The 100th Tour de France is over. Done. Dusted. From fiercely contested sprints to breathtaking solo climbing displays, it’s been quite a three weeks. We were left with the searing image of the peloton flashing by in the Paris twilight, but the entire race has been packed full of memorable moments. Orica-GreenEDGE’s bus and Jan Bakelants barely holding off the charging pack seem like an eternity ago, don’t they?
We’re already counting down the days to the Vuelta a Espana, but to kick off our series of retrospective race reviews this week, here’s a quick stage-by-stage reminder of the story of the 2013 Tour de France (including links to each of our stage recaps).
Stage 1: Porto-Vecchio to Bastia, 212km
Marcel Kittel swept past Alexander Kristoff and 19-year-old Danny van Poppel to claim both his first Tour victory and the yellow jersey. A scrappy, nervous opening stage was thrown into chaos after Orica-GreenEDGE’s team bus became stuck under the finish line gantry, indirectly resulting in a mass pile-up which removed green jersey favourites Mark Cavendish and Peter Sagan from contention.
Stage winner: Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano).
General classification: 1. Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano), 2. Alexander Kristoff (Katusha), 3. Danny van Poppel (Vacansoleil-DCM).
Excitement factor: 4/5.
Image: ASO
Stage 2: Bastia to Ajaccio, 156km
Jan Bakelants soloed away from a late six-man attack in the final couple of kilometres to just hold off the charging peloton led by Peter Sagan. It was the first professional victory of his five-year career, and the one-second gap was enough to propel him into the yellow jersey.
Stage winner: Jan Bakelants (RadioShack-Leopard).
General classification: 1. Jan Bakelants (RadioShack-Leopard), 2. David Millar (Garmin-Sharp) +0:01, 3. Julien Simon (Sojasun) +0:01.
Excitement factor: 4/5.
Stage 3: Ajaccio to Calvi, 145.5km
Simon Gerrans held off Peter Sagan in a photo finish to seal Orica-GreenEDGE’s maiden Tour victory at the end of a short rolling stage.
Stage winner: Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE).
General classification: 1. Jan Bakelants (RadioShack-Leopard), 2. Julien Simon (Sojasun) +0:01, 3. Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE) +0:01.
Excitement factor: 3/5.
Image: ASO
Stage 4: Nice to Nice, 25km team time trial
Omega Pharma-Quick Step held the lead for most of the afternoon but were pipped at the post by Orica-GreenEDGE, who won the team time trial by 0.75 seconds to put Simon Gerrans into the yellow jersey. Meanwhile the injured Ted King (Cannondale) was excluded after missing the time-cut by just seven seconds.
Stage winner: Orica-GreenEDGE.
General classification: 1. Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE), 2. Daryl Impey (Orica-GreenEDGE) same time, 3. Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEDGE) s/t.
Excitement factor: 2/5.
Stage 5: Cagnes-sur-Mer to Marseille, 228.5km
Mark Cavendish received a perfect lead-out from his team to take victory in Marseille ahead of Edvald Boasson Hagen and Peter Sagan. Behind him in the finishing straight a big crash resulted in several injuries which would cause a number of withdrawals the following day, including two-time fourth overall finisher Jurgen van den Broeck.
Stage winner: Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step).
General classification: 1. Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE), 2. Daryl Impey (Orica-GreenEDGE) same time, 3. Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEDGE) s/t.
Excitement factor: 2/5.
Cavendish opens his Tour account on stage 5 – again (Image: ASO)
Stage 6: Aix en Provence to Montpellier, 176km
A crash cost Mark Cavendish dear as he was outpowered by Lotto-Belisol and Andre Greipel, who headed Peter Sagan and Marcel Kittel to the line. A small split in the pack saw Daryl Impey inherit the yellow jersey from teammate Simon Gerrans on a day when the threat of crosswinds saw the peloton ride en masse for almost the entire day.
Stage winner: Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol).
General classification: 1. Daryl Impey (Orica-GreenEDGE), 2. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) +0:03, 3. Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE) +0:05.
Excitement factor: 1/5.
Stage 7: Montpellier to Albi, 205.5km
Peter Sagan finally won a stage, ahead of John Degenkolb and Daniele Bennati after his Cannondale team executed a 130km lead-out to shake off all the other sprinters over the day’s climbs. By netting a maximum 65 points on a day when all his main rivals scored none, he established a seemingly impregnable lead in the green jersey competition.
