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Tour Stage 21: Four for Froome as Groenewegen Takes Champs Win

By Conor Kelly
Groenewegen champs Tim de Waele/Corbis via Getty Images

Once again, the Champs-Élysées was the stadium for the final act of the Tour de France, after just over one hundred kilometres starting from Montgeron. The early stages largely went to the script, with only a joke attack from Mikel Landa (who smiled afterwards, the first emotion he’s shown all Tour) to really make anyone sit up. A nine-man group went up the road on the streets of Paris, but of course they never stood a chance of victory, being reeled in by Sky and the sprinters’ teams. Those teams would move to get their sprinters into position as a flurry of late attacks from Dmitry Gruzdev and Zdenek Stybar, went off the front but with two thousand five hundred metres to go, there was just open road in front of the peloton.

Katusha-Alpecin, winless all Tour, led the group to the final corners on behalf of out-of-form Alexander Kristoff, while LottoNL-Jumbo’s depleted ranks dropped off Groenewegen near the front. So near the front that when Katusha’s last man finished his work, Groenewegen was forced to open up the sprint with three hundred metres still remaining.
Down the left side of the road he sprinted, head bobbing up and down as his rivals fought behind his wheel. They inched closer as the line approached...but no, they were too late. André Greipel was the closest to defeating the Dutchman and taking his third consecutive Champs-Élysées win, but he could not.

After the sprint of course, came the podium proceedings. Chris Froome exhorted his joy to have won the race for the fourth time, saying that it had been his “toughest yet,” which you could argue about, if you had a mind to. Warren Barguil, Simon Yates and Michael Matthews of course, received their jerseys as well, as the curtain closed on the 2017 Tour. I’ve thoroughly covering it with you all. Bring on the Vuelta/2018/the 2018 Vuelta!

Le Tour de France 2017 - Stage Twenty One Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Stage Results:

  1. Dylan Groenewegen (NED), Team LottoNL-Jumbo - 2:25:39
  2. André Greipel (GER), Lotto-Soudal - st
  3. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR), Dimension Data - st
  4. Nacer Bouhanni (FRA), Cofidis - st
  5. Alexander Kristoff (NOR), Katusha-Alpecin - st
  6. Borut Bozic (SLO), Bahrain-Merida - st
  7. Davide Cimolai (FRA), FDJ - st
  8. Pierre-Luc Perichon (FRA), Fortuneo-Oscaro - st
  9. Rüdiger Selig (GER), Bora-Hansgrohe - st
  10. Daniele Bennati (ITA), Movistar Team - st

General Classification

  1. Christopher Froome (UK), Team Sky - 86:20:55
  2. Rigoberto Urán (COL), Cannondale-Drapac - 0:54
  3. Romain Bardet (FRA), AG2R La Mondiale - 2:20
  4. Mikel Landa (ESP), Team Sky - 2:21
  5. Fabio Aru (ITA), Astana - 3:05
  6. Daniel Martin (IRE), Quick-Step Floors - 4:42
  7. Simon Yates (UK), Orica-Scott - 6:14
  8. Louis Meintjes (RSA), UAE Team Emirates - 8:20
  9. Alberto Contador (ESP), Trek-Segafredo - 8:49
  10. Warren Barguil (FRA), Team Sunweb - 9:25

Points Classification

  1. Michael Matthews (AUS), Team Sunweb - 370
  2. André Greipel (GER), Lotto-Soudal - 234
  3. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR), 220

Mountains Classification

  1. Warren Barguil (FRA), Team Sunweb - 169
  2. Primoz Roglic (SLO), Team LottoNL-Jumbo - 80
  3. Thomas De Gendt (BEL), Lotto-Soudal - 64

Youth Classification

  1. Simon Yates (UK), Orica-Scott - 86:27:09
  2. Louis Meintjes (RSA), UAE Team Emirates - 2:06
  3. Emanuel Buchmann (GER), Bora-Hansgrohe - 27:07

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