Tour journalists offer Ventoux and GC predictions

Alberto Contador seems a lock for yellow in Paris, but what about stage 20 and the other GC positions? (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Tour Director Christian Prudhomme's dream has come to fruition regarding a showdown for GC supremacy on Mont Ventoux, one day prior to the Tour's finish in Paris. "The stage is set for a dream of a landmark finale, exactly twenty years after the most extraordinary final in the history of the Tour. Never, in over one hundred years, has a mountain been so close to Paris," said Prudhomme at the 2009 Tour's unveiling last October in reference to stage 20.

While Cyclingnews' crack crew of journalists has been hard at work each day at the Tour, we've found the time to ask our colleagues in the press room for predictions regarding the Tour de France's penultimate day showdown on Mont Ventoux and final GC in Paris. While the choice is unanimous regarding who's wearing yellow on Sunday, there's differing opinions regarding Saturday's stage and the final two GC positions.

"Not Menchov. My instinct says that it could be quite anti-climactic. I don't think anyone will try and go for a kamikaze move. People will be protecting their place within the peloton. I know Armstrong would very much like to win the stage and he'll go if he's got the legs but not if it's going to jeopardise his podium place. I think the podium will stay as it is. I know 11 seconds doesn't sound like a lot between Armstrong and Wiggins but on Mont Ventoux it will all come down to team support and I'm not sure Wiggins can make up that time."

"I can't see the overall changing and I think someone like Klöden has more chance of getting on the podium than Wiggins. The climb is going be too difficult for him to be honest. He's a good climber but Mont Ventoux is a different story and it's right at the end of the week when there's been a lot of climbs and the time trial. I think it's one for guys who have a lot of experience on the climbs."

Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.