La Grande Boucle

<center>//La Grande Boucle//</center><center>A Tour de France text based game</center> <img src="http://i.imgur.com/j3lNBI4.jpg"> The biggest sporting event in the world, the Tour de France, is a day away, and the 200 riders have prepared for the 21 stages. The 2016 Tour de France will be the 103rd edition, and promises to be a wide open race for the famed yellow jersey. You are among these 200 cyclists, and your destiny is up to you and the decisions you make. Only one can stand atop the podium on the Champs-Élysées come the end of July. [[Will it be you?|Name]] The game is saved so you can close your browser, turn of your computer and the game will remember where you were. //Created by Mats Larsson aka Agamir [email protected]// July 18th 2016

(put: (prompt: "What's your name?") into $Name) (It is recommended //not// to name yourself after an existing rider, like Chris Froome or Alberto Contador – it will make the game confusing). [[Your name is $Name.|Continent]]

{(set: $Team to "Sky") (set: $BigTeam to "True") (set: $Leader to "Chris Froome") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Froome") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Thomas") (set: $CoCaptain to "Geraint Thomas") (set: $Veteran to "Vasil Kiryienka") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Ben Swift") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Sergio Henao") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Mikel Nieve") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Wout Poels") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Peter Kennaugh") (set: $DS to "Dave Brailsford") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Quintana") (set: $Rival3 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Richie Porte") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Movistar") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/x6E1vrO.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

It is time for you to choose your team. [[AG2R La Mondiale]] [[Astana]] [[BMC Racing Team]] [[Bora–Argon 18]] [[Cannondale]] [[Cofidis]] [[Team Dimension Data]] [[Direct Énergie]] [[Etixx–Quick-Step]] [[FDJ]] [[Fortuneo–Vital Concept]] [[IAM Cycling]] [[Lampre–Merida]] [[Lotto–Soudal]] [[Movistar Team]] [[Orica–BikeExchange]] [[Giant–Alpecin]] [[Team Katusha]] [[LottoNL–Jumbo]] [[Team Sky|Team Sky]] [[Tinkoff|Team Tinkoff]] [[Trek–Segafredo]]

{(set: $Team to "Tinkoff") (set: $BigTeam to "True") (set: $Leader to "Alberto Contador") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Contador") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Kreuziger") (set: $CoCaptain to "Roman Kreuziger") (set: $Veteran to "Mateo Tosatto") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Peter Sagan") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Rafal Majka") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Michael Valgren") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Robert Kiserlowski") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Oscar Gatto") (set: $DS to "Steven de Jongh") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Froome") (set: $Rival3 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival4 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Richie Porte") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Sky") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/L7op011.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

You’ve been a stagiaire with $Team but this is your first real year as a professional cyclist. Your biggest highlight has been your second place in the youth Tour de l’Avenir in 2014, after Miguel Angel Lopez. [[It’s especially in the mountains that you’re strong, and it’s there that you’re expected to make a difference in the Tour de France.|TDF1]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/ZQH8A9k.jpg">

(set: $Country to "France") (set: $CountryBelonging to "French") [[A Frenchman!|Choose Team]]]]

(set: $Country to "England") (set: $CountryBelonging to "English") [[An Englishman!|Choose Team]]

{ (set: $Team to "AG2R La Mondiale") (set: $BigTeam to "False") (set: $Leader to "Romain Bardet") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Bardet") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Pozzovivo") (set: $CoCaptain to "Domenico Pozzovivo") (set: $Veteran to "Cyril Gautier") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Samuel Dumoulin") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Jan Bakelants") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Alexis Vuillermoz") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Mickael Cherel") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Alexis Gougeard") (set: $DS to "Laurent Biondi") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Quintana") (set: $Rival3 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Movistar") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/aerJqRt.png" width="100" height="100"> You are a member of Team $Team Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $Team to "Astana") (set: $BigTeam to "True") (set: $Team to "Astana") (set: $Leader to "Fabio Aru") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Aru") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Nibali") (set: $CoCaptain to "Vincenzo Nibali") (set: $Veteran to "Paolo Tiralongo") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Andrei Grivko") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Jacob Fuglsang") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Luis Leon Sanchez") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Tanel Kangert") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Diego Rosa") (set: $DS to "Alexandre Vinokourov") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Froome") (set: $Rival3 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Richie Porte") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Sky") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/rG5h6pr.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $Team to "BMC") (set: $BigTeam to "True") (set: $Leader to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $LeaderLastName to "van Garderen") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Porte") (set: $CoCaptain to "Richie Porte") (set: $Veteran to "Marcus Burghardt") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Greg van Avermaet") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Rohan Dennis") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Damiano Caruso") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Brent Bookwalter") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Amael Moinard") (set: $DS to "Allan Peiper") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Froome") (set: $Rival3 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Romain Bardet") (set: $Rival2Team to "Sky") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/sXx4JMm.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $BigTeam to "False") (set: $Team to "Bora-Argon 18") (set: $Leader to "Emmanuel Buchmann") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Buchmann") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Nerz") (set: $CoCaptain to "Dominik Nerz") (set: $Veteran to "Jan Barta") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Shane Archibold") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Paul Voss") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Patrick Konrad") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Sam Bennett") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Andreas Schillinger") (set: $DS to "Ralph Denk") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Quintana") (set: $Rival3 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Movistar") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/Dsxpq4Q.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $BigTeam to "False") (set: $Team to "Cannondale") (set: $Leader to "Pierre Rolland") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Rolland") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Slagter") (set: $CoCaptain to "Tom Jelte Slagter") (set: $Veteran to "Matti Breschel") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Ramunas Navardauskas") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Dylan van Baarle") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Kristjian Koren") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Alex Howes") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Lawson Craddock") (set: $DS to "Jonathan Vaugters") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Froome") (set: $Rival3 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Sky") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/jDSIyoR.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $BigTeam to "False") (set: $Team to "Cofidis") (set: $Leader to "Daniel Navarro") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Navarro") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Jeanneson") (set: $CoCaptain to "Arnold Jeannesson") (set: $Veteran to "Borut Bozic") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Nacer Bouhanni") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Christophe Laporte") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Jerome Cousin") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Nicolas Edet") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Cyril Lemoine") (set: $DS to "Yvon Sanquer") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Quintana") (set: $Rival3 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Movistar") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/zmZEawT.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $BigTeam to "False") (set: $Team to "Dimension Data") (set: $Leader to "Igor Anton") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Anton") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Tekleheimanot") (set: $CoCaptain to "Daniel Tekleheimanot") (set: $Veteran to "Stephen Cummings") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Mark Cavendish") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Serge Pauwels") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Edvald Boasson Hagen") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Mark Renshaw") (set: $DS to "Douglas Ryder") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Quintana") (set: $Rival3 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Movistar") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/iOVgtxV.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $BigTeam to "False") (set: $Team to "Direct Énergie") (set: $Leader to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Voeckler") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Sicard") (set: $CoCaptain to "Romain Sicard") (set: $Veteran to "Sylvain Chavanel") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Brian Coquard") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Yohann Gene") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Adrian Petit") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Angelo Tulik") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Antoine Duchesne") (set: $DS to "Jean-René Bernaudeau") (set: $Rival1 to "Frank Schleck") (set: $Rival2 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Quintana") (set: $Rival3 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Movistar") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/YLDVWVs.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $BigTeam to "True") (set: $Team to "Etixx–Quick-Step") (set: $Leader to "Daniel Martin") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Martin") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Alaphilippe") (set: $CoCaptain to "Julian Alaphilippe") (set: $Veteran to "Tony Martin") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Marcel Kittel") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Fabio Sabatini") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Petr Vakoc") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Iljo Keisse") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Ariel Maximiliano Richeze") (set: $DS to "Brian Holm") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Froome") (set: $Rival3 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Sky") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/Q64Osai.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $Team to "FDJ") (set: $BigTeam to "False") (set: $Leader to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Pinot") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Morabito") (set: $CoCaptain to "Steve Morabito") (set: $Veteran to "Jeremy Roy") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Kevin Reza") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Arthur Vichot") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Anthony Roux") (set: $TeamMate3 to "William Bonnet") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Matthieu Ladagnous") (set: $DS to "Marc Madiot") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Quintana") (set: $Rival3 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Romain Bardet") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Movistar") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/olPRVBX.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $BigTeam to "False") (set: $Team to "Fortuneo–Vital Concept") (set: $Leader to "Ediardu Sepulveda") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Sepulveda") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Sörensen") (set: $CoCaptain to "Chris Anker Sörensen") (set: $Veteran to "Brice Feillu") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Daniel Mclay") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Anthony Delaplace") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Armindo Fonseca") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Florian Vachon") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Yauheni Hutarovich") (set: $DS to "Sebastian Hinault") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Quintana") (set: $Rival3 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Movistar") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/JqdE1Q3.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $BigTeam to "False") (set: $Team to "IAM Cycling") (set: $Leader to "Mathias Frank") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Frank") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Coppel") (set: $CoCaptain to "Jerome Coppel") (set: $Veteran to "Martin Elmiger") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Leigh Howard") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Stef Clement") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Jarlinson Pantano") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Oliver Naesen") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Reto Hollenstein") (set: $DS to "Marcello Albasini") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Froome") (set: $Rival3 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Sky") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/G6jv8lF.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $BigTeam to "False") (set: $Team to "Lampre-Merida") (set: $Leader to "Louis Meintjes") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Meintjes") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Costa") (set: $CoCaptain to "Rui Costa") (set: $Veteran to "Yukiya Arashiro") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Davide Cimolai") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Tsgabu Grmay") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Damiano Cunego") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Matteo Bono") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Jan Polanc") (set: $DS to "Fabrizio Bontempi") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Quintana") (set: $Rival3 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Movistar") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/3EPLmPZ.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $BigTeam to "True") (set: $Team to "Lotto-Soudal") (set: $Leader to "Jelle Vanendert") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Vanendert") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "De Gendt") (set: $CoCaptain to "Thomas De Gendt") (set: $Veteran to "Adam Hansen") (set: $TeamSprinter to "André Greipel") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Maxime Monfort") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Tony Gallopin") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Lars Bak") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Jurgen Roelands") (set: $DS to "Marc Sargeant") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Quintana") (set: $Rival3 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Movistar") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/r4lkSQl.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $BigTeam to "True") (set: $Team to "Movistar") (set: $Leader to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Quintana") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Valverde") (set: $CoCaptain to "Alejandro Valverde") (set: $Veteran to "Daniel Moreno") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Jose Rojas") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Winner Anacona") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Ion Izagirre") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Imanuel Erviti") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Jesus Herrada") (set: $DS to "Eusebio Unzué") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Froome") (set: $Rival3 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Richie Porte") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Sky") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/TloVlJy.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $BigTeam to "True") (set: $Team to "Orica-BikeExchange") (set: $Leader to "Adam Yates") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Yates") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Chaves") (set: $CoCaptain to "Esteban Chaves") (set: $Veteran to "Mathew Hayman") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Michael Mathews") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Simon Gerrans") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Michael Albasini") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Luke Durbridge") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Christopher Juul-Jensen") (set: $DS to "Mathew White") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Froome") (set: $Rival3 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Sky") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/2QXDBVs.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $BigTeam to "False") (set: $Team to "Giant-Alpecin") (set: $Leader to "Warren Barguil") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Barguil") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Dumolin") (set: $CoCaptain to "Tom Dumolin") (set: $Veteran to "Laurens Ten Dam") (set: $TeamSprinter to "John Degenkolb") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Simon Geshke") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Georg Preidler") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Ramon Sinkledam") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Albert Timmer") (set: $DS to "Iwan Spekenbrink") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Quintana") (set: $Rival3 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Movistar") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/ruu4RIQ.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $BigTeam to "True") (set: $Team to "Katusha") (set: $Leader to "Joaquim Rodriguez") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Rodriguez") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Zakarin") (set: $CoCaptain to "Ilnur Zakarin") (set: $Veteran to "Jurgen Van den Broeck") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Alexandre Kristoff") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Alberto Losada") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Angel Vicioso") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Marco Haller") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Michael Mörköv") (set: $DS to "José Azevedo") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Quintana") (set: $Rival3 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Movistar") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/TEf942M.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $BigTeam to "False") (set: $Team to "LottoNL–Jumbo") (set: $Leader to "Robert Gesink") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Gesink") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Kelderman") (set: $CoCaptain to "Wilco Kelderman") (set: $Veteran to "Bram Tankink") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Dylan Groenwegen") (set: $TeamMate1 to "George Bennett") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Maarten Wynants") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Sep Vanmarcke") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Robert Wagner") (set: $DS to "Richard Plugge") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Quintana") (set: $Rival3 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Movistar") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/x6Wt8QZ.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

{(set: $BigTeam to "False") (set: $Team to "Trek–Segafredo") (set: $Leader to "Bauke Mollema") (set: $LeaderLastName to "Mollema") (set: $CoCaptainLastName to "Schleck") (set: $CoCaptain to "Frank Schleck") (set: $Veteran to "Fabian Cancellara") (set: $TeamSprinter to "Edward Theuns") (set: $TeamMate1 to "Haimar Zubeldia") (set: $TeamMate2 to "Peter Stetina") (set: $TeamMate3 to "Jasper Stuyven") (set: $TeamMate4 to "Gregory Rast") (set: $DS to " Kim Andersen") (set: $Rival1 to "Thomas Voeckler") (set: $Rival2 to "Chris Froome") (set: $Rival2LastName to "Froome") (set: $Rival3 to "Nairo Quintana") (set: $Rival4 to "Alberto Contador") (set: $Rival5 to "Thibaut Pinot") (set: $Rival6 to "Fabio Aru") (set: $Rival7 to "Tejay van Garderen") (set: $Rival2Team to "Sky") } <img src="http://i.imgur.com/lFTioTG.png" width="100" height="100"> Your roster for Tour de France consists of: $Leader $CoCaptain $Veteran $Name $TeamSprinter $TeamMate1 $TeamMate2 $TeamMate3 $TeamMate4 Your director sportif is $DS [[Are you ready to get started?|Team]]

(set: $Country to "USA") (set: $CountryBelonging to "American") [[An American!|Choose Team]]]]

Where are you from? [[Europe]] [[North America]] [[South America]] [[Africa]] [[Asia]] [[Oceania]]

You are a domestique de luxe with $teamName, and your main mission during the Tour de France will be to help $Leader and $CoCaptain during vital moments, but your director sportif, $DS, has promised you opportunities for your own, as long as they don’t interfere with the goals of the team. You prefer when the road is steep, you’ve never been a great sprinter or felt comfortable on cobblestones, instead this Tour de France will be the first step in what many sees as $Name’s journey to be a grand tour winner. [[But every journey begins somewhere – and here begins yours.|PrologueStart]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/DoJWwaA.jpg">

<center>Prologue</center> With sweat dripping down your face, you look up and see the 3 kilometre sign, and you stifle a groan – better to spare what laboured breath you have. Three kilometres on this steep of a climb can take up to fifteen minutes, and you would do anything to get the tortured feelings in your legs to end. You are in a group of just four riders, four of the most elite climbers in the world. Next to you, your teammate $Leader seems to be having as much difficulty as you do, with his head and upper body lulling from one side to the other, but his eyes are focused. You try to mirror that intensity, ignoring everything but finding a good rhythm. It’s all about feeling as comfortable as possible, you remember $DS saying, but that’s easier to say than do. Nonetheless, you stand up on the pedals when one of the other riders increases the pace. [[It’s not an attack, but it might as well be|Prologue1]]

With gritted teeth you manage to get in on his back-wheel but looking back, you see that $Leader has not managed to follow you, and is around ten metres behind you. [[Do you slow down to help him?|Help Leader Prologue]] [[Do you counter attack?|Leave Leader Prologue]]

Slowing down till you’re just in front of him, you can see that he nods his thanks to you. You look down at the meter on your handlebars and see the numbers of watt that you need to hold in order to help pace $Leader to the top. If that is what he’s most comfortable with at the moment, that’s the pace you need to go, and pray that he can recover before the end. But that’s not your job, instead you manage to pace him until the final kilometre, when he takes off in pursuit. [[You’ve done your job well|Prologue2]]

You fly past the only other rider, and looking back you can see him shaking his head at you, not following you. You passed the 2 kilometre mark, and even though your legs feel like they’re on fire, you yourself feel like you’re flying on your bike. You don’t look back once, and finishing first feels satisfying – [[you’re in the form of your life.|Prologue2]]

At the top of the mountain, you wait for the rest. Slowly but surely the other 12 riders on $Team ride up next to you. They all look as exhausted as you do, and if this wasn’t just a training camp they should’ve all managed to ride up the Alpe d’Huez faster than they did. [[Even you only managed to barely scrape by the 42 minute mark.|Prologue3]]

(if: (history:) contains "Help Leader Prologue")[$Leader thanks you for staying with him, and $DS comes by your room that night to mention that it was a good training ride. You feel good the way you do after a good day of training – exhausted but satisfied. As you lie on your bed for the night, slowly drifting away, [[you think back on the beginning of the day, how this came to be.|Prologue4]]] (elseif: (history:) contains "Leave Leader Prologue")[“Come on $Name, it’s just training, but still, you got to stay with your leader if he gets in trouble. That kind of rogue cycling is not accepted here at $Team,” says $DS. “It’s only a training camp and it’s good to test your legs as best you can,” you say, “besides, it’s not like having a teammate will help very much when it’s this steep, and it’s good to have the flexibility that this provides in case one rider cracks but you have another rider in a good position.” “That is not your call $Name,” says $Leader. You bite back a response and nod, all the while begrudging him the fact that you rode better than him, and instead of congratulating you they are berating you like a child. By the look of your team mates faces you imagine that dinner tonight will be rather awkward. [[You think back on the beginning of the day, how this came to be.|Prologue4]]]

The 21 hairpins stretch for 13.8 kilometres count among the most legendary in cycling’s storied history. Even though you won’t climb the Alpe d’Huez during this year’s edition of the Tour, the training camp includes one day climbing it. You stand at the foot of the climb with the rest of your team, listening to $DS ramble on about the importance of pacing yourself. [[You think for yourself that you don’t need to be taught how to cycle – you’ve done it your entire life|Prologue5]] [[Acknowledge that your director sportif has enough experience that you should listen to him|Prologue5]]

After a ‘brief’ review of the climb, you all take a final moment to gather yourself, and right before you set off, you approach $LeaderName. {(if: (history:) contains "Help Leader Prologue")[“Don’t worry”, you say, “I’ll be there by your side as long as I can.” He smiles widely and nods, “Try and keep up.” Not today. Someday, maybe, but not today.] (elseif: (history:) contains "Leave Leader Prologue")[“First one to the top?” you say. He smiles widely and says “Challenge accepted”]} As you set of up the climb, you can’t help but dream ahead to the Tour de France – before training camp began the team announced the nine riders who will participate in the Tour and you are one of them. In just a few months, you will be standing there on the start-line of the biggest cycling race for the first time. Still, to get there, you need to improve even more than you already have. Going through the first of the twenty-one hairpins, all you can think is: [[It begins now.|Chapter 1]]

<center>Chapter I</center> It’s the day before the grand départ, and you’re in the hotel for the final pre-race meeting with the rest of the team. You are all sitting in comfortable chairs around $DS who’s pacing back and forth, gesturing wildly. The room feels full of nervous energy, and you see that even $Leader seems fidgety. “We have a good shot at taking the yellow jersey all the way to Paris, mainly with $Leader, but we also have $CoCaptain in case shit hits the fan. They’re the assigned leaders, and as such, the rest of the team will help them as much as they can, whether that’s going on water bottle assignments or sitting in front of them and taking the wind. [[Every ounce of energy that you can help them save will be another ounce they can use to take time into that yellow jersey.”|Chapter 1.1]]

“$Veteran will be the team captain, listen to him and follow his examples, both off the road but more importantly on the road. If you hear him on the radio telling everyone to get to the front, you get your skinny asses to the front of the peloton. If he tells you to stop on the side of the road and take of your pants, you do it.” Chuckles are shared among all, except $Veteran, who sits with a stone cold smile and a look in his eyes that it wasn’t meant as a joke. Before you can think of it further, $DS continues. “$Name, I need you to try and take it easy the first week. It will be nervous, lots of crashes and as such I would like you to take as few chances in the beginning as possible. We need you in the mountains.” [[Thank him for believing you, and promise the team that you won’t let them down|Chapter 1.2]] [[Do you speak up, say that you’re in the form of your life, and that you should be used thusly?|Chapter 1.1.1]]

“It’s a long way to Paris, but this is where we stand right now.” Before $DS walks out of the room, he tells you to take the evening off and to rest before the coming stage. $Leader taps you on the shoulder and tells you to just be calm and have fun, it’s not everyone who gets the chance that you get. [[“Thanks, I’ll try.”|Chapter 1.3]]

$DS says you’re right, and that it should be great that $Leader has two right hand men in the mountains. [[Agree|Chapter 1.2]] [[Stay silent, knowing that wasn’t what you meant|Chapter 1.2]].

As you exit the conference room and head towards your own room, you see $Rival1 approach you. It’s always a weird feeling seeing someone you watched on TV growing up in reality in the same situation as you, but after being a member of $Team you quickly let that star struck way of thinking go. As you pass $Rival1 you nod, but he seems preoccupied, or otherwise doesn’t know (or care) about who you are. [[Oh well, you’ll show them who $Name is soon enough.|Chapter 2]]

<center>Chapter II</center> Stage 1. <img src="http://i.imgur.com/2NQrqYB.png"> You open your eyes. It’s D-Day. The day of the grand départ. The day you’ve been dreaming of all your life. You feel like puking. So that’s not a great sign, but sitting in the bed you can’t believe it’s finally time. On the chair in front of the bed lies your jersey with its number pinned on already. Your number, at the bottom of the race number in small letters are written $Name, right next to the Tour de France logo. The jersey feels small in your hands but it’s a symbol of what you’ve worked for your entire life. [[Today, you ride the Tour de France.|Chapter 2.1]]

(if: $Team is "Orica-BikeExchange")[As is tradition with the team, you are forced to play along with Dan Jones and his backstage passes for Youtube, although they seem to be quite the hit.] The morning passes in a haze, you can barely hold a conversation with your teammates at breakfast, nor hold down what little you managed to eat. Sonner than you could’ve possibly imagined you sit in the bus that’s taking you to the starting area. All around you, people are taking on their kits and talking like everything’s normal, but you can sense that you’re not the only one nervous, even though you are the youngest rider on the team. As you get into the area around the starting line, all the talk fades. Outside the muted windows are a crowd as large and loud as you’ve ever seen, it makes your heart skip a beat before it pumps faster. The Mont-Saint-Michel castle is among the most awesome sights you’ve seen, stretching across the ocean with the bridge leading to and from it. [[Not a bad place to start your first Tour de France.|Chapter 2.2]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/9D1ItGh.jpg" width="500" height="500">

“It’s time,” says $Veteran, and you all line up to go outside and meet the crowd. You’re in the middle of the line and when you enter the sunshine of the Mont-Saint Michel area the noise of the people gathered stun you momentarily. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen, and as you’re ushered towards the signing in area, but you stop several times to sign your autograph to fans stretching out their pads to any and all cyclists. Of course, most don’t know who you are (yet), and most of the attention is spent on $Leader and $CoCaptain, but you sign more signatures than you’ve done in the rest of your life combined. But it’s the final signature that matters most – the one right ahead of you up on the podium. The one where you’ll sign your name as a starter of the stage. $Veteran lets you go first up the steps and an announcer introduces you by name to the roar of the crowd. You get handed a pen by a beautiful woman in a yellow dress and you search for your name on the starting list, briefly panicking before finding it and handing the pen to the next in line. [[Before you leave the podium, you give the audience a wave.|Chapter 2.3]] [[Leave right away – you want to focus on the racing.|Chapter 2.3]]

You are ushered towards the starting area with the rest of your team, and you notice that you’re one of the last teams to sign in, for most of the other teams are already here, and you get a position near the back of the peloton. [[A few of your teammates, $Leader included, of course, get guided by ASO officials, led by Christian Prudhomme, towards the front of the peloton, where the cameras can see them.|Chapter 2.4]]

Next to you stands $Veteran, and you notice that he’s looking at you, with a slight smile on his face. When he sees you looking his way he leans in towards you, and though all the noise you hear him say “It’s unlike anything else, and to be honest, it feels the same way the thirteenth time as it did the first. [[Enjoy it my friend.”|Chapter 2.5]]

(if: $Country is "France")[You hear the announcer speak in French, and they say that the start will be in two minutes time. You look around at your surroundings, taking it all in and preparing yourself. It’s hard to believe it’s finally time, but as the announcer counts down the peloton starts moving, slowly at first before settling in to the parade speed that will last for a few kilometres. [[You are underway.|Chapter 2.6]]] (else:)[You hear the announcer speak in French, but since you don’t understand you simply focus on talking with $Veteran. You look around at your surroundings, taking it all in and preparing yourself. It’s hard to believe it’s finally time, but as the announcer counts down the peloton starts moving, slowly at first before settling in to the parade speed that will last for a few kilometres. [[You are underway.|Chapter 2.6]]]

$Veteran is still riding next to you, and he tells you to prepare yourself – it will get fast, and quickly. You’re about to respond when you feel a surge through the peloton and the pace picks up, the flag must have been dropped and the Tour de France has officially begun. Almost immediately you lose the wheel of $Veteran, but you have two team mates near you and you focus on them. There’s no question of advancing in the peloton, despite all your training it’s all you can do to keep up. You briefly glance down at your watt-meter and see that it’s almost 400 watts, but it’s not only the pace that’s disturbing. It takes a while to sense, but the peloton feels nervous, almost as if it were a live being. Riders are trying to force their way forwards, to get premier positions, and you can’t help but think that a crash is inevitable, but that kind of thinking is what will lead to a crash, and there’s nothing you can do about, so you focus on the riders immediately close to you, and try and keep your part of the peloton calm. [[Do you do this by your riding?|Chapter 2.7]] [[Do you talk to them|Chapter 2.7]]?

