tour the france 2016

Chris Froome wins 2016 Tour de France as André Greipel takes final stage

Chris Froome takes his third Tour de France victory in Paris on Sunday as André Greipel takes the final sprint showdown on the Champs Élysées

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Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas on stage 21 of the 2016 Tour de France

Chris Froome (Team Sky) elevated himself further among the cycling greats by winning the 2016 Tour de France in Paris on Sunday, his third Tour victory.

Froome took the lead after winning stage eight of the 103rd edition of the race and never looked back. He survived running up Mont Ventoux and crashing in the Alps to secure the historic victory.

Froome finished the race four minutes and five seconds ahead of Frenchman Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale), with Nairo Quintana (Movistar) in third at 4-21.

Along with Froome's overall win and two stage wins, plus four stage wins for Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) and one for Steve Cummings (Dimension Data), British success continued with Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange) securing the white jersey of best young rider and placing fourth overall. It's the first time a British rider has ever topped the best young rider classification and has now set him up as an exciting new Grand Tour prospect.

German sprinter André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) won the bunch sprint at the end of the final stage, out-pacing points classification winner Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) to the line. Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) was third. British sprinter Dan McLay was 12th, having completed his first Tour.

It's Greipel's sole stage victory in the 2016 race, and is his 11th Grand Tour since 2008 with at least one stage victory.

Before the frantic finale, the traditional procession after the start of the last stage saw a slow pace as riders chatted and got to enjoy rolling along in the warm, sunny weather. Froome and Sky team-mates indulged in an unconventional bottle of beer followed by a more conventional glass of Champagne.

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It wasn't until the race hit the Champs Élysées that the pace picked up and a break formed with 50km to go.

Jan Barta (Bora), Marcus Burghardt (BMC), Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida), Lawson Craddock (Cannondale-Drapac), Brice Feillu (Fortuneo-Vital Concept), Alexis Gougeard (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Jérémy Roy (FDJ) and Daniel Teklehaimanot (Dimension Data) were the eight riders to finally get away.

Marcel Kittel (Etixx-QuickStep) suffered a technical mishap, and was seen throwing his rear wheel across the road after a couple of bike changes. He then paced himself back up to the bunch without the help of team-mates, but the effort would see him out of the running in the final sprint.

The break was joined by Sky duo Luke Rowe and Wout Poels, who bridged over with 18km to go evidently trying to get rid of any unexpended energy from the previous three weeks.

>>> Chris Froome and Peter Sagan’s special bikes for Tour de France final stage

All escapees were caught with 10km to go, and the bunch was still all together with one lap of the cobbled loop and 6.6km to go. It took a while for the sprinters' teams to get organised at the front, with a jumble of riders initially jostling for position.

A couple of late crashes took out a few riders, and French sprinter Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie) appeared to suffer from a puncture with 3km to go, his hope of a stage win over.

The tight corners into the finish straight disrupted Greipel's Lotto-Soudal sprint train, but he jumped on Kristoff's rear wheel and accelerated away on the cobbles. Sagan was gaining on him as Kristoff faded, but Greipel lunged clear on the line to win on the Champs Élysées for a second consecutive year.

Tony Martin (Etixx-QuickStep) was a surprise abandon during the final stage after suffering from knee pain during the stage. It left 174 riders left in the race, the highest ever number of finishers in the race's 103 editions – the previous record was 170 in 2010.

>>> Tour de France 2016: Latest news, reports and info

Tour de France 2016, stage 21: Chantilly to Paris Champs-Élysées, 113km

1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal in 2-43-08

2. Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff

3. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha

4. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data

5. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica-BikeExchange

6. Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo

7. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Cannondale-Drapac

8. Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis

9. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18

10. Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data all same time

Final general classification

1. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky in 89-06-01

2. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale, at 4-05

3. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar at 4-21

4. Adam Yates (GBr) Orica-BikeExchange at 4-42

5. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC at 5-17

6. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar at 6-16

7. Joaquim Rodriguez (Esp) Katusha at 6-58

8. Louis Meintjes (RSA) Lampre-Merida at 6-58

9. Dan Martin (Irl) Etixx-Quick Step at 7-04

10. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff at 7-11

King of the Mountains classification: Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff

Points classification: Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff

Young rider classification: Adam Yates (GBr) Orica-BikeExchange

Best team: Movistar

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Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away , following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed. 

