Tour de France Recap

Just like that another Tour de France has come and gone. On the final episode of Aérogramme with La Course en Tête from the Grande Boucle, we take a look back at the good and the bad, the compelling and the not so from the 2021 edition. OJ Borg hosts as Peter Cossins and La Course en Tête contributor Nick Bull join in. From an opening week of tear-jerking stories and fan-favorite winners, coupled with a slew of horrific crashes, to a GC battle that some say got wrapped up before the first rest day, there’s a lot to discuss. One of the biggest storylines of course is the return of Mark Cavendish. He was already one of the best sprinters ever before this year, but now with a performance that some are comparing to Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters it’s hard for anyone to say he's not the greatest sprinter of all time. And his Deceuninck–Quick-Step team deserves ample praise for their savvy, guiding him to an impressive four stages. Now the big question is whether Cavendish will return to the Tour next year. Then there’s the man who denied Cavendish a record breaking 35th stage win on the Champs Élysées—after winning on Mont Ventoux and the time trial just the day before. Could Wout van Aert have a go at contending for the GC? In a Jumbo-Visma team that has two GC contenders already in Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard, plus another promising GC talent in Sepp Kuss, is there room for him to pursue that?And speaking of GC contenders, now that Tadej Pogačar has won his second Tour, how far can he go in his career? And we look ahead to the Vuelta a España to the anticipated matchup of Pogačar, Roglič and Egan Bernal. Then there were the parts of the Tour we would rather leave behind. There was the police raid on the Bahrain-Victorious team, followed by Matej Mohorič’s stage win with a zipped lips victory salute. And then there’s the crashes from the first week which no doubt impacted the entire outcome of the race. Meanwhile, Sophie Smith and Jeremy Whittle check in with a road diary of their time on the ground at the Tour as they make the final transfer to Paris for stage 21. Aérogramme is presented by Hyperice.