And with that, I’m off to immerse myself into an ice bucket. Nick Ames will be here tomorrow to take you through Stage 17. Bye!
I have a report for you, leading on the day’s key crashes:
Updated
Geraint Thomas has described his crash. News in brief: he’s fine:
I just had one hand on the bars and then the gears jumped and jammed and I got thrown off my bike on the corner. I knew the race wasn’t, like, on, so it was just get back into the group. It’s just frustrating. Like I say, such a freak thing, but I’m right.
The final sprint in full:
Dara staid buaite ag Ewan. Caleb Ewans wins stage 16. Beidh na buaicphointí le feiceáil arís ar @TG4TV ag 9:05pm anocht. #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/mkXB1AivKm
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) July 23, 2019
Here’s Caleb Ewan’s instant reaction:
To be honest I felt so bad today during the day. I think the heat really got to me and I was suffering so much and was about to tell Max [Monfort] to go up to the front because I was really suffering. We weren’t in an ideal situation with 1km to go. QuickStep came past and I lost a few more positions. I looked at this finish at the start of the day and I played all the scenarios in my head and one of them was if I was too far back. I think if you watch it I really take a run at it and start sprinting before the rest of the guys, and it worked. It’s a dream to be here. It was such a big dream to win one stage and now I’ve won two. I can’t believe it.
Here’s today’s top 10:
💥🇫🇷 Top 10 de la 16ª etapa del #TdF2019 #TourEnCOPE pic.twitter.com/LjXRzreIdY
— COPEdaleando (@Copedaleando) July 23, 2019
Caleb Ewan wins stage 16!
The Australian Caleb Ewan takes it on the line, steaming through to take it from Elia Viviani! Fantastic acceleration over the last 100m to come from eighth to first!
Updated
1km to go: Peter Sagan and Edvald Boasson Hagen both well placed, but this is anyone’s stage.
2km to go: And it’s all over for the fab five. They led for 167km, but they’ve been consumed by the gaggle now.
3km to go: Still a 10sec advantage for the front five, but they have just turned into a headwind.
4km to go: Another minor crash, involving Ben King and Reinhardt Janse von Rensburg of Dimension Data. Neither looks seriously harmed.
8km to go: The fab five are going to be gobbled up any time now. Their advantage has been halved in the space of a couple of minutes, to 10 seconds now.
10km to go: Into the final stages, and 2.5km until they enter Nimes. The peloton can see the front five now, but are still 20sec behind.
13km to go: Apparently Fuglsang injured his shoulder, but there has been no confirmmation from Astana.
14km to go: The peloton has closed the gap to a mere 20sec.
15km to go: There are four Jumbo-Visma riders at the front of the peloton. Tony Martin has just had a go, and now dropped back.
17km to go: The same five riders have now been leading the field for more than 150km. They are currently 45sec ahead of the peloton.
21km to go: This is how his race ended, walking slowly away from the action. So little action on this stage, but still two of the GC contenders have fallen, and one has abandoned.
Jakob Fuglsang out of Tour de France after crash. #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/915gIxfoUv
— DANIEL McMAHON (@cyclingreporter) July 23, 2019
23km to go: And that is now confirmed: Fuglsang, ninth in the GC this morning, has abandoned.
Updated
25km to go: Unlike Thomas earlier, Fuglsang hasn’t just hopped up and remounted. He’s taken off his helmet and is being ushered towards a doctor, so he’s walking, but it looks like his Tour might be over.
27kmm to go: Crash! There’s a rider on the ground, and it’s Jakob Fuglsang! This time a few others were also involved: Cees Bowl is there, and most of the Astana team seem to have stayed behind with Fuglsang.
28km to go: It’s 37C in Uzès. Proper baking.
Updated
30km to go: Here, courtesy of Eurosport, is Sir Brad’s guide to the closing sprint.