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Tour de France: Ilnur Zakarin wins stage 17 and Froome extends lead – as it happened

Russian Katusha rider Ilnur Zakarin powered clear to win the gruelling summit finish at Finhaut-Emosson as Chris Froome made crucial time on his GC rivals

• 20 Jul 2016 General classification after stage 17
• 20 Jul 2016 Stage 17: top 10
• 20 Jul 2016 Ilnur Zakarin wins stage 17!
• 20 Jul 2016 The breakaway
• 20 Jul 2016 General classification after stage 16
• 20 Jul 2016 Gorka Izagirre abandons Tour after crash!

That’s it from me, thanks for reading. Come along tomorrow for stage 18 and an uphill individual time trial, and in the meantime here is our stage 17 report:

One of Chris Froome’s loyal domestiques , Mikel Nieve: “We worked all day, and right at the end we had our leader in a good position. He used our work and was able to just carry on. The other teams have got to make it difficult for us not to win it and they weren’t able to. I thought Froome did really well today. He managed to grab some more time and it’s another good day for us.”

Dan Martin has been lying on the ground beyond the finish line , absolutely broken. He put in a huge attack in the final few kilometres and is understandably feeling the effects. Here is Astana’s Tanel Kangert: “Zakarin was strong, he really deserves it. Our tactic was to attack on the penultimate climb and it seemed like Fabio [Aru] was OK. Personally I’m still tired after the Giro and couldn’t help him as much as I wanted. They [Sky] are controlling the whole race from start to finish and it’s really hard to break them. They may crack. We’ll see what’s going to happen in the next days.”

General classification after stage 17

Froome’s overall lead increases by 40 seconds:

1. Chris Froome (Team Sky) 77:25:10” 2. Bauke Mollema (Trek) +2:27” 3. Adam Yates (Orica) +2:53” 4. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) +3:27” 5. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +4:15” 6. Romain Bardet (AG2R) +4:27” 7. Richie Porte (BMC Racing) +5:19” 8. Fabio Aru (Astana) +5:35” 9. Daniel Martin (Etixx-Quick-Step) +5:50” 10. Louis Meintjes (Lampre-Merida) +6:07”

“Surely Team BMC will acknowledge Porte as their Team Leader now,” emails Kyle DeBoer.

Our initial stage 17 report is in:

Stage 17: top 10

Quintana loses 27sec to Chris Froome , according to Movistar:

#TDF2016 : Froome, Porte A. Yates +7 Bardet +10 Aru, Meintjes +17 @NairoQuinCo +27 Mollema +39 @alejanvalverde +2’01 pic.twitter.com/EsyV2Cmsmg — Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) July 20, 2016

Adam Yates reaches this brutal summit alongside Bardet and Aru. Brilliant again from the Briton. Quintana comes in on his own, with Mollema crossing the line a few seconds later.

Adam Yates suddenly shows up alongside Nairo Quintana , and powers past the Colombian! Fabio Aru follows with Bardet and a handful of others and Quintana can’t keep in contact. His bid for this Tour is crumbling here.

Porte leads Froome into the final 2km. They’ve left Quintana and the other top GC riders behind and this is surely another step towards 2016 victory for Chris Froome.

Porte has driven clear and he might be able to pull out a few seconds in the GC here. Mollema is struggling, Aru can’t keep pace, and now Froome zips away to close the gap to Porte. What a show of strength by the man in yellow. Quintana tags on to Froome’s wheel, but Froome attacks once more to leave Quintana behind!

Back down the mountain Froome is led towards the top by his two Sky team-mates as Richie Porte and Nairo Quintana follow, with Fabio Aru also in tow. Porte goes on the attack and Quintana follows... and Froome goes with them!

Pantano comes in second , equally beaten at the summit, and like Zakarin he is pushed away from the line by officials.

Ilnur Zakarin wins stage 17!

Zakarin pumps almost in slow motion as the road continues to tilt back. He does his jersey up, probably for sponsorship reasons, which would be a terrible way to lose control and lose the stage. He finally breaks into a smile as he hits the line and has almost nothing left to even raise his arms! A huge effort and an impressive win by the Russian.

