to try to catch him on Tuesday after a rest day on Monday. When the race continues, the cyclists will travel from Vaison-la-Romaine to Gap in yet another mountain stage.
Based on what we have seen so far, Froome must remain the favorite to win again.
Stage 14
9 of 22We have a new first-time stage winner at the 2013 Tour de France.
Italy's Matteo Trentin won the stage with a time of four hours, 15 minutes and 11 seconds, besting Michael Albasini by a wheel to claim his country's first stage win in over three years.
The Tour's official Twitter account had the post as Trentin realized he had won the stage:
"Matteo Trentin as a Lyon! #TDF Bravo @MATTEOTRENTIN @opqscyclingteam #congrats RT for him pic.twitter.com/LeUSJQzIbk
— Le Tour De France (@letour) July 13, 2013"
Albasini led a pack of 11 other riders who finished with identical times to Trentin's, including Andrew Talansky, Jose Joaquin Rojas and Egoitz Garcia Echeguibel. Julien Simon, who had a late lead but couldn't hold on, finished 11th, and Jan Belekants finished 12th.
With the results of Saturday's stage in the books, the leaderboard will look exactly as it did when the day began.
Christopher Froome will keep the yellow jersey heading into Sunday, and the nine riders who round out the top 10 stay the same behind him. The other jersey wearers (Peter Sagan, Pierre Rolland and Michael Kwiatkowski) also retained the honor to keep their different colored shirts for another day.
Looking ahead to Sunday's Stage 15, the riders will travel from Saint-Pourcain-sur-Sioule to Lyon. Sunday will be the last stage before the field gets its second and final rest day before a six-day journey to the finish line in Paris Champs-Elysees.
At 242.5 kilometers, Stage 15 is the 2013 Tour de France's longest one-day trip. The riders will have a short turnaround to get ready for their longest trip on the bike so far in this race.
*For complete Stage 14 information, visit LeTour.com.
Stage 13
10 of 22Sprinter Mark Cavendish delivered the goods in a stage that clearly favored riders with his skill set. After narrowly falling short of capturing Stage 12, Cavendish held off the current Green Jersey holder, Peter Sagan, to win Friday's stage.
Sagan's lead in Green Jersey classification is now just 84 points over Cavendish.
Per BBC, Cavendish was clearly excited with his triumph after overcoming a tough two-day stretch at the 100th Tour de France. He said:
"I'm so happy and so proud of the guys, they rode out of their skin today and I'm so proud to finish that off."
Cavendish's disappointing second-place finish in Stage 12 came on the heels of being doused with urine by a spectator during Stage 11, per Campbell Abbott of the New York Daily News.
Even with Cavendish's solid performance, Froome maintained his overall lead, though it shrunk more than a minute from where it was after Stage 12.
Here is a look at Stage 14 known as Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule – Lyon. Video comes from Bike Radar:
Stage 12
11 of 22Stage 12 was for the sprinters as the course was one of the flattest segments throughout the Tour de France.
This was great for Marcel Kittel, who won his third stage of race by beating out his competition in a time of four hours, 49 minutes and 49 seconds.
It was incredibly bunched up at the end, with most of the field battling with the leaders. In fact, there were 128 cyclists who finished with the exact same time in the stage. However, Kittel showed his ability as a sprinter by taken on the best and winning.
Early favorite Mark Cavendish narrowly missed out on his second stage win of Le tour and finished in second place. Current green jersey holder Peter Sagan retains the point lead with a third-place finish in the stage.
With 307 points overall, Sagan has a huge lead that will be tough to give up. He is 96 points ahead of Cavendish in second place, with Andre Greipel and Kittel also in the running but far behind.
Of course, the most important part of this race remains the overall time lead, which Christopher Froome still holds after finishing Stage 12 in 14th place. He will continue to wear the yellow jersey while having over three minutes of breathing room going forward.
The race continues on Friday with another relatively flat stage from Tours to Saint-Amand-Montrond. These sprinters should once again be among the top finishers in the 173-km event.
