Kittel Bookends 100th Tour de France Won by Froome

German Marcel Kittel just edged fellow countryman André Greipel and my pick, Mark Cavendish, to win the final stage of this year's Tour de France.  Kittel took the first stage this year, as well as Stages 10 and 12.  Darkness was falling upon Paris as Kittle crossed the finish line, but the good times were just getting underway as the city will surely celebrate its 100th Tour de France well into the night.  Below is how Kittel's time compares to our prediction.

• Stage 21:  3h 06' 14" (actual), 3h 15' 47" (prediction), 09' 33" slow (5.13% error)

I am surprised that this final stage was as fast as it was, though I shouldn't be, given how the second week went.  Below is Kittel's average speed.

• Stage 21:  11.95 m/s (43.0 kph or 26.73 mph)

At least there was some exciting sprinting to close out this year's race!  Congratulations to Christopher Froome of Team Sky for winning this historic Tour de France.

It was a fun three weeks following the Tour de France and posting predictions.  I thank my student, Brian Ramsey, for all the work he put into this year's model.  I also thank colleagues, friends, and the many people I don't know around the world who checked out my blog.  If a little physics you found here increased your enjoyment of the Tour de France by just the tinniest amount, that's good enough for me.  I'll probably have more to write about the Tour de France in the not-too-distant future.