Stage winner: Peter Sagan (Cannondale).
General classification: 1. Daryl Impey (Orica-GreenEDGE), 2. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) +0:03, 3. Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE) +0:05.
Excitement factor: 4/5.
Stage 8: Castres to Ax 3 Domaines, 195km
Nairo Quintana launched a bold attack on the Col de Pailheres. However, on the climb to the summit of Ax 3 Domanies, Richie Porte set up Chris Froome for a devastating attack before pulling away from the other contenders himself to claim both a one-two stage finish and a one-two on GC for Sky.
Stage winner: Chris Froome (Sky).
General classification: 1. Chris Froome (Sky), 2. Richie Porte (Sky) +0:51, 3. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +1:25.
Excitement factor: 5/5.
Stage 9: Saint-Girons to Bagneres-de-Bigorre, 168.5km
Concerted attacks by Movistar and others left Chris Froome isolated for most of the stage, but the yellow jersey covered every major move without undue difficulty. Dan Martin sped clear with Jakob Fuglsang near the top of the final climb and won the resultant two-up sprint after a long descent.
Stage winner: Dan Martin (Garmin-Sharp)
General classification: 1. Chris Froome (Sky), 2. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +1:25, 3. Bauke Mollema (Belkin) +1:44.
Excitement factor: 5/5.
Froome spent most of the day tracking Movistar moves (Image: ASO)
Stage 10: Saint-Gildas-des-Bois to Saint-Malo, 197km
A late crash dulled Mark Cavendish‘s edge as Marcel Kittel edged out Andre Greipel to become this year’s first multiple stage winner. Meanwhile Cavendish was involved in a controversial incident just before the line which saw Kittel’s teammate Tom Veelers hit the deck hard.
Stage winner: Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano).
General classification: 1. Chris Froome (Sky), 2. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +1:25, 3. Bauke Mollema (Belkin) +1:44.
Excitement factor: 2/5.
Stage 11: Avranches to Mont-Saint-Michel, 33km individual time trial
World champion Tony Martin had to wait for four hours to confirm victory, with last man on the road Chris Froome coming closest to unseating him as he finished just 12 seconds behind. However, despite missing out on the win, the yellow jersey extended his lead over all his main GC rivals by at least 1½ minutes.
Stage winner: Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step).
General classification: 1. Chris Froome (Sky), 2. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +3:25, 3. Bauke Mollema (Belkin) +3:37.
Excitement factor: 2/5.
Stage 12: Fougeres to Tours, 218km
Marcel Kittel claimed his third win as he overhauled Mark Cavendish in the final metres. The stage was largely uneventful until two crashes in the final 5km.
Stage winner: Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano).
General classification: 1. Chris Froome (Sky), 2. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +3:25, 3. Bauke Mollema (Belkin) +3:37.
Excitement factor: 1/5.
Only at the Tour … (Image: Presse Sports/ASO)
Stage 13: Tours to St-Amand-Montrond, 173km
On what looked like a routine transition stage, crosswinds shattered the peloton as first Marcel Kittel and Alejandro Valverde were dropped after suffering mechanicals in two separate incidents, and then Chris Froome was caught out as Saxo-Tinkoff initiated a decisive 14-man attack with 32km remaining. In the resultant reduced field sprint, Mark Cavendish easily bested Peter Sagan to take his 25th career Tour win.
Stage winner: Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step).
General classification: 1. Chris Froome (Sky), 2. Bauke Mollema (Belkin) +2:28, 3. Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) +2:45.
Excitement factor: 5/5.
A six-man effort by Saxo-Tinkoff saw 14 riders go clear – and the yellow jersey stranded in their wake (Image: Presse Sports/ASO)
Stage 14: St-Pourcain-sur-Sioule to Lyon, 191km
The peloton were happy to let an 18-man escape go on this lumpy stage. Julien Simon launched a solo attack 15km from the finish, only to be swallowed up with 1km remaining. From a small field sprint, Matteo Trentin did a passable impersonation of roommate Mark Cavendish, charging through to snatch victory on the line.
Stage winner: Matteo Trentin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step).
General classification: 1. Chris Froome (Sky), 2. Bauke Mollema (Belkin) +2:28, 3. Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) +2:45.
Excitement factor: 2/5.
