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So as I sit in Malta International Airport, preparing for my flight to France I have been thinking about what remains in the 100th edition of Le Tour de France.
This year has thrown up so many unexpected results right from the gun.
Kittel’s stage win after the rest of the sprinting field crashed out on Stage 1 and subsequent yellow jersey presentation should’ve been a sign that this year would be far from straight-forward.
Then we had the inspiring ride of Jan Bakelants, staving off a pursuing peloton for his first ever stage win and the wearing of the maillot jaune for two days.
And who could forget the scenes of jubilation for Orica-GreenEDGE when Simon Gerrans won their first Tour stage. Then they surprised everyone with their Team Time Trial stage win and their first days in yellow.
Gerrans became just the sixth Australian to wear the coveted jersey before Daryl Impey became the first South African to wear it.
Into the Pyrenees we went and the real race for the GC started.
Froome and Team Sky annihilated the field to claim the yellow jersey before, on the next day, they were attacked from all angles.
Now the formidable form of the Alps stands in the way of Froome and seemingly his destiny.
The Briton, if he makes it through this week intact, will become the second consecutive Englishman to win Le Tour.
This week in the Alps will be one to remember and definitely a week of pain for the riders. Tuesday will see them climb the Col D’Izoard at the end of a 168.5km stage.
Wednesday will see a lumpy time trial where either Froome will confirm his status as the best rider, or the strain of having to continuously defend and attack will finally show. There is no hiding in the time trial.
Thursday will be seemingly the toughest day of this year’s race and could almost be considered one of the toughest in the modern era.
The riders will be asked to climb the Alpe d’Huez not once but twice.
The famed climb is one of the toughest in world cycling: A 28km ride consisting of 21 hairpin bends and inclines of more than 10 percent.
Never before has the field been asked to climb it twice in one day. And, as we have seen in the past, we may see the winner of Le Tour crowned atop the summit.
But there will be no rest on Friday as the riders take on an incredibly tough day. Ahead they will be faced with two Hors Categorie climbs, two Category 1 climbs and one Category 2 climb.
Saturday sees a lighter day for the riders, with only a 125km ride to be undertaken from Annecy to Annecy-Semnoz.
However, the two previous days will definitely have taken plenty out of the riders and the Tour will more than likely be decided by now.
And Sunday, well, it will be one sunny afternoon/evening in Paris. The Champs Elysees beckons for the wounded and weary who will have battled through three weeks of pain to reach there.
For some riders it will be their first time on the famed cobbles, for others such as Stuart O’Grady and Jens Voigt it will be like returning home.
However there is still racing to settle with the likes of Cannondale, Omega-Pharma Quick-Step and Lotto-Belisol doing their level best to deliver either Sagan, Cavendish or Greipel respectively a win in Paris.
Then, the maillot jaune will be firmly set on the shoulders of the fastest rider of this year’s Tour.
It will surely be a final week and in fact 100th Tour to remember.
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