After fifty kilometres the pace has still not slackened, you’ve been getting updates in the race radio about the fact that no breakaway has gotten away. [[The fact that the winner of the stage gets to wear the leader’s jersey gives everyone hope and a desire to win the stage, including the sprinter’s teams that keep reeling the hopeful breakaways in again.|Chapter 2.8]]

Finally, after almost 70 kilometres, a group of two have gotten away and have a one-and-a-half-minute advantage over the peloton, that has slowed quite a bit. You are closing in on the feeding station, and the director sportif takes the time to check in on you. “$Name, how you doing?” “I’m alright, just not used to this kind of racing.” “It gets better after a couple of days, just stay focused on the bike – a moment’s hesitation can be the end of the Tour.” “Thanks, I’ll try.” “Just stay calm, you’re doing great. Try and stick with the peloton all the way into the finish straight.” [[Thank him for the advice|Chapter 2.9]] [[“Once again, I’ll try.”|Chapter 2.9]] [[Stay silent|Chapter 2.9]]

You manage to stay out of trouble until around thirty kilometres to go, you’re still at the backend of the peloton, which is the only thing that saves you. Near the front, someone makes a small mistake coming into a sharp right hand corner and around twenty riders go down around and behind them. The peloton gets cut in half, with the premier half just around twenty riders strong. You are too far in the back to be in any near danger, but the sound of the breaks all around you, and from your own, gives you shills. You have to stand still in nearly a minute before a path clears and you can get past the wreckage, with some riders still lying or sitting on the asphalt. [[Luckily, no one seems seriously hurt, at least in so far as you can tell.|Chapter 2.10]]

$DS and $Veteran tries to get things under control, and check in on where everyone is, trying to form a chase to the small peloton that has a minute’s lead. $LeaderLastName did not manage to clear the crash in time, and was stuck behind it as was the rest. Only one team mate was dragged down on the road, but only skinned his knees and arms and was up quickly. You organize yourself in a chase, and you do everything you can to help keep the pace high, taking your turn at the front. Luckily, yours is not the only team caught behind, and you get help from them. The gap shortens, and within the final five kilometres, the peloton is all one again. [[$Veteran tells you to drop down near the rear and try and stick with the peloton all the way in, he’ll keep $Leader and $CoCaptain safe near the front while the sprint teams lead the charge.|Chapter 2.11]]

You do as he says and the rest of the stage is faster than you could’ve possibly imagined, it’s all you can do to just stick with the peloton. You get updates in the race radio, and just as you’re coming into the final bend, the sprint is finished. Marcel Kittel of Etixx-Quick-Step won the stage, and will wear the //maillot jaune// tomorrow. {(if: $Country is "USA")[With the finish being near Utah Beach, you take a moment to think of all those soldiers who lie here, having fought for your freedom, and the freedom of all. Nearly 72 years ago, these beaches were the sight of one of the largest battles of mankind, and perhaps the most important one. Solemnly you go to bed that night, thankful for the life that you have, and the pleasure that being a cyclist brings.]} Passing the line with the peloton, and the same time as the winners, the stress and exhaustion finally gets to you, and you almost collapse on your bike. You have to be led to the team bus by a soigneur, but when you get there, the rest of the team is there to congratulate you and thank you for a job well done following the crash. It feels good to be recognized, but secretly you have no idea how you can do this twenty more times. That feeling is mixed with a sense of gratitude and celebration – you’ve just finished your first stage in the Tour de France, and you didn’t embarrass yourself. (if: $Team is "Etixx-Quick-Step")[The mood in the bus, and at dinner that night is celebratory, with speeches held by $DS and Marcel Kittel himself. He thanks all of you for your hard work, and that it can’t be done without you. He wears the yellow jersey to dinner, but afterwards he comes up to you and asks if you want to wear it. [[God yes|Chapter 3]], you say or [[the first yellow jersey I want to wear will be mine|Chapter 3]].] (else:)[[[You will remember that night for the rest of your life, even though it was cut short by you falling asleep as soon as your head hit the pillow at nine o’clock.|Chapter 3]]]

<center>Chapter III</center> You wake up feeling more sore than you’ve ever felt before, just getting out of bed requires effort. It’s not just your legs, but even your upper body is in need of a massage, so you call your soigneur who helps you relax before breakfast. She manages to work out most of the muscle aches, but you feel exhausted coming down to breakfast, last of all. No team mates say anything, instead they just make the same kind of small talk they’ve always done. {(if: $Country is "USA")[Today is the 4th of July, and as an American, it’s independence day. It’s always been a day of great importance to you, but you’ll doubt your friends and family will see much of you this stage.]} Stage 2 finishes with a two kilometre category 3 climb. It shouldn’t be enough to change things in the general classifications, but most of the sprinter’s will struggle, Peter Sagan the exception. The plan of the day is to keep $Leader and $CoCaptain safe and in the peloton, going for a win is secondary. [[The Tour will not be won today, but it may very well be lost if mistakes are made.|Chapter 3.1]]

The speed is as fast as ever, not helped by the fact that the first half of the stage has the potential risk for crosswinds, causing all the teams to want to be in the front, $Team included. All day is up and down, with rolling hills giving way to rolling hills, and quite soon a gruppeto is formed, but luckily, no one in your team has had to back down yet. [[The peloton catches the breakaway with twenty kilometres to go, and a few attempts at attacks get reeled back in.|Chapter 3.2]]

With ten kilometres to go, you’re ordered to the front of the peloton, to help shepherd $CoCaptain who sits on your wheel. You’ve both made sure that the microphone is opened so you don’t have to reach down to push the press to talk button, instead allowing you to communicate with each other as smoothly as possible. You don’t quite manage to move him to the front of the peloton, but at least he’s in a top 40 position. $Leader is further in front, in a much better position. You see Peter Sagan struggling to get in a good position, even further back than you. Right before the foot of the climb, you hear that an attack has been made, and as the climb starts you feel the pace slow down, the intensity is lost but you still can’t advance. It’s like a bottleneck. In the race radio, you hear $Veteran say that $Rival1 has attacked, and you get the impression that no team has enough members at the very front to organize a proper chase or a lead out. [[It’s still over two kilometres to go, the teams that ride for a GC-rider don’t want to take too many chances and risk anything, and the sprinter’s teams don’t have any real incentive to chase harder than their sprinters can handle.|Chapter 3.3]]

“$Name, try and advance to the front,” says your director sportif. With gritted teeth you do your best to push your ways forward, and after a while you feel like you get the hang of it. $CoCaptain is on your wheel all the way, giving you encouragement and motivation. But it’s hard work, especially as the roads going upwards. You get in a position behind your $Leader, who turns his head when the two of you come up and says “Try and chase Voeckler down, he’s got about twenty seconds already. I’ll try and attack if we get close enough.” [[Do you go up there immediately?|Chapter 3.3.1]] [[Do you wait to catch your breath first?|Chapter 3.3.2]]

You take a deep breath and push your way towards the front of the peloton. Up ahead you see a distant figure, and try as though you might, you struggle to catch him. You manage to keep the pace for nearly a kilometre, and under the red kite, your team mates relieve you and you fall back through the peloton, which has shrunk in part due to your workload. In the race radio you hear that the peloton is catching Voeckler, but that it will be close. You just manage to hold on to the back of the peloton as it finishes, getting the same time as those in front, except Thomas Voeckler, who won the stage, despite your best efforts, by just twelve seconds. [[This, however, was enough to grant him the yellow jersey, which, listening to the crowd’s cheers on the podium ceremony, is quite popular.|Chapter 3.3.1.1]]

You shake your head, being exhausted already. $LeaderLastName looks at you grunting, shakes his head and turns to your other team mates, who peel of and go to the front to try and chase down Thomas Voeckler. You try and explain that your legs are killing you, but you’ve already slipped down a few positions, and the rest of the climb is a struggle to stay in the peloton. You just manage to hold on to the back of the peloton as it finishes, getting the same time as those in front, except Thomas Voeckler, who won the stage by just twelve seconds. This, however, was enough to grant him the yellow jersey, which, listening to the crowd’s cheers on the podium ceremony, is quite popular. [[The peloton had shrunk to just around forty riders, meaning that you’re in the top 50 of the Tour de France general classification!|Chapter 3.3.2.1]]

$DS comes up to you afterwards and you talk through the stage, with him nodding at your explanation that your legs were cooked on the final climb, and that it was all you could do to just stay on. He says you did well to finish with the peloton, and that it’s a good sign for the future of this Tour, especially in the mountains. [[He also tells you to take it easy the next few days, staying safely protected in the middle of the peloton during the next two days’ flat stages, allowing you a pass from water-bottle duty.|Chapter 3.4]]

$DS comes up to you afterwards and you talk through the stage, with him thanking you for efforts on the climb, saying that it’s a good sign for the future of this Tour. [[He also tells you to take it easy the next few days, staying safely protected in the middle of the peloton during the next two days’ flat stages, allowing you a pass from water-bottle duty.|Chapter 3.4]]

The next couple of days’ pass in a blur, with the peloton being as stressed and fast as stage one, with nasty crashes narrowly avoided. [[Kittel wins stage three in an even more dominating fashion, but loses stage four to Mark Cavendish.|3.5]]

In the middle of stage 5, you’re in the safety of the peloton with about forty kilometres to go. In your ear, you hear $CoCaptain say something, but the quality of the audio leaves things to be desired, so you’re unsure what he says, and just keep going. Fifteen seconds later, the calm voice of $DS comes in clear and good: “$CoCaptain just punctured, the pace is high enough that he’ll need help to get back in the peloton, $Veteran take three riders with you down. Now.” You look around you, and search for $Veteran, but apparently he’s already slowed down, deciphering $CoCaptains initial report. $Veteran chimes in and tells you to fall back and help. [[Do you follow $Veterans order, and fall back out of the peloton to help $CoCaptain?|3.5.1]] [[Do you stay in the peloton, not willing to risk your position in the GC?|3.5.2]]

Slowing down you soon emerge from the peloton in the back, and you stop on the right hand side of the road, all the while looking back and talking in the radio. Up ahead, the peloton disappears. You hear that $CoCaptain is done with his wheel change and on his way, and twenty seconds later you see three $Team jerseys, including $CoCaptain and $Veteran. You start riding and as soon as they catch up to you, you jump in and help the rotating chase. In the radio, you hear from your director sportif that you’re nearly thirty-five seconds behind the peloton, but you’ve all got into a rhythm, and you start gnawing it back. Especially when you get to ride behind the cars and draft. [[Still, your other team mate can’t keep up and soon it’s only you and $Veteran keeping the pace.|3.5.1.1]]

There’s eight other riders on the team, and only $LeaderLastName needs to stay in the peloton, which means that a total of six team mates will be able to help $CoCaptain. You don’t see why that should be you, as you’re in a better GC position than all those six. [[Do you say this?|3.5.2.1]] [[Do you just ignore the radio call?|3.5.2.2]]

The chase takes almost ten kilometres, and when you finally get back in the peloton, you’re exhausted. Once there, two other team mates help guide $CoCaptain to the front of the race. You and $Veteran sit there at the back of the speeding peloton, and he looks as ragged as you feel, but is also doing his best to keep in touch. He notices you looking at him and says “Good job $Name, that’s the thing that makes your future team mates lay down their all for you when you need it.” You nod, and despite all the pain in your legs and lungs, you feel proud over helping $CoCaptain. The rest of the stage passes in hell, and by the time you reach the finish line, even though you’ve finished with the peloton, $Veteran had to let it go with five kilometres to go. Andre Greipel wins the stage, but $Rival1 keeps the jersey. [[Now the Tour de France turns toward the mountains, and it’s here that you feel your moment to shine will come.|Chapter 3.6]]

You chime in on the radio, saying “Guys, I’m one of few riders who have a hope on the GC if $LeaderLastName has a really bad day or crashes, get someone else do help get $CoCaptain back and we’ve got more weapons. It’s not useful to waste me on this.” It’s silent for a few seconds, then a stream of curses from both $CoCaptain and $Veteran fills the silence. They keep it up for about ten seconds, and you’ve got a mind to tell them off as well when $DS tells everyone to shut up. “We’ve already got a proper chase going, with or without you, $Name. Focus on that $Veteran. We’ll talk about this later.” The rest of the stage passes in relative ease, with Andre Greipel winning the stage and $Rival1 keeping the jersey. Now the Tour de France turns toward the mountains, and it’s here that you feel your moment to shine will come. [[Hopefully you’ll get your chance, it would be stupid not to utilize your talents to their full abilities.|Chapter 3.5.3]]

You are one of the few riders who have a hope on the GC if $LeaderLastName has a really bad day or crashes. If someone else helps $CoCaptain back up the peloton you get more weapons to use in the mountains. It’s not useful to waste you like this. Knowing that it won’t be a popular decision you stay silent, maybe you can pretend your radio wasn’t working. Despite the urgings of $Veteran and $DS for you to help, you ignore them. It doesn’t matter if they’re happy – it matters if $Team is winning. In the radio, you hear that $Veteran managed to get them back to the peloton just inside the twenty kilometre banner, and soon he comes up next to you. He doesn’t say anything, just looks at you and shakes his head. The rest of the stage passes in relative ease, with Andre Greipel winning the stage and $Rival1 keeping the jersey. Now the Tour de France turns toward the mountains, and it’s here that you feel your moment to shine will come. [[Hopefully you’ll get your chance, it would be stupid not to utilize your talents to their full abilities.|Chapter 3.5.3]]

Sprint stage 6. The breakaway got clear early and got an over 10 minutes’ advantage of the peloton by the feeding zone, probably due to some tired legs after yesterday, so today was a semi-formal rest stage, with [[Yukiya Arashiro from the breakaway winning over 20 minutes ahead of the peloton, and taking the yellow jersey as the first Japanese cyclist to do so.|Chapter 4]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/WUb1Owp.jpg" width="700" height="500">

After the race, $DS comes up to you and tells you he wants to talk to you after dinner. Your team mates don’t look you in the eye on the bus, and dinner is frosty. You decide to get it over with, so you can focus on racing, and knock on the conference room that $DS is in with the rest of the staff. [[It takes a while, but eventually he comes out and starts walking towards the pool area, indicating that you should follow.|3.5.3.1]]

You walk in silence for a while, waiting for him to speak first. Which he does as soon as you exit the hotel proper. The view is astounding, a warm sunset in France is unlike anything you’ve ever witnessed. The mountains are there in the distance, and $DS points at them, saying “I’ve no idea what to tell you really, what you did today was simply not the way it’s done on this team. I’ve half a mind to send you home packing, which some of your team mates also suggested.” “Who?” you ask. “It doesn’t matter –“ “Was it $CoCaptain, ‘cause look I-“ “Shut up, it doesn’t matter. I’m not sending you home. Do you know why?” You decide that shaking your head is the response he wants, even though you can guess what comes next. “Because I will do whatever it takes to win, and this team has a higher chance to win with you on it. You’re a damn good climber son, and even though I don’t like your methods, you’re a vital part of our plans for the Tour.” He turns to you and stares you down, “But if you ever pull a stunt like that again, I’ll kick your ass myself.” [[Without waiting for a response, he turns and heads back into the hotel.|Chapter 3.5.3.2]]

Could’ve gone worse, you think, looking out over the backyard of the five-star hotel that they’ve set up for you. It’s a long way to Paris, and this may not be the way to get your team mates on your side, but you don’t regret your decision. You, and the team, is in a better position to claim the //maillot jaune// because of your actions today. [[They may not see it that way, but as $DS said – you’ll do whatever it takes to win.|Chapter 3.6]]

<center>Chapter IV</center> Stage 7 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/oCH0UHb.png"> The first of three stages in the Pyrenees starts today, but only a category one climb up Lac de Payolle that should make the GC riders and climbers wait for the tougher stages to come. That morning, $DS had told you to simply try and stay in the peloton. Correctly expecting that none of the favourites would try anything today, just being satisfied with keeping a high pace and hoping that it would prove too difficult to some of their rivals. This is your first proper mountain stage in the Tour de France, and as soon as you hit the climb you know that it’s a different beast from all the other races you’ve done, even during training camp doing the reconnaissance these mountains couldn’t prepare you for the way it’s being raced. [[It’s hectic the first few kilometres, with people jostling for position, before settling into a rhythm with a rapidly diminishing peloton.|Chapter 4.1]]

It will be close between the peloton and the breakaway, with the latter being three minutes ahead. After the climb it’s just a quick descent into the finish line. The racing goes as expected, with the top teams keeping tempo and only a few riders attempt an attack that is quickly reeled in, riders who have a fringe hope for the top 10. No favourite struggle either, and everyone who was expected to finish together do so, including you. The breakaway manages to stay away, or at least a few of them, and Serge Pauwels wins the stage. You kept near the back of the group for most of the climb and the descent, happy just to stay on that group of around thirty-five riders who all finish together. [[Your first mountain stage is in the bag, but the going will only get tougher, and you’re happy to say that your legs feel quite sharp that night.|Chapter 5]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/GmJ80Ca.jpg" width="700" height="500">

<center>Chapter V</center> Stage 8 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/Y2eXKKh.png"> Stage eight brings the first proper mountain stage, and the general classification will be thrown about today. You sit in 37th place, but are at the same time as most of your rivals and the favourites for the Tour. Today will be the first test for who will be challenging for the overall win. In the yellow jersey is still $Rival1, but he could struggle to keep it today – he needs to keep up with the best climbers in the world. So do you, but you feel a sense of impatience come over you, standing on the start line, as this is what you’ve been waiting for. The first weeks nervous racing, crashes and drama will be left behind as you enter the mountains for the first time, like a passage from one world into another, with the foot of the climb being the gates. [[To succeed today, you need to get rid of all the remaining nervousness, it can’t be allowed to interfere with your mind.|Chapter 5.1]]

But this is easier said than done, since $DS explicitly told you that this is what they brought you here for – to climb the best of your abilities, and, ideally, to help $Leader win the yellow jersey. [[Today will be the first test for this, how will your form measure up to $Rival2, $Rival3 and $Rival4 (and racing with (or against) $LeaderLastName and $CoCaptain).|Chapter 5.2]]

The stage itself is not the hardest stage of the Tour, as the first mountain stages are wont to be. Instead it will consist of an early climb up the Tourmalet, followed by a category 2 and two category 1 climbs. This will still be enough to shake things up, and allow the ones in great form to separate themselves from those who may struggle early, and to try and distance them. The Tour will not be won today, but it may very well be lost. Your orders for today are as follow: Follow. Follow the peloton and the big sharks to the best of your abilities, for as long as you possibly can. You are not expected to help with the pace setting today, instead $DS wants to use this opportunity to test your abilities against the best of the world. [[You have ridden against these before, but never before on a stage such as this, in front of all the world.|Chapter 5.3]]

Standing on the starting line, $CoCaptain looks over towards you, smiles and nods. You try and shrug of the last strands of the stress that you felt last night (sleeping wasn’t easy). The stage starts of easier than most, with a breakaway getting clear early, and $Rival team holding an easy pace for the first half of the stage. You sit comfortably in the middle of the peloton, but when the mountains get nearer, and with the help of a teammate, you move up to around the thirtieth position, near $LeaderLastName. Around this time, the pace picks up markedly, a large part due to the fact that the teams of the climbers, including yours, have started pushing the peloton to get their leaders in as good a position as possible for the first climb of the day. This first mountain is the legendary Col du Tourmalet. [[With blazing speed the peloton hits the foot of the mountain, and you’re forced to rapidly change gear, standing out of the saddle.|Chapter 5.4]]

Your first HC mountain, a legend in its own right, is upon you. Suddenly you feel a little bit sick, mostly from the pent up expectation: this is what you’ve trained your entire life towards. All the first week jitters slip away as soon as the road goes up: this is what you’ve waited for. Your legs feel absolutely fine, great even, and you notice that the faces around you grimace, and you feel like laughing aloud: this is what you’re good at. You move up to around tenth position, sitting yourself comfortable on the wheel of $Leader. [[The pace is kept by $Team all the way to the top of this first mountain, and looking back near the top, you see that the peloton has been shredded to just around thirty riders, not including the yellow jersey, who had to let go right before the top.|Chapter 5.5]]

If going up goes smoothly, going down is another matter. Despite the pain in your legs from the climbing, you need to keep them moving so you don’t cramp up, and more importantly, you have to keep your focus so you don’t slip up and fall. This focus is easy on any other day, but on a day like this, it’s slightly harder. You make it to the bottom safely, barely, and you take a large drink of your water as you make your way towards the second category mountain that comes next, where nothing interesting happens, several of the riders who had been dropped on the Tourmalet come back, but will surely be dropped during the two remaining category one climbs. [[Once dropped, it’s usually very difficult to get your legs to recuperate.|Chapter 5.6]]

Movistar and Team Sky keep up the pace during the second to last climb, discoursing any attacks and slowly draining everyone’s energy. {(if: $Team is "Movistar")[You’re thankfully exempt from the pace-working duty today, leaving you to focus on your own race. If, however, one of the leader’s need help, you’re expected to be there.] (if: $Team is "Sky")[You’re thankfully exempt from the pace-working duty today, leaving you to focus on your own race. If, however, one of the leader’s need help, you’re expected to be there.]} The peloton is shredded to just twenty-five riders as you cross the top of the climb, but you also start to feel tired, almost sluggish. You make sure to drink properly coming into the final climb of the day, but your head hangs lower than it usually does. At the foot of the climb up Col de Peyresourde you’ve slipped through the peloton, and you are second to last as you start to climb. Right away you feel that you’ve started to yo-yo and staying on the wheel in front of you is a struggle. [[Do you let go immediately, going at your own tempo?|Chapter 5.6.1]] [[Do you hang on for as long as you can?|Chapter 5.6.2]]

Deciding to go at your own tempo all of the way, you let the wheel in front of you go. Looking down at your power metre, you try and take aim at a number that you feel you can comfortably hold for the 7 kilometre climb. [[After the top, it’s just a descent, so you try and push yourself as if the top of the climb is the finish line.|Chapter 5.6.1.1]]

If you can just make it over the top, or at least get as near it as possible before dropping, the rest of the stage is just downhill. If you can just hold on for 7 kilometres, you’re home scot-free. [[You imagine that the top of the climb is the finish line.|Chapter 5.6.2.1]]

You try to ignore the peloton fading in the distance, trying only to focus on yourself. But it’s harder said than done. The only thing that will make this worse is panicking over losing ground, that will only disrupt your rhythm. Your $DS comes on the radio to tell you how far you are behind, and halfway up the climb it’s 40 seconds. You almost want to rip the earbuds out, but stop yourself. [[Thankfully, you’ve gotten into a rhythm and feel much better than you did at the start.|Chapter 5.7]]

At the top, you’re only a minute behind, and as you start the descent, you try and make yourself as aerodynamic as possible. You’re all alone on the descent, and you don’t even catch anyone. It’s been a lonely stage, but you come into the finishing straight with good speed from the descent and can ride hard all the way to the line. You lose almost a minute to the contenders, but that’s not the most worrying part – tomorrow is even harder. All you can do is hope that the bad legs will disappear before the start tomorrow, you can nothing but continue with the motions tonight. The only thing that you can do different is either eat or drink more. [[Hopefully it was just bad luck, or a bad reaction, and not the sign of something worse.|Chapter 6]]

It’s hard work holding on, especially as the pace feels even faster and more difficult the more tired you are. You are constantly last in the peloton, and what makes it even harder is when the rider right in front of you decides to stop pretending that they can hold on and drop back, forcing you to ride past them and close the gap. This happens four times in three kilometres, and every time it takes longer to get back. With three kilometres to go, when you try and bridge the gap that’s been created, you simply can’t. You watch as the back of the peloton gets further and further away, and you become acutely aware of the pain in your legs. You are forced to go even slower to not completely crash, but those riders that let go earlier now pass you. [[Only two kilometres to go, but you’ve already lost thirty seconds, and you struggle to get into a rhythm.|Chapter 5.7]]

<center>Chapter VI</center> Stage 9 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/Y2eXKKh.png"> It’s stage nine, a hard mountain stage where the peloton leaves France and heads into Andorra. It is also the day before the rest day. The weather is lovely, with a brief chance of strong winds, but it should not impact the race, it’s not like Mont Ventaux, that’s coming in a couple of days – wind there really matters. $Team managed to keep the breakaway within reach, and they were even caught before the second to last climb. The team continued to set pace up the foot of the mountain, trying to keep it high enough to discourage attacks, but not fast enough to drop $Rival1. $Rival2Team was having none of it and they went to the front and upped the pace. There’s a lot of people on the side of the road, and they cheer you guys on. It’s a euphoric feeling, but you can’t celebrate it for long. You’ve been isolated quite quickly on the climb, none of your teammates feet well enough, and $Rival2Team rides fast, especially since they really started to put the hammer down just two kilometres into the climb. $Rival2LastName really must have felt confident, as he now only had two teammates left, but the effort really showed at the back of the peloton, with riders being shed. Among the race favourites, $Rival5 couldn’t keep up, and fell back. $Rival1 was also on the ropes. You’re in about tenth wheel on the climb, just behind $Rival3. [[In total there are about 20 riders left in the peloton|Chapter 6.1]].

