Stage 21 Summary

The 21st and final stage of the 2005 Tour de France began at 1.45pm. There were 155 riders still in the race. _ The stage featured two intermediate sprints, the first in Chatenay-Malabry (at the 75km mark), the second at the ‘Hauts des Champs’ on the third of eight laps of the finishing circuit. There was one climb in the 21st stage, the category-four Cote de Gif-sur-Yvette (at the 57.5km mark) _ _ There were not attacks in the first 73.5km mark. The points for the final climb were won by: 1. Armstrong (DSC) 3pts; 2. Wrolich (GST) 2pts; 3. Moreau (CA) 1pt. With 1,500m to go to the first intermediate sprint, Vinokourov (TMO) attacked. He began the stage just two seconds behind Leipheimer’s 5th place in the general classification. There were four Gerolsteiner riders following him to the line but the points were won by: 1. Vinokourov 6pts; 2. Leipheimer 4pts; 3. Wegmann 2pts. Although Vinokourov gained a two-second bonus (effectively putting him on equal time on GC with Leipheimer), the American led the Kazakh because of the fractions of seconds in the two time trials. _ After the sprint Scholz (GST) attacked briefly. He reached a maximum gain of 30” on the peloton that was led by the Discovery Channel team. He gave up his effort as the peloton neared Paris. Gilbert (FDJ) attacked and Armstrong (DSC) began to chase him down before other riders from the Discovery Channel team came forward to assist in the chase. On a wet right hand turn, Hincapie and Popovych crashed. Armstrong was forced to unclip from one pedal to avoid the accident. This prompted Gilbert to stop his attack. _ _ Armstrong’s Victory Confirmed Early _ After the crash, the race jury announced that the rules for a wet stage in Paris would be applied. This means the time for general classification was taken on the first pass of the finish line although the final eight laps would be contested to determine the stage winner. (The time bonuses for the 2nd intermediate sprint were also not awarded, although the final sprint still offered bonuses of 20”, 12” and 8” for the first three riders across the line.) _ _ Traditional Attacks… _ There were a series of escape attempts during the eight laps of the Champs-Elysees. The riders in the escape that went with six laps to go were: Jalabert (PHO), Commesso (LAM), Voeckler (BTL), Da Cruz (FDJ), Vasseur (COF), Vansevenant (DVL), Flecha (FAS), Albasini (LIQ), Grivko and Vanotti (DOM). They reached a maximum gain of about 30”. They were caught with 24km to go. The next escape was from Knaven (QST) it didn’t take long for the peloton to chase him down. As soon as he was caught Tankink (QST) attacked. He was joined by Horner (SDV). This pair led until the 9km to go mark when Cofidis, Davitamon-Lotto, Liberty-Wurth and Francaise des Jeux riders chased them down. _ _ Vinokourov’s True Coup! _ With 3km to go in the stage, Brochard (BTL) attacked. He was followed by Vinokourov (TMO). Brochard wasn’t able to follow the pace of the Kazakh rider. McGee (FDJ) led the peloton onto the Rue de Rivoli for the final time. He found himself in the lead with Vinokourov with 1,500m to go. McGee led Vinokourov under the 1km to go banner and over the Place de la Concorde. Vinokourov began his sprint with 250m to go and won the stage from McGee and Cancellara who led the peloton over the line with the same time as the stage winner. _ Vinokourov received the 20” time bonus for his win and elevated himself to fifth overall. _ Hushovd (CA) finished the stage in 7th place and confirmed his victory in the points classification, 12pts ahead of O’Grady (COF). _ _ Lance Armstrong finished the stage in 118th place and confirmed his seven successive victory in the Tour de France. His average speed for the 3,608km race was a record 41.654km/h.