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Tour de France 2016: Stage 21 Live race updates and blog

Roar Guru
24th July, 2016
When: 12 midnight (AEST)
Start: Chantilly
Finish: Paris Champs-Élysées
Length: 113 km
It's all celebration now for Chris Froome (Tour de Yorkshire)
Roar Guru
24th July, 2016
122

The 103rd edition of the Tour de France comes to an end tonight with the traditional sprint along the Champs-Elysees. A largely ceremonial stage explodes to life in the closing kilometres as the sprinters strive for the glory of taking a win on the famous Champs-Elysees.

Race leader Chris Froome’s only job is to stay upright with his overall victory already sewn up. Who amongst the sprinters will add their name to the honour roll of winners on the Champs-Elysees? Join The Roar to find out with live coverage of Stage 21 from 12 midnight (AEST).

The 2016 Tour de France will finish with the traditional picturesque ride around Paris and culminate on the Champs-Elysees.

The jersey competitions have been decided, the riders only have to stay upright to pull them on one last time on the final podium.

Peter Sagan will claim his fifth green jersey in familiar dominant fashion, his Tinkoff teammate Rafael Majka will take his second King of the Mountains win.

The white jersy for best young rider will go to the impressive Adam Yates of Orica-BikeExchange who only lost his place on the podium on stage 19.

Chris Froome will win his third Tour De France, he and his Team Sky teammates have been dominant throughout the race and will take another well-deserved victory lap.

The 113km final stage starts in the town of Chantilly and culminates with eight circuits of downtown Paris.

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The early kilometres are a procession as the riders pose for photographs and the overall winner and his teammates have a victory sip of champagne.

The racing proper begins as the stage enters the circuit around Paris. Once on the circuits a flurry of attacks from the peloton will commence as non-sprinters try their luck for an unlikely stage win.

However these breakaways are never given any great advantage as the sprinters teams control the head of the peloton to ensure a bunch kick finish.

For the general classification riders, the final circuits are stressful due to the combination of cobbles and the rapid speed of the peloton.

The approach to the finish line on the Champs-Elysees is long straight and slightly uphill with positioning on the final fast right hand turn essential to ensure victory.

Predicition
The final stage appears to be a showdown between two riders: Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel.

With the early departure of Mark Cavendish the door is open for the two biggest sprinters in the peloton.

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Both have had success on the Champs-Elysees with Greipel claiming victory in 2015, however Kittel is a final stage specialist having won this stage every time he has competed with wins in 2013 and 2014.

Having missed out on the 2015 Tour de France Kittel will be hungry for victory and will continue his final stage winning streak and take victory number three on the Champs-Elysees.

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