Stage 11
12 of 22For the first time at the 2013 Tour de France, the top riders in the race had no one to rely on but themselves. Stage 11 was the first of two individual time trials, and Tony Martin was the big winner on the day with a first-place time of 36 minutes and 29 seconds.
Martin was one of the earlier riders to compete, and it appeared as though no one would even challenge his impressive time for the 33 kilometer course. Until the last competitor, not a single person was within a minute of his mark.
However, overall leader Chris Froome made a great push at the end before falling 12 seconds short of the time.
The current yellow jersey wearer cannot be too upset with his performance, though, as he significantly added to his lead in the fight to win the 100th Tour de France.
Thomas De Gent got off to a poor start and only had the eighth-best time at the first checkpoint, but he finished strong enough to earn third place in Stage 11 at one minute and one second behind Martin.
There were no changes in any of the other major competitions on the day.
The competition will get back to its more common mode with a 218 km race from Fougères to Tours as part of Stage 12.
Stage 10
13 of 22For the second time in the 2013 Tour de France, Marcel Kittel was the first in the stage to cross the finish line.
The German cyclist did well on the relatively flat terrain of Stage 10, and he finished with a time of four hours, 53 minutes and 25 seconds. He barely edged out a long group of competitors, as 15 others finished with the same time.
André Greipel earned second place in the race with talented sprinter Mark Cavendish right behind for third palce. Peter Sagan barely misses a spot on the podium with a fourth-place finish.
This stage was big for the sprinters, as many were fighting for the right to wear the green jersey. Luis Angel Mate Mardones earned 20 points by winning an early sprint, but Kittel was able to earn 45 for his final push.
Still, Sagan will hold onto the green jersey with 269 total points. He is currently 83 points ahead of Greipel for the sprinter lead.
Lieuwe Westra earned the only climbing point available on the day, but he remains far behind Pierre Roland for the polka-dot jersey.
Finally, Chris Froome will hold onto the yellow jersey after a solid 24th-place finish in Stage 10. He will hope to continue to build his lead with the individual time trial in the next stage.
Stage 9
14 of 22Stage 9 became a two-man race in the final few kilometers, and it was Daniel Martin of Ireland who was able to come away with the narrow victory.
Jakob Fuglsang had the lead going into the home stretch, but he was unable to hold onto the victory after being passed with only a few moments to go. Still, both competitors finished with a time of four hours, 43 minutes and three seconds in one of the toughest stages in the race.
Michal Kwiatkowski will help himself in the overall classification with a solid third-place finish as the first of 19 cyclists to finish 20 seconds behind the leaders.
This stage was all about the climbs, with four extremely high peaks in the course. Thomas Danielson, Thomas De Gendt, Simon Clarke and Daniel Martin each earned at least 10 points toward the polka-dot jersey thanks to wins on various climbs.
However, the important thing in the Tour de France is the overall classification. With a 14th-place finish in Stage 9, Chris Froome will hold on to the yellow jersey and will actual extend his lead thanks to an awful showing by Richie Porte, who came in to the day in second place.
He will at least hold onto the lead for an extra day as well thanks to rest following this strenuous stage. The action will pick up on Tuesdays as the riders travel from Saint-Gildas-des-Bois to Saint-Malo.
Stage 8
15 of 22Sky Procycling's Christopher Froome was the favorite heading into Stage 8 and the mountains of the Pyrenees, and he did not disappoint his teammates or the predictions on Saturday at the 2013 Tour de France.
Froome won the 195-kilometer Stage 8 with a time of five hours, three minutes and 18 seconds, almost a minute ahead of second-place finisher Richie Porte. The win was Froome's second career stage victory at the Tour de France.
Alejandro Valverde, Bauke Mollema and Laurens Ten Dam rounded out the top five as we saw a complete shift in both strategy and the top 10 on nearly every leaderboard.
Daryl Impey finished 35th in the stage on Saturday, surrendering his yellow jersey to Froome at the top of the Tour de France general classification standings in the process. The mountains prove to be a cataclysmic shift in which riders are setting the pace each year, and we saw that on Saturday.