2012 Tour de France winner @SirWiggo previews the final sprint finish before we head to Paris on Sunday 🚴♂️💨
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) July 23, 2019
Watch the conclusion to Stage 16 of #TDF2019 LIVE on Eurosport
📺 - Eurosport 1
🖥💻📱 - Eurosport Player: https://t.co/bt3TbPVNQG pic.twitter.com/YGfKoEF0QY
Updated
31km to go: The peloton reaches Arpaillargues-et-Aureillac. Arpaillargues was almost certainly named by someone who was having dental treatment at the time.
Updated
37km to go: They’re going at 57kmh currently, rocketing towards Uzès.
45km to go: There has clearly been a collective decision to make this potentially troublesome and dramatic section as serene as possible. The fab five have stretched their lead back out to about 50sec, and everybody is basically trying to work out how soon they immerse themselves in a body of cool water.
51km to go: There has been no great crosswind-related drama, but the peloton has quickened and the front five’s cushion has deflated to a mere 25ec.
52km to go: The peloton has just turned left, into the crosswind section. Ineos have four riders at the front. Meanwhile, I promise I’ll stop bleating on about these sheep now, but the commentary is very much a classic of its ilk:
"This has not worked... this is a DISASTER!" 😳
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) July 23, 2019
These poor sheep have been sprayed yellow and forced to take part in the worst field art of the Tour so far 🐑 🎨 😂
Watch Stage 16 of #TDF2019 LIVE on Eurosport
📺 - Eurosport 1
🖥💻📱 - Eurosport Player: https://t.co/bt3TbPVNQG pic.twitter.com/v2jckH6God
55km to go: It is apparently absolutely roasting in the Gard, and very much a day for squirting water through your helmet.
57km to go: The section identified before the start as key, with its potentially intrigue-inducing crosswinds, is about to start. The fab five are still about a minute up the road.
58km to go: And so to Lédignan, which seems an interesting spot. A couple of previous mentions in the Guardian include one report on the 1851 French coup d’état. “A vast number [of people, obviously] assembled at the rendezvous near Nismes, [sic]” we wrote. “When they were about to march upon the town, intelligence reached them that the troops and National Guard were on foot, and prepared to resist them, whereupon the leaders fled and their followers dispersed, after many acts of pillage of property and arms. The same scenes of plunder took place in several of the towns of the district. At Auduze, the authorities were treated with violence, and at Lédignan the barracks of the gendarmerie were burned to the ground.”
Meanwhile in September 1899 when Alfred Dreyfus was found guilty of treason, “the Municipal Council of Lédignan decided to christen a street in their commune, hitherto known as the Rue de la Republique, the Rue Alfred Dreyfus.” This is commendable, though I can find no evidence of such a road still existing.
59km to go: Those sheep in full:
I'm not sure they thought this one through. In their defence, the sheep do appear to be coloured yellow from close up, but are they meant to be represent a maillot jaune or a really rubbish sand-timer? Wouldn't want to slide tackle on that pitch, either. 2/10 #TDFieldArt pic.twitter.com/kGjIG0oNv4
— Felix Lowe (@saddleblaze) July 23, 2019
62km to go: The helicopters film a hilariously bad attempt to make lots of sheep with yellow-dyed wool fill a vaguely shirty shape. The only problem is that when the helicopters arrive none of the sheep are in position, plus their wool isn’t really very yellow, plus they need at least five times as many sheep to fill their shirty shape.
68km to go: The fab five’s lead is dropping fast, and is now but a mere 50sec. Not that it was ever particularly daunting.
71km to go: The leaders go through Anduze, which is apparently known for its zinc smelting. It also has a clock tower that dates to 1588.
73km to go: There has been precisely to change to the race situation since about 180 seconds after the flag was waved. The same five riders lead, with a gap of about 1min 20sec.
84km to go: Helicopter cameras linger lovingly on the Terril de Rochebelle, an odd-looking pimple on a hillside. According to my in-depth research, it is an “ old-fashioned slag heap”.
87km to go: There is a category four climb up the Côte de Saint-Jean-du-Pin upcoming. They’re about 6km from the summit already, and the leading five still/once again lead by 1min 20sec.