Suddenly, $Rival3 stands up on his pedals and moves ahead towards the front, and it looks like the springboard of an attack. You follow him on his wheel, and when he attacks, you’re there immediately, as are $Leader, $CoCaptain and five others. The others, especially the $Rival4, struggle to get back, but eventually manage to do so once $Rival3 lessens his attack. It’s about 7 kilometres from the finish line, but no one seems happy to be the one to pull at the front, so soon it comes together again. [[Even $Rival1 and his team mate come back, but not for long, head hanging low over his handlebars.|Chapter 6.2]]

No more attacks happen until five kilometres out, and this time it’s $Rival6. No one immediately follows, as $Rival6 is not immediately a great threat to the GC so he gets a gap of about 20 seconds. It’s an opportunity to attack. You’re far back on the GC, so maybe they will let you go as they did $Rival6. [[Do you want to try it?|Chapter 6.2.1]] [[Do you want to ride defensively?|Chapter 6.2.2]]? <img src="http://i.imgur.com/OtZzzAZ.jpg" width="700" height="500">

It’s a wonderful climb, but it’s nothing that truly sticks in your head, as much as the faces of your biggest rivals. $Rival2 is grimacing badly, but he looks more angry than he does in pain. $Rival5 tries to have a poker face, but fails, and soon he loses your wheel and starts slipping behind. While $Rival2 and the others are watching each other, you take the opportunity to stand up on your pedals, and surge towards the right side of the road, all the while accelerating. After about twenty meters you look behind you, and none have reacted as of yet, $Rival2LastName seems content to let you go. You feel that you have to sit down though, and that you’ve slightly overextended yourself. [[Now comes the hard part, pacing yourself to the end, in as high a tempo as possible|Chapter 6.2.1.1]].

You decide to stay put, and try to conserve your energy as much as possible, $Rival6 will likely be caught before the end, and the big guns in this small group will have no interest in letting a stage win in the first mountain stage just disappear. It’s better to be there at the end, try and save energy before a final sprint in a diminished group. If they look at each other within the final kilometres, [[then maybe an attack would be justified|Chapter 6.2.2.1]].

But you can’t help but look behind, and you see that you haven’t gotten that big of a gap, and this time $Rival3 seems to be the one setting the pace, and its high enough that $Rival4 is struggling to hold on. This is the situation with about three kilometres to go, and you’re just slightly ahead of the rest of the group. Good news is that you’ve almost managed to catch $Rival6 up the road, there’s about a ten second gap between you and both ahead and behind. It’s not going to be enough if they decide to really go for it, but you feel like you wouldn’t be able to follow the last attacks anyway, so you just grind your teeth and keep pushing yourself up the mountain, using $Rival6 as a marker for your progress. [[Slowly, but surely, you manage to inch closer|Chapter 6.2.1.2]].

All of the sudden, out of the corner of your eye, you see movement. Looking over, you see that it’s $Rival2LastName that had attacked, and on his wheel are $Leader and $Rival3, and you feel immediately that it’d be impossible to follow their pace, so you don’t even try. You’ve almost caught $Rival6. There’s just a bit over one kilometre left to the finish line, but it’s a long one, with the steep inclines not relenting in their punishment. [[You feel like your muscles are on the verge of cramping up, the lactic acid just being made aware of its presence|Chapter 6.2.1.3]].

You finally catch $Rival6 just under the red kite, at around the same time that $Rival5 catches you, and passes. Unfortunately, you can’t follow his, as you’ve slightly overextended yourself with your attack, you’re not quite there yet to be among the very best. The same can be said of $Rival6, but you can’t manage to lose him off your wheel, and right before the finish line, his team mate also manages to catch your little group. On the screen over the finish line you see that you’ve come about thirty seconds behind the winner. [[It’s not your worst performance, but you feel that you could’ve done better.|Chapter 6.2.1.4]]

It’s a wonderful climb, but it’s nothing that truly sticks in your head, as much as the faces of your biggest rivals. $Rival2 is grimacing badly, but he looks more angry than he does in pain. $Rival5 tries to have a poker face, but fails, and soon he loses your wheel and starts slipping behind. The small group of six riders pass under the three kilometres sign, and when you do, $Rival3 tries for an attack, but gets reeled in immediately by $Rival7, but $Rival2 goes right afterwards with a counter attack. It’s a monstrous attack, he’s going all in. $Rival7 struggles with the high acceleration, he’s more of a slower, powerful diesel engine, and is still sitting down, pedalling on incredibly heavy gears. $Rival3 and $Leader manage to stay with $Rival2LastName up the road. When the attacks started, you were on the wheel of $Rival3, but you struggle to keep the high tempo of the trio that went away, so instead you tuck yourself in behind $Rival7, hoping to use him to claw back yourself. [[Up ahead, the trio has caught $Rival6, and quickly leave him behind.|Chapter 6.2.2.2]]

Both $Rival4 and $Rival1 have let go, and are a further ten to twenty seconds behind you and $Rival7. His tempo is killing, and you feel yourself almost skidding across the road. Not even the encouragement of the crowds can help you now, and once you’ve lost a meter on the wheel of $Rival7 there’s no coming back. You have to let him go, and you watch how he slowly comes back to the others, [[passing $Rival6 in the process|Chapter 6.2.2.3]].

“At least you tried going for the win, and it’s better to know than to just ride conservatively,” said $DS, $TeamMate1 and $Veteran standing next to you, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, you tried. Don’t beat yourself up over it, it happens, your legs just weren’t there today.” You know they try to cheer you up, and make you feel better. But they have the opposite effect on you, causing you to withdraw more into yourself. You’re sitting inside a tent, being chosen for a random doping test, but the overwhelming feeling is of defeat, and failure. Maybe you should lose time on the flat stages, but when you bring it up over dinner, most everyone disagrees, and say that you should keep doing what you’re doing. [[With a shrug, you nod your agreement. Come what will|Chapter 7]].

You’re sitting inside a tent, being chosen for a random doping test, but the overwhelming feeling is of defeat, and failure. After the stage, the director sportif and your soigneur tried cheering you up, and make you feel better but they have the opposite effect on you, causing you to withdraw more into yourself. Maybe you should lose time on the flat stages, but when you bring it up over dinner, most everyone disagrees, and say that you should keep doing what you’re doing. [[With a shrug, you nod your agreement. Come what will|Chapter 7]].

<center>Chapter VII</center> Rest day 11th of July, 2016 Right before you’re to eat lunch, the team is asked to give interviews and photographs. $DS says it’s voluntary but suggests otherwise, and despite your weary legs you drag them outside to the designated press area. Thankfully the sun is shining without a cloud to be seen, and outside you see the other teams that live in the same hotel as you also giving the press a glimpse of their first week. {(if: $Team is "Sky")[Being asked how it feels to be a part of Team Sky’s large venture into cycling, you respond by saying it’s a big honour and that you hope to bring your best. You think there’s a reason you’re here, and you say so. If they don’t sound convinced than you’ll simply have to show them.]} [[You pass through the interviews with flying colour and your usual charm, telling everyone the mixed emotions of the first week.|Chapter 7.1]] [[You make it clear, but not in a rude way, that you’d rather be resting than answering questions.|Chapter 7.1]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/tPKX1xd.jpg" width="700" height="500">

Afterwards, as you’re moving back towards the hotel for lunch, $Rival1 stops by and wants to speak to you. Obviously he’s been hugely popular this week, especially considering the fact that he wore the yellow jersey for a few days, as if a stage win wasn’t enough. He remembers meeting you, or rather, seeing you, at the hotel a few days back. You make small talk until he mentions that he’s going for the mountain jersey. You’re puzzled why he’s bringing this up with you, here and now, but soon you get the impression that he thinks you’ll also go for it, and that you could give him a run for his money. Is he being polite, or is he trying to unnerve you, get information? [[Say that you’ll go for it|Chapter 7.2.1]] [[Just be polite but noncommittal.|Chapter 7.2.2]]

You shrug and say that it’s a long race, you’re just happy to be here and you’ll do your best all the way to Paris, but you don’t indicate one way or the other what you think of the polka-dot jersey. “That’s the same answer we give to the interviews, come on, give me something real,” he says, but you just smile, and after a few minutes of further small talk, [[get back to the hotel and the rest of the day is spent resting.|Chapter 8]]

You smile, pat him on the shoulder and say that we’ll see who has the polka-dots on their shoulders in Paris, and before he has the chance to respond, you walk away. The smile stays on the whole way back to the hotel, for the rest of the rest, but you can’t help thinking [[‘Now wouldn’t that be fun?’|Chapter 8]]

<center>Chapter VIII</center> Stage 10 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/1uJL4yK.png"> The day after the rest day is a perfect day for a breakaway, with enough hills that prevent the sprinters from challenging for the stage win. They get their chance the day after, followed by a mountain stage and a time trial. This leaves room for some flexibility, with you needing not make a single ounce of effort on the first two stages. However, as $DS explains to you on the bus before the start of the stage, this allows you to take a chance, if you would want it. “Put simply, I want to try and see what you’ve got. How’s your legs feeling?” [[“Good”|Chapter 8.1.1]] [[“They could be better”|Chapter 8.1.2]]

That’s excellent, so what do you say, do you want to go for it?” [[“Hell yes”|Go for breakaway]] or [[“I’m best suited for the mountains and rather take my chances there”|Don’t go for breakaway]]

Your first Tour – and your first breakaway attempt. The only problem is that everyone else also wants to be in the breakaway today, so the first twenty kilometres are fast paced and no one gets more than a twenty seconds advantage. You try twice to breakaway on the wheel of people, but get reeled in. It takes a lot out of you and you decide to have a moment to rest. You simply pray that no one will get away while you save up your energy, you have the capacity for one final surge of effort before you decide that it’ll be enough. [[Do you continue your attempts?|Chapter 8.2.3]] [[Do you decide to stay in the peloton for the rest of the stage?|Chapter 8.2.1]]

“That’s good reasoning, I’m sure we’ll make a GC rider out of you yet. Okay, just take it easy today, don’t waste any energy.” You nod, and he claps you on the shoulder before going to talk with another rider about, you imagine, the same thing. [[You’re not here to be a breakaway rider, you’ll be a threat in the mountains instead.|Chapter 8.2.1]]

“Okay, I see,” he says “I suppose you’ll want to take it easy for the upcoming mountain stages?” [[“You know what, no, I want to try”|Go for breakaway]] [[“That may be for the best, I’m best suited for the mountains and rather take my chances there”|Don’t go for breakaway]]

Deciding against going in a breakaway, you simply use this stage as a way to recuperate. After a while a breakaway group is formed, including $Rival1, who wins all of the mountain prizes and extending his lead in that competition. However, he doesn’t win the stage, instead that honour goes to Brent Bookwalter. You roll in with the peloton almost fifteen minutes later. [[You look ahead to future stages, all the while your legs feel surprisingly fresh for having raced ten stages.|Chapter 9]]

You wait five kilometres, feeling recuperated, when out of the corner of your eye, you see $Rival1 (in the mountains jersey), stand up in the saddle and attack. This is your chance. You have to elbow your way towards the edges of the peloton, and once you’re through $Rival1 had a twenty metre advantage. Fortunately, several other riders also wanted to join in and you can easily slip into their wheels, coasting up and building a ten-man breakaway group. After a minute of almost full speed the pace slackens off, and everyone looks back to see the peloton in the distance. [[Content with this, everyone settles into a rhythm of co-operation and soon you’ve got a four-minute gap, that eventually increases to seven.|Chapter 8.2.3.1]]

The stage has two mountain prizes, and you easily take, with little effort, the first one, a category 1 up Port d’Envirala. He is not happy with you, and waves dramatically at you after the top arguing that you boxed him out. In reality, you were simply stronger. At the end of the stage there’s a small hill. You are not the best sprinter in the group, so if you want to win the stage you’ll have to make your move there. The only problem is that everyone knows that. Fortunately, several other of your companions will also be anxious to make a move there, so you figure that you’ll just have to time your attack right. [[At the top of the hill it’s only seven kilometres to the finish line, so if you have a gap there, you’re in business.|Chapter 8.2.3.2]]

The climb starts. It’s only a category three, and it’s not long but you have to be patient. Whoever makes the first move will be marked by all, which is apparent once Diego Rosa attacks, but gets reeled in immediately. The pace is high though, and you pass a two of the riders who have to drop to the back of the group. Or maybe they’re just acting tired before putting in an attack. You bear that in mind, not forgetting those behind you as you move to third position in the group. Right behind $Rival1. He looks back at you, and sneers. It almost makes you feel like laughing. With just six hundred meters to go, $Rival1 tries an attack. You’re on his wheel in a second, but it’s a hard attack, he’s decided to give it his all here. Risking a glance behind, you see that only one other rider has managed to follow, and that the rest of the group is over twenty metres behind. [[It really is a hard attack, and you’ve started feeling that in your legs.|Chapter 8.2.3.4]]

Near the top of the mountain $Rival1 attacks and you’re the only one who can follow. You don’t manage to pass him, so $Rival1 wins the mountain prize. There’s not a long way into the finishing straight, and $Rival1 is the better sprinter. Fortunately, you’ve been on his wheel the entire time, leaving him with the choice of either towing you to the sprint or let the rest of the group get back. He chooses to do something in between, trying to save energy he goes slower, but not slow enough that anyone behind can come back. [[He gestures a lot towards you, trying to get you to go to the front, but you don’t even spare him a comment or gesture, simply eying him the entire time, waiting for a move.|Chapter 8.2.3.5]]

With one kilometre to go, a group of four has formed behind you about 300 – 400 hundred metres behind, although they’re exhausted, and you’re not – so you feel comfortable continuing playing this game. $Rival1 has added grumbling to his repertoire, and you think it must look hilarious on television. With five hundred metres to go, you risk a quick glance behind you, but you should be good to go. Now it’s all about waiting for the time to strike. $Rival1 has also seen the chasing group, and gets stressed by them, so his pace is slightly faster than before. [[Even better.|Chapter 8.2.3.6]]

You decide to wait until the 250 metre sign before launching your sprint. $Rival1 was expecting it of course, but even though he did the advantage of sprinting from behind should be enough for you. If you didn’t start too early, you should be fine, you think as you pass him to his right. Even though he’s the better sprinter, he can’t quite manage to pass you before the line, although it is close. Raising your arms in the air you let a scream of joy and adrenaline loose. [[Winning your first stage in a grand tour is not a small thing, and winning it during the Tour de France is one of the best feelings in the world.|Chapter 8.2.3.7]]

$Rival1 simply has to be happy with the polka-dot jersey of the mountain competition, but you’re the one who goes to the podium first. Champagne has never tasted better, and the congratulatory messages from your teammates and the staff of the team is echoed throughout your phones, both old friends and family, and total strangers, congratulate you on your victory. [[If it feels this good to win you can’t wait to do it again.|Chapter 9V1]]

<center>Chapter IX</center> Stage 11 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/pcIsBaU.png"> The next day is a simple sprinter’s stage to Montpellier, and nothing interesting at all happens before the final five kilometres. You imagine that those are the sort of stages that were hard to focus on when you watched them on TV, with a breakaway full of uninteresting characters (i.e. not Thomas Voeckler’s tongue, Adam Hansens heroics or Yukiya Arashiros awesomeness), being chased by the same team for three hours. You didn’t think it’d be possible for it to be even more boring to ride those stages, but that is also something you had to learn, in this your first Tour. Fortunately, the weather is nice. [[The sprint is won by Marcel Kittel, winning his third stage, and taking a comfortable lead in the green jerseys competition, over Peter Sagan.|Chapter 9.1]]

<center>Chapter IX</center> Stage 1 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/pcIsBaU.png"> The way today’s stage will develop depends on whether or not the wind will affect the racing. [[There is a risk of crosswinds, which could make for some nervous racing, with all the teams trying to keep their contenders near the front.|Chapter 9V1.1]]

The stage starts off well enough, but with forty kilometres to go, the wind starts picking up and it’s coming from the side. This means that crosswinds will split the peloton. You are in a reasonably good position, but you feel yourself struggling against the wind. It’s times like this you wish you weighed twenty kilos more. The effort to stay near the front makes you feel a cramp-like feeling in the back of your left leg. You try to change position on the bike so that you can more easily shake it up, but in doing so, you lose the wheel you were on, and slip down the peloton. ‘Don’t panic, whatever you do, don’t panic,’ you think, but it’s easier said than done. You’ve done well so far, but if you cramp up now, with this far to the finish line, your Tour could well be over. [[The feeling hasn’t improved since it started, despite your best efforts, and you start to sweat even more than the July weather warrants.|Chapter 9V1.2]]

The rest of the peloton is passing you, but you tell yourself that you can’t try and rush this, but it’s easier said than done to simply let the peloton, and your rivals pass you. The peloton starts to split into smaller groups. One of your teammates has noticed you struggling, but since he’s on the other side of the road, he can only gesture, but you can see he’s wondering what’s wrong. [[Despite wanting to reach out for help, you force yourself to focus inward, that’s the only way you’ll get through this.|Chapter 9V1.3]]

$TeamMate1 must have talked in the radio, and the fact that you didn’t even notice is a worrying sign. Suddenly $Veteran is there right next to you. He doesn’t say anything, simply looks at you struggling with your leg and moves in front of you. You open your mouth to say something, but $TeamMate1 and $TeamMate4 also shows up, and position themselves around you. In less than a minute, you’re surrounded by your teammates. They’re all protecting you, as they would their leader. You don’t quite know what to say, so you say nothing at all and instead focus on doing what it takes to get to the finish line. [[You’re in about fiftieth position, but the peloton breaks apart further ahead, and you’re not in the front, where both $Leader and $Rival2 are.|Chapter 9V1.4]]

The leg is still killing you, but you try to keep up with the peloton for the rest of the stage, to varied success. $Veteran is there the entire time; without his help you can’t imagine how you would’ve gotten through the stage. The pelotons don’t come together, and you lose about a minute and a half, with Marcel Kittel winning the stage. All things considered, it could’ve been a lot worse, and you make sure to thank your teammates for their support. Hopefully this was just a one-off bad day. Unfortunately, you dropped in the GC standings, but you’re still in the top 20. General Classification 1 $Rival2 95h56m41s 2 $Leader + 0. 31 3 $Rival5 + 0. 47 4 $Rival3 + 0. 51 5 $Rival6 + 1. 09 6 $Rival4 + 1. 29 7 $CoCaptain + 1. 41 8 $Rival1 + 1. 59 9 $Rival7 + 2. 27 10 $TeamMate1 + 2. 31 ---------------------------------- 17 $Name + 2. 57 [[Next chapter|Chapter 10]]

<center>Chapter X</center> Stage 12 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/dCBySCq.png"> It’s Bastille Day, the 14th of July, and unlike many other editions of Tour, this year’s Bastille Day will not be a stage for breakaways. Quite the opposite in fact, the Tour de France takes the peloton all the way up the legendary Mont Ventoux. As is usual with stages up Mont Ventoux, it’s the only really difficult climb of the day (only a category 3 and 4, that should be enough to thin the peloton of the sprinter’s and the non-climbers before the foot of the climb). 184 kilometres, and the mountain itself is 15.7 kilometres, at an average of 8.8%. [[It’ll be the first time for you up Ventoux, and the thing that separates it from other climbs is the fact that wind plays a significant factor, especially the last four-five kilometres.|Chapter 10.1]]

After the stage, you slowly make your way towards the team bus, in no hurry to get back. On the way there, you look around at all the faces of the spectators, often hidden behind cameras or iPhones, but they all share the same way at looking at you, and the other riders. It reminds you of when you were at Disneyland as a kid and saw everyone dressed up as those characters you had seen on TV. Suddenly heroes come alive. At the same time as it’s a warming thought, it’s also quite sobering – you are only here because they want to watch. If they all stop watching, the Tour de France becomes just a bunch of guys riding around France in skin-tight clothes. At dinner, the mood is celebratory, you’re in the exact position the team wanted – close in the GC, stage wins, but still not the burden of having to defend the yellow jersey on every stage. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have it today, the only thing that matters is that you have it in Paris. Only $DS and the rest of staff drink wine to dinner, with a few of them getting a wee bit too tipsy that they start almost slurring, and telling a few stories they wouldn’t do in a normal situation. Nevertheless, it’s a fun change from sitting on the bike all day, and you find yourself enjoying it. General Classification 1 $Rival2 95h56m41s 2 $Leader + 0. 31 3 $Rival5 + 0. 47 4 $Rival3 + 0. 51 5 $Rival6 + 1. 09 6 $Rival4 + 1. 29 7 $CoCaptain + 1. 41 8 $Rival1 + 1. 59 9 $Rival7 + 2. 27 10 $TeamMate1 + 2. 31 ---------------------------------- 17 $Name + 2. 57 [[Next Chapter|Chapter 10]]

