TdF Stage 20: Flawless Victory

Oh boy, Stage 20 went down so perfectly.  The eventual top 3 were the last 3 standing, a head above the rest.  Nairo Quintana (a much more difficult name to make a pun of), Jaoquin Rodriguez and Chris Froome proved themselves the worth podium by finishing 1-2-3 on the punishing uphill finish.

The first time we saw anything but cool and calm on his face

Quintana, the rising star of Colombia and climbing aficionado, countered Froome's last attack and then leapt ahead.  Rodriguez and Froome couldn't keep up with the kid.  For his efforts, Quintana takes home the Polka Dot and technically the White, but American Andrew Talansky will get to wear that in to Paris.

Final Wrapup
For those who don't know, the Paris finish is traditionally formalities, plus the last time for the sprinters to show off.  The pack will finish together, they'll go slow (until they hit Paris), they'll drink champagne while riding.  Technically, the Green jersey could do something on the final day, but this year Sagan's bus would need to crash on the way to the start line for him not to take that home.  So, really, it's just for the stage win and the prestige.  For everyone but those top sprinters, they get to take it all in.  So congrats to Talansky for coming in 2nd(ish) in the young rider category, congrats to Tejay for showing he's still got legs in the last week, congrats to Tommy D and Brent Bookwalter for representing the US and completing another Tour.  Congrats to Sagan for successful defense of his Green jersey, congrats to Nairo for showing up on the world scene in style, and congrats to Froome for kicking everyone's butt and probably not saying "I'm Chris Froome, b*ches" along the way.  What a Tour!

Parting Thoughts: Nooo, mista Superman no here