Tour de France 2024: race enters final week with stage 16 – live | Tour de France 2024

45km to go: The gap is 1min 43sec. Clearly there is no hope for Gachignard, unless something catastrophic happens behind.

The average speed today is 43.4km/h. A relaxed pace for the pro riders, positively super-human for mere mortals. (The average speed in the past hour is 46.8km/h, reflecting the raise in pace for the intermediate sprint and the climb.)

The temperature is 33C, according to the official website, but it will be hotter than that on the road.

48km to go: The gap is 1min 37sec. Gachignard powers on alone up front.

49km to go: Another sprinter, Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco–AlUla), had a chat earlier.

What’s today’s finish like, he is asked: “A lot of roundabouts. That’s for sure. We know what to do and we need to be in position.

“[Sunday] was a really hard one. Everybody suffered but most of us made the time cut. I think everybody is a little bit tired.”

50km to go: Here we go then. The business end, pardon the cliche, of potentially the final Tour de France sprint stage of Mark Cavendish’s career. There are other sprinters in the race, true, but none in the class of Cavendish, and a 36th victory would be a wonderful way to seal his astonishing career.

54km to go: I missed the footage, but it sounds like someone crossed the road just in front of Gachignard, our lone escapee, and a collision was narrowly avoided.

“Save for a bag of crisps, I think we’ve done all right this year,” says Kirby on commentary for Eurosport.

57km to go: Chris Harper (Jayco-Alula) and Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Dstny) both left the race this morning. Both, reportedly, due to Covid. The official withdrawals page can be seen here.

59km to go: Up front, Gachignard has a lead of 2min 13sec. The TotalEnergies marketing manager is cracking open the bubbly as we speak.

61km to go: Pascal Ackermann, the Israel Premier Tech sprinter, speaking before the stage: “The pressure is high today. The final chance for a win. We are motivated … I just think it will be a really chaotic sprint.

“I think especially in the third week, the legs are all-important. I feel quite fresh. I felt good in the mountains. I hope I could save some energy for the last days and be fresh for this sprint.”

64km to go: I was just trying to remember the big win by Dillier from a few years back. I was forced to resort to Google:

He was second in Paris-Roubaix in 2018, too. Which takes some doing.

68km to go: “He rides like he is two men,” McEwen says of Alpecin Deceuninck’s Dillier. “Kilometre after kilometre, neutralising breakaways. He just pumps out the rhythm all day long.”

70km to go: Gachignard is putting in a big dig here and trying to stay away from the peloton. For the moment, they are happy to let him have his moment in the sun and get some welcome TV time for his team sponsors. Dillier, however, continues to show off his impressive stamina at the front of the peloton for Alpecin Deceuninck.

73km to go: Thomas Gachignard (TotalEnergies) takes maximum points on the Côte de Fambetou, the solitary categorised climb of the day. He attacked solo after the intermediate sprint and has created a gap of over two minutes.

Sorry, I was slightly sidetracked by the blue moustache and the phantom hooley.

76km to go: Meanwhile, in hooleywatch:

“The big hooley hasn’t blown up just yet,” says Kirby.

This so-called hooley, let’s face is, is non-existent.

Still, the final part of the stage could be a real tough one.

76km to go: Following on from that Kristoff interview: Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility) vowed to colour his moustache blue if he hit 200k Instagram followers. And here we are.

79km to go: First-placed Girmay is on 376 points, Philipsen 294 after the intermediate. Let’s see how heavily they can score in the final …

82km to go: The Norwegian sprinter Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) won in Nîmes 10 years ago and had a chat before today’s stage.

“It’s a long time,” he says. “Yes, good memories still. Maybe it can happen again? We will see. I was just laying in my room all day yesterday [on the rest day], not doing anything … right now, I feel OK.

“I was watching my roommate getting his, what do you call it, blue moustache.”

83km to go: Philipsen was in fact second with Turgis third, and that’s your confirmed intermediate sprint result:

1) Coquard (20pts)
2) Philipsen (17pts)
3) Turgis (15pts)
4) Girmay (13pts)
5) De Lie (11pts)

88 km to go: The sprint result below is off the official website but I think it’s incorrect. Coquard definitely won it, I will confirm the others when it’s clear on the TdF socials or website.