Before the start, $DS hold a meeting at the bus. He’s holding the race bible and pointing at the stage profile, giving you instructions. The main gist is that you’ll try and control the race, from start to finish. You won’t be required to do anything before the climb, but since you’ve done well enough so far, you’re expected to be near the front during the entirety of Mont Ventoux. [[“Okay, boss.”|Chapter 10.3]] [[“Will I be required to work for $LeaderLastName and $CoCaptainLastName?”|Chapter 10.2.2]] [[“I just think we should keep all our options open, not waste any chance we have.”|Chaper 10.2.3]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/DmOCH0k.jpg" width="700" height="500">

Everybody looks at you, some diverting their eyes and pretending to be elsewhere. You’ve never seen your teammates study the stage profile as fervently as right now. Only $Leader meets your eyes. And $DS of course. He says nothing, but by the passive aggressive chewing of his gum to judge, he’s planning how to roast you alive. “Why, is there a problem with that?” asks $LeaderLastName. Some of your teammates snicker, like teenage girls. [[“Not at all, Sir. All good here, Sir. Yes, sir!”|Chapter 10.2.2.1]]

The snickering stops. The atmosphere suddenly feels a lot more chilled. “Look, kid, you’re a rookie here. Don’t get cocky.” “No, Sir!” You mock salute. “If you don’t want to be here, you’re perfectly fine to leave.” “No, Sir! Not at all, Sir.” “Good, we’ll need you. But if you want to be a part of this team, you’ll need to listen to your director sportif – you’re here as a part of the team. One part. No more. No less. Understood? “Yes, sir.” “Good. Anything else?” [[“No, sir,” and without a further word, $DS walks out.|Chapter 10.3]]

According to plan, $Team keeps the breakaway on a leash, never letting them get more than five minutes on the peloton. The entire team rides in a cluster near the front, but you’re snuggly protected right next to $CoCaptainLastName, out of the wind, thus allowing you to save energy for when you’ll need it. And you will need it today. Mont Ventoux may very well be the biggest challenge yet, very rarely do all the yellow jersey contenders finish together on this climb, so it promises to be a big shake up in the general classification, come four-five hours. It’s a nice day for Bastille Day, warm and sunny but with enough wind to be cooling, but not enough to be distracting or difficult. Those days without any wind at all have been the hardest, especially in the mountains, as it feels like being cooked in a furnace. It’s Mont Ventoux, so that won’t be a problem today. Quite the opposite, in fact. [[But to get there, you’ll need to keep your focus, and keep yourself hydrated and fuelled.|Chapter 10.4]]

“I want to win this Tour as much as any of you,” says $DS, “and I will do whatever it takes to get there. That includes ordering you to the front if I think that’s what’s going to be the best chance we have at the yellow jersey.” You say nothing. “Are we clear?” [[Crystal.|Chapter 10.3]] [[“I’ll do what it takes to help the team get in yellow at Paris. Anyway I can.”|Chapter 10.2.4]]

“And we appreciate that, $Name, but if I tell you to go to the front and help our two leaders, I need expect that order to be obeyed. Are we clear?” says $DS. [[Crystal.|Chapter 10.3]]

During the two small, consecutive climbs, $Team manages to thin the peloton even more than expected, but you also shed your own teammates at a rapid pace. After the climbs, besides the three great climbers, only $TeamMate2 is left to lead the peloton to the foot of Mont Ventoux. No other team seems to be interested to take over the pace work, probably because they want you to waste all your teammates. Fortunately, $TeamMate2 seems to be in good form, and leads the peloton up at a good pace during the first two kilometres of the forested climb. You are on his wheel, with $LeaderLastName right behind you, and $Rival2 on his wheel. [[$CoCaptain is further back, but still seems to be in good form. The peloton is just around thirty riders.|Chapter 10.5]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/UeMuMZr.jpg" width="500" height="500">

After just a few kilometres, $Rival4 attacks, and is followed by $Rival5. Both of them are in, or in the case of $Rival5, near, the top 10. They’re not as big a threat as $Rival2, but it’s big enough to not be allowed to be ignored. But none of your teammates are left, $TeamMate2 drizzled out and pulled off to the side of the road, completely exhausted. No other team seems to want to take responsibility, and you are near the front. $CoCaptain rides up to your side. [[Fuck, not this again.|Chapter 10.6]]

“Attack.” “What?” you say. “Go for it, now!” Without waiting a moment more, you relish this opportunity and stand up out of your saddle as you take of in pursuit of $Rival4 and $Rival5. You thought you would have to be the teammate and chase them down, wasting all your energy on a hopeless affair, just to help $LeaderLastName and $CoCaptain, but looking behind you, you can see that you’ve already got a solid gap. This does put pressure on the other teams, so even though you’ve been given a chance for your own glory, you’re still helping the team. [[But you’ll show them.|Chapter 10.7]]

Up ahead, the two riders got a bigger gap than you suspected after their attack, and you’ve barely gained any ground since your attack. You’re in no-mans-land between the two groups, and when you pass the eleven kilometre sign, $DS speaks up for the first time, telling you that you’re twenty seconds behind. [[You have to resist the urge to chase them down immediately, it’s a long way to go and you need to start pacing yourself, like a time trial.|Chapter 10.8]]

At the side of the road, you see the Devil running next to you. Didi Senft himself, come to cheer you on. Well, not you personally, but you can always dream. The Devil was one of your first memories of the Tour, running next to Marco Pantani during the 1998 Tour. He looks considerably older, and he’s not quite as full of energy now, but he still runs next to you for a solid twenty seconds before peeling off. [[It’s the first time you’ve seen him in person, and you almost get distracted and run head first into a clueless fan.|Chapter 10.9]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/FvLnk2v.jpg">

It takes nearly three kilometres before you gain those twenty seconds and catch them. They don’t spare you a glance as you ride onto their wheels, their eyes focused on the road ahead. You take a moment to gather your breath before you join in with taking turns at the front. You have a 45 second gap down to the peloton, that’s being led by $Rival2s team. Another three kilometres pass in relative quiet, the situation remaining the same, when $Rival5 attacks from the back of the trio. You sensed that something like this was on the verge of happening, so you’re ready for him and manage to get on his wheel quickly. It’s a vicious attack, and behind you $Rival4 can’t follow. When $Rival5 finally sits up, you have a decision to make. Your legs feel like they’re on fire, but surely $Rival5 feels worse? [[Counter attack now.|Chapter 10.9.1]] [[Wait another KM.|Chapter 10.9.2]]

Looking behind you, $Rival4 is done, he’s far back and will soon be caught by the peloton that is trying to claw their way back to you. In the race radio you hear that it’s only 14 riders strong at the moment. Deciding that the moment to strike has come, you launch yourself to the other side to the road in an attempt to throw $Rival5 off your wheel. [[It doesn’t succeed immediately, he’s there, but you can hear his troubled breathing, and decide to push for just another ten seconds, hoping that will be enough to crack him.|Chapter 10.10]]

$Rival5 waves his elbow, wanting you to pass him, but since he attacked, he can damn well lead while you catch your breath, especially considering the wind. One of the rare times that you benefit from riding on the wheel of someone during a mountain stage, but that’s Mont Ventoux. After a while, you pass him but you go a bit slower than you otherwise would, saving energy for an attack. Looking behind you, $Rival4 is done, he’s far back and will soon be caught by the peloton that is trying to claw their way back to you. In the race radio you hear that it’s only 14 riders strong at the moment. You wait nearly a kilometre before deciding that the moment to strike has come. You launch yourself to the other side to the road in an attempt to throw $Rival5 off your wheel. [[It doesn’t succeed immediately, he’s there, but you can hear his troubled breathing, and decide to push for just another ten seconds, hoping that will be enough to crack him.|Chapter 10.10]]

And it does! Looking over your shoulder you see that he has been forced to sit down in his saddle, all power gone. The gap rapidly becomes ten metres, twenty metres, before you too are forced to sit down. But your paddling is still more forceful than $Rival5, and the gap keeps on increasing. You are alone in front of a mountain stage, up Mont Ventoux no less, in the Tour de France. The only thing standing between you and victory is your legs and your lungs. That, and the chasing peloton behind you. [[All you have to do is maintain the lead for around four kilometres. It won’t be easy, but you think you can do it.|Chapter 10.11]]

The two kilometre banner is in sight when you hear, over the race radio, that $Rival2 has attacked and only $Leader has managed to follow, and that they’re just thirty-five seconds behind the tete de la course. Well shit. Why’d it have to be two of the best climbers in the world (well, of course it would be them, but still!). You try to ignore the chasing duo, who will, no doubt, soon catch $Rival5, but it’s hard to try and focus on nothing but yourself. You start to feel a bit dozy, maybe you should’ve drank more water during the first part of the climb. The sun wasn’t as punishing then, when you were hidden from it beneath the canopy of trees. You take the water bottle from its stand and drink the final, lukewarm drops of water, before throwing the bottle to the side, where some lucky spectator will grab it as a souvenir. Two kilometres. Thirty seconds. You pace yourself so you’ll manage to keep it up all the way to the line, there’s no point in going faster and then collapsing with two hundred metres to go. Still, you try and push yourself a little bit harder even so. Near the one kilometre sign, to your right, you pass the monument of Tom Simpson, who died on this very mountain 49 years ago. Of exhaustion. Now that’s a cheery thought. (if: $Country is "England")[That man is a legend in and of himself, growing up, your dad kept going on and on about him, what with him being, in your fathers eyes, the greatest British cyclists of all time.] [[Just one kilometre to go|Chapter 10.12]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/598WtFx.jpg" width="500" height="500">

Passing under the one kilometre banner, you’ve managed to kept the chasing duo at a manageable distance, so far, but that can be changed if they stop playing cat and mouse with each other. 800 metres in, and you hear that $Rival2 has attacked again, but this time he managed to distance himself from $Leader, and is in hot pursuit. With sweat dripping down your face, you push yourself just a little bit extra. Just 700 metres, but you’re only twenty seconds behind one of the greatest climbers in the world. Five hundred metres. 15 seconds. Now you’re standing on the saddle, pushing it, and yourself, to their limit. It wouldn’t be fair to be caught now, after over a mile on your own. [[Four hundred metres, you’re too exhausted to understand what the radio is saying, words have lost their meaning.|Chapter 10.13]]

Two hundred metres. So far, no one has passed you, if that were the case, you may just collapse where you are right now. One hundred metres. Your legs are on fire, but it’s the lungs that are killing you, you can barely draw a breath, oxygen is a thing of the past, an illusion. You don’t even think about $Rival2 coming up behind you, all you can think of is the finish line right ahead. Just one right hand turn left. Only one word comes through from $DS. [[Faster.|Chapter 10.14]]

You pass the finish line and the guardians there push you away from there, but you try and fight them off. All you want to do is lie down. You almost fall out of the saddle and have to be propped up by them. Suddenly, a friendly face appears. You can’t put a name on it, but he’s wearing a vest that you recognize, at least the colours of it. The words printed on it mean nothing to you. [[Finally, you can collapse by the side of the barricades.|Chapter 10.15]]

It takes nearly five minutes, and an oxygen mask, for you to understand where you are and what has happened. You don’t remember passing the finish line, but your soigneur informs you that you won the stage. Apparently $Leader came in third, and has already congratulated you, but you don’t remember that either. You rode up Mont Ventoux in 57 minutes and 34 seconds. You won the stage. You did it. [[You didn’t realise it before now, but you’re crying.|Chapter 10.16]] [[You raise your arms and scream out in joy.|Chapter 10.16]] [[You stoically accept the congratulations.|Chapter 10.16]]

{(if: $Country is "France")[You did it. You won up Mont Ventoux, on Bastille Day! Standing on the podium, accepting the applause, you imagine the La Marseillaise playing, but this time you’re standing on the podium on Champs-Élysées.]} In cycling, the sign of success is not necessarily standing on a podium, although that is nice too, no, the sign of success is when the doping controllers recognize you. Never before has a dehydrated man piss felt so much like victory. It’s an odd sentiment, sure, and you’re not sure anyone home would believe you when you tell them about that feeling, so maybe it’s better to keep that one to yourself. “You did good kid, I’ll have to keep an eye on you in the future” says $Rival2. You nod your thanks. Not only did you win the stage, but you also took the white jersey of the youth competition! A jersey that may forecast the potential for future success. General Classification 1 $Rival2 55h56m41s 2 $Leader + 0. 57 3 $Rival5 + 1. 13 4 $Rival3 + 1. 51 5 $Name + 1. 57 6 $Rival6 + 2.09 7 $Rival4 + 2. 29 8 $CoCaptain + 2. 48 9 $Rival1 + 3. 07 10 $Rival7 + 3. 40 [[Next Chapter|Chapter 11]]

<center>Chapter XI</center> Stage 13 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/XR8wtwB.png"> You’ve never been overtly fond of time trials, and it’s not only due to the ridiculous helmets your team has designed this year. In fact, you’ve tried to organize your racing schedule around races with time trials - $DS probably didn’t notice, if he had, he surely would’ve made you do them. Still, he seems to be aware that you’re nervous, for he comes up to you and tries to give you a pep talk. It doesn’t really work, but you appreciate the gesture. It’s been raining outside all day. Since you’re 5th on the GC, you’ll be starting near the end. [[A privilege and a curse, more people will be watching when you take off down the ramp, but at the same time you’d have preferred to get this over with.|Chapter 11.1]]

At around four o’clock, you head out of the bus and start warming up. The rain has faded to a drizzle – maybe that will help you, at least against those who started before you. Listening to music you become enveloped in yourself, and by the time it’s your turn on the starting ramp, you’re completely focused. There’s not one of the premier director sportifs in the car behind you, they’ll be following $LeaderLastName and $CoCaptainLastName. Instead, the car is being driven by a guest of the team – Christophe Bassons. A rider most famous, perhaps, for rejecting doping with the Festina team in the late 90’s, and standing up against Lance Armstrong. [[You didn’t have a chance to chat with him before the race, but the little you know about the man, he seems like a good man.|Chapter 11.2]]

The time trial itself is hillier than usual, thus suiting you better. The rain has almost completely stopped, and you get off to a good start. In time trials, it’s all about getting into a rhythm. You were fortunate that the rain has decreased, as you get the report from Mr. Bassons that at the halfway mark, you’ve only lost ten seconds to the current leader – Fabian Cancellera. [[However, behind you, your biggest rivals also benefit from the improved weather conditions.|Chapter 11.3]]

You struggle, losing nearly a minute to Cancellara, who himself gets beaten by Chris Froome for the stage victory. (if: $Team is "Sky")[He seems to be in great form, which bodes well for the rest of the Tour]. Despite your trepidations, you finish in the top 30 and only lose around thirty seconds on him, a far better result than you could’ve possibly imagined. After you’ve calmed down from the stage, you ride up to Christophe Bassons, who is in a conversation with Raymond Poulidor of all people. (if: $Country is "France")[Poulidor asks you if he thinks you can be the first Frenchman who can win the Tour since Hinault in ’85, you simply smile and say that you’ll do your best.] He congratulates you on a stage well ridden, despite the fact that you feel you could’ve done better, before asking about your chances for the rest of the Tour. [[Play down your chances|Chapter 11.3.1]] [[Tell them that you think you can win stages|Chapter 11.3.2]] [[Tell them that you think you can win the Tour|Chapter 11.3.3]]

“Honestly, I’m just happy to be here, it’s a wonderful honour to be a part of the Tour.” [[“Yes it is,” says Poulidor. “Make sure that you enjoy every second of it, there’s nothing quite like it, I tell you.”|Chapter 12]]

Yes, I think so too,” says Poulidor, and tells you that [[it’s more important to make a good impression on the people rather than riding defensively.|Chapter 12]]

“Really? That’s a big ask.” “I really think so, I’m in great form and in a good position to give it my best chance.” “Yes, you might be right,” he says “even though it doesn’t feel like it right now, you never know how many chances you get. Laurent Fignon, perhaps one of the most naturally gifted cyclist I’ve ever seen, only won twice. [[Bad luck, injuries and meeting generational talent can put a stop to your chances – so you might as well take them where you can get them.”|Chapter 12]]

<center>Chapter XII</center> Stage 14 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/ryANwEg.png"> The day after the time trial consisted of a flat run in to Villars-Les-Dombes Parc des Oiseaux, followed by Alps, making this the last chance before Paris for the sprinters, or, if they’re tired and no team wants to take the responsibility to pace the peloton, the breakaway may very well get a chance at victory before the focus gets back on the climbers and [[general classification riders|Chapter 12.1]].

The only team that was interested in a sprint finish was Etixx-Quick-Step and Dimension Data, with their respective elite sprinters, but their effort was half-hearted at best, so the breakaway got their chance to dash to the line first. In the end, the stage was won by the Frenchman Kevin Reza, followed by Ramunas Navardauskas and $Rival1. The peloton rolled in some seven minutes later, with the few sprinters interested in fighting for points for the sprinter competition challenging each other, and, unsurprisingly, Peter Sagan came first and extended his lead on the green jersey competition, despite not having won a single stage yet. {(if: $Team is "Tinkoff")[Oleg Tinkoff came up to you after the stage. You’ve only personally interacted with him a few times before the Tour, though you know of his reputation as having a close relationship with several cyclists, at least in front of the TV cameras. So when he comes up to you, you’re unsure of what to expect. “Hello $Name. I’m glad I ran into you, there’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.” “Ok Oleg, what is it?” “Well I’ve been watching the race, and I think you’re doing really good, but I need you to be more aggressive in your racing. Do something that stands out.” “Okay?” “See, cycling isn’t just about winning, although that is fucking important too. It’s about winning over the audience, getting fans. Just look at Peter Sagan, he does all this fancy stuff and people love it, and they talk about it. Which is good.” “Sure, Oleg, I’ll try.” “Excellent.” And with that he just walks away. Weird man. You wonder if he’ll colour his hair yellow if you or $LeaderLastName wins the tour.]} You remain in the peloton all day, resting and preparing for the upcoming days challenges. You make sure you get a good night’s rest, [[and wake up feeling great|Chapter 13]].

<center>Chapter XIII</center> Later that night, you and a few teammates and staff decide to head into town for dinner, and for some, a beer. (if: $Country is "France")[You grew up here and as you’re leading them to your favourite restaurant you’re giving the rest of the guys a bit of a tour of the town.] [[France in July produce some of the best evenings you can imagine, especially, as has been the case this year, when the weather has been warm and the rain has stayed away.|Chapter 13.1]]

In the restaurant, everyone is having a lovely time and you can feel yourself relaxing in a way that even the massage after the stages can’t. Looking around here, it feels perfect, you even risk taking a small glass of wine and soon you’re the centre of attention. $TeamMate2 is the one you’re challenging for the spot, and soon the two of you start to arm-wrestle. Suddenly, two men and a women walk up to your table. You’re afraid that they’re going to ask you to leave, since you have become quite rowdy. But instead, they simply came to tell you and the rest of the team good luck, and to ask for autographs. [[Are you helpful and kind to them?|Chapter 13.1.1]] [[Do you tell them to leave you alone, this is a private gathering?|Chapter 13.1.2]]

(set: $KindFan to “True”) They seem like great folks, and you all take pictures with them, and sign autographs. They’re really kind and wish you all luck for the coming stages. The rest of the night is passed in high spirits and you feel that this is precisely what you needed. That night, you fall asleep with a full belly, and a cloudy head. [[Fortunately, tomorrow is a rest day, but you’re glad that $DS didn’t join. Hopefully no one else who was there decides to tell on you.|KindFan]]

(set: $KindFan to “False”) They seem a bit shocked at first, and a few of those around you chuckle, but they eventually move away. The rest of the night is passed in high spirits and you feel that this is precisely what you needed. That night, you fall asleep with a full belly, and a cloudy head. Fortunately, tomorrow is a rest day, but you’re glad that $DS didn’t join. [[Hopefully no one else who was there decides to tell on you.|MeanFan]]

The rest day is just day – a day of rest. It’s a day full of relaxation, massages, good food and little to no thoughts about cycling. Still, all of you are forced to ride for a bit, at an easy pace, just to keep the muscles moving and making it easier for tomorrow. [[Otherwise, the day is spent playing FIFA with your teammates, with you winning, of course.|Chapter 14]]

<center>Chapter XIV</center> Stage 15. <img src="http://i.imgur.com/rvZZ0t0.png"> Up and down all day, and even though it’s just 160 kilometres from start to finish, the stage consists of seven climbs, including two category ones, and one HC category up Grand Colombier. The first of several stages in the Alps, today will be a test of who has the legs in the third week. Fortunately, you feel refreshed. $Rival2Team pushes early, already on the first climb of the day the pace is higher than expected. Obviously, they want to do something today already, instead of waiting. Your team is a bit unorganized, struggling to find each other during the first part of the stage. This causes some unnecessary panic and waste of energy, and even though you try to stay calm, it can be a bit hard when you have eight other people (nine, including $DS), screaming into the radio. That’s the thing with panic, it’s infectious. [[You try and calm everyone down, but it’s easier said than done when you’re riding downhill at 90 km/h.|Chapter 14.1]]

At dinner that night, some of your teammates seem to be watching something on their phones, as a group is crowded around $TeamSprinter. They seem to be looking up at you every now and then, but when they see that you’re looking at them, they avert their eyes. Strange. Afterwards $DS comes to talk to you. He’s also holding his phone out, and he gives it to you. There’s a video already loaded, and you press play. It’s from last night. You watch yourself, in a happy mood, tell some people to piss off. It does not look good, even though you don’t remember being that mean. You watch all of the video, passing it back to $DS without a word. “Apparently it’s gone quite viral,” he says. “Look, I know it doesn’t look good but –“ “Damn right it doesn’t look good.” “It’s not what it looks like.” “It looks like you’re telling them to fuck off.” “We were just out having dinner, it wasn’t a public event, we just wanted to be alone.” “You’re a public figure, you all are. That comes with certain responsibilities, and risks.” “Look, I really didn’t –“ you start to say, but are interrupted again. “I don’t want to hear it. You’ll hear enough of it tomorrow and in the coming stages. It happened. Make sure it doesn’t happen again.” And with that, he walks away. Heading to your room, you pass your teammates, but this time they’re not laughing. Instead they pat you on your back, telling you it’ll blow over soon enough. [[You’re thankful for their support.|Chapter 14]]

$Rival2Team must have smelt blood in the water, because they keep up the high pace for all of the first mountains, and even though $Team has settled around $Leader near the front, there’s a feeling of shock around you. You were not prepared for this, and you can see it on the faces of your teammates. Even $Veteran seems out of shape and stays silent. Even though you all know that the attacks will start on the real climb of the day, the HC Grand Colombier, it’s one thing to know it and another to respond to it. Even though you still feel relatively fresh, your teammates suffered from the hard pace of the first 100 kilometres, and too many of them fall by the wayside immediately up the climb. Perhaps it’s fortunate that $Rival2LastName himself didn’t attack, instead being content to let his team shed as many as possible in the peloton. Only $CoCaptain, $LeaderLastName and $TeamMate1 can keep up with you, sitting there on the wheel of $Rival2. [[After one kilometre, $TeamMate1 also has to drop out of the peloton, the pace is killing.|Chapter 14.2]]

About two kilometres into the climb, you hear a rapid panting behind you, and looking over your shoulder, you see that $Leader has lost a metre and no longer sits on your wheel. As you look at his strained face, the distance keeps going. You don’t even have to open your radio to call out to him, but he doesn’t respond. $CoCaptain is by his side, and talks frantically into the radio. Others have noticed and pass him, and in front of you, $Rival2Team ups the pace even more. It’s not enough to shake you, and even though you feel the pain, you feel that you can hold on for quite a while. Finally $DS comes to the radio and tells you what to do. “You decide, $Name.” “What?” “$LeaderLastName is struggling, $CoCaptain is with him, but it’s still some ways away to the finish line,” and to Paris, you think. “If you feel good and you’re okay to follow the peloton, do it. Or if you want to help $Leader, it’ll probably limit his losses today. But make your decision now.” [[“I’ll help my leader.”|Help Leader 14]] [[“I’m the leader now.”|Leave Leader 14]]