99km to go: Into the last 100km. Nearly there, guys! Meanwhile I’ve been researching all the places on the route over the next 30km or so, trying to find things I can be sarcastic about, but there’s literally nothing to say about any of them.
102km to go: The full results of that intermediate sprint:
🏁 111 km
— Tour de France COL (@letour_col) July 23, 2019
💚 Sprint Intermedio
1. Bak - 20pt
2. Rossetto - 17pt
3. Ourselin- 15pt
4. Wisniowski - 15pt
5. Gougeard - 11pt
...
6. Viviani - 10pt
7. Morkov- 9pt
8. 💚 Sagan- 8pt
+info ➡️ https://t.co/XzA0RSdv6p#TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/2dRSEPCUfS
105km to go: “As a serious cyclist, over 11,000 kms this year and two sportives wins, Thomas is my favourite rider,” writes Keith Aitchison, “but only he can do this.”
109km to go: The sprint has been sprinted. Lars Bak pocketed the maximum 20 points.
112km to go: The leading five currently have a lead of 1min 20sec over the peloton, though the gap has been expanding and contracting like an overused accordion.
Updated
115km to go: A snippet of cycling news: the Telegraph is reporting that Mark Cavendish, who was controversially left out of Dimension Data’s team for the Tour, will ride the Adriatica Ionica, which starts on Thursday.
120km to go: “Any theories on why G seems to fall off more than anyone else? Maybe he doesn’t, it just seems that way,” writes someone on Twitter. I can, I’m afraid, offer few insights into Thomas’s propensity to topple. I did speak to him once, mainly about yoghurt.
124km to go: Now Thomas is leaning on a team car, getting some water squirted down his grazed left leg. “I live near Uzès and work in Nîmes so of course I have managed to be in Paris today, and it’s even hotter here,” sniffs Lizz Poulter. “Anyway, to explain Ed’s query, they have reopened a closed railway line especially for today’s stage. I’m not sure you can say Nîmes has a famous bridge - technically the Pont du Gard is between Remoulins and Vers Pont du Gard where the quarry that provided the stone for the Pont is still exploited today. Apologies if you’re getting all this from the TV - I’m enjoying a falafel in a hummous restaurant. It’s great, thanks for asking.”
125km to go: Thomas has now rejoined the main group, though it’s a long and straggly one.
126 km to go: Thomas has some scrapes on his left arm, but seems otherwise unharmed.
Geraint Thomas à terre #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/vMF54kmLO5
— Paul Guyonnet (@Pauluskupa) July 23, 2019
128km to go: It looks like Thomas’s front wheel might have just clipped the kerb on a bend, causing him to fall. No other riders were involved. He hopped up and assessed his bike, deciding it wasn’t worth persevering with, and waited a short while until a replacement was proffered. Jonathan Castroviejo and Dylan van Baarle have hung back to help lead him back to the peloton.
130km to go: There is now a little under 20km to go before the day’s intermediate sprint, at Vallerargues. And Geraint Thomas is off his bike!
138km to go: The same five are still at the front, with a lead now just above 2min.
142km to go: That’s a big tick in the Pont du Gard photo box.
144km to go: The leaders will soon reach Pouzilhac. Most mentions of Pouzilhac in the Guardian’s archive concern the business Alain du Pouzilhac, who wasn’t actually from Pouzilhac. They have extended their lead back up to 1min 35sec.
149km to go: Ed emails. He has taken a train from Remoulins station. The only sentence on the English-language Wikipedia page isn’t even accurate.
150km to go: The leading five are now just 1min 9sec ahead of the peloton. The big-name sprinters will be too keen on winning this stage to let any breakaway steal their glory.
151km to go: “Presumably The Guardian called it Nismes back in 1853 because they didn’t have a keyboard option to add a circumflex,” suggests Drew Goldie, which seems a very sensible deduction. There is a Nismes in Belgium, but it doesn’t have a famous pont.
153km to go: The peloton has just crossed the Pont du Gard. Photo opportunity alert!