89km to go: “Not the gale or the hooley we were hoping for just yet,” observes Carlton Kirby. Those phantom crosswinds, always a favourite of commentators and pundits aiming to hype up a flat stage.

91km to go: “I didn’t expect so many teammates to be involved in leading that out,” says Kelly on commentary. It was a hectic one that’s for sure. Cavendish, however, wasn’t interested, not even as a leg-loosener for what he hopes will be a closing bunch sprint.

Coquard wins the intermediate sprint

93km to go: Let’s see what happens after the sprint. Was this the kick up the backside that the stage needed? Will the final 90km or so be a fight?

95km to go: I was wrong about the sprint, then, and the fast men’s teams have taken it up at the front. The pace has suddenly shot up as the jostling for position begins ahead of the one sprint of the day. Intermarché Wanty are leading it out for Biniam Girmay.

96km to go: “Calm … calm … calm,” says Sean Kelly. At least I think that’s what he said.

97km to go: Wout van Aert (Visma–Lease a Bike), one of the contenders today, has a chat. Is his form improving as the race goes on? “Yeah, for sure. I feel better. Recovery goes smoother. It was not something crazy but my performance uphill on Sunday was better than the Galibier stage. I think I’m getting there, but it’s more the feeling than what you can see in the numbers.

“It’s the Tour de France, we need to be sharp every day … there were some stages when we thought the wind would be a factor [but wasn’t] … also today we need to be sharp [due to potential crosswinds]. It’s an opportunity to win a stage, and for me personally, one of the last opportunities.”

100km to go: Gruppo compatto, as they say in Italian. The gruppo remains very much compatto. Cavendish will hope his team can put him in the mix in a bunch sprint a little later. We hope that too, don’t we?

105km to go: The peloton just rolled through a feed zone, plenty of riders picking up a team musette containing a spot of lunch.

There is unmistakably an undertone of tension here as teams worry about the possible impact of crosswinds in the second half of this stage. It’s far from a standard sprint day, evidenced by the fact that a breakaway was not allowed to go.

Stefan Küng fancied it from the start, but no one joined him when he attacked from the flag, and that was pretty much that.

107km to go: Just under 15km to go to the day’s intermediate sprint at Les Matellettes.

“It’s 36C … it’s roasting,” Blythe tells us from the back of that motorbike.

107km to go: Jeremy Whittle, our Tour de France reporter, was in the EF Education EasyPost team car on stage nine:

111km to go: The Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale rider Larry Warbasse, on co-commentary duty, reckons this is a very dangerous day for potential splits in the crosswinds.

114km to go: The day’s intermediate sprint, and the category-four climb, are not far away now. The group is altogether, and if I was a betting man, I would say there won’t be much interest in battling for either.

However, on the motorbike, Adam Blythe reckons that in 10km or so, the wind is going to become more of a factor. He says the people in the team cars don’t want to speak to him now because they want to be available on the radios … the atmosphere seems to be increasingly nervous.

“Hopefully it’s going to kick off,” says Blythe.

115km to go: I wouldn’t rule out race-defining drama on the final day. We’ve seen riders blow up in decisive time trials before …

118km to go: “Regarding the GC,” emails Bill. “I think the penultimate and antepenultimate stages are going to be brilliant. There’s a scintilla of a chance for the second to fourth placed riders to get a stomp on hoping to claw some time back. Everyone’s human, here, and some are due a bad day. Closing the gap in the GC would make the otherwise deathly dull final day slightly more interesting than watching numbers on a clock change.

“On final days, there’s always been something more than magnificent about Cav reaching into his bag, plonking the thrilling heroics on to the bars, and hurtling down the Champs-Élysées (and, weirdly, David Millar tried the same, making a solo break on his swansong). It’s a shame we won’t get to see that again.”

119km to go: Below is what remains after today (in the form of William Fotheringham’s pre-race stage guide) ending in Nice on Sunday with that individual time trial:

Stage 17: Wednesday 17 July: Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Superdévoluy, 178km

A “transition” stage, to get the riders into the Alps for the final showdown which should be a good chance for the all-rounders to get in a break and contest the finish, so the early kilometres will be intense. Stage hunters such as Magnus Cort, Ben Healy, Pello Bilbao or Simon Yates will fancy this one. With a very demanding final weekend on the horizon, the favourites will watch and wait.

