The final stage is more of an exhibition stage where the riders are all smiles and camaraderie, in stark contrasts to the days before when the rivalries reared their ugly heads. Take, for example Contador and team Astana having a toast of champagne as they rode into town:
I'm not sure if that's actually champagne or if its apple juice. Drinking alcohol while racing a bicycle (even on a not so 'important' stage like this) seems like a bad idea to me. however, apple juice and a slice of toast with some nice marmalade would be lovely in my opinion. I think they should have a toaster in the team cars that plugs into the cigarette lighter so that team coaches can keep their racers fed with warm and crispy snacks. And maybe some cheese too; Brie maybe?
Speaking of Brie, while the peloton zipped toward the center of Paris, they passed through a region called Île-de-France, a place fairly reeking of the eponymous spread. The announcers oddly chose this moment to comment on the first two Japanese riders to complete the tour (apparently there were a few other guys who rode it long ago, but didn't finish); Fumiyuki Beppu and Yukiya Arashiro.
Perhaps it was an veiled jab at asian people's prevalent lactose intolerance, though we can't let this distract us from the real issue here: Why is it that the tour de france is hugely dominated by riders from the USA, Australia, and European countries?
Lets take a look at the podiums after stage 21 for reference shall we? First we have the first second and third placed riders (Contador 1st, Schleck 2nd, and Armstrong 3rd):
From left to right we've got a Luxembourger, a Spaniard, and an American. Seems fairly white-washed doesn't it? Lets see who else got up there:
...ah, yes; Franco Pellizotti, an Italian (obviously), won the King of the Mountains. The leader for sprint points was Thor Hushovd, A Norwegian...
...and lastly we have none other than the 'Mark Cavendish, winner of the day's stage:
Of course the 'Dish is from Britain, another stronghold of white-ness.
Because I don't know of any theories generally accepted by race scholars to this effect; I can only surmise that the elite of competitive cycling are selected from the ranks of each nation's top cyclists, and as such confuses me how there are virtually no (for instance) black cyclists in the grand tours.
Using my semi-regular trips to do laps in Prospect and Central Parks as a litmus, I would gather that cycling is quite the multi-ethnic sport, considering the number of roadies one encounters of all shapes and colors.
I'm not sure where I'm going with this... I just thought it odd that, for instance, the great majority of the world's greatest foot racers are black guys and gals, though that experience with stamina and power output wouldn't segue into a sport such as cycling, where such talents are essential. The fact that the race announcers spent a good fifteen minutes marveling at the foreign-ness of Beppu and Arashiro both baffles and worries me. I'm a firm believer that in order to combat racism, one must simultaneously accept it and ignore it where appropriate (the opposite of what the announcers were doing).
Anyway the conclusion of the tour, as I noted earlier, was pretty uneventful. Cavendish's victory on the Champs-Élysées was not only forseen by everyone, but anticlimactic as he and his lead-out man, Mark Renshaw, obliterated the peloton in the last turn and flew across the line a full three bike lengths ahead of the next riders.
This enormous gap and preemtive victory salute reminds me of another recent display of masterful sprinting ability. Though 'Dish's salute wasn't perhaps as creative as his previously noted SSS, It was one of sheer happiness, which is always nice to see, no matter the color or accent of the grin.
This is the 'Dish's sixth win at the 96th tour, and the most tour victories of any briton ever... Brilliant riding by the man x missle. To win in Paris is the pinnacle of acheivement for sprinters the world over.
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