You swerve out to the left side of the road and gently tap your brakes, letting the peloton pass you, your head over your shoulder looking for $LeaderLastName. He’s only about ten metres behind the last of the peloton, with $CoCaptain in front of him. You position yourself in front of them and look down at your metre to measure the watts that you’re currently on, and to not go higher. Behind you, you hear a laboured thank you, from both of them. A smile escapes your lips; this is what cycling is. [[Hard work, but it’s always been about people.|Chapter 14.5]]

Deciding that you can’t put all your eggs in the same basket, you look ahead, at the back of $Rival2. You’ve been given free reigns now, and you figure that you’re not going to disappoint them, so from now, it’s just about ignoring what’s going on behind you. You were almost expecting an attacking to come immediately, but considering that there’s a category one climb after the HC climb, $Rival2Team seem content to let the domestiques try and put as much distance between the peloton and $LeaderLastName. [[He comes in one minute after you at the top of the climb, so it’s probably for the best that you went by yourself.|Chapter 14.4]]

You manage to limit your loss on the Colombier to just under a minute, but there still remains another category one climb. There, you lose another minute, but $Leader has managed to regain some energy (maybe he forgot to eat, or drink, in all the stress of the first half of the stage), and you can increase the pace the final five kilometres of the climb, which is too high for $CoCaptain, who has to drop back. On the way to the finish line, $Leader helps on the flat parts, and you come in just two minutes and thirteen seconds behind the group of $Rival2, who takes over the leader’s jersey. Right after the finish line, $Leader straight up hugs you, in front of all the cameras. He’s exhausted, and it’s almost as if you have to support him to keep him upright. He thanks you for your help, and reinforces the feeling within you that you did the right thing, and that this is what cycling is truly about. You’re sure there will be a lot of discussions of what-ifs and if-only, but you feel proud over the decision that you’ve made. General Classification 1 $Rival2 61h34m38s 2 $Rival3 + 0. 50 3 $Rival4 + 1. 19 4 $Rival5 + 1. 44 5 $Rival7 + 1. 58 6 $Rival6 + 2. 17 7 $Leader + 2.30 8 $Rival4 + 2.35 ---------------------------------- 11 $Name + 3. 12 16 $CoCaptain + 5. 46 [[Next Chapter|Chapter 15]]

<center>Chapter XV</center> Stage 16 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/Uy4oHLW.png"> Today’s stage is easier compared to yesterdays, so try and save as much energy as possible. The team seems to be split between supporting you and supporting $Leader. The leadership role is unsure, was yesterday just a fluke or is $LeaderLastName really struggling? The team has gotten orders to rest as much as possible today, letting either a breakaway go or let other teams take responsibility. [[Although, all the team has been reminded to eat and drink, and especially $TeamMate3 and $TeamMate4 has gotten strict orders to keep everyone hydrated by going back to the car more often.|Chapter 15.1]]

It takes halfway up the category one climb before the first attacks come, but it’s not any decisive attack. Probably because the pace has been so high, everyone is exhausted. However, it helps to weed out some of the contenders. $Rival2LastName put in the largest attack, with only you, $Rival4 and $Rival7 managed to follow. [[At the top, the four of you have a twenty second gap to the rest of the contenders, minus your two elite teammates, who are a further two minutes back.|Chapter 14.4.1]]

Coming into the final kilometre, there’s a bit of a cat and mouse game going on, with everyone wanting the stage win. But considering all the hard work that $Rival2Team has put in, $Rival2 feels obliged to not throw it all away, and takes responsibility by riding first during the flat parts, almost as if he’s leading out the three of you. You are in third position, right behind $Rival7, who’s not exactly the most explosive rider. $Rival4 on the other hand. You keep looking over your shoulder at him, that you miss the fact that $Rival7 jumps early and tries for a long sprint. [[It’s almost five hundred meters to the line, but since you were distracted you don’t get into his wheel, and $Rival2LastName is tired from leading the charge, so $Rival7 gets a gap quickly.|Chapter 14.4.2]]

You don’t want to chase him and waste all energy, basically giving the stage to $Rival4, as you yourself would be exposed in the wind five hundred metres from the line. Instead, you try and keep a decent pace but hoping that $Rival4 would be the one to jump first. Which he does, but it’s only with two hundred and fifty meters to go, when $Rival7 has already gotten a fifty-meter gap. You jump on the wheel of $Rival4, and manage to pass him before the line, but it’s only a sprint for the second place. Still, you gained time on most of your rivals, and you’re up to fifth place in the GC. $Rival2LastName finishes about three seconds behind you, but it’s still enough to take the yellow jersey. $LeaderLastName and $CoCaptainLastName come in nearly two and half minutes behind you, having dropped down into seventh and sixteenth position, respectively. That night you’re watching TV, where Greg Lemond and Juan Antonio Flecha discuss the stage. When they show pictures of $Leader dropping from the peloton, they turn to the issue of you leaving him. Lemond seems to think that you should’ve stayed with him, but Flecha rightly points out that if, as you showed, you were in good form it would’ve been wasteful for you to drop back as well, especially considering that $CoCaptain was there to aid $LeaderLastName. Maybe because of his past experience with the duty of helpers and leaders, Lemond is a bit more hesitant to support your actions, even if he admits that they make tactical sense – it could still hurt the morale of the team. General Classification 1 $Rival2 66h34m38s 2 $Rival3 + 0. 50 3 $Rival4 + 1. 19 4 $Rival5 + 1.43 5 $Name + 1. 44 6 $Rival7 + 1. 58 7 $Rival6 + 2. 17 8 $Leader + 2.30 9 $Rival4 + 2.35 ---------------------------------- 16 $CoCaptain + 5. 46 [[Next Chapter|Chapter 15]]

There’s a small but steep climb near the end. The breakaway never got more than five minutes on the peloton, and were caught ten kilometres in front on the hill. You know that you’re supposed to lay of the gas for today, but when it’s just a few hundred metres to go on the climb, you feel an urge to attack. You can’t help it, it’s in your blood. [[Do you decide to stay in the peloton?|Chapter 15.2.1]]? [[Do you decide to attack right away?|Chapter 15.2.2]]?

Deciding to wait for a better opportunity tomorrow, you stay in your lane and settle yourself to mark your rivals. $Rival2Team simply marks any attacks. At the top of the hill, the peloton is back together, although the few sprinters who are left in the race seem tired from all the racing of the past 15 stages, so they’ve dropped back. [[The strong wind probably didn’t help.|Chapter 15.3]]

Standing up, you look around you to scan your opponents, and to see how well they feel. $Rival4 notices you looking at him, and gives a slight smile and raises his eyebrows, almost in a challenge. You smile back, raise yourself from the saddle and off you go. You decide to go all out, leaving nothing for second attempts. All in, or nothing. Looking behind you, you notice that the $Rival2Team are in front doing the pacing, and he’s standing up on his pedals and is grimacing badly. The gap is just some ten-twenty meters, and you don’t seem to be able to extend it further, despite your best efforts. You’re able to keep the gap the same for some five hundred meters, but you feel yourself tiring, and the gap down to the small peloton seems to shrink, before you’re caught. At the top of the hill, the peloton is back together, although the few sprinters who are left in the race seem tired from all the racing of the past 15 stages, so they’ve dropped back. [[The strong wind probably didn’t help.|Chapter 15.3]]

With just eighty riders in the peloton, and heading downhill, it all looks set for a sprint showdown. With just one and a half kilometre to go there are still no sprinters who’s come back, so the stage is wide open. No one seems to want to be the one in front, knowing that that’s the worst place to be in a small sprint like this, especially on the flat. A lot of elbows later, you find yourself in fifth wheel. With seven hundred meters to go, $Rival5 tries a long attack from the back of the group, and no one responds at first, and he gets a gap of about fifty meters before $Rival2 pulls up and launches his attack. It’s early, but he’s strong. This time everyone follows, and when the group catches him, it’s another stand still. Five hundred meters. [[Do you want to launch your attack|Chapter 15.4.1]]? [[Do you want to wait for the sprint|Chapter 15.4.2]]?

This time you feel that it’s your chance, and you stand up out of your saddle and launch your long sprint on the right hand side, close to the barriers and the people leaning over, clapping their hands and the noise is something you can barely register – you’re only focused on the banner above the road some four hundred meters in front of you. Bowing your head and looking below your armpits, you see that this time $Rival6 was the one chasing you down, but you have a ten meter gap. Behind him comes $Rival4, waiting for the perfect timing to launch his sprint. With two hundred meters to go, you’ve extended your lead over $Rival6 an additional five meters, but you feel yourself tiring, and when $Rival4 launches his sprint, the speed difference is noticeable, and he quickly closes the gap and with just a hundred meters to go, he passes you and takes the victory, arms raised in a gesture of celebration. [[$Rival6 also tired, but both $Rival2LastName and $Rival3 manage to pass you and take second and third.|Chapter 16]] (if: (history:) contains "Leave Leader 14")[General Classification 1 $Rival2 201h34m38s 2 $Rival3 + 0. 50 3 $Rival4 + 1. 19 4 $Rival5 + 1. 44 5 $Rival7 + 1. 58 6 $Rival6 + 2. 17 7 $Leader + 2.30 8 $Rival4 + 2.35 ---------------------------------- 11 $Name + 3. 12 16 $CoCaptain + 5. 46] (elseif: (history:) contains "Help Leader 14")[General Classification 1 $Rival2 201h34m38s 2 $Rival3 + 0. 50 3 $Rival4 + 1. 19 4 $Rival5 + 1.43 5 $Name + 1. 44 6 $Rival7 + 1. 58 7 $Rival6 + 2. 17 8 $Leader + 2.30 9 $Rival4 + 2.35 ---------------------------------- 16 $CoCaptain + 5. 46]

Deciding that a sprint is your best shot at victory, you try to save as much energy as possible while being in as great a position as possible for the final lunge towards the line. The rest of the group is still looking at each other, and with three hundred meters to go, the line disintegrates, as neither $Rival5 nor $Rival2 wants to be in front, so they both swerve and break, causing the rest of the group to falter and spread across the road, creating chaos. You try to keep the wheel of $Rival4, but with two hundred meters to go when everyone launches their sprint, it’s a mess and it’s difficult to find place to pass people, as they’re spread all across the road. Even though you have his wheel, and he seems to be the one going fastest, you can’t do anything to pass as on both sides there are other riders. Following $Rival4 as closely as possible while trying to find any room to pass or advance your bike, the other riders are coming towards the line in a line! First across the line is $Rival4, followed by $Rival2LastName and $Rival3, and you manage to come in forth. [[Weird sprint|Chapter 16]]. (if: (history:) contains "Leave Leader 14")[General Classification 1 $Rival2 201h34m38s 2 $Rival3 + 0. 50 3 $Rival4 + 1. 19 4 $Rival5 + 1. 44 5 $Rival7 + 1. 58 6 $Rival6 + 2. 17 7 $Leader + 2.30 8 $Rival4 + 2.35 ---------------------------------- 11 $Name + 3. 12 16 $CoCaptain + 5. 46] (elseif: (history:) contains "Help Leader 14")[General Classification 1 $Rival2 201h34m38s 2 $Rival3 + 0. 50 3 $Rival4 + 1. 19 4 $Rival5 + 1.43 5 $Name + 1. 44 6 $Rival7 + 1. 58 7 $Rival6 + 2. 17 8 $Leader + 2.30 9 $Rival4 + 2.35 ---------------------------------- 16 $CoCaptain + 5. 46]

<center>Chapter XVI</center> Stage 17 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/cjlVIIl.png"> Starting the stage towards the gruelling mountains of today, the start of the stage was cool and easy going in the peloton, with a twenty-five-man breakaway getting clear and gaining over ten minutes. Nothing happened until the second of the category third climbs, where both $Rival4 and $Rival5 attacks, together with a few teammates, and the advantage of having teammates in the breakaway that can help them during the flat part towards the two final mountains. This preordained attack came as a bit of a shock to you all, as they’re both still in contention. $Team and $Rival2Team are both looking at the other one to take the responsibility of reeling them back, and the team of $Rival3 are only doing a half-hearted attempt. This enables the two dangerous riders over a minute on the peloton before $CoCaptain comes up to you. “Look, my position is already fucked, do you want me to chase them down? Or do you want me to go after them, try and be there for the both of you in the end?” [[Tell him to chase|Chase Chapter 16]] [[Tell him to go after them|Breakaway Chapter 16]]

After a brief disorganisation, $CoCaptain takes responsibility together with your teammates and begin to claw back time. The breakaway doesn’t have a chance to make it, $Rival2Team helps hold the breakaway under five minutes, and they are caught ten kilometres before the foot of the climb, making the last run in a very nervous, and stressful fight for positions. You manage to get on the wheel of $Rival2. $Leader seems to be struggling again today, but you feel like you’re doing great. It continued like this for a couple of kilometres during the climb, the pace too high for any of the favourites to try and break away, they would be caught by the teammates of $Rival2 and the only thing that would’ve resulted in was wasted energy. $Rival3 has managed to get between you and $Rival2LastName, but you’re still in good position as the peloton is shrinking more and more. [[Although attacks may seem hopeless, it doesn’t stop a few hopefuls from trying, in particular the climbers who are too far behind to be a major threat to the GC riders, who’s only chance of victory today is to break away and hope that they get a large enough gap to prohibit the big threats to catch them.|Chapter 16.2.1]]

Nodding, he indicates to $TeamMate2 to follow him and off they go. This takes the pressure of $Team, leaving $Rival2Team to waste their riders. They don’t seem to be going at it very hard during the flat part, the unfortunate result of having a team made up of climbers, and without the help of other teams, the dangerous group of $Rival4, $Rival5 and $CoCaptain get over five minutes before the foot of the penultimate category one climb. At the climb itself, $Rival2Team put a hard tempo up the climb. $Leader seems to be struggling again today, but you feel like you’re doing great. It continued like this for a couple of kilometres during the climb, the pace too high for any of the favourites to try and break away, they would be caught by the teammates of $Rival2LastName and the only thing that would’ve resulted in was wasted energy. $Rival3 has managed to get between you and $Rival2, but you’re still in good position as the peloton is shrinking more and more. [[Although attacks may seem hopeless, it doesn’t stop a few hopefuls from trying, in particular the climbers who are too far behind to be a major threat to the GC riders, who’s only chance of victory today is to break away and hope that they get a large enough gap to prohibit the big threats to catch them.|Chapter 16.1.1]]

You just had to hope to be able to hang on this time, as your legs feel much better than they did earlier in the Tour, and you start to feel confident again. But before you can start to really get into a position to respond to attacks your back wheel gets nudged by the rider behind you, and you almost crash. Annoyed, you look behind you, seeing that the rider behind actually crashed. It was $Rival6. This has caused a big gap in the peloton, as the riders behind $Rival6 weren’t prepared, and are just now starting to pass him and head towards you, but the damage has already been done. Ahead of you, $Rival2 has noticed what’s happened and immediately attacked. If you want to have a chance to win, you’ll have to follow, as there are no domestiques left that could chase him down. [[$Rival3 and $Leader were the only ones who were ahead of you.|Chapter 16.3.1]]

Up ahead, the four breakaways have gotten a twenty-nine second gap, but, as we saw up Andorra, once the stars really started moving, it could be gobbled up quickly. You just had to hope to be able to hang on this time, as your legs feel much better than they did earlier in the Tour, and you start to feel confident again. But before you can start to really get into a position to respond to attacks your back wheel gets nudged by the rider behind you, and you almost crash. Annoyed, you look behind you, seeing that the rider behind actually crashed. It was $Rival6. This has caused a big gap in the peloton, as the riders behind $Rival6 weren’t prepared, and are just now starting to pass him and head towards you, but the damage has already been done. Ahead of you, $Rival2 has noticed what’s happened and immediately attacked. If you want to have a chance to win, you’ll have to follow, as there are no domestiques left that could chase him down. [[$Rival3 and $Leader were the only ones who were ahead of you.|Chapter 16.3]]

When you come under the eight kilometre sign, it’s still $Rival2 holding a high tempo in with you at the back. You’ve already almost caught the four breakaways from earlier, only $Rival1 has managed to gap the rest, and is a bit further up the road to the top. {(if: $KindFan is "False")[Suddenly a fan runs out in front of you on the road and you have to swerve to avoid them. They’re holding some sort of bottle that they throw at you, and you feel yourself getting soaked. It doesn’t smell nice. In fact, it smells like piss. Fuck. This. Shit.]} The tempo of $Rival2LastName is high enough that it’s all you can do to hang on, and any thought of attack is lost as you’re trying to survive the climb. You pass the breakaways, their attempts at the stage doomed once $Rival2 started riding for real. Immediately as you’ve caught the others, you see that $Rival3 stands up on his pedals and accelerates to the left hand side of the road, the one most exposed to the wind, with the cliff side down behind the barriers. You manage to follow his wheel, but $Rival2LastName wasn’t prepared for it, he was lost in keeping his own tempo high enough that those behind couldn’t catch them. This means the two of you get about thirty meters before $Rival2, with a snarl, starts to increase his pace. $Rival3 looks behind him and sees this, and starts to slack down on his tempo, maybe he attacked a bit too hard for his legs. There’s still about twenty meters down to the growling $Rival2LastName. This could be an opportunity to attack, with a seemingly weak $Rival3 distracted on what’s going on behind, and having already gotten a gap on $Rival2. It would force him to chase you down, maybe wasting energy and possibly overcooking, while you’d be keeping a high tempo that you feel your legs can handle. [[Fuck it, let’s go|Chapter 16.4]]

Rising from your saddle, you swerve to the side of $Rival3 and off you go. Riding on low, easy gears allowing you a high cadence you quickly get away from him, either he’s waiting for $Rival2 or he simply can’t follow. After riding in such a high tempo for about twenty seconds, you lower yourself onto the saddle and change gears, focusing on what needs to happen these coming five kilometres, and you risk another glance back. $Rival2 is still within sights, but $Rival3 has fallen back to $Leader, a long way down the mountain. You probably won’t have to worry about them, but the maillout jaune is a different matter entirely. Briefly, you wonder if you should wait for $Rival2LastName, but you decide that it’d be worth keeping your own high tempo for as long as possible, forcing him to waste as much energy as humanly possible to catch you, making him weaker for the finale. Because you sense that you’ll have to get rid of him again to win. Although $Rival1 is still ahead, it’s just a few seconds, and he’s starting to come back to you. You see the dark coloured jersey of his and use it as a reference point, making the climbing easier mentally, and thus physically as well. In your ear, your DS has been blissfully quiet, [[allowing you to focus on your own, without distraction|Chapter 16.5]].

Even though you have a mobile reference point, you start feeling your legs growing a bit sorer, and, looking back over your shoulder, $Rival2 is still just within reach of you. Hmm, maybe waiting wouldn’t have been such a bad idea after all. Well, it’s not too late. [[Do you want to wait for $Rival2|Tour de France 45.1]]? [[Do you want to continue on your attack, trying to stay away|Tour de France 45.2]]?

Easing up your pace, you start swerving back and forth over the road to indicate that you’re waiting for him, and $Rival2, sensing your weakness, attacks straight away when he catches up to you. Luckily, you could see that attack being telegraphed a long time before, and you’re easily in the correct gear to respond. Noticing that he can’t get rid of you, he starts to slow down, trying to force you to the front, but you have no interest in doing his dirty work. He must be more tired than you though, but he keeps the pace relatively high, so you’re still in distance to see $Rival1, and [[to keep the same distance to the Frenchman|Chapter 16.6]].

Deciding to continue with your attack, you stand up out of your saddle to try and push more power into your legs, and into your pedal strokes. You’re inching closer to $Rival1, but you’re not getting further from $Rival2, he’s still about ten to fifteen seconds behind you, but he looks like he’s suffering as much as you are, [[so there’s that at least|Tour de France 45.2.1]].

Unfortunately, as you’re about to catch $Rival1, $Rival2 has used the last kilometre to closing the gap, and with just over three kilometres left, you pass and distance $Rival1, but the yellow jersey is just five seconds behind now. With a final surge of power, he manages to stick by your wheel. [[Confident that you can still distance some of your rivals, you decide to continue pulling, since $Rival2 doesn’t seem to have any interest in sharing the pace work, though you’ve slowed down a little bit, to save energy.|Chapter 16.6]]

It’s just you and $Rival2, the others will have no chance to challenge for the stage wins. $Rival1 has been passed and distanced, he cracked on the climb and his form doesn’t seem to be at a point where he can challenge the best. And today, the best are $Rival2, and $Name. About halfway between the third and second kilometre banners, $Rival2LastName stands up on his pedals and starts upping the pace. It’s not quite an attack, but it’s enough that [[you have to struggle to keep up|Chapter 16.7]].

He seems to want to crack you with an intensive pace, thinking that you’re not capable of following his top pace, much like what happened up Andorra. There’s still two kilometres to ride, but luckily $Rival2 seems content to keep this pace, and you’ve managed to get into a good rhythm at this pace, so you feel confident that you can at least challenge him at the end, especially if he’s in the lead coming into the final hundred meters. But he doesn’t seem content to just drag you to the line, instead he starts riding in a strange rhythm, trying to shake you off. First, increasing his pace, then slowing down, then increasing again. Too bad that he’s riding against $Name, and not the slower $Rival6. You’re the king of acceleration and tempo switches, and have no issues holding on as you pass under the red kite signalling the final kilometre. Still, your DS hasn’t said anything in the radio all day, allowing you to decide the tactic. And now it’s time to decide how to win this race. [[You can either choose to try a long attack with a kilometre out|Tour de France 50.1]] [[You can decide to wait for the final sprint|Tour de France 50.2]]

When you come under the eight kilometre sign, it’s still $Rival2 holding a high tempo in with you at the back. You’ve already almost caught the four breakaways from earlier, only $Rival1 has managed to gap the rest, and is a bit further up the road to the top. {(if: (history:) contains "Help Leader 14")[$Leader manages to hold on to your wheel, but still seems to be struggling.]} {(if: $KindFan is "False")[Suddenly a fan runs out in front of you on the road and you have to swerve to avoid them. They’re holding some sort of bottle that they throw at you, and you feel yourself getting soaked. It doesn’t smell nice. In fact, it smells like piss. Fuck. This. Shit.]} The tempo of $Rival2LastName is high enough that it’s all you can do to hang on, and any thought of attack is lost as you’re trying to survive the climb. You pass the breakaways, their attempts at the stage doomed once $Rival2 started riding for real. Immediately as you’ve caught the others, you see that $Rival3 stands up on his pedals and accelerates to the left hand side of the road, the one most exposed to the wind, with the cliff side down behind the barriers. You manage to follow his wheel, but $Rival2LastName wasn’t prepared for it, he was lost in keeping his own tempo high enough that those behind couldn’t catch them. This means the two of you get about thirty meters before $Rival2, with a snarl, starts to increase his pace. $Rival3 looks behind him and sees this, and starts to slack down on his tempo, maybe he attacked a bit too hard for his legs. There’s still about twenty meters down to the growling $Rival2LastName. This could be an opportunity to attack, with a seemingly weak $Rival3 distracted on what’s going on behind, and having already gotten a gap on $Rival2. It would force him to chase you down, maybe wasting energy and possibly overcooking, while you’d be keeping a high tempo that you feel your legs can handle. [[Fuck it, let’s go|Tour de France 43]]]

You decide that your best chance for victory consists of a surprise attack instead of waiting for a sprint you’re unsure if you can win. So, with one kilometre to go, $Rival2 seems content to wait for the final couple hundred meters to decide. You can use this to your advantage. He rides towards the right side of the road, as the curve is slightly to the right, and thus lessening the distance you have to travel. You’ll have to chance going the long way around and [[hoping he is too slow in response|Tour de France 50.1.1]].