Stage 18: Thursday 18 July: Gap to Barcelonnette, 180km

A last chance for a breakaway before the overall battle takes centre stage, although the continual ups and downs over five third category climbs mean that this stage might just interest a sprinter who can climb a bit, particularly if the green jersey is still up for grabs. If Pedersen or De Lie is feeling good, their Lidl-Trek and Lotto-Dstny teams could try to keep a lid on this one, but good luck with that given the terrain.

Stage 19: Friday 19 July: Embrun to Isola 2000, 145km

An early green jersey sprint is the last time we will see the sprinters in action, and after that it’s a climber’s day. The Col de Vars is a brute, but the Bonette is in a class of its own, the highest ascent the Tour tackles. Some will recall Robert Millar’s gutsy escape over that monster in 1993; as on that day, the chances of a break getting to the finish are minimal as the overall battle will take centre stage.

Stage 20: Saturday 20 July: Nice to Col de la Couillole, 133km

Shorter than the day before, but even more vertical metres of climbing. By now most of the questions should have answers: can Pogacar hang on to the form that won him the Giro, can Evenepoel find some climbing legs in his first Tour, have Roglic and Vingegaard recovered from their horrific crash in April, and is Egan Bernal anywhere near his old self? As on Friday, this is a day for the overall contenders in a totally unique final weekend to the Tour.

Stage 21: Sunday 21 July: Monaco to Nice individual time trial, 33.7km

A first-ever finish outside Paris, due to the Olympics starting later that week. The Tour hasn’t ended in a time trial since the LeMond-Fignon epic of 1989; if the top of the standings is tight, this could be equally memorable but usually by now the race is nailed down. It’s far from flat, and very technical, which suggests Pogacar or Vingegaard rather than Evenepoel for the win, but on day 21 it’s largely a matter of who has anything left in the tank.

122km to go: Earlier, we mentioned that Harry Kane was called the “­Raymond Poulidor of world football” on French radio yesterday.

David Alderton writes in: “It’s well worth noting that although Poulidor didn’t ever win the Tour, he was racing against Eddy Merckx for pretty much all of his career. Poulidor’s palmarès is more than decent enough to stand on merit, and he did win plenty.”

124km to go: “Today is my last opportunity to take a stage victory,” Arnaud De Lie of Lotto–Dstny tells Eurosport. “We will give it a try, but we have no pressure. We’re in the biggest race in the world so I need to stay ambitious. But the people we’re competing with are the best, so it’s not going to happen by accident. We’re in the third week, everything needs to be perfect today. It is windy but that’s something I like. We’ll need to be well positioned at the front if there are going to be echelons.”

128km to go: The overall race leader Tadej Pogacar is pictured rolling along in the bunch. Philipsen has dropped back to have a chat with the race doctor, it looks like, but nothing serious. If this was Sunday they’d be getting the champagne out.

130km to go: Luke Durbridge (Team Jayco–AlUla) crashed earlier, and apparently that was caused by a stray dog.

133km to go: “As this looks like the most realistic sprint stage left in the race, implore all your readers to follow or switch on the telly as this is the last time we might see Cav competing for a sprint in the tour.

“He’s right up there in my favourite sports people from this country. Or anywhere. Complete warrior. Imagine if he were Dutch or Belgian or French. He would have statues, he would boost the economy of each town he visited Taylor Swift-style, and be presenting Belgian X Factor.

“I bawled when he won the other week. As I had with many of his victories. Andy Murray and Cav leaving in the same year. Two of the best we have produced. Chapeau.”

135km to go: As you may have gathered, all is calm out on the road. The rest of this week is punishing, as usual, but this year the race ends with a time trial rather than a largely ceremonial jaunt to Paris on Sunday.

That fact will be featuring heavily in many riders’ minds. Some will fancy throwing everything at a closing stage win in the 33.7km “race of truth” in Nice, while the GC guys will be very nervous about going into Sunday with empty legs. It’s a long enough time trial that a bad day could spell disaster.