Dan Martin has been reeled in by the rest of the yellow-jersey group . Sky have maintained just enough control to protect Chris Froome with Wout Poels working tirelessly on the front.

1km remaining: Ilnur Zakarin is closing in on his first Tour de France stage victory. He must be hurting but his pace remains high as this climb reaches its most brutal in the final kilometre.

Nine minutes up ahead, Pantano is struggling to make up any ground and this looks like being a brilliant solo drive to the line by Zakarin.

2km remaining: But Wout Poels keeps contact and drags Froome with him. Valverde looks back and takes his foot off the gas. Now Dan Martin attacks! Team Sky try to react but this is a really impressive move and they let Martin go. Quintana remains in the pack behind Froome, as does Fabio Aru.

Movistar make a move! Alejandro Valverde attacks hard and Team Sky try to respond, but Sergio Henao can’t keep up and he falls away.

Pantano is timed at 23sec behind the race leader , Katusha’s Ilnur Zakarin.

3km remaining: Zakarin continues to power away on his own. This must be agony. In the peloton the Astana riders are losing contact. Nibali has worked hard and falls back with his effort done, and Team Sky take up position on the front. Dan Martin remains in there and Adam Yates is there too, in his usual slot at the back.

4km remaining: Zakarin leads by 15sec from Pantano. Nibali continues to work hard at the front of the yellow-jersey group leading Fabio Aru up as Chris Froome lurks behind them and Bauke Mollema sits on Froome’s wheel. Eric Hoff emails: “re George Demas, 15:19. Tejay always appears to lose it after rest days. Last year he dropped out on the day after the second rest day.”

“Majka vs Pantano does sound a bit like the kind of boxing match that if you have a Sky TV package you’d be bombarded with box office adverts in the week preceding the event,” emails Dan Kirk, “whilst you’re simply wanting to watch re-runs of episodes of House M.D!”

5km remaining: Back down the road Chris Froome is still being ushered up this hors catégorie climb by a handful of committed Sky assistants. Astana remain on the front of the yellow-jersey group, 10min behind the leader Zakarin.

Pantano bridges the gap and Zakarin relents. They share a few words as they continue to climb together, and this might allow Majka a way back into the reckoning... But not anymore, because Zakarin attacks again! He is going for a solo run to home.

6km remaining: Zakarin attacks! He pulls away to the right of the road, stands tall and powers up ahead. A weary Rafal Majka can only watch as Jarlinson Pantano gives chase.

Ilnur Zakarin bridges the gap to Majka and Pantano! Three riders now on the front as they tackle this brutal 10km climb up to Finhaut-Emosson, which at parts kicks up to more than 12% gradient.

8km remaining: Majka and Pantano have 25sec on the chasers with Zakarin, Feillu and Lutsenko the closest group. After fighting so hard all day to join the front of the race, Tommy Voeckler is losing contact. The wait for a French win in this year’s Tour looks set to go on.

For the first time in a long while , what’s left of the peloton are within 10 minutes of the front of the race. Astana are setting the pace with Team Sky in close attendance. No serious attacks on Chris Froome as yet. Does anyone have the legs?

Majka and Pantano battled to the finish last week , with the young Colombian the winner:

10km remaining: Majka leads Pantano to the start of the final climb of the day. “To add to the list of unusal Swiss sports,” emails Matthew Wise. “ Cow Fighting is still hugely popular in Valais.”

"Team Sky v rest of the world: it would take some organising" That's what red wine and directeurs-sportifs meetings are for @LawrenceOstlere — Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) July 20, 2016

12km remaining: Majka and Pantano attack! They sit low and weave down this descent before the final, gruelling climb of the day, leaving the rest of the breakaway behind. George Demas emails: “Isn’t this about the point at which Tejay Van Garderen cracked up last year?”

Plenty of domestiques are being dropped by the yellow-jersey group but the top GC riders, including the relentless Adam Yates, remain as one as they continue to climb the Col de la Forclaz.

The latest breakaway group is Majka, Clement, Kangert, Pantano, Zakarin, Pozzovivo, Morabito, Durasek, Feillu, Voeckler. A man in his underpants carrying a selfie-stick and wearing a cork hat sprints alongside them – only in the Tour de France . Majka and Voeckler approach the summit and show a burst of pace, with Majka sneaking ahead to take the maximum King of the Mountains points.

