We saw in Brive-la-Gaillarde at the end of stage 18 and emphatic display of sprinting. The three at the top of the points classification were the only men able to speed past the escapees in the final 100 metres. Mark Cavendish led Matt Goss and Peter Sagan to the line on a day when it seemed that the breakaway would actually survive.
Cavendish hasn't raced for the green jersey this year; rather the world champion formed part of the impressive armada that helped Bradley Wiggins be the dominant force in the ride from Liège to Paris. But with a second time trial victory and the overall title sealed for the absolute leader of the Sky team, the final day is an opportunity for a payback to the world champion.
Wiggins has said he will help work for a sprint finish. He'll be in the yellow jersey for the lead-out and, if the last three years are anything to go by, we'll see the main in the rainbow jersey speed ahead of all others once the peloton races off the Place de la Concorde and onto the Champs-Elysées for the final time...