July 21, 2024
Rachel Jary reflects on the significance of the race from the finish in Nice
In Monaco the heat was sticky and heavy. Tall buildings were built into the cliff face, overlooking super-yachts and sports cars. There were no Champs-Élysées and no Eiffel Tower, and the only thing that really signified it as the final stage of the 2024 Tour de France was the yellow banners which read stage 21. Team buses were parked in neat uniform and riders warmed up on their turbo trainers as always, but there was no avoiding that this felt different to the usual end of Tour procession which takes place in Paris. Mark Cavendish was the second rider to roll down the start line for what is likely to be the final race of his career, but there was no last-minute glory to sprint for, instead he was shoved into an aero skinsuit and helmet for his final dance at the race which has made his career.
Perhaps it was just the unusual location for the last stage, but there is certainly something that has an eerie sense of change and finality in this year’s Tour de France. Cavendish leaving the sport is an end of an era, and it feels like the Manxman is handing over to a new, young generation of up-and-coming sprinters. The curtain has been drawn on one of the greatest sporting shows of all time as Cavendish hangs his wheels up.
Cavendish sets off on his final Tour de France stage (Billy Ceusters/ASO)
As one of cycling’s legends leaves, however, there are those waiting in the wings to take the mantle. When it comes to sprinting, that rider is Biniam Girmay, the green jersey and three-time stage winner at this Tour, a history-maker as the first black African rider to ever take a victory at the La Grande Boucle. Girmay’s performances are another signifier of the change that feels rife as the riders cross the finish line on Nice’s promenade on Sunday evening. While progress in terms of increasing diversity in professional cycling has been slow, things are changing for the better. Girmay, this year’s green jersey winner, is the leader of a revolution.
Then, we must consider the battle for the yellow. The change here is that Tadej Pogačar is back and better than ever before. He’s the peloton’s new supertalent, the guy who has his rivals scratching their heads when it comes to figuring out how to beat him. Against all of the tactics, mind games and collective strength of a power like…