Vingegaard is also asked about fans at roadside booing the riders: “It’s not so nice. That’s how it is. I cannot change it. I just don’t understand why you’d go and see cycling and boo people. It’s how they want to do it, but I don’t understand why.”

Pogacar chips in: “In cycling I think this is unusual. This is what you expect in football and basketball. Booing, I think it doesn’t suit in cycling. It’s unwelcome.”

139km to go: Nice idea from Eurosport: what do Pogacar and Vingegaard think of each other?

“I like how small he is, and how fast he can go on the flat,” Pogacar says of his Danish rival. “On the climb, he’s the best climber in the world. His numbers on the climb are one of the best in the world. There is great respect between me and him.”

And what does Vingegaard think of Pogacar? “We suit each other pretty well. In some kind of way, if I was not a comp to Tadej, I think cycling would be pretty boring right now. And the other way around. In that way, we suit each other well.”

148km to go: Today’s route skirts the south coast not a million miles away from Marseille. The route takes the riders just north of Montpellier and onwards to Nîmes. If they kept going on the same course they’d end up in Avignon, and a little further still would take them to the iconic Mont Ventoux.

150km to go: Adam Blythe, on the Eurosport motorbike, tells us the riders are taking frequent natural breaks. They’re drinking more than usual due to the heat.

151km to go: “A shout out for ITV’s highlights programme last night,” writes Gary Naylor.

“Two features stood out. A lovely piece on John-Lee Augustyn, the man who went over the edge in 2008, who was subsequently stricken by an unrelated injury, retired into difficult days, but is now back and happy in Italy, though his eyes betray some of that history.

“And a trip back to 1989 and Greg Lemond vs Laurent Fignon on the Champs-Élysées, during which 35 years melted away. It focused more on Fignon than Lemond and it was easy to see why he wasn’t much liked, but he looked tremendous on and off the bike, like a rival for Alain Delon as a matinee idol. He’s been gone nearly 14 years now, which is both heartbreaking and terrifying. Enjoy it while you can everyone.”

152km to go: Being “super-happy”, Girmay is clearly learning from the best.

Super-happy was, of course, Cavendish’s catchphrase for quite some time.

“This Tour was unbelivable so far,” the points classification leader, Biniam Girmay, tells Matt Stephens on Eurosport. “Just super-happy with three victories, the team performance. Every stage we are hunting for points. I’m just super-happy, we’ve won more than we expect.”

Does Girmay feel pressure? “For what?”

The pressure to perform, to win?

“For what?” (Girmay cracks a smile.)

“There is no pressure. For me it’s the other hand. If I don’t deliver what I’m looking for, this gives me a lot of pressure. But if I’m delivering, doing a great job, I have no pressure at all.”

159km to go: I hear there is a bit of football news today but obviously, you won’t be worrying about that, what with the Tour de France on.

162km to go: “After seeing Cav haul himself over the line before what was probably a much-needed rest day for him, I have to say that even now I have reverted to spending all day worrying about him,” emails Jeremy Lee.

“Will a break get away, will he get caught behind a crash, will his lead out train get him to where he wants to be at the pointy end of the race, never mind the sprint itself etc. etc.

“I had lulled myself into a false sense of security that after the magnificent number 35 I wouldn’t really care what he did any more – but sadly it hasn’t worked. I was even dreaming of him raising his fist in victory on the Promenade des Anglais until I remembered it was a time trial!

“Mind you, I can remember Le Mond and Fignon and the drag coefficient of his pony tail – cycling eh!”

Cycling, indeed. Bloody hell!

165km to go: The race rolls into Béziers. The following is courtesy of the official Tour de France website:

“The city hosted the Tour de France six times between 1938 and 2006 (including one start). The last winner of a stage here was David Millar, who out-sprinted a strong breakaway group including Michael Boogerd and Laurent Brochard in 2002.”

167km to go: “It could happen. It might happen. Some are hoping it won’t happen,” says McEwen on Eurosport, of a potential crosswind-tastic bunfight for the stage win and indeed in GC.

“The forecast is for just enough wind to split things up … it’s enough to split the peloton if you get a sustained gust … GC teams have to be on their guard, because you could get a split.”

168km to go: It’s looking pretty chilled just at the moment. Cavendish was just pictured rolling along in the bunch and having a chat with a rider from another team.