You decide that your biggest chance at winning the stage is to keep $Rival2 in front of you, and then sprint in the last couple hundred meters, hoping to get past him right before the last, steep, right hand turn coming immediately before the finish line. He keeps shoving his elbow out, but it’s too late, and you sit comfortably on his wheel with 800 meters left. Unless he comes to a standstill, you won’t pass him before the sprint, and give him the initiative in a sprint. $Rival2 does slow down, but not enough to worry you, he’ll still want to gain time on $Rival3 especially, you’ve not heard any time reports from the DS, it would be nice but it’s too late for that now – it’s game time. Although, given his reluctance to slow down too much, they can’t be that far behind. You risk a glance behind you, but, seeing nothing, you quickly go back to [[focusing on $Rival2|Tour de France 50.2.1]].

You stand up on the pedals, and when you notice $Rival2 looking up to the right, towards the finish line, you attack like you’ve never attacked before. You give it your all. You’ve never rid those two hundred meters faster in your life, but when you look back, he’s just a few meters behind you, gritting his teeth with the effort. Damn. You’ll have to continue with this attack though, if he comes back and can sit on your wheel for the sprint, it’ll probably be all over. So, with an extra dose of lactic acid and unbearable pain, you keep standing out of your saddle, paddling away as fast as you possibly can, stealing glances on him every now and then, and seeing if he’ll crack before you. But no such luck, and, with just five hundred meters to go, you have to sit down for the first time since the red kite, $Rival2 gets a huge grin across his face, and he’s back on your wheel with [[four hundred meters to go|Tour de France 50.1.2]].

You feel exhausted, completely wiped out, but you use this opportunity to slow down the pace, to either try and force $Rival2 to the front (surely he must be as tired as you are), or to use that time gained in slowing down to recharge your energy for one final burst of acceleration needed. Three hundred meters. He’s has not taken the bait, he’s still fixed on your wheel with no intent to let go. Now it’s your turn to hug the right side barriers, to prevent $Rival2 from sprinting on your right, because with just fifty meters from the finish line, there’s a sharp right hand turn, and the inside lane there is important. If you’ll surrender that, together with the advantage of starting the sprint from the behind, then you’ll have no chance. With this, however, [[you’ll at least have something|Tour de France 50.1.3]].

Two hundred meters. It’s about time for a normal sprint to start, but your legs still feel the effort from earlier, and $Rival2 seems to also suffer from that, as he hasn’t opened up his sprint yet. One hundred and fifty meters left, you feel like you have to give it your all, and you start accelerating, despite the urgent protesting from your legs and lungs, so your acceleration isn’t all that impressive, but at least it went [[slightly faster than before|Tour de France 50.1.4]].

You’re approaching the turn, and he still hasn’t started his sprint, looking over your shoulder just before the turn, you look him in the eyes, and what you see surprises you. He seems fresh. But no more time to think about that, you’ll have to focus on your own effort if you want to win here. With gritting teeth, you ride up on the inside of the right hand curve, and, with just fifty meters to go, your entire upper body is sagging over the handlebars, and you feel like exploding would be a preferable treatment than sprinting right now. [[With twenty-five meters to go, you risk a glance over your shoulder, and $Rival2 seems content to sit on your wheel, so, looking ahead, you raise your arms in a victory sign.|TDF 51]]

Luckily, he didn’t notice your lapse of concentration, so he couldn’t take advantage of it. With six hundred meters left, he keeps turning around, nodding for you to take the lead, saying “Come on, we don’t have much time, they’ll catch us soon.” [[And all through his torrents of taunts, threats and promises, you ignore him, just making sure you’re ready to follow if he starts accelerating.|TDF 50.2.2]]

Five hundred meters. You stand up on your pedals, but you’ve almost come to a standstill, like a track stand, but you can’t launch your sprint too soon, or it’ll leave time for him to counter. Four hundred meters. Both you and $Rival2 look at each other, waiting for the other one to make the first move, you start accelerating a bit, hoping to lure him to launch his sprint too soon and too far out, and, although he responds to your change of pace, he doesn’t call your bluff. Instead he starts riding towards the right, cutting of your clear sprint line, forcing you to take an outside line when the right hand turn comes. [[Clever girl|Tour de France 50.2.3]].

Three hundred meters. You position yourself on the outside of $Rival2, but he starts swerving to the left side. Damn him and his legal but dirty blocking. Hmm, it’s time to try something new. Breaking a bit, allowing your front wheel to escape his block, you then push your wheel to the right side of him and start launching your sprint. It’s a bit far out, but if you let him control the sprint, he’ll most likely still be able to come first, and on the inside, of the right hand turn with fifty meters to go. You breaking caused him to have to turn his head, and while he started swerving back to the right and push you towards the barriers, you managed to accelerate fast enough to prohibit that, forcing $Rival2 to either push you into the barriers, cause a crash and most likely be disqualified, or to simply start his sprint, but on the outside and with a [[clear disadvantage|Tour de France 50.2.4]].

Your move has enabled you to be a wheel in front of him when it’s just two hundred meters to go, just one hundred and fifty from the critical turn. $Rival2 has gotten up to pace though, and is inching closer. Just one hundred meters to go, and he is up next to you, he’s trying to force you to be as close to the barriers as possible, to distract you. But you’re not scared of crashing, you’re going to give it all to win. So you come to the turn, almost shoulder to shoulder, and now it’s your time to be a bit physical, taking a line through the curved road that forces him to follow you, and thus swerving slightly towards the left hand side of the road, making his distance to the finish line increase by a meter. [[But that meter is all you need, you’re now almost half a bike length in front of $Rival2 as you cross the line, arms pumping in celebration.|TDF 51]]

Crossing the finish line with your arms over your head almost made you wobble your bike so you almost fell down. Although the pain and exhaustion had been part of what motivated you to push a little bit further, it now all came crashing down, and you stopped your bike and crawled off it, throwing it down on the ground as you sat down next to the barriers, surrounded by journalists and cameras. With your head hanging in your hands, you, for the first time in a long time, draw a breath of relief. You’ve done it. You won. Your soigneur helps you to your feet, and, with your arm around him, you raise your fist once more. Your soigneur says something, but the noise of all the journalists asking questions and the cameras going off, together with the noise of the crowd makes it impossible to hear, and you indicate as much, he tells you that you’ve gained a lot of time on your rivals, and [[that you’re in a good position for the GC.|TDF 52]]

{(if: (history:) contains "Tour de France 50.2")[“Impressive sprint $Name,” said one of the journalists before the camera rolled, but still with the Eurosport main camera rolling. You nod your thanks before sitting down on the chair and put on your team cap, running your hands down your face to wipe away any last sweat that the towels missed, and to clear your head, before nodding to the waiting journalist that you’re ready. “First of all, congratulations $Name. How does it feel?” “Well, you know, it feels great, I’ve worked hard and had a great team effort to get me here, and to be able to pull off a win, and it’s just an amazing feeling. The best in the world,” you say, with a smile. “And what a way to finish it eh? One of the best sprints I’ve ever seen,” he says, patting you on your shoulder. “Thank you sir.” “Was it pre-planned that sprint, or did you improvise?” “Well, it was mostly improvised actually, I knew I had the best shot at a victory if I could be on the inside when the turn came, but I didn’t really have a plan for how to get there. It was all instincts.” “The breaking and swerving, outmanoeuvring him?” “I’ve been riding for a long time, these things just come natural. You do what you got to do to win, whatever it takes. Today it took some fancy moves, more like something on the track than up a mountain, but I don’t mind. It was fun.” “How do you see your chances for the Tour?” “Well, I assume you mean on the general classifications, and to be honest, I’ll just ride to the best of my ability and see where that’ll take me.” “Thank you $Name, we saw how well that went today!” You nod your thanks, and rise as the interview is over. [[It’s time for the doping control and then the podium celebrations|Tour de France 56]].]} (elseif: (history:) contains "Tour de France 50.1")[“What do you think about what happened, $Name?” asked one journalist immediately after the stage, you’ve barely had the chance to take a drink of water, and you still feel so exhausted you might pass out. “About what?” “You know, the final sprint, it was a bid weird wasn’t it?” “Well, I mean, I’ve never been the strongest –“ “No, I mean with $Rival2.” Although it was just one journalist asking the questions, someone from a smaller newspaper from the north of Italy, you’re surrounded by other journalists and cameras, from all of the major news outlets. “What about him?” “It looked like he didn’t sprint at all, just sat on your wheel. Odd, isn’t it?” He said, with a smirk. “Are you saying he gave me the win?” you ask, immediately realising you’ve fallen into his trap of saying it yourself first, and the smirk just got wider on that bastard’s face. “I’m not saying it, but it seems like that’s your impression, so… You were the one there, so I’ll guess that’s what happened huh?” You don’t respond immediately, just staring at him long enough to make him uncomfortable with the attention. Luckily (for whom, I wonder), you were asked a question from L’Equipe what my impressions of it all were. Glancing away from the arse, you take a deep breath and try to collect your thoughts. You’ve already made one mistake so far, let’s avoid any further mishaps that may cause headlines. “I’m happy about my first win here, it felt good after a rather horrid first week, the fans are amazing and I appreciate all the love and support that’s been given me by my team, my friend and family, and my fans.” You take a moment to formulate yourself before saying “Regarding the idea that I was handed this win on a silver platter by $Rival2 is actually quite insulting and in bad taste. We’ve ridden for about seven hours today, up one of the hardest climbs in cycling, and $Rival2 and I rode clear of everyone else, in an amazing show of offensive prowess, and to have that tarnished by you guys is dishonest. It’s hell. And I attacked with a kilometre out, gave it my all. I felt like I’d rather die than ride another pedal stroke, but I kept that attack going for almost half a kilometre, of course I couldn’t sprint very well after that, and it would really surprise me if $Rival2 was in any better shape than I was after my attack. But that’s not what you’re going to write tomorrow in your newspapers are there?” Shaking your head, you try and push away from the group of journalists, thankfully, [[the Tour security and your soigneur help usher you to the dope control, and then to the podium ceremony|Tour de France 56]].]

Standing up on that podium, you feel your heart swell at the cheer of the crowd. Standing at the top after such a long time, it’s an amazing feeling. On your way down and toward the bus, you meet $Rival2LastName, on his way to receive yet another yellow jersey. Your eyes meet, but neither say anything as you pass each other. You’ve said enough on the road. You’ve proven to him what you need, but you get the sense that it’s not over yet, and that it’ll be a long time before people will stop talking about today. But whatever they may say about today, if you can’t capitalize on this momentum, they will still see $Rival2 as the champion of today, as he took sufficient time on his rivals. But the Tour is his to lose. And yours to win. {(if: (history:) contains "Leave Leader 14")[General Classifications: 1 $Rival2 69:06:49 2 $Name + 1.49 3 $Rival3 + 1.56 4 $Rival4 + 2.31 5 $Leader + 3.11 6 $Rival5 + 3.50 7 $Rival7 + 4.07 8 $CoCaptain + 4.30 9 $Rival6 + 5.47 [[Next Chapter|Chapter 17 Ending 4]] ]} (elseif: (history:) contains "Help Leader 14")[General Classifications: 1 $Rival2 69:06:49 2 $Rival3 + 0.56 3 $Leader + 1.43 4 $Rival4 + 1.59 5 $Name + 2.11 6 $Rival5 + 3.17 7 $Rival7 + 3.41 8 $CoCaptain + 4.37 [[Next Chapter|Chapter 17 Ending 3]] ]

<center>Chapter XVII</center> (set: $Ending to "One") Stage 18 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/jYKjsA4.png"> As you’re warming up, people come up to talk to you, but not even the DS can get through to you, you’re so focused on the hourly effort that will be required of you to remain in contention to win the Tour de France. When the official comes to usher you towards the starting area, you wrap a damp towel around your head, and you sit there on the chair provided for the next starters with your head in your hands, staring down at the ground. Inside your mind, you’re going through the motions of preparing and visualising the stage that you’ve reconnaissanced before, the bends and turns and where to position yourself on the road at all times. [[$Rival2 sits next to you, but neither of you acknowledge each other, and after he gets up to start, you know you’ve three minutes to go before it’s your turn.|Chapter 17.3.1]]

On the starting ramp, you get assistance to climb on your bike by the officials around you, but you barely spare them a thought, all focus on the effort ahead. One minute to go. The crowds are huge, but you don’t notice them at all, even though the sound of them would make most people want to cover their ears, you don’t indicate that you care. Ten seconds. Everything has seemed like a blur until now, but it all shifts back into focus. Five seconds. The colours get brighter, you can almost feel the slight beard growing on your chin, cursing your body for wasting energy on that. The official standing in front of you counts down and when he drops his hand, [[you’re off.|Chapter 17.1.2]]

As you pass the line, you have no idea how well you’ve done. If $DS told you anything during the stage, regarding checkpoints or the virtual standing, you have no memory of it. You almost fall from your bike when you come to a stop, and before you can lie down, you’re surrounded by journalists and cameras. Almost claustrophobic you try to shake them off, and you can’t hear what they’re saying. [[Next Chapter|Chapter 18 Ending 3]]

<center>Chapter XVIII</center> Stage 19 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/mbPZond.png"> The penultimate mountain stage of this year’s Tour de France consists of a category two climb, two category ones, and a HC climb. It’s a short stage, meaning hard racing from the start. $Leader is two minutes behind $Rival2, and you’re nearly three minutes behind, time that you realise you can’t get on him if you don’t try something extra. Which is exactly what you and your director sportif discussed the evening before. It’s only though something gutsy that you can ever attempt to win the Tour. You may very well lose the Tour here, but you feel like you have to try and win it. A fourth place means nothing, the only thing that matters is coming to Paris in the yellow jersey. After yesterday’s dinner $DS promised to have a plan ready for this morning, and as you sit in your team bus an hour or two before the start, [[you start planning the day.|Tour de France C18E3.1]]

<center>Chapter XVIII</center> Stage 19 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/mbPZond.png"> The penultimate mountain stage of this year’s Tour de France consists of a category two climb, two category ones, and a HC climb. It’s a short stage, meaning hard racing from the start. You’re nearly two minutes behind $Rival2, time that you realise you can’t get on him if you don’t try something extra. Which is exactly what you and your director sportif discussed the evening before. It’s only though something gutsy that you can ever attempt to win the Tour. You may very well lose the Tour here, but you feel like you have to try and win it. A fourth place means nothing, the only thing that matters is coming to Paris in the yellow jersey. After yesterday’s dinner $DS promised to have a plan ready for this morning, and as you sit in your team bus an hour or two before the start, [[you start planning the day.|Tour de France 69]]

$Veteran stands up in front of the bus and claps his hands to get everyone’s attention. When everyone was looking at him he started by saying “Today is the day, we’re going to give it all to give $Name into a premier position to win the Tour. And to do that, I need all of you to give your souls today. If you can’t do that, this won’t work, it all depends on you guys sacrificing yourself. Can you do that for me?” After a murmur of agreement, he continued. “We’ve seen how strong $Rival2 is in the mountains, we won’t get the two minutes we need on him by just doing what we’ve been doing, instead we need to do something extra, something brave. Some might say stupid, but I believe this is [[our only chance at victory.”|Tour de France 70]]

Everyone looked suitably motivated, so $DS takes over and starts to lay out the plan. “An early group attack would enable you to get the support you need while trying to isolate $Rival2. The first category one climb comes after just thirty kilometres. Before that, you’ll try and get two people in the first breakaway, if it’s a large one, over ten people, then maybe even three. Hopefully they will get a sufficient gap of around five minutes at the foot of the climb, because right after the climb starts, $CoCaptain will attack. [[One or two kilometres later, it’s up to $Name to go, and with him will go the two best climbers, $TeamMate1 and $Leader.”|Tour de France 71]]

“You’ll need to go fast though, $Rival2 and the rest won’t let you just waltz away, they’ll start chasing right away, and fast. Hopefully this will completely isolate him early in the stage, and then we can use our superior numbers to crack him. It’s a long shot, but it’s our only chance at getting the yellow jersey. To do this, I need all of you to lay your heart out there on the road, and to go out there and give the performance of your lives. I need you to give $Name the chance he deserves, and if you can manage to do this, he’ll will do the rest. Just do your part, and do it well, and [[we’ll all come out of this ok.”|Tour de France 72]]

The stage started as planned, you managed to get three of your weaker climbing teammates in the breakaway, since it was over fifteen riders in it, and they quickly were let go by the peloton. Most teams that wanted to be in the breakaway managed to be there, although it had some strong names, like $Rival1, who were trying to gather as many mountain points as possible. You hear your DS call in the radio to the trio up front that they’re not supposed to race against them, but to save themselves as much as possible for your sake. At the foot of the climb, $CoCaptain attacked. He was followed by a few other second rate climbers, but he doesn’t need to worry about them. It’s all about you today. After he got a minute gap, $DS tells the three of you that’s left to get ready. Only $TeamSprinter and $TeamMate4 won’t be attacking today. [[The three of you get closer to the front of the $Rival2Team led peloton. After your DS yells “Go, go, go!” you are off to the races.|Tour de France 73]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/qdjPpOc.jpg" width="700" height="500">

A sense of exhilaration fills you as you stand up out of your saddle, with $TeamMate1 and $Leader in front of you. After about two hundred meters of a sprint, you sit down and $TeamMate1 takes the front and pace you. You look behind you and see that your attack has caused panic in the peloton, but no one has responded yet. In the front, the weaker $Rival2Team riders have gotten left behind, and $Rival2 or his director sportif, has sent the strongest riders to the front. Good. As long as they don’t catch you now, they’re panicking and wasting their best riders early. You tell them to up the pace a bit, rather go a bit too quickly now than let them catch you again. It all depends on isolating $Rival2LastName. You’ve got about twenty seconds down on the peloton, and less than fifty seconds up to $CoCaptain, and an additional four and a half minutes up to the trio of teammates in the breakaway. [[The climb still has some seven kilometres to go|Tour de France 74]].

Right about the time you catch $CoCaptain, $TeamMate1 can’t pace you any longer after this heightened pace to keep the peloton behind you, so he falls behind. With five kilometres to the top, you’ve increased your lead to thirty seconds, and your DS reports that $Rival2 only has one teammate left. The rest of the teams have calmed down a little, and realised that the stage still has three mountains left to climb, and over 100 kilometres, [[so that means that it’s mainly one person making the pace.|Tour de France 76]]

Suddenly you hear $DS with a yell of exhilaration, “$Rival2LastName has attacked. He’s coming after you. And he’s all alone.” You have to strain yourself to not let any emotions show in your face, as the cameras would have caught it and the director sportif of $Rival2Team would see it. They’ve fallen into our trap. Now let’s spring it. You told your two teammates to keep the pace high, but still a pace that they can keep for about an hour before cracking. “Okay, $Name, I’ll give it 85%.” Excellent, that’s a pace you should be able to hold for most of the stage, you’d have to slow down a bit because you can’t quite keep it up for four or five hours. But that won’t be necessary, however, to crack $Rival2, you need to keep the pace quite high for a time, and if he cracks, then you can slow down a bit. [[Especially if he cracks with several mountains left.|Tour de France 77]]

$Rival2 catches you about two-three minutes later with just two kilometres from the top. You’re just three minutes behind the breakaway with your three companions, who will be able to provide assistance on the flatter parts. At the top, the gap is just one and a half minutes to the breakaway, but you’ve managed to distance the peloton that’s led by $Rival3 team - they seem content to keep you on a leash, but the leash is getting weaker and you’ve already got two minutes on them, and they’re low on teammates. After you cross the mountain price, the soigneurs are there with newspaper for you to take and to cover your stomach during the downhill – the wind could easily make you cold. Everyone manages to get one, including $Rival2. But he seemed a bit lacking in confidence when was putting it on, not wanting to give you too much space. You file that away for later, knowing that you can use that to make him stressed. [[You tell everyone your observations.|Tour de France 78]]

The downhill went well, and then there’s a ten kilometre run in to the next climb the shorter but steeper Col de la Fourclaz de Queige. Hopefully you won’t catch all of your teammates before the top of that climb, they’re more helpful on the flat parts, and the flat part between that climb and the one after is about forty kilometres, and it’d be excellent to have as many helpers as possible, at the same time isolating $Rival2LastName and not give him an opportunity to recover. The $Rival2Team team did not attempt to get anyone of theirs in the breakaway, instead they’d wanted to control the pace from the peloton. Putting all their eggs in one basket. [[Perfect for cracking them all.|Tour de France 79]]

At the middle of the climb, $CoCaptain says he can’t keep it up any longer, and after giving a final few turns at the front, he leaves the pace making to your last remaining teammate, $Leader. Luckily he’s the best climber, and with the breakaway getting closer and closer, you shouldn’t be in any trouble. But still. You push the thoughts away, you’re going all in anyway, no need to think of half measures. Just go for it. $Rival2 comes up next to you during the climb, looking at you. You glance him out of the corner of your eyes. [[Do you want to stare back|Tour de France 79.1]] [[Do you want to ignore him|Tour de France 79.2]]?

Moving your head in his direction, you meet his eyes and raise your eyebrows. He nods back towards the peloton, and raises one of hands of the handlebars to gesticulate. He seems to want to indicate that the peloton is close by and that you should give up. You have to make a conscious effort not to smile, but you feel like you’re close to breaking him. “Come on $Name, you’ll never win like this. Give up, or you’ll lose your chance at a podium.” [[Yawn before responding to him|Tour de France 79.1.1]]? [[Talk to him|Tour de France 79.1.2]] [[Ignore him|Tour de France 79.1.3]]

Staring straight ahead, you focus on the road. But all the while, you’re conscious of what $Rival2 is doing, he seems to want to talk with you. You have to make a conscious effort not to smile, but you feel like you’re close to breaking him. “Come on $Name, you’ll never win like this. [[Give up, or you’ll lose your chance at a podium.”|Tour de France 80]]

You catch the breakaway right before the top of the climb, and you quickly organise yourself into a mountain train a la $Rival2Team – payback time. The three of the original breakaway members take the front, and you sit behind $LeaderLastName. You tell the one in the front, $TeamMate3, the weakest of the climbers, to give it all during the descent and for the first few kilometres of the flat part, before going out the back. On your wheel, you’ve still got $Rival2. Coming out of the descent you hear $DS in the radio calling that the peloton is disorganised and no real chase is being able to take form, and your advantage was four minutes at the top of the climb. [[The other teams only have climbers left to help chase, and although there are still two tough mountains left, the flat parts between them make the advantage of a lot of teammates priceless|Tour de France 81]].

Theatrically yawning at him, you say “Maybe, but I’m sure going to try.” He shrugs before saying “Thanks for allowing me to gain time on $Rival3 and Co.” “Your welcome. Then what’s the problem?” You get no reply. You catch the breakaway right before the top of the climb, and you quickly organise yourself into a mountain train a la $Rival2Team – payback time. The three of the original breakaway members take the front, and you sit behind $LeaderLastName. You tell the one in the front, $TeamMate3, the weakest of the climbers, to give it all during the descent and for the first few kilometres of the flat part, before going out the back. On your wheel, you’ve still got $Rival2. Coming out of the descent you hear $DS in the radio calling that the peloton is disorganised and no real chase is being able to take form, and your advantage was four minutes at the top of the climb. [[The other teams only have climbers left to help chase, and although there are still two tough mountains left, the flat parts between them make the advantage of a lot of teammates priceless|Tour de France 81]].

“Maybe, but I’m sure going to try.” He shrugs before saying “Thanks for allowing me to gain time on $Rival3 and Co.” “Your welcome. Then what’s the problem?” You get no reply. You catch the breakaway right before the top of the climb, and you quickly organise yourself into a mountain train a la $Rival2Team – payback time. The three of the original breakaway members take the front, and you sit behind $LeaderLastName. You tell the one in the front, $TeamMate3, the weakest of the climbers, to give it all during the descent and for the first few kilometres of the flat part, before going out the back. On your wheel, you’ve still got $Rival2. Coming out of the descent you hear $DS in the radio calling that the peloton is disorganised and no real chase is being able to take form, and your advantage was four minutes at the top of the climb. [[The other teams only have climbers left to help chase, and although there are still two tough mountains left, the flat parts between them make the advantage of a lot of teammates priceless|Tour de France 81]].

