Refreshing
This year’s stage 2 winner, Kevin Vauquelin (ARK), takes off.
New fastest time
Mathieu van der Poel (ADC) set off on his journey. The race was not what he had hoped for.
Sebastien Grinard (LTD) recorded the fastest time of 51’44”. However, Lenny Martinez (GFC) has 1km left in his race and is likely to lead the race.
Interview with Mark Cavendish The last question was… “Is this the last race?” After a long silence he replied… “Probably, yes.”
Stefan Bissiger (EFE) takes off. He is a very talented time trialist, but the route may not be what he would have liked.
Former Spanish time trial champion Raul Garcia Perna (ARK) has set off on his journey. We are now in the final stage of 100 riders.
Delair (ADC) and Durbridge (JAY) are locked in a head-to-head battle here after the Australian managed to outsmart former Swiss champion Delair again. Now Durbridge is back in the lead.
Some private messages to Cavendish before today’s stage…
Mark Cavendish finishes his final Tour de France
Lenny Martinez (GFC) was 2’17” faster than Van Hook (LTD) in the second split.
David Ballerini (AST) finished the race with a time of 53’10”.
The rain seems to have stopped for good for the riders. It was a bit of a worry this morning, but the sun is shining now.
Jarrad Drezners (LTD) is about to catch up with Mark Cavendish (AST).
Lenny Martinez (GFC) set the fastest time in the first half. There was a lot of hype surrounding him before the race, but that didn’t happen to the young Frenchman. He has been doing well so far. He has a +1’40” lead over Harm Van Hoek (LTD).
Durbridge (Guy) is on his way to catch up with Dallier (ADC). The Swiss seems to be one of the few riders who uses his road bike. The TT seems to be the bike of choice for most people these days.
The green jersey kicks off. Biniyam Girmay (IWA). Eritrea’s absolute star. A great moment for him, for Eritrea and for Africa. A truly amazing moment.
Cavendish (AST) looks to be really struggling on the course as he clears the summit of the Col d’Es.
Cess Paul (AST) currently has a lead of over 30 inches in the first round. Ballerini (AST) is ahead in the second round.
The track is currently dry. Cameras are following Cavendish (AST) on this rapid descent at the moment.
Yves Lambert (SOQ) took the lead. Before him was Luke Durbridge (JAY). They are great time trialists. But that was not the case on today’s course.
Cavendish (AST) trails Ballerini (AST) by +17 inches.
Jasper Philipsen (ADC) set off on his journey. He won three stages and finished second in the points standings. His performance was excellent.
Slovenian cycling champion Matej Mohoric (TBV) set off on his journey. It was a pretty disappointing race by his standards and the team’s. Santiago Buitrago’s 10th place is probably a relief.
According to trackers, Cavendish (AST) is ahead of his teammate Ballerini. So, he will not be in last place at the moment.
Norwegian time trial champion, Søren Werneskjöld (UXM), sets out on his journey.
Dylan Groenewegen (Jay) sets off on his journey. It’s almost strange not to see him in a Dutch national team shirt.
Interestingly, Rob Giess (ADC) rides his bike wearing a road helmet. Everyone we see is in full uniform.
The track heads in the opposite direction to the Formula 1 Grand Prix as Cavendish (AST) climbs the hill and Loews Curve.
Cavendish (AST) set off with a big smile on his face.
Mark Cavendish takes off
First contestant to start
The stage starts on the road known as the start-finish line of the famous Monaco Grand Prix in Formula One.
The weather in Nice is around 24°C with rain in the area and winds of 18 km/h coming from the east-southeast.
Less than ten minutes until the start of the stage with David Ballerini (AST) who will start things off.
Now, retired French cyclist Thibaut Pinot is enjoying his time in Nice on a Lime bike with friends earlier today…
Today, this is a tough, difficult and technical track, with a lot of ascents and descents. An added technicality is that it is already raining in the area.
Great racing by many other riders who shared the break with Jonas Abrahamsen (UXM) moving the first week and a half of the race and then taking the baton Richard Carapaz (EFE) who took the stage win, also taking the Super Combative award.
Jonas Vingegaard (TVL) after more than 100 days in hospital with almost every bone broken on the upper right side of his body as well as a punctured and collapsed lung. He is set to finish in a remarkable second place and also win a stage. He starts the day almost three minutes ahead of world time trial champion Remco Evenepoel (SOQ).
The first who will also be in focus today is Sir Mark Cavendish (AST) who finished his last Tour de France as the record holder for the most stage wins. 35 and is coming off the Manx Missile. It will be an emotional moment for him.
Today will be a big focus on Tadej Pogacar (UAD) and that’s only natural. However, there was a lot to praise in this race…
Only 45 minutes left until the start of the first rider, David Ballerini (AST).
Cube has taken a big step in custom paint for the history maker, Biniam Girmay (IWA)… What a beautiful bike!
Fans in Nice were treated to what looked like a truly spectacular light show last night with drones being the stars of the show as they created different shapes in the sky, like cyclists…
Check out our preview of the time trial route provided by Nice resident and former World Tour pro Joe Dombrowski!
Stage 20 results/ General classification picture before stage 21…
A look back at yesterday’s stage 20 of the race, where Tadej Pogacar won again…
Richard Carapaz, already a stage winner and King of the Mountains on this Tour, also received the Super Combat Award.
How to watch Tour de France 2024 – TV schedule and live stream worldwide
There’s also news from Chloe Dygert as she prepares to compete in the Paris Olympics.
Some news away from the Tour this morning is that Peter Sagan is ending his career today.
And the map showing the winding road west from Monaco to Nice…
Here’s a glimpse of today’s stage…
Check out the full list. Start time for stage 21 of the Tour de France here.
Ballerini starts the race against time at 14:40, with Tadej Pogacar starting the race at 18:45.
There are about two hours left until the front runners – David Ballerini, Mark Cavendish and Jarrad Drezners – begin their efforts today.
Welcome to Cyclingnews’ live coverage of Stage 21 of the 2024 Tour de France!