Movistar appear to be suffering and Astana decide to inject some pace into the peloton. Vincenzo Nibali leads the way with Fabio Aru in tow. Sky and Chris Froome stay in contact.

@LawrenceOstlere Lutsenko/Majka/Gallopin: stars of the trans-European television adaptation of Waiting for Godot (1961). Godot = Quintana. — Plashing Vole (@PlashingVole) July 20, 2016

Tejay Van Garderen is struggling today. He is slipping away from the peloton. Ed Walker emails: “I love the way Team Sky are being referred to as ‘The Nine’ now, like they’re the Nazgul (they do wear black...) with Chris Froome as the Witch King of Angmar. Who’s Sauron in this scenario? Dave Brailsford I guess...”

20km remaining: Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) is now only 10sec clear as he closes in on the Col de la Forclaz summit. IAM’s Stef Clement and Jarlinson Pantano are with Rafal Majka, Tommy Voeckler and a handful of others as the breakaway begins to partially regroup. Sky have retaken the lead at the front of the peloton:

On the Col de la Forclaz @TeamSky have five riders up front in support of Froomey. Landa, Nieve, Henao, Poels and G. 21km to go #TDF2016 — Team Sky (@TeamSky) July 20, 2016

Movistar are certainly making a concerted effort to take control of what’s left of the peloton. Can they put Nairo Quintana in a position to attack on the final climb into Finhaut-Emosson? Up ahead, Lutsenko continues to pump clear of the rest. He looks utterly unmoved by the category one ascent in burning heat. Behind him, Gallopin has rejoined Majka. The rest of the breakaway is splintering.

@LawrenceOstlere re: 14.53 the tour already has evil twins - lovely Adam Yates and "dastardly" Simon Yates! — Jim Barnett (@jimmy_boy81) July 20, 2016

25km remaining: At the front, Lutsenko decides he wants to go alone and leaves Gallopin behind him, with the rest of the breakaway around 20sec back. “Why no evil alliance between challenging teams?” emails Steve Pye. “I can see why OBE might not be interested in an attack on Froome, they’d be over the moon with a podium place for Adam Yates. Perm any 2 or 3 from BMC, Astana, Trek and Movistar though, and you potentially have a train that could ride Sky off the road!” Team Sky v rest of the world: it would take some organising.

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The Winners of the 2016 Tour de France

In a stellar performance, Team Sky's Chris Froome finished Stage 21 as the winner of the 2016 Tour de France

Last updated July 24 at 4:21 PM

Stage 8-21: Chris Froome

Team Sky’s Chris Froome took the third Tour de France victory of his career July 24th—an achievement that ties him with Belgium’s Philippe Thys, France’s Louison Bobet, and the United States’s Greg LeMond for second place on the list of the Tour’s winningest champions. With two more Tour wins, Froome would join France’s Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault, Belgium’s Eddy Merckx, and Spain’s Miguel Indurain on the Mount Rushmore of Tour de France champions.

RELATED: How Froome Became the Tour's Fourth Three-Time Winner

How Many Tours Can He Win? For Froome, it appears that the Sky’s the limit: as long as he races for Team Sky (a team which has now won four of the last five Tours de France), there’s no reason to expect anyone else will defeat him in the near future. Froome recently extended his contract with the British super-team, so the Kenyan-born Briton will ride for the squad for two more seasons, and thus has a great opportunity to tie the all-time record of five Tour de France victories (barring any bad luck).

Should Froome and Sky decide to extend their relationship even further, there’s little reason to doubt Froome’s chances of becoming the winningest rider in Tour de France history. He’ll be 33 years old at that point—not young for a Tour de France contender, but not over the hill, either.

RELATED: Why Chris Froome is the Tour's Most Surprising Rider

Who Will Be His Biggest Competition Next Year? Since Froome became a contender, only two have gotten in his way at the Tour de France: his teammate, Bradley Wiggins , in 2012, and crashes in 2014. Otherwise, Froome’s had little trouble dispatching his rivals to win the world’s biggest bike race.

