Tony Martin Destroys Field in Time Trial!

There was only one cyclist I was interested in watching today:  Tony Martin.  He was a veritable machine on his bike in the individual time trail with his powerful legs and strong core moving him along French roads faster than anyone else.  Below is a comparison between Martin's time and our prediction.

• Stage 20:  1h 06' 21" (actual), 1h 07' 55" (prediction), 01' 34" slow (2.36% error)

Just ONE cyclist beat our prediction today!  Throw out Martin's time and we miss the second-place time by only FIVE SECONDS.  But, we can't do that!  We'll take our error because watching Martin was watching time-trial cycling at its best.  The image below shows Martin at the start and at the finish (click on the image for a larger view).

Note that Martin wore the distinctive rainbow jersey that signifies that he is the racing world champion.  I snagged a few more images of Martin in today's race.  The two below show his aerodynamic bike, streamlined helmet, and powerful body (click on the image for a larger view).

I love the rainbow-colored back wheel!  The image below shows Martin on a downhill (click on the image for a larger view).

Note how he is off the saddle and compressed.  He minimized his frontal area so as to reduce air drag.  You simply won't find better time-trial technique!  Below is Martin's impressive average speed.

• Stage 20:  13.56 m/s (48.83 kph or 30.34 mph)

The 2014 Tour de France comes to a close tomorrow with a 137.5-km (85.44-mi) flat stage that will be mostly ceremonial.  Beginning in the commune of Évry, the stage finishes on the famous Champs-Élysées in Paris.  Below is our prediction.

• Stage 21:  3h 17' 50" (prediction)

Vincenzo Nibali has this year's race wrapped up.  He came in fourth today and extended his overall lead to nearly eight minutes.  Italy will celebrate a Tour de France champion, but France will have lots to celebrate tomorrow as well.  Jean-Christophe Péraud at 37 years old will take second place, and fellow Frenchman and white-jersey wearing 24-year-old Thibaut Pinot will be in third place.  Pinot won Stage 8 in the 2012 Tour de France.  He may be one of the favorites to win it all next year.