Ignoring him completely, you just focus on the road ahead of you, and after a while $Rival2 grunts and moves back. You catch the breakaway right before the top of the climb, and you quickly organise yourself into a mountain train a la $Rival2Team – payback time. The three of the original breakaway members take the front, and you sit behind $LeaderLastName. You tell the one in the front, $TeamMate3, the weakest of the climbers, to give it all during the descent and for the first few kilometres of the flat part, before going out the back. On your wheel, you’ve still got $Rival2. Coming out of the descent you hear $DS in the radio calling that the peloton is disorganised and no real chase is being able to take form, and your advantage was four minutes at the top of the climb. [[The other teams only have climbers left to help chase, and although there are still two tough mountains left, the flat parts between them make the advantage of a lot of teammates priceless|Tour de France 81]].

$Rival2 seems a bit panicky, and he doesn’t sit comfortably on your wheel, but keeps bouncing up and down, looking behind him and talking in the race radio. On the next climb, you realise that he looks a bit pale, and that’s when you realise something – he hasn’t eaten anything, and he’s not drunk much water either. He’s on the verge of bonking! He’s got no one to get him food or water, and if he tries to call up the team car, we’ll just put some extra pressure on, stressing him even more. You say as much to the rest of the team and the DS. On the climb, he tries to get the team car once, but as planned, he gets too stressed by your increased pace he doesn’t do much more than take a sip of water, and put his newly won energy bars in his back pocket. Every time he takes them up, you surge forward an additional offensive, causing him to put it back and put both hands on the handlebars. Eventually he manages to get something into him, but it may be too late, as he seems stressed out, and after an additional kilometre, he starts losing your wheel. You tell the team to keep him on the verge, causing him to lose as much energy as possible all the while keeping him from completely giving up on your group and falling back. Another kilometre of this cat and mouse torture later, he’s lost a few more wheel lengths, and [[he’s done.|Tour de France 82]]

With $Rival2LastName cracking, you have to resist to give the order to give it all. The goal isn’t to get the biggest gap now, it’s to get the biggest gap at the finish line. While you’re pondering this, the DS comes over the radio and screams, almost hysterical “Go, go, go!” [[Do you want to counter this order|Tour de France 83.1]] [[Do you want to stay quiet?|Tour de France 83.5]]

“Wait,” you say, “don’t go too fast too soon. Save your energy for as long as possible, I’ll need you in the end.” “Are you sure $Name?” says your DS. “Yes, this is what we’ll do. Trust me.” You don’t get a response, but they’ve slowed down slowly from their almost frantic pace making, and [[you ask for continues time checks down to the yellow jersey.|Tour de France 84]]

Deciding to say nothing, you simply focus on riding your bike. The pace picks up quite rapidly, and looking over your shoulder, $Rival2 is quickly distanced. [[But you have to grit your teeth to hang on, and your breath becomes laboured.|Tour de France 84]]

At the foot of Montée de Bisanne, the second to last climb, the group consists only of you and $Leader, as $Veteran peeled of right as the gradients went above five percent. You only have $Rival1 on your wheel, the last remnant from the breakaway. You get told by your DS that $Rival2 is already one minute behind, and the peloton is a further five minutes. But there’s still about forty five kilometres left to go, luckily most of those are downhill and the flat part towards Mont Blanc. On the middle of the climb, both $Rival1 and $LeaderLastName start to struggle. You ride up to his side, and he looks completely exhausted, having given his all for you. It’s up to you now. He nods for you to pass. You’re on your own up the climb, and then after a descent and a small, flat run in towards the Mont Blanc, [[your final test has come|Tour de France 85]].

At the foot of the Mont Blanc, you’re on your own. It’s basically a time trial up the climb, and you’re well ahead of everyone behind you, over three minutes ahead of the small peloton at the moment. The stage is yours, but you have to make sure that you gain as much time as possible, all the while not cracking and losing time. The stage may be nice, but it’ll mean nothing if you don’t win the Tour de France, that is the only goal that matters in your mind. You feel much more tired than you’ve ever done before. It is torture, trying to keep yourself on the edge of cracking, but all the while trying to go faster and faster. Your DS keeps telling you the time differences, but it’s slightly distracting. [[Do you want to take out the radio from your ear|Tour de France 87]] [[Do you want to keep it in|Tour de France 87]]?

After a few kilometres, you feel your legs start protesting even more than usual, and you have to sit down, gasping for breath. You start to feel the lactic acid seep into your muscles, knowing that if they manage to get a hold of you, there’s no way you can finish the climb before $Rival2LastName, and it would be a humiliating defeat broadcast all over the world. Despite this, you feel yourself having to stand up again, giving another surge of watts and laying it all out there. You didn’t come here to avoid looking ridiculous – you’re here to win the Tour de France. And you won’t win it by riding scientifically, you’ll win it by riding the way you’ve always done. [[By trusting your instincts.|Tour de France 88]]

And that is precisely what you do, allowing you to change tempo repeatedly, slow, then fast, then sit down for a bit, then surge out of the saddle like you’re attacking again. It may not look like the most rational or effective way of climbing, but the thought barely crosses your mind before realising that this is what you were born to do, and you can only do it your way. With just six kilometres to go, you feel your legs give you a second wind, increasing your efforts as you go through the hairpins, all the while being surrounded by the screaming fans crowding the roads. Once, you try and look down the mountain during a hairpin, but the people in the way block your view of your pursuers. Instead, you look forward, and upward. The hardest part still remains, and you dig into your energy reserve for anything extra that it can give you. You know you need every advantage you can get. [[But you can’t think about that, you have to focus on today, on the now.|Tour de France 89]]

Four kilometres to go. You’re still in front, and you see no one else behind you, so the stage victory should be clear. However, you feel yourself slowing down more and more as the kilometres go. The fans around you give you energy, but is it enough? You come closer towards the top, but the incline is still as steep, it’s been averaging about 8% all the climb, and after all the effort extended today, every pedal stroke feels like a dagger through your legs. Fortunately, you’re closing in on the final kilometre, and after you pass the red kite, you feel like your legs have been given an extra level of energy, [[allowing you to stand up for most of time.|Tour de France 90]]

With three hundred meters, you rise again, pushing your body to its limit and beyond. You know every second will count in the fight for the leader’s jersey against $Rival2. With two hundred meters to go, you know that you’ve won, and you feel it in your gut, that you’ve also won the yellow jersey. Still, you feel an urge to look over your shoulder, it’s like an itch. [[Do you want to do it|Tour de France 91]] [[Do you stare ahead, focusing on yourself|Tour de France 92]]?

[[There’s no one there.|Tour de France 92]]

[[With fifty meters to go, you keep pedalling but it’s time for a victory salute.|Tour de France 93]] (put: (prompt: "What kind of victory salute do you want to do?") into $VictorySalute)

After $VictorySalute you get pushed by your soigneur to an area where you can finally calm down. What a wonderful stage – but it’s drained all of your energy. The thought of getting back on your bike tomorrow makes you almost vomit, but you know you’ll do it. This feeling of victory is the reason you’ll do it. God, cycling is the best. $Rival2 comes in over two and a half minute behind – you lead the Tour de France with 24 seconds. [[You go to the podium to receive your first ever yellow jersey; the feeling is indescribable.|Chapter 19 Ending 4]]

<center>Chapter XIX</center> After yesterday, you wake up feeling sore all over, but especially your legs. But more than that, you wake up feeling a sense of accomplishment, of glory, and of victory. You did it. You showed all the doubters who you really are. A champion. Stretching, you look around the hotel room. Tomorrow it will all be over, one way or the other. You look over to the chair with the yellow jersey hanging over it. Today you will have to defend it. As long as you don’t lose the fifty-nine seconds to $Rival2, you will have won the 2016 Tour de France. It’s unlikely that $Rival2 and the rest will just lie down, lick their wounds and let you parade to victory. You have just one minute on him, $Rival3 in third is well over three minutes behind, and $Rival4 even further back. You’ll most likely only have to contend with $Rival2LastName, but you have to beware long attacks from the other riders. As long as the legs respond. A surge of panic rushes through you at the thought of cramping, live on TV. In the maillot jaune. Live. For the whole world to see. You crunch your fist over the bed covers, and swear that you’d rather die before you let that happen, but for insurance’s sake, [[you call up your soigneur to give you a massage.|Tour de France 96]] General Classifications 1 $Name 84:06:49 2 $Rival2 + 59 3 $Rival3 + 1.56 4 $Rival4 + 2.31 5 $Leader + 3.11 6 $Rival5 + 3.50 7 $Rival7 + 4.07 8 $CoCaptain + 4.30 9 $Rival6 + 5.47

Rising from your saddle, you swerve to the side of $Rival3 and off you go. Riding on low, easy gears allowing you a high cadence you quickly get away from him, either he’s waiting for $Rival2 or he simply can’t follow. After riding in such a high tempo for about twenty seconds, you lower yourself onto the saddle and change gears, focusing on what needs to happen these coming five kilometres, and you risk another glance back. $Rival2 is still within sights, but $Rival3 has fallen back to behind $Leader. Briefly, you wonder if you should wait for $Rival2LastName, but you decide that it’d be worth keeping your own high tempo for as long as possible, forcing him to waste as much energy as humanly possible to catch you, making him weaker for the finale. Because you sense that you’ll have to get rid of him again to win. Although $Rival1 is still ahead, it’s just a few seconds, and he’s starting to come back to you. You see the dark coloured jersey of his and use it as a reference point, making the climbing easier mentally, and thus physically as well. In your ear, your DS has been blissfully quiet, [[allowing you to focus on your own, without distraction|Tour de France 44]].

Even though you have a mobile reference point, you start feeling your legs growing a bit sorer, and, looking back over your shoulder, $Rival2 is still just within reach of you. Hmm, maybe waiting wouldn’t have been such a bad idea after all. Well, it’s not too late. [[Do you want to wait for $Rival2|Tour de France 45.1.1]]? [[Do you want to continue on your attack, trying to stay away|Tour de France 45.2.5]]?

It’s just you and $Rival2, $Rival1 has been passed and distanced, he cracked on the climb and his form doesn’t seem to be at a point where he can challenge the best. And today, the best are $Rival2, and $Name. Up ahead, you hear that $Rival4 attacks a few kilometres out, and $CoCaptain struggles to follow. About halfway between the third and second kilometre banners, $Rival2LastName stands up on his pedals and starts upping the pace. It’s not quite an attack, but it’s enough that [[you have to struggle to keep up|Chapter 16.7.1]].

He seems to want to crack you with an intensive pace, thinking that you’re not capable of following his top pace, much like what happened up Andorra. There’s still two kilometres to ride, but luckily $Rival2 seems content to keep this pace, and you’ve managed to get into a good rhythm at this pace, so you feel confident that you can at least challenge him at the end, especially if he’s in the lead coming into the final hundred meters. But he doesn’t seem content to just drag you to the line, instead he starts riding in a strange rhythm, trying to shake you off. First, increasing his pace, then slowing down, then increasing again. Too bad that he’s riding against $Name, and not the slower $Rival6. You’re the king of acceleration and tempo switches, and have no issues holding on as you pass under the red kite signalling the final kilometre. You manage to hold on all the way to the line, the two of you finishing together. [[After crossing the finish line, you hear that $Rival4 won by over a minute on $CoCaptain, with you being a further four minutes back. This is enough for $Rival4 to take over the yellow jersey!|16.7.2]]

{(if: (history:) contains "Leave Leader 14")[General Classifications 1 $Rival4 69:06:49 2 $Rival2 + 0.56 3 $CoCaptain + 1.43 4 $Name + 1.59 5 $Rival3 + 2.51 6 $Rival5 + 3.11 7 $Leader + 3.41 8 $Rival6 + 4.37 9 $Rival7 + 6.08 [[Next Chapter|Chapter 17 Ending 2]]]} (elseif: (history:) contains "Help Leader 14")[General Classifications 1 $Rival4 69:06:49 2 $Rival2 + 0.56 3 $CoCaptain + 1.43 4 $Leader + 1.59 5 $Rival5 + 2.51 6 $Rival3 + 3.11 7 $Name + 3.41 8 $Rival7 + 4.37 9 $Rival6 + 6.08 [[Next Chapter|Chapter 17 (Ending 1)]]]

<center>Chapter XVII</center> (set: $Ending to "Two") Stage 18 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/jYKjsA4.png"> As you’re warming up, people come up to talk to you, but not even the DS can get through to you, you’re so focused on the hourly effort that will be required of you to remain in contention to win the Tour de France. When the official comes to usher you towards the starting area, you wrap a damp towel around your head, and you sit there on the chair provided for the next starters with your head in your hands, staring down at the ground. Inside your mind, you’re going through the motions of preparing and visualising the stage that you’ve reconnaissanced before, the bends and turns and where to position yourself on the road at all times. [[$Rival2 sits next to you, but neither of you acknowledge each other, and after he gets up to start, you know you’ve three minutes to go before it’s your turn.|Chapter 17.2.1]]

<center>Chapter XVIII</center> Stage 19 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/mbPZond.png"> The penultimate mountain stage of this year’s Tour de France consists of a category two climb, two category ones, and a HC climb. It’s a short stage, meaning hard racing from the start. You are two minutes behind $Rival2, and $Leader nearly four minutes behind, time that you realise you can’t get on him if you don’t try something extra. Which is exactly what you and your director sportif discussed the evening before. It’s only though something gutsy that you can ever attempt to win the Tour. You may very well lose the Tour here, but you feel like you have to try and win it. A fourth place means nothing, the only thing that matters is coming to Paris in the yellow jersey. After yesterday’s dinner $DS promised to have a plan ready for this morning, and as you sit in your team bus an hour or two before the start, [[you start planning the day.|Tour de France C18E3.1]]

<center>Chapter XVII</center> (set: $Ending to "Four") Stage 18 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/jYKjsA4.png"> As you’re warming up, people come up to talk to you, but not even the DS can get through to you, you’re so focused on the hourly effort that will be required of you to remain in contention to win the Tour de France. When the official comes to usher you towards the starting area, you wrap a damp towel around your head, and you sit there on the chair provided for the next starters with your head in your hands, staring down at the ground. Inside your mind, you’re going through the motions of preparing and visualising the stage that you’ve reconnaissanced before, the bends and turns and where to position yourself on the road at all times. [[$Rival2 sits next to you, but neither of you acknowledge each other, and after he gets up to start, you know you’ve three minutes to go before it’s your turn.|Chapter 17.1.3]]

<center>Chapter XVII</center> (set: $Ending to "Three") Stage 18 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/jYKjsA4.png"> As you’re warming up, people come up to talk to you, but not even the DS can get through to you, you’re so focused on the hourly effort that will be required of you to remain in contention to win the Tour de France. When the official comes to usher you towards the starting area, you wrap a damp towel around your head, and you sit there on the chair provided for the next starters with your head in your hands, staring down at the ground. Inside your mind, you’re going through the motions of preparing and visualising the stage that you’ve reconnaissanced before, the bends and turns and where to position yourself on the road at all times. [[$Rival2 sits next to you, but neither of you acknowledge each other, and after he gets up to start, you know you’ve three minutes to go before it’s your turn.|Chapter 17.1.1]]

<center>Chapter XIX</center> After yesterday, you wake up feeling sore all over, but especially your legs. Stretching, you look around the hotel room. Tomorrow it will all be over, one way or the other. Today you will have to do whatever it takes to win the yellow jersey. To win, you'll have to focus on $Rival2, but you have to beware long attacks from the other riders. As long as the legs respond. A surge of panic rushes through you at the thought of cramping, live on TV. For the whole world to see. You crunch your fist over the bed covers, and swear that you’d rather die before you let that happen, but for insurance’s sake, [[you call up your soigneur to give you a massage.|C19E31]]

<center>Chapter XX</center> Stage 20 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/29tUAcW.png"> The final mountain stage of the Tour de France. Today the main challenge will exist in the last climb of the day, with the finish line on top of Col de Joux Plane, near Morzine. Two category one climb comes before this, and one category two climb early in the race to get rid of the sprinters and [[see who among the climbers has the freshest team.|Tour de France 101]]

$Veteran stands up in front of the bus and claps his hands to get everyone’s attention. When everyone was looking at him he started by saying “Today is the day, we’re going to give it all to give $Name and $Leader into a premier position to win the Tour. And to do that, I need all of you to give your souls today. If you can’t do that, this won’t work, it all depends on you guys sacrificing yourself. Can you do that for me?” After a murmur of agreement, he continued. “We’ve seen how strong $Rival2 is in the mountains, we won’t get the two minutes we need on him by just doing what we’ve been doing, instead we need to do something extra, something brave. Some might say stupid, but I believe this is [[our only chance at victory.”|Tour de France C18E3.2]]

Everyone looked suitably motivated, so $DS takes over and starts to lay out the plan. “An early group attack would enable you to get the support you need while trying to isolate $Rival2. The first category one climb comes after just thirty kilometres. Before that, you’ll try and get two people in the first breakaway, if it’s a large one, over ten people, then maybe even three. Hopefully they will get a sufficient gap of around five minutes at the foot of the climb, because right after the climb starts, $CoCaptain will attack. [[One or two kilometres later, it’s up to $Name and $Leader to go, and with them $TeamMate1.”|Tour de France C18E3.3]]

“You’ll need to go fast though, $Rival2 and the rest won’t let you just waltz away, they’ll start chasing right away, and fast. Hopefully this will completely isolate him early in the stage, and then we can use our superior numbers to crack him. It’s a long shot, but it’s our only chance at getting the yellow jersey. To do this, I need all of you to lay your heart out there on the road, and to go out there and give the performance of your lives. I need you to give them the chance he deserves, and if you can manage to do this, they'll will do the rest. Just do your part, and do it well, and [[we’ll all come out of this ok.”|Tour de France C18E3.4]]

The stage started as planned, you managed to get three of your weaker climbing teammates in the breakaway, since it was over fifteen riders in it, and they quickly were let go by the peloton. Most teams that wanted to be in the breakaway managed to be there, although it had some strong names, like $Rival1, who were trying to gather as many mountain points as possible. You hear your DS call in the radio to the trio up front that they’re not supposed to race against them, but to save themselves as much as possible for your sake. At the foot of the climb, $CoCaptain attacked. He was followed by a few other second rate climbers, but he doesn’t need to worry about them. It’s all about you today. After he got a minute gap, $DS tells the three of you that’s left to get ready. Only $TeamSprinter and $TeamMate4 won’t be attacking today. [[The three of you get closer to the front of the $Rival2Team led peloton. After your DS yells “Go, go, go!” you are off to the races.|C18E3.5]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/qdjPpOc.jpg" width="700" height="500">

Behind you, $Rival2Team has gotten the assistance of the teams of $Rival3 and $Rival4, as they’re concerned with protecting their places in the general classification. Damn, you had hoped that they would leave all the work and responsibility to $Rival2Team – after all, they also have an interest in cracking $Rival2LastName. You don’t understand people who would rather protect their second place than try to win. It’s against the nature of sports. You got to do whatever it takes to win. Right about the time you catch $CoCaptain, $TeamMate1 can’t pace you any longer after this heightened pace to keep the peloton behind you, so he falls behind. With five kilometres to the top, you’ve increased your lead to thirty seconds, and your DS reports that $Rival2 only has one teammate left. The rest of the teams have calmed down a little, and realised that the stage still has three mountains left to climb, and over 100 kilometres, [[so that means that it’s mainly one person making the pace.|C18E3.7]]

Suddenly you hear $DS with a yell of exhilaration, “$Rival2LastName has attacked. He’s coming after you. And he’s all alone.” You have to strain yourself to not let any emotions show in your face, as the cameras would have caught it and the director sportif of $Rival2Team would see it. They’ve fallen into our trap. Now let’s spring it. You told $CoCaptainLastName to keep the pace high, but still a pace that they can keep for about an hour before cracking. “Okay, $Name, I’ll give it 85%.” Excellent, that’s a pace you should be able to hold for most of the stage, you’d have to slow down a bit because you can’t quite keep it up for four or five hours. But that won’t be necessary, however, to crack $Rival2, you need to keep the pace quite high for a time, and if he cracks, then you can slow down a bit. [[Especially if he cracks with several mountains left.|C18E3.8]]

At the middle of the climb, $CoCaptain says he can’t keep it up any longer, and after giving a final few turns at the front, he leaves the pace making to you and $Leader, you're both co-operating. Luckily you're good climber, and with the breakaway getting closer and closer, you shouldn’t be in any trouble. But still. You push the thoughts away, you’re going all in anyway, no need to think of half measures. Just go for it. $Rival2 comes up next to you during the climb, looking at you. You glance him out of the corner of your eyes. [[Do you want to stare back|Tour de France 79.3]] [[Do you want to ignore him|Tour de France 79.4]]?

Moving your head in his direction, you meet his eyes and raise your eyebrows. He nods back towards the peloton, and raises one of hands of the handlebars to gesticulate. He seems to want to indicate that the peloton is close by and that you should give up. You have to make a conscious effort not to smile, but you feel like you’re close to breaking him. “Come on $Name, you’ll never win like this. Give up, or you’ll lose your chance at a podium.” [[Yawn before responding to him|Tour de France 79.3.1]]? [[Talk to him|Tour de France 79.3.2]] [[Ignore him|Tour de France 79.3.3]]

At the foot of Montée de Bisanne, the second to last climb, the group consists only of you $Leader and $Rival2, as $Veteran peeled of right as the gradients went above five percent. You only have $Rival1 on your wheel, the last remnant from the breakaway. You get told by your DS that the peloton is a further five minutes. But there’s still about forty five kilometres left to go, luckily most of those are downhill and the flat part towards Mont Blanc. During the entire penultimate climb, you and $Leader take turns attacking $Rival2, without success. He's constantly there, covering all your attacks. [[Unfortunately neither of you can keep it up with all the attacks - you just hope that it's been as draining for him as it's been for the two of you.|C18E313]]

On the middle of the climb, both $Rival1 and $LeaderLastName start to struggle. [[You ride up to his side, and he looks completely exhausted - you're unsure if he can keep it up.|C18E314]]

At the foot of the Mont Blanc, it's just you and $Rival2 as $LeaderLastName drops back immediately. You manage one last attack, and $Rival2 either is as tired as you feel, or decides to ride more tactically, because he leaves you a small gap. Still, he distances $Leader. It’s basically a time trial up the climb, and you’re well ahead of everyone behind you, over three minutes ahead of the small peloton at the moment. The stage is yours, but you have to make sure that you gain as much time as possible, all the while not cracking and losing time. The stage may be nice, but it’ll mean nothing if you don’t win the Tour de France, that is the only goal that matters in your mind. You feel much more tired than you’ve ever done before. It is torture, trying to keep yourself on the edge of cracking, but all the while trying to go faster and faster. Your DS keeps telling you the time differences, but it’s slightly distracting. [[Do you want to take out the radio from your ear|C18E315]] [[Do you want to keep it in|C18E315]]?

With three hundred meters, you rise again, pushing your body to its limit and beyond. You know every second will count in the fight for the leader’s jersey against $Rival2. With two hundred meters to go, you know that you’ve won, and you feel it in your gut, that you’ve also won the yellow jersey. Still, you feel an urge to look over your shoulder, it’s like an itch. [[Do you want to do it|Tour de France 91.1]] [[Do you stare ahead, focusing on yourself|C18E319]]?