That doesn’t mean men like Nairo Quintana, Romain Bardet, Richie Porte, and Alberto Contador won’t stop trying. But next year’s odds are already starting to fall in Froome’s favor; information about the route of the 2017 Tour de France (which won’t be officially released until October) is already starting to leak. We know that the race will begin in Dusseldorf, Germany, but from there, it’s rumored to travel through Belgium and Luxembourg before tackling the first summit finish of the race on la Planche des Belles Filles.

If that’s true, Froome and Team Sky will be tickled: the Briton won a stage atop the climb in 2012, the year Bradley Wiggins won Sky its first Tour, and Froome announced himself as a future Tour champion. If the rumors prove true, mark that stage as the day Chris Froome begins to put a stranglehold on yet another Tour de France.

Who Were the Tour's Other Winners? The yellow jersey isn’t the only jersey awarded in the Tour de France, and Stage 20 also put the finishing touches on the Tour’s other jersey competitions. Tinkoff’s Peter Sagan locked up his fifth green jersey as the winner of the Tour’s Points Classification a long time ago, while his teammate Rafal Majka won his second polka dot jersey as the Tour’s King of the Mountains. Lastly, Orica-BikeExchange’s Adam Yates held onto his lead in the Tour’s Best Young Rider competition, meaning the Briton took the white jersey on the final podium.

Stage 5-7: Greg Van Avermaet

They say that the best defense is a good offense, and that’s just what BMC’s Greg Van Avermaet did today. In an attempt to defend the yellow jersey he’s worn since winning Stage 5, the Belgian went on the attack midway through Stage 7, along with 28 other riders hoping to win the first Pyrenean stage of the 2016 Tour de France . Van Avermaet didn’t win the stage, but he added more time to his lead. Thanks to his aggressive riding, the yellow jersey is his for another day.

RELATED: How Van Avermaet Crushed Stage 5

How Long Can He Stay in the Yellow? Stage 8 has four tough climbs on tap for the riders, including the Col du Tourmalet, the first Hors Categorie or “Beyond Category” ascent of this year's Tour. Van Avermaet’s efforts today will certainly affect him tomorrow, but he has more than a six-minute lead over the Tour’s second-place rider. Tour history is filled with stories of riders who have worn the yellow jersey days longer than anyone expected them to. Van Avermaet could be writing another one.

Who's Really Winning the Tour? It’s still too soon to say who’s really winning the Tour, but it looks as if another pre-race contender has lost it. FDJ’s Thibaut Pinot , considered by many to be a podium threat, was distanced on the Col d’Aspin today, and lost several minutes to the rest of the Tour’s overall contenders. While two weeks of the Tour remain, the Frenchman’s hopes of a top-three finish are probably over.

Stages 3-4: It's Still Sagan's Race

Tinkoff’s Peter Sagan stills leads the Tour, and thanks the four-second time bonus that came with his third-place finish on Stage 4, he extended his lead to 12 seconds over Etixx—Quick-Step’s Julian Alaphilippe and 14 seconds over Movistar’s Alejandro Valverde.

RELATED: Kittel Wins Stage 4

How Long Can He Stay in the Yellow? Tomorrow’s stage is the hardest of the Tour so far, with a cluster of Category 2 and 3 ascents clustered in the final 45km of the stage. Sagan will need to have one of the best days of his career in order defend the jersey against the likes of Alaphilippe and Valverde, two riders whose past performances make them top contenders for tomorrow’s stage.

That said, Sagan has surprised us before. Remember the climb of Mt. Baldy in last year’s Amgen Tour of California ? Sagan had a jersey to defend that day too—and he rose to the challenge. Coincidentally, his biggest challenger that day was also Alaphilippe. Can history repeat itself tomorrow? Tune-in and see.

Who’s Really Winning the Tour It’s still too soon to say, but tomorrow’s stage could give the Tour’s overall contenders—men like Team Sky’s Chris Froome and Movistar’s Nairo Quintana—their first opportunity to test one another before the race hits the Pyrenees on Friday.

Stage 2: Tinkoff’s Peter Sagan Takes the Lead

Peter Sagan is now in the lead in this year's Tour, following his Stage 2 victory in Cherbourg. The World Champion was patient on the final climb of the Côte de la Glacerie and the final ramp to the finish line, letting other riders attack while saving his sprint at the last possible moment.