Stage 8 started in Castres, but quickly moved away from the fast-paced format we had seen through the first seven days of action. Moving through the Pyrenees and toward Ax-3-Domaines, the riders have to balance speed with precision and stamina during steep climbs and descents.
None of the names we've seen win a stage were in the conversation for such an honor during Saturday's proceedings. Peter Sagan managed to hang on to his points lead and the green jersey, but he was alone in keeping his special-colored garment heading into Sunday.
Froome will now take the yellow jersey into Sunday's start in Saint-Girons, while the Movistar Team grabbed the group lead. Froome is also tied with Pierre Rolland in the polka-dot jersey (climber) standings with 31 points, while Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas will wear the white jersey on Sunday.
The top-five finishers from the stage are now also the top-five riders in the general classification rankings.
Stage 7
16 of 22Friday's Stage 7 was a big one for the sprinters in the 2013 Tour de France.
Points leader and current wearer of the green jersey Peter Sagan took home Stage 7 for his Cannondale team on Friday, completing a strong run for the squad during the last early stage that doesn't include a trip to the high mountains.
The Italian now has 224 points through seven days of action, placing him nearly 100 points ahead of Andre Greipel in the points classification.
Sagan was flanked by John Degenkolb, Daniele Bennati, Davide Cimolai and Edvald Boasson Hagen, who rounded out the top five on another furious day of action in France.
Daryl Impey finished 12th in the stage, but did enough to keep his yellow jersey for another day. Orica GreenEDGE teammate Simon Gerrans finished 15th, and will stay just five seconds off the pace set by Impey when things pick back up again on Saturday morning.
Impey, Boasson Hagen and Gerrans are the top three riders in the general classification standings after seven stages.
The peloton moved West across France on Friday, offering the sprinters a chance to improve their rank before the climbers start to assert themselves on Saturday and moving forward.
With four categorized climbs and anything but an easy run of over 200 kilometers, the trip from Montpellier to Albi took the front of the pack nearly five hours to complete. Sagan won the stage with a time of four hours, 54 minutes and 12 seconds, just a fraction ahead of Degenkolb and Bennati.
Stage 6
17 of 22In a relatively flat stage that was tough to gain any separation, André Greipel came away with the narrow win thanks to a strong push down the stretch.
He finished Stage 6 with a time of three hours, 59 minutes and two seconds, a mark that will be shared by 16 others that finished near the front of the pack.
While this was the first stage win of the event for Greipel, there were some more familiar names surrounding him at the finish. Peter Sagan finished second, with Marcel Kittel right behind him in third place.
Top sprinter Mark Cavendish was right behind them with a strong fourth-place finish.
However, the big story is Daryl Impey, who becomes the Tour de France's overall leader after a 13th-place finish in Stage 6. He was second entering the day, but a weak showing by Simon Gerrans allows him to take over the yellow jersey.
He is the first South African to lead this prestigious race at any point.
The other major jerseys do not change as Sagan retains the green jersey and Pierre Roland remains in possession of the polka dot jersey for climbing.
These competitors better be ready for one of the longer stages of the race in Stage 7, which travels from Montpellier to Albi over the course of 205.5 km.
Stage 5
18 of 22It was once again a sprint to the finish on Wednesday, and this time it was the Australian Mark Cavendish who crossed the line just ahead of the pack, including overall race leader Simon Gerrans, who retained the yellow jersey after Stage 5.
Thomas De Gendet, Alexey Lutsenko, Yukiya Arashiro and Kevin Reza stayed in the leading pack for much of this race, and not surprisingly all four finished in the top six of the points competition, with De Gendet finishing at 20 points to lead all riders.
After earning seven points for the stage, however, Peter Sagen remained in the overall points lead with 111, well in front of the pack (Cavendish and Alexander Kristoff are tied for second with 76).
The leaders were all caught with about four meters to go, with Lutsenko holding out the longest. That cleared the way for a pack of about 150 riders to make their move to the finish, with Cavendish's mad dash to the line just overtaking Edvald Boassan Hagen and Sagan.
The Tour now turns to Stage 6, a rather flat, 179-kilometer route that should be a favorite of the sprinters.
