Wow -- just wow! I watched today's stage from home instead of my office. I was on the edge of my seat when that final sprint started. Those cyclists have me in awe. As I've written before, I never tire of seeing elite athletes performing at the pinnacle of their métier. Peter Sagan planned his push perfectly, but just couldn't catch Fernando Gaviria, who won his second stage in this year's Tour de France. Another second place for Sagan! André Greipel was pedaling his tail off and came in third. Check out the screen capture below (click on image for a larger view).
Sagan is on the far left, Greipel is in red in the middle, and Gaviria is the one crossing the finish line first. Want to see that from the side? Check out the screen capture I got from a replay (click on image for a larger view).
Pretty close, huh? Below is a comparison of Gaviria's winning time and our prediction.
- Stage 04: 4h 25' 01" (actual), 4h 17' 52" (prediction), 07' 09" fast (-2.70% error)
When I kept hearing the announcers talk about a "massive head wind," I knew our prediction would likely be a bit fast. But I'm thrilled to be under 3%! Gaviria's average speed was 44.15 kph (27.43 mph). Greg Van Avermaet maintains the yellow jersey and Tejay van Garderen is right there with him.
Tomorrow's Stage 5 gives us the first medium-mountain (or hilly) stage. Beginning on the west coast of France in Lorient, the 204.5-km (127.1-mi) stage ends to the northwest in Quimper. There are a couple of category-4 climbs and three category-3 climbs. Our prediction is given below.
- Stage 05: 4h 46' 53" (prediction)
I hope tomorrow's finish is as exciting as today's!
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