RELATED: The Must-Watch Stages of This Year's Tour

The stage win was his first since the 2013 Tour de France, and the yellow jersey that came with it is the first of his career. He also holds the green jersey as the leader of the Tour’s Points Competition, but won’t be wearing as long as he holds yellow.

How long can he stay in yellow? Quite a while, actually. The next two stages are expected to end in field sprints. Even if pure sprinters like Dimension Data’s Mark Cavendish, Etixx—Quick-Step’s Marcel Kittel, and Lotto-Soudal’s Andre Greipel earn time bonuses via stage victories, they lost too much time at the end of Stage 2 to make much of a dent in Sagan’s lead. As for GC riders like Team Sky’s Chris Froome and Movistar’s Nairo Quintana, they’re waiting for the Pyrenees before starting their real battle for the yellow jersey.

Sagan’s greatest threat might be Quintana’s Movistar teammate, Alejandro Valverde. Wednesday’s Stage 5 is quite hilly, and Valverde has the skills to drop Sagan on the steep climbs late in the stage. Etixx—Quick-Step’s Julian Alaphilippe (second to Sagan on Stage 2) bears watching as well.

Who’s Losing the Tour? It’s too soon to say who’s really winning the Tour, but two riders already appear to have lost it (or at least, they haven’t done themselves any favors). Tinkoff’s Alberto Contador crashed hard during Stage 1, then fell again midway through Stage 2. The battered rider lost a minute to his rivals at the end of the stage, and has started the Tour in the worst way possible.

RELATED: Contador's Spectacular Stage 1 Crash

Another pre-race contender, BMC’s Richie Porte, lost 1:45 today thanks to a flat tire late in the stage. There are still three weeks before Paris, but these two riders have a lot of ground to make-up to get there in yellow.

Stage 1 Goes to Mark Cavendish

Dimension Data's Mark Cavendish scored his 27th Tour de France stage victory today at Utah Beach. But in doing so, he also won something he's never actually won before: the yellow jersey as the overall leader of the Tour de France. Cavendish out-sprinted Etixx--Quick-Step's Marcel Kittel and Tinkoff's Peter Sagan to win the stage, and now leads the two riders by 4 and 6 seconds respectively.

How Long Can He Stay in the Yellow? Stage 2 ends after the top of a short, steep climb, though, making Sagan a good bet to take the jersey for himself tomorrow. It's a finish that's certainly too hard for Cavendish and Kittel, but not too hard for the Slovak. So don't expect Cavendish to be in yellow after Stage 2; the finish may prove too challenging for him.

Who’s Really Winning the Tour As for the rest of the overall contenders, it's too soon make predictions about who's going to win the 2016 Tour de France. That said, Alberto Contador's chances took a big hit when the Spaniard crashed mid-stage. He says he suffered only cuts and scrapes, but it's certainly not the way he wanted to start his Tour.

RELATED: Cavendish's Sprint to Capture Stage 1

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Tour de France 2016: The Route

After the start at Mont Saint-Michel the first 760 metres of the 2016 Tour de France are on a pedestrian bridge to the mainland. The 1st stage leads to Utah Beach and the most likely outcome is a bunch sprint. Stage 2 looks good for the puncheurs with a short closing climb with steepest sectors at 14%.

From stage 3 onwards the three longest stages in the 2016 Tour de France welcome the riders. Being all over 200 kilometres, the routes to Angers ( stage 3 ) and Limoges ( stage 4 ) are interesting to the fast men, albeit stage 3 ends on a false flat while stage 4 brings a hilly finale with the line on top of a short climb that will delight the likes of Sagan and Matthews. Stage 5 leads over three mountain tops to ski-resort Le Lioran in the Massif Central, while  Stage 6 offers chances to both fast men and escapees, depending on how the race to Montauban unfolds.

Climbers will see opportunities when the Pyrenees loom. Stage 7 leads over the Col d’Aspin before the race is set to conclude with a plunge down to Lac du Payolle, while in stage 8 Col du Tourmalet and Col de Peyresourde are to be crested before a summit finish at Pla de Beret. The next day stage 9 goes via three passes to Arcalis, a ski-resort at an elevation of 1,940 metres in Andorra. The sixth smallest nation of Europe (468 km2) is the backdrop for the first rest-day in the Tour de France.