Stage 15: Givors to Mont Ventoux, 242.5km
A high-tempo ascent of Ventoux saw Movistar launch Nairo Quintana up the road halfway up the climb. Sky bided their time, whittling down the leaders to allow Chris Froome to ride away from Alberto Contador, bridge up to Quintana and then drop him inside the final 2km for a solo victory which was as crushing psychologically as it was physically.
Stage winner: Chris Froome (Sky).
General classification: 1. Chris Froome (Sky), 2. Bauke Mollema (Belkin) +4:14, 3. Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) +4:25.
Excitement factor: 4/5.
Froome was the boss in the mountains again on Ventoux (Image: ASO)
Stage 16: Vaison-la-Romaine to Gap, 168km
Rui Costa attacked out of the day’s large breakaway on the final climb of the Col de Manse and accelerated away on the descent to take a solo win. Behind him, Chris Froome stuck to Alberto Contador‘s downhill attack, with both suffering a minor off-road excursion before finishing together with the GC group.
Stage winner: Rui Costa (Movistar).
General classification: 1. Chris Froome (Sky), 2. Bauke Mollema (Belkin) +4:14, 3. Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) +4:25.
Excitement factor: 3/5.
Stage 17: Embrun to Chorges, 32km individual time trial
Chris Froome took his third stage victory, overcoming changeable weather conditions to edge past Alberto Contador by just nine seconds. Climbers Joaquim Rodriguez and Nairo Quintana also produced excellent performances as the battle behind the yellow jersey intensified.
Stage winner: Chris Froome (Sky).
General classification: 1. Chris Froome (Sky), 2. Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) +4:34, 3. Roman Kreuziger (Saxo-Tinkoff) +4:51.
Excitement factor: 4/5.
Stage 18: Gap to Alpe d’Huez, 172.5km
Christophe Riblon finally delivered a French victory as he overhauled Tejay van Garderen late on as the Tour climbed Alpe d’Huez twice in one day for the first time in its history. With Nairo Quintana and Joaquim Rodriguez on the attack in the latter stages, a hunger-flatting Chris Froome received an illegal feed and was docked 20 seconds, but still extended his lead over a fading Alberto Contador.
Stage winner: Christophe Riblon (Ag2r La Mondiale).
General classification: 1. Chris Froome (Sky), 2. Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) +5:11, 3. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) +5:32.
Excitement factor: 4/5.
There was no mistaking how much Riblon’s victory meant to him, his team and the whole of France (Image: ASO)
Stage 19: Bourg-d’Oisans to Le Grand-Bornand, 204.5km
A quiet day for the top GC men, as a break of more than 40 were left to decide the stage win between themselves. Rui Costa produced his second win in much the same manner as his first into Gap, launching his attack on the final climb and descending on his own to take a solo victory.
Stage winner: Rui Costa (Movistar).
General classification: 1. Chris Froome (Sky), 2. Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) +5:11, 3. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) +5:32.
Excitement factor: 2/5.
Stage 20: Annecy to Annecy-Semnoz, 125km
With a scintillating final kilometre burst, Nairo Quintana secured a maiden Tour stage, second overall and both the white and polka dot jerseys after he, Joaquim Rodriguez and Chris Froome had left the other key GC riders for dead on the slopes of this year’s final summit finish. The top three on the stage secured the overall podium positions as Alberto Contador slipped from second to fourth.
Stage winner: Nairo Quintana (Movistar).
General classification: 1. Chris Froome (Sky), 2. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) +5:03, 3. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) +5:47.
Excitement factor: 4/5.
There was to be no denying Quintana, but Jens Voigt put everything into one final attack (Image: Presse Sports)
Stage 21: Versailles to Paris, 133.5km
Marcel Kittel took his fourth win, ending Mark Cavendish‘s four-year winning streak on the Champs-Elysees, holding off both Andre Greipel and Cavendish. Chris Froome crossed the line safely to confirm overall victory.
Stage winner: Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano).
General classification: 1. Chris Froome (Sky), 2. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) +4:20, 3. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) +5:04.
Excitement factor: 2/5.
Roll of honour
Overall winner: Chris Froome (Sky).
Points winner: Peter Sagan (Cannondale).
King of the Mountains winner: Nairo Quintana (Movistar),
Best young rider: Nairo Quintana (Movistar),
Team prize: Saxo-Tinkoff.
Super-Combativity prize: Christophe Riblon (Ag2r La Mondiale)
Link: Official website