Stage 4
19 of 22With Le Tour coming to mainland France for the first time after the first three stages took place in Corsica, we finally have a little bit of separation at the top of the leaderboard.
Stage 4 was a showcase for the teams as each group took part in a time trial around Nice. At only 25 km, the stage is easily the shortest of the entire race.
Still, there were a few standouts on the day. Orica Greenedge had the best time at 25 minutes and 56 seconds, one second ahead of Omega Pharma-Quick Step. The eventual winners were only third-best at the midway check point, but the cyclists picked it up down the stretch to take the win.
Sky Procycling also had a strong performance and finished in third place.
The time trial made a big difference in the overall standings, as Orica Greenedge teammates Simon Gerrans, Daryl Impey and Michael Albasini are now tied in the overall individual classification. Gerrans will wear the yellow jersey going forward.
Representing Omega Pharma-Quick Step on the leaderboard is Michal Kwiatkowski and Sylvain Chavanel, who sit one second back in the standings.
Jan Bakelants, the overall leader heading into the day, drops down to 32nd place after a poor showing from RadioShack Leopard in the time trial.
The event will get back to its more common style on Wednesday with a race from Cagnes-sur-Mer to Marseille.
Stage 3
20 of 22In the final day of competition on the island of Corsica, Simon Gerrans narrowly came away with the Stage 3 win.
Despite there being a number of climbs during the race, no one was truly able to pull away, and the entire peloton on 89 cyclists finished with the same time of three hours, 41 minutes and 24 seconds.
Still, Gerrans had a strong finish in the crowded race and was able to cross the line just ahead of Peter Sagan, who will take second place for the second day in a row. José Joaquim Rojas rounds out the podium with a third-place finish.
At least Sagan can take comfort in the fact that he will wear the green jersey going forward thanks to some strong performance in the sprints. He now has 74 points with a 17-point lead over Marcel Kittel.
Jan Bakelants, who came into the stage with a one-second lead, will retain the yellow jersey after a solid 19th-place finish.
In the climbing competition, Simon Clarke earned five points from three different checkpoints, although Pierre Roland pulled away from the group with five points on the final climb, bringing his total for the race to 10 points.
The competition now moves to the mainland with a time trial in Nice in Stage 4.
Stage 2
21 of 22After an eventful first stage, Stage 2 was a bit of a return to normal as the biggest storylines were about the race.
In a more hilly terrain compared to the first day, Jan Bakelants was able to earn the stage win and take over the yellow jersey heading into Stage 3. The chase at the end of the race got competitive, but the Belgian held off his opponents by finishing in three hours, 43 minutes and 11 seconds.
The remaining riders in the peloton officially will finish one second behind leader in this stage.
Of course, a few competitors were much closer than others. Top contender Peter Sagan narrowly finished second, with Michal Kwiatowski right behind him finishing in third.
Also notable in the stage was Lars Boom, who earned 20 points toward the green jersey with an early sprint win. Marcel Kittel remains in front on points, although the gap was certainly closed in this run.
Finally, Pierre Rolland and Blel Kadri are currently tied with five points in the battle to become the top climber in the competition.
Still, Bakelants is the big winner on the day and will look to remain in front of the competition as long as possible.
Stage 1
22 of 22The first stage was certainly an eventful one, and not in the way that organizers wanted.
With only a short time remaining in the race, a bus crashed into the finish line, causing mayhem in the final stages. Peter Schmeichel provided a good view of the incident on his Twitter account. Here is a video of the crash.
It was then decided that the race would end three kilometers early, according to John MacLeary of The Telegraph, but that idea was then changed when the bus was cleared out in time.
This confusion was only made worse when a crash occurred down the stretch, taking out top contenders Mark Cavendish and Peter Sagan.
In the end, Marcel Kittel was able to come away with the stage victory to start the day as the early leader. Alexander Kristoff finished a close second, with Danny van Poppel earning third place.
Unfortunately for these riders, officials decided that all competitors will get the same time for the first stage, according to the event's official Twitter account. This leaves the contest wide open going forward.
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