Second week of racing In stage 10 the pack leaves Andorra to set sail for Revel, a place where Alexandre Vinokourov was victorious in 2010. Stage 11  goes to Montpellier and should be for the sprinters and then it’s party time in the Provence. At Bastille Day the Bald Mountain welcomes the riders in stage 12 for a top-finish at Mont Ventoux after a 21 kilometres drag that is usually complicated by hard winds an/or severe heat (update July 13: stage has been shortened due to dangerously strong winds at the top of Mont Ventoux, finish is at Chalet Reynard, 6 kilometres under the ‘bald summit’) . Next is stage 13 , a hilly invidual time trial in 37.5 kilometres with a 3.5 kilometres closing climb at 5%. Nasty.

Stage 14 leads to Villars-les-Dombes and could either be for sprinters or for escapees, while only three days after the Ventoux the 15th stage leads through the Jura Mountains and is teeming with climbs, among them two times up the Grand Colombier. Stage 16 is in the Jura as well but tells a different story as the course leads over rolling roads to a short climb leading to the last kilometre. Tough sprinters or escapees?

Tough closing week The closing week is marked by the Alps. The towering Mont Blanc forms the backdrop for the last three mountain stages to Megève, Saint-Gervais-Mont Blanc and Morzine, while it all starts in Bern, Switzerland. In stage 17 riders are to crest three peaks in the Alps before a top-finish lays waiting at Lac d’Emosson after a 10.7 kilometres closing climb at 8.5%.

At July 21st  stage 18 is a 17 kilometres mountain time trial to Megève and then the 19th stage take the attrition that is the last week of the 2016 Tour de France one step further. After cresting four peaks the climb to Saint-Gervais-Mont Blanc lays waiting. In the 2015 Critérium du Dauphiné Chris Froome raced to victory.

Stage 20 heads to Morzine with a series of tough climbs in between, such as Col de la Colombière and Joux-Plane, after which the finale is downhill. At July 24th the 21st stage is set to close the Tour de France with a bunch sprint at Champs-Élysées.

All in all, the 2016 Tour de France offers a route to look forward to in awe!

Tour de France 2016: Route maps, height profiles, and more

Click on the images to zoom

Luv the tour

I love the TV5 coverage of le Tour! I’m a Californian, a French major in college, and getting to watch live coverage of this exciting race, as well as the terrific aerial coverage of La Belle France throughout is one of the joys of summer for me!! I love how your site helps me find each day’s stage on the map of France. Such history, so fantastique!

Tour de France route 2016

Map of the 103rd Tour de France

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• 1 FROOME Chris
• 2 HENAO Sergio
• 3 KIRYIENKA Vasil
• 4 LANDA Mikel
• 5 NIEVE Mikel
• 6 POELS Wout
• 7 ROWE Luke
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• 58 WAGNER Robert
• 59 WYNANTS Maarten

• 61 MOLLEMA Bauke
• 62 CANCELLARA Fabian (DNS #18)
• 63 IRIZAR Markel
• 64 RAST Grégory
• 65 SCHLECK Fränk
• 66 STETINA Peter
• 67 STUYVEN Jasper *
• 68 THEUNS Edward * (DNF #13)
• 69 ZUBELDIA Haimar

• 71 FRANK Mathias (DNF #14)
• 72 CLEMENT Stef
• 73 COPPEL Jérôme
• 74 ELMIGER Martin
• 75 ENGER Sondre Holst *
• 76 HOLLENSTEIN Reto
• 77 HOWARD Leigh
• 78 NAESEN Oliver
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• 81 ROLLAND Pierre
• 82 BRESCHEL Matti (DNF #14)
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• 86 LANGEVELD Sebastian (DNF #10)
• 87 NAVARDAUSKAS Ramūnas
• 88 SLAGTER Tom-Jelte
• 89 VAN BAARLE Dylan *

• 91 PORTE Richie
• 92 BOOKWALTER Brent
• 93 BURGHARDT Marcus
• 94 CARUSO Damiano
• 95 DENNIS Rohan (DNS #17)
• 96 MOINARD Amaël
• 97 SCHÄR Michael
• 98 VAN AVERMAET Greg
• 99 VAN GARDEREN Tejay