158km to go: The leaders’ lead is now at 90sec. The peloton appears entirely unbothered about this.
160km to go: The leaders near Remoulins. The Wikipedia entry for Remoulins contains only one piece of information: “Remoulins has a train station. However, no passenger trains are currently scheduled to stop there.”
166km to go: The leading five have opened up a gap just north of 50sec on the pack, who seem entirely unbothered and are coasting along at a fairly gentle pace.
168km to go: Literally as I press send on that they’re caught by the other three, Lars Bak, Paul Ourselin and Lukasz Wiśniowski.
170km to go: There has been a near-instant breakaway of five, of whom two - Stéphane Rossetto and Alexis Gougeard- have a slight lead.
171km to go: True fact: the first mention of the Pont du Gard in the Guardian was in 1853, when we were describing some of the highlights of a collection of “medals, badges an carvings” owned by a Dr Harrison, which included “a model finely executed in cork of the Roman aqueduct near Nismes [sic], called the Pont du Gard”.
174km to go: The yellow flag has been waved, and it’s go go go!
The race start has been postponed, apparently because Alexander Kristoff has a flat tyre.
We’re in prime Brits-on-holiday territory here: the Pont du Gard, the very lovely market town of Uzes, Nimes itself, all stuffed full of pink-wine-sipping Brits of a summer. It’s perhaps not the most characterful stage, but for many of us following from afar it’ll be packed with memories.
During the rollout and before the full-blooded action, you might want to watch this here video:
And action! Apparently the 28km stretch from Aigremont to Uzes towards the end of the stage, when riders will have to deal with testy crosswinds, will be key. That’s about 120km from the start.
The riders are gathered at the start, ready for action.
Geraint Thomas has a chat:
We’re aware of it [the possibility of high winds near the finish], just need to play it by ear really, see how strong it is in the final. I think the main thing is just keep riding as we have been, attentive and at the front and ready for anything. The main thing is just to drink plenty all the time. Some of the boys will be going back and forth to the car a bit more than normal today.
Updated
Today’s weather forecast for Nimes: 35C and non-stop sunshine, but at least a bit of a breeze. Just the 177km to go.
What a job that is, patrolling the streets of France turning penises into aliens and random, unrecognisable shapes.
We should be under way in about quarter of an hour. In the meantime, I’m just checking you’ve all seen this:
Hoe verander je een 'Tourpiemel' op het asfalt in een vlinder of een uil?
— NOS Sport (@NOSsport) July 20, 2019
"Ik maak er ogen van" 👀🦉 → https://t.co/9GjYhoROyz pic.twitter.com/4K6nyCxoVV
Preamble
Before the storm, something of a calm, though this stage will be ridden out in utterly blistering heat. No matter how you cut it, riding out in temperatures of 34 degrees in the shade is not the most ideal preparation for three days in the high mountains. The Alps approach, where the destiny of flagging Julian Alaphilippe will be decided. And in truth, if France want to end that 34-year drought, then Thibaut Pinot looks the best hope. A lack of wind means that today’s stage is unlikely to produce the echelons that pegged Pinot back on the tenth stage, and so none of the favourites are likely to haul in time.
So, to the sprinters, who have feasted on only the slimmest of pickings this year. Were the likes of Peter Sagan, Elia Viviani, Dylan Groenewegen, Caleb Ewan and Alexander Kristoff able to rest up on Monday?
The cocoon effect... pic.twitter.com/Vg9z7P6xMB
— Elia Viviani (@eliaviviani) July 22, 2019
William Fotheringham’s stage 16 guide
It’s six days since the last sprint stage and much will depend on how the heavier brethren have survived the Pyrenees, which sprinters are still there and which of their lead-out men. Following the rest day, a second day’s respite for the overall contenders, as long as the weather plays ball and there is no wind or rain. This stage is out and home rather than the usual place to place so the changes of direction could make for an gruesome day if there is a strong northerly, as we saw in this area in 2016. In such conditions one favourite thrives: Geraint Thomas.
Updated