• 101 CAVENDISH Mark (DNS #17)
• 102 BERHANE Natnael *
• 103 BOASSON HAGEN Edvald
• 104 CUMMINGS Steve
• 105 EISEL Bernhard
• 106 JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt
• 107 PAUWELS Serge
• 108 RENSHAW Mark (DNF #9)
• 109 TEKLEHAIMANOT Daniel

• 111 BARGUIL Warren *
• 112 CURVERS Roy
• 113 DEGENKOLB John
• 114 DUMOULIN Tom (DNF #19)
• 115 GESCHKE Simon
• 116 PREIDLER Georg
• 117 SINKELDAM Ramon
• 118 TEN DAM Laurens
• 119 TIMMER Albert

• 121 PINOT Thibaut (DNS #13)
• 122 BONNET William
• 123 LADAGNOUS Matthieu (DNF #9)
• 124 MORABITO Steve
• 125 PINEAU Cédric (DNF #9)
• 126 REICHENBACH Sébastien
• 127 ROUX Anthony
• 128 ROY Jérémy
• 129 VICHOT Arthur

• 131 BUCHMANN Emanuel *
• 132 ARCHBOLD Shane (DNS #18)
• 133 BÁRTA Jan
• 134 BENEDETTI Cesare
• 135 BENNETT Sam
• 136 HUZARSKI Bartosz
• 137 KONRAD Patrick *
• 138 SCHILLINGER Andreas
• 139 VOß Paul

• 141 RODRÍGUEZ Joaquim
• 142 GUARNIERI Jacopo
• 143 HALLER Marco *
• 144 KRISTOFF Alexander
• 145 LOSADA Alberto
• 146 MØRKØV Michael (DNF #8)
• 147 VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen (DNS #12)
• 148 VICIOSO Ángel
• 149 ZAKARIN Ilnur

• 151 COSTA Rui
• 152 ARASHIRO Yukiya
• 153 BONO Matteo
• 154 CIMOLAI Davide
• 155 ĐURASEK Kristijan
• 156 GRMAY Tsgabu *
• 157 MEINTJES Louis *
• 158 PIBERNIK Luka *
• 159 POLANC Jan *

• 161 GREIPEL André
• 162 BAK Lars Ytting
• 163 DE GENDT Thomas
• 164 DEBUSSCHERE Jens (DNS #15)
• 165 GALLOPIN Tony
• 166 HANSEN Adam
• 167 HENDERSON Gregory
• 168 ROELANDTS Jürgen
• 169 SIEBERG Marcel

• 171 COQUARD Bryan *
• 172 CHAVANEL Sylvain
• 173 DUCHESNE Antoine *
• 174 GÈNE Yohann
• 175 JEANDESBOZ Fabrice
• 176 PETIT Adrien
• 177 SICARD Romain
• 178 TULIK Angélo (DNF #12)
• 179 VOECKLER Thomas

• 181 KITTEL Marcel
• 182 ALAPHILIPPE Julian *
• 183 KEISSE Iljo
• 184 MARTIN Dan
• 185 MARTIN Tony (DNF #21)
• 186 RICHEZE Maximiliano
• 187 SABATINI Fabio
• 188 VAKOČ Petr *
• 189 VERMOTE Julien

• 191 NAVARRO Daniel (DNF #19)
• 192 BOŽIČ Borut (DNF #17)
• 193 COUSIN Jérôme
• 194 EDET Nicolas
• 195 JEANNESSON Arnold
• 196 LAPORTE Christophe *
• 197 LEMOINE Cyril
• 198 MATÉ Luis Ángel
• 199 SOUPE Geoffrey

• 201 GERRANS Simon (DNS #13)
• 202 ALBASINI Michael
• 203 DURBRIDGE Luke *
• 204 HAYMAN Mathew
• 205 IMPEY Daryl
• 206 JUUL-JENSEN Christopher
• 207 MATTHEWS Michael
• 208 PLAZA Rubén
• 209 YATES Adam *

• 211 SEPÚLVEDA Eduardo *
• 212 BREEN Vegard
• 213 DELAPLACE Anthony
• 214 FEILLU Brice
• 215 FONSECA Armindo
• 216 MCLAY Daniel *
• 217 PÉRICHON Pierre-Luc
• 218 SØRENSEN Chris Anker
• 219 VACHON Florian
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