[[There’s no one there.|C18E319]]

[[With fifty meters to go, you keep pedalling but it’s time for a victory salute.|Tour de France 93.1]] (put: (prompt: "What kind of victory salute do you want to do?") into $VictorySalute)

{(if: $Ending is "Three")[After $VictorySalute you get pushed by your soigneur to an area where you can finally calm down. What a wonderful stage – but it’s drained all of your energy. The thought of getting back on your bike tomorrow makes you almost vomit, but you know you’ll do it. This feeling of victory is the reason you’ll do it. God, cycling is the best. $Rival2 comes in just thirty seconds behind but it's enough for him to have the yellow jersey. [[$LeaderLastName comes in another minute back, it will be impossible for him to regain all that time during tomorrows stage, the last mountain stage.|Chapter 19 Ending 3]]]} {(elseif: $Ending is "Two")[After $VictorySalute you get pushed by your soigneur to an area where you can finally calm down. What a wonderful stage – but it’s drained all of your energy. The thought of getting back on your bike tomorrow makes you almost vomit, but you know you’ll do it. This feeling of victory is the reason you’ll do it. God, cycling is the best. $Rival2 comes in just thirty seconds behind but it's enough for him to have the yellow jersey. [[$LeaderLastName comes in another minute back, it will be impossible for him to regain all that time during tomorrows stage, the last mountain stage.|Chapter 19 Ending 2]]]} {(elseif: $Ending is "One")[After $VictorySalute you get pushed by your soigneur to an area where you can finally calm down. What a wonderful stage – but it’s drained all of your energy. The thought of getting back on your bike tomorrow makes you almost vomit, but you know you’ll do it. This feeling of victory is the reason you’ll do it. God, cycling is the best. $Rival2 comes in just thirty seconds behind but it's enough for him to have the yellow jersey. [[$LeaderLastName comes in another minute back, it will be impossible for him to regain all that time during tomorrows stage, the last mountain stage.|Chapter 19 Ending 1]]]}

When you get down to the hotel lobby and into the dining room, all conversation stops. It’s mostly random guests, as well as your team, but they all turn and look at you as you enter. Slowly, $Leader stands up from his chair and starts clapping you, soon followed by the rest of your teammates before the entire room is filled by applause and cheering. [[Do you respond?|Tour de France 97]] [[Do you ignore it?|Tour de France 98]]

Wave your hand and thank them, make a small impromptu speech. “Thank you my friends,” you start to say, to more cheering. “It’s been a long journey, I wouldn’t be here without you and I’m glad that you all are. It’s thanks to you that I am here, and even though the papers may praise my name, [[it’s really you that should get the spotlight.”|Tour de France 99]]

Smile and wave before sitting down for breakfast, getting claps on your shoulder. You make sure you get enough to eat, today is not a day of mistakes. You’ll do everything the way it’s supposed to, and you’ll give it your all so if it doesn’t work, you can’t say you didn’t give it your all. [[What happens, happen|Tour de France 99]].

Getting out of the team bus, with the yellow jersey on your shoulder, is a feeling that is unexplainable. The way people look at you, and the way you feel. It’s the most wonderful experience in the world, it beats anything and everything you’ve ever done. Holding your hands in the air as you pass the sign in area, you feel a sense of joy bubbling out of you, but you quickly hold it down. It’s the best day of your life, and you’ve had some great experiences beforehand. Including holding some very pretty ladies. [[There’d be time for that later.|Chapter 20 Ending 4]]

<center>Chapter XXI</center> 1. $Name 78:37:35 2. $Rival2 + 27 3. $Rival3 + 2.56 4. $Rival4 + 4.07 5. $Leader + 4.31 6. $Rival5 + 5.25 7. $Rival7 + 5.56 8. $CoCaptain + 6.39 9. $Rival6 + 8.14 Stage 21 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/uraXwXA.png"> Paris 03.41 The morning of the final stage of the 2016 Tour de France, and you can’t sleep. It’s unusual for you, never before have you struggled to fall asleep before an important race, maybe not since you were an amateur as a kid. You keep trying to get back to bed, but you keep visiting the bathroom to look at yourself in the mirror. “This is your day,” you say out loud. You’ve been given a private hotel room for the final day, and with no roommate you don’t feel any urge to keep down the noise, so you start listening to some music. [[At six thirty you decide to head down to get some breakfast early.|Tour de France 125]]

<center>Chapter XXI</center> 1. $Rival2 78:37:35 2. $Rival3 + 1.12 3. $Name + 1.17 4. $Leader + 1.56 5. $Rival4 + 4.31 6. $Rival6 + 5.25 7. $Rival5 + 5.56 8. $CoCaptain + 6.39 9. $Rival7 + 8.14 Stage 21 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/uraXwXA.png"> Paris 03.41 The morning of the final stage of the 2016 Tour de France, and you can’t sleep. It’s unusual for you, never before have you struggled to fall asleep before an important race, maybe not since you were an amateur as a kid. You keep trying to get back to bed, but you keep visiting the bathroom to look at yourself in the mirror. “This is your day,” you say out loud. You’ve been given a private hotel room for the final day, and with no roommate you don’t feel any urge to keep down the noise, so you start listening to some music. [[At six thirty you decide to head down to get some breakfast early.|Tour de France 125.1]]

<center>Chapter XXI</center> 1. $Rival2 78:37:35 2. $Rival4 + 1.12 3. $Name + 1.17 4. $Rival3 + 2.56 5. $Leader + 4.31 6. $CoCaptain + 5.25 7. $Rival5 + 5.56 8. $Rival7 + 6.39 9. $Rival6 + 8.14 Stage 21 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/uraXwXA.png"> Paris 03.41 The morning of the final stage of the 2016 Tour de France, and you can’t sleep. It’s unusual for you, never before have you struggled to fall asleep before an important race, maybe not since you were an amateur as a kid. You keep trying to get back to bed, but you keep visiting the bathroom to look at yourself in the mirror. “This is your day,” you say out loud. You’ve been given a private hotel room for the final day, and with no roommate you don’t feel any urge to keep down the noise, so you start listening to some music. [[At six thirty you decide to head down to get some breakfast early.|Tour de France 125.1]]

<center>Chapter XXI</center> 1. $Rival2 78:37:35 2. $Rival4 + 1.12 3. $Name + 1.17 4. $Leader + 2.56 5. $CoCaptain + 4.31 6. $Rival3 + 5.25 7. $Rival7 + 5.56 8. $Rival6 + 6.39 9. $Rival5 + 8.14 Stage 21 <img src="http://i.imgur.com/uraXwXA.png"> Paris 03.41 The morning of the final stage of the 2016 Tour de France, and you can’t sleep. It’s unusual for you, never before have you struggled to fall asleep before an important race, maybe not since you were an amateur as a kid. You keep trying to get back to bed, but you keep visiting the bathroom to look at yourself in the mirror. “This is your day,” you say out loud. You’ve been given a private hotel room for the final day, and with no roommate you don’t feel any urge to keep down the noise, so you start listening to some music. [[At six thirty you decide to head down to get some breakfast early.|Tour de France 125.1]]

As predicted, $Rival2Team comes out in a hurry, and you needn’t take any responsibility towards catching the breakaway, they were quickly reeled in again after the two category one climbs, before another formed. The quick pace meant that a lot of your teammates couldn’t stay with you, leaving you alone with just three teammates left, and that’s before a category one climb and a HC category climb. Fortunately, $LeaderLastName says he’s in good form and he’ll be on your side for most of the day, making sure you stay hydrated and out of trouble. [[The $Rival2Team train has formed at the front when you start the second to last climb, with you sitting on the wheel of $Rival2.|Tour de France 102]]

It seems that $Rival2 will focus his offensive strategy on the final climb, as no attacks came on the category one climb, although after the category one climb, you only have $Leader and $CoCaptain by your side. $Rival2LastName, on the other hand, has three teammates left. All the other top ten riders are still in the peloton, and since the pace has been so high, no one has dared to even attempt a breakaway, except $Rival1 who sprinted past the group to win the mountain prize, [[solidifying his grip on the polka dot jersey.|Tour de France 103]]

The pace is high right from the start of the climb up Col de Joux Plane, the final climb of the Tour de France, and you have to struggle to keep close to $Rival2. It’s so fast you almost fall out of your bike from surprise, it’s a long climb, and it makes no sense to sprint up the first kilometre. The $Rival2Team riders are being shed like cat hairs, leaving only one gasping after the effort just two kilometres in on the climb, and the peloton has been reduced to just five riders. You weren’t the only one taken by surprise, instead of the high and steady pace that they had done before, they shook things up by creating a mess, hoping to catch you off guard. Then $Rival2LastName attacks and only you, $Rival4 and $Rival3 can respond, although in the latter’s case only briefly. $LeaderLastName had no chance to follow you after the first few hundred meters, he was completely caught off guard and came into the climb in a too high gear for such an offensive, fortunately you usually climb in a lower gear than your teammate and [[you were able to change to an even lower gear when they started riding.|Tour de France 104]]

$Rival2 looks back and sees that you’re still there. You force your face into a poker face, indicating that you’re much fresher than you really are. You’re unsure if he buys it, but at least he doesn’t attack again. You’re unsure if you could follow it immediately, and with it being almost a mile left of the climb, you’re fortunate that you can stay with $Rival2. During the climb, he keeps looking back at you, as if he’s inspecting a possible murder victim. [[It’s unsettling.|Tour de France 105]]

He keeps the same pace for another two kilometres, which enables $Rival3 to stick to the back of the group, as well as allow $Rival5 to re-join the front group - $LeaderLastName is too far back to rejoin. With just under eight kilometres to go, $Rival4 stands up on his pedals and seems to give it everything he’s got and pushes for another attack, but four hundred meters later, he pulls over to the side of the road, allowing $Rival2 to counterattack. It’s his hardest attack of the Tour, and you really feel that you’re on the edge. When he notices that you’re still there, but $Rival4 and $Rival3 have failed to keep up, $Rival2 sits up and moves over, indicating that it’s your turn to take the front. You are after all the leader of the race, and the wearer of the yellow jersey must take the primary responsibility. [[Do you go to the front|Tour de France 107]]? [[Do you ignore him, staying on his wheel|Tour de France 108]]?

Taking the lead, you decide the tempo as well as showing who’s the boss. This enables you to save energy and optimize the pace, but being in front of $Rival2 leaves you vulnerable to an attack from behind. The tempo isn’t quite as high, and both $Rival3 and $Rival4 manage to get back. You feel yourself looking back over your shoulder, much like $Rival2 did earlier. [[Watching, and waiting.|Tour de France 109]]

You don’t feel the need to go to the front, risking an attack from behind by $Rival2, leaving you vulnerable. Instead you want him where you can see him, and as such, you follow his back wheel as he swerves across the road, trying to get you to go to the front. After a minute or so of this, he seems to tire, and goes back to the front. [[But it’s not as high a tempo as it used to be, instead he seems content to let $Rival3 and $Rival4 back.|Tour de France 109]]

With four kilometres left, $Rival3 seems to tire of your games and decides to go on the attack, but is immediately covered by $Rival4. He wants the stage win. He goes to the front after catching him, but the tempo is quite low for another five hundred meters, until $Rival2 looks back at you, smiles, and accelerates. It’s a vicious attack, you have to strain yourself and your muscles to get on his wheel, and the tempo is even higher than before. You barely have a thought for anything but the pain in your legs, but you’re left to wonder how many watts are being produced in the legs of the two of you – [[because you’re sure that no one else will be able to follow these amazing speeds.|Tour de France 110]]

It doesn’t even seem to tire him out, but it does tire you. $Rival2 has let down a little bit, but the pace is still high enough to where you feel the urge to let go. You feel your legs start to produce some lactic acid, and there’s still three kilometres left. All this time, he has not once looked back, but is staring straight ahead, his shoulders wagging slightly from his effort, but nowhere near how you feel your upper body move. You feel that this is a critical moment in the Tour, as $Rival2LastName seems to have the upper hand. The question is, how do you want to play your hand? [[Do you want to follow $Rival2|Tour de France 111]]? [[Do you want to ride your own pace|Tour de France 112]]?

Deciding that you can’t allow $Rival2 to gain any time, knowing fully well that it could mean the end of your chances if he gets too much time. He is giving it his all, it’s almost an inhuman effort, and you do your best to follow him, but you feel yourself start to lag behind, the distance between your two wheels are increasing, ever so slightly. [[You dig in, trying to hold on for as long as possible.|Tour de France 113]]

Knowing that the ultimate goal is to limit your losses as much as possible, you let the American rage monster go. You stand up, then sit down, trying to find a rhythm, [[but the only thing you’re finding is further pain and lactic acid.|Tour de France 113]]

After losing the wheel of $Rival2 you start to panic. You only have one minute on him. You need to limit the loss to just one minute, or you’ll lose the yellow jersey. These are the thoughts in your mind that makes it harder to focus on the task at hand – limit your losses. You won’t be able to come back to him, but as long as you come in less than a minute behind, you’ll be good. There’s just a few kilometres to go. You tell your legs not to give up, not now. [[Not after nearly 3000 kilometres of racing. Just a few more.|TDF 114]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/IljBfuz.jpg" width="700" height="500">

Coming to the top of Col de Joux Plane you dash your way towards the descent into the finishing town of Morzine. It’s almost only downhill, and you’re unsure of how far back you are. What you do know, is that you need to mix not losing time with not taking risks. It’s a fine line to walk, but you do your best. Some corners are tricky and you almost fall coming into one of them, just barely keeping upright. Not only does that make you lose more time, it also makes you lose concentration and make the rest of the descent even more nervous. [[The last kilometre is flat, and you push yourself to your uttermost limit, riding hard all the way to the line.|TDF 115]]

You come towards the finish line just as $Rival3 catches you, but he doesn’t manage to pass you, instead seems content to sit on your wheel and take third on the stage. As you pass the line, you can’t take another pedal stroke, and are close to collapsing as the organizers are pushing you along for a bit, before leaving you with your soigneur, who helps you off the bike. You are crowded by journalists pushing microphones, tape recorders, cellphones and cameras in your face. You don’t know if you’ve won the Tour de France, and you can’t hear what they’re saying. [[Looking towards your soigneur, with a question in your eyes, he opens his mouth and says…|Tour de France 116]]

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/iICHtDy.jpg"> Coming down from the podium you are met by $LeaderLastName, who gives you a bear hug. The celebrations extend to the team bus, and then later on to the hotel itself. It’s all a haze, in the mixture of alcohol, exhaustion, joy and a lot of people. A lot of people. They all seem to want your time, and you do your best to give everyone who wants to talk to you an opportunity, but in truth all you want to do is lie down. Eventually you excuse yourself and head back to the hotel room. It all seems so unreal. After three weeks of racing, you are less than 24 hours away from having won the Tour de France. One day more. [[Then you’ll be in Paris.|Chapter 21 Ending 4]]

As predicted, $Rival2Team comes out in a hurry, and you needn’t take any responsibility towards catching the breakaway, they were quickly reeled in again after the two category one climbs, before another formed. The quick pace meant that a lot of your teammates couldn’t stay with you, leaving you alone with just three teammates left, and that’s before a category one climb and a HC category climb. Fortunately, $LeaderLastName says he’s in good form. [[The $Rival2Team train has formed at the front when you start the second to last climb, with you sitting on the wheel of $Rival2.|Tour de France2]]

It seems that $Rival2 will focus his strategy on trying to neutralize attacks with the high pace of his team; after the category one climb, you only have $Leader and $CoCaptain by your side. $Rival2LastName, on the other hand, has three teammates left. All the other top ten riders are still in the peloton, and since the pace has been so high, no one has dared to even attempt a breakaway, except $Rival1 who sprinted past the group to win the mountain prize, [[solidifying his grip on the polka dot jersey.|Tour de France 3]]

The pace is high right from the start of the climb up Col de Joux Plane, the final climb of the Tour de France, and you have to struggle to keep close to $Rival2. It’s so fast you almost fall out of your bike from surprise, it’s a long climb, and it makes no sense to sprint up the first kilometre. The $Rival2Team riders are being shed like cat hairs, leaving only one gasping after the effort just two kilometres in on the climb, and the peloton has been reduced to just five riders. You weren’t the only one taken by surprise, instead of the high and steady pace that they had done before, they shook things up by creating a mess, hoping to catch you off guard. You feel that you have to do something, and when $Rival4 attacks, you're on his wheel. $Rival3, $Rival2LastName and $LeaderLastName manage to follow. $CoCaptain had no chance to follow you after the first few hundred meters, he was completely caught off guard and came into the climb in a too high gear for such an offensive, fortunately you usually climb in a lower gear than your teammate and [[you were able to change to an even lower gear when they started riding.|Tour de France 4]]

$Rival2 actually tries to counterattack, and $LeaderLastName can't follow, so you have to pass him before chasing down the yellow jersey. $Rival2 looks back and sees that you’re still there. You force your face into a poker face, indicating that you’re much fresher than you really are. You’re unsure if he buys it, but at least he doesn’t attack again. You’re unsure if you could follow it immediately, and with it being almost a mile left of the climb, you’re fortunate that you can stay with $Rival2. During the climb, he keeps looking back at you, as if he’s inspecting a possible murder victim. [[It’s unsettling.|Tour de France 5]]

He keeps the same pace for another two kilometres, which enables $Rival3 to stick to the back of the group, as well as allow $Rival5 to re-join the front group - $LeaderLastName is too far back to rejoin. With just under eight kilometres to go, $Rival4 stands up on his pedals and seems to give it everything he’s got and pushes for another attack, but four hundred meters later, he pulls over to the side of the road, allowing $Rival2 to counterattack. It’s his hardest attack of the Tour, and you really feel that you’re on the edge. When he notices that you’re still there, but $Rival4 and $Rival3 have failed to keep up, $Rival2 sits up and moves over, indicating that it’s your turn to take the front. You are after all the leader of the race, and the wearer of the yellow jersey must take the primary responsibility. [[Do you go to the front|Tour de France 7]]? [[Do you ignore him, staying on his wheel|Tour de France 8]]?

You have the energy for one last attack. The question is when will you unleash it? With just three kilometres to go, you're running out of options. [[Do you attack with right now, with three kilometres to go?|TDF 10.1]] [[Do you attack with two kilometres to go?|TDF 10.2]] [[Do you attack with one kilometre to go?|TDF 10.3]]

As predicted, $Rival2Team comes out in a hurry, and you needn’t take any responsibility towards catching the breakaway, they were quickly reeled in again after the two category one climbs, before another formed. The quick pace meant that a lot of your teammates couldn’t stay with you, leaving you alone with just three teammates left, and that’s before a category one climb and a HC category climb. Fortunately, $LeaderLastName says he’s in good form. [[The $Rival2Team train has formed at the front when you start the second to last climb, with you sitting on the wheel of $Rival2.|Tour de France2.1]]

As predicted, $Rival2Team comes out in a hurry, and you needn’t take any responsibility towards catching the breakaway, they were quickly reeled in again after the two category one climbs, before another formed. The quick pace meant that a lot of your teammates couldn’t stay with you, leaving you alone with just three teammates left, and that’s before a category one climb and a HC category climb. Fortunately, $LeaderLastName says he’s in good form. [[The $Rival2Team train has formed at the front when you start the second to last climb, with you sitting on the wheel of $Rival2.|Tour de France2.2]]

The pace is high right from the start of the climb up Col de Joux Plane, the final climb of the Tour de France, and you have to struggle to keep close to $Rival2. It’s so fast you almost fall out of your bike from surprise, it’s a long climb, and it makes no sense to sprint up the first kilometre. The $Rival2Team riders are being shed like cat hairs, leaving only one gasping after the effort just two kilometres in on the climb, and the peloton has been reduced to just five riders. You weren’t the only one taken by surprise, instead of the high and steady pace that they had done before, they shook things up by creating a mess, hoping to catch you off guard. You feel that you have to do something, and when $Rival4 attacks, you're on his wheel. $Rival3, $Rival2LastName and $LeaderLastName manage to follow. $CoCaptain had no chance to follow you after the first few hundred meters, he was completely caught off guard and came into the climb in a too high gear for such an offensive, fortunately you usually climb in a lower gear than your teammate and [[you were able to change to an even lower gear when they started riding.|Tour de France 4.1]]

The pace is high right from the start of the climb up Col de Joux Plane, the final climb of the Tour de France, and you have to struggle to keep close to $Rival2. It’s so fast you almost fall out of your bike from surprise, it’s a long climb, and it makes no sense to sprint up the first kilometre. The $Rival2Team riders are being shed like cat hairs, leaving only one gasping after the effort just two kilometres in on the climb, and the peloton has been reduced to just five riders. You weren’t the only one taken by surprise, instead of the high and steady pace that they had done before, they shook things up by creating a mess, hoping to catch you off guard. You feel that you have to do something, and when $Rival4 attacks, you're on his wheel. $Rival3, $Rival2LastName and $LeaderLastName manage to follow. $CoCaptain had no chance to follow you after the first few hundred meters, he was completely caught off guard and came into the climb in a too high gear for such an offensive, fortunately you usually climb in a lower gear than your teammate and [[you were able to change to an even lower gear when they started riding.|Tour de France 4.2]]

He keeps the same pace for another two kilometres, which enables $Rival3 to stick to the back of the group, as well as allow $Rival5 to re-join the front group - $LeaderLastName is too far back to rejoin. With just under eight kilometres to go, $Rival4 stands up on his pedals and seems to give it everything he’s got and pushes for another attack, but four hundred meters later, he pulls over to the side of the road, allowing $Rival2 to counterattack. It’s his hardest attack of the Tour, and you really feel that you’re on the edge. When he notices that you’re still there, but $Rival4 and $Rival3 have failed to keep up, $Rival2 sits up and moves over, indicating that it’s your turn to take the front. You are after all the leader of the race, and the wearer of the yellow jersey must take the primary responsibility. [[Do you go to the front|Tour de France 7.1]]? [[Do you ignore him, staying on his wheel|Tour de France 8.1]]?

He keeps the same pace for another two kilometres, which enables $Rival3 to stick to the back of the group, as well as allow $Rival5 to re-join the front group - $LeaderLastName is too far back to rejoin. With just under eight kilometres to go, $Rival4 stands up on his pedals and seems to give it everything he’s got and pushes for another attack, but four hundred meters later, he pulls over to the side of the road, allowing $Rival2 to counterattack. It’s his hardest attack of the Tour, and you really feel that you’re on the edge. When he notices that you’re still there, but $Rival4 and $Rival3 have failed to keep up, $Rival2 sits up and moves over, indicating that it’s your turn to take the front. You are after all the leader of the race, and the wearer of the yellow jersey must take the primary responsibility. [[Do you go to the front|Tour de France 7.2]]? [[Do you ignore him, staying on his wheel|Tour de France 8.2]]?

You have the energy for one last attack. The question is when will you unleash it? With just three kilometres to go, you're running out of options. [[Do you attack with right now, with three kilometres to go?|TDF 10.1.2]] [[Do you attack with two kilometres to go?|TDF 10.2.2]] [[Do you attack with one kilometre to go?|TDF 10.3.2]]

You have the energy for one last attack. The question is when will you unleash it? With just three kilometres to go, you're running out of options. [[Do you attack with right now, with three kilometres to go?|TDF 10.1.3]] [[Do you attack with two kilometres to go?|TDF 10.2.3]] [[Do you attack with one kilometre to go?|TDF 10.3.3]]

On the team bus that morning, $DS lays out the plan. Attack. Attack $Rival2 as much as you possibly can, and $LeaderLastName will do the same. $Rival2 seems to be in great form, being able to cover most any attacks. But to defend his jersey, he'll need to do so again today. [[Attack. Attack. Attack.|Chapter 20 Ending 3]] General Classifications 1 $Rival2 73:06:49 2 $Rival3 + 0.47 3 $Name + 1.21 4 $Leader + 1.59 5 $Rival5 + 2.51 6 $Rival4 + 3.11 7 $CoCaptain + 4.21 8 $Rival7 + 4.37 9 $Rival6 + 6.08

On the team bus that morning, $DS lays out the plan. Attack. Attack $Rival2 as much as you possibly can, and $LeaderLastName will do the same. $Rival2 seems to be in great form, being able to cover most any attacks. But to defend his jersey, he'll need to do so again today. [[Attack. Attack. Attack.|Chapter 20 Ending 2]] General Classifications 1 $Rival2 73:06:49 2 $Rival4 + 0.47 3 $Name + 1.21 4 $Leader + 1.59 5 $Rival5 + 2.51 6 $Rival3 + 3.11 7 $CoCaptain + 4.21 8 $Rival7 + 4.37 9 $Rival6 + 6.08

On the team bus that morning, $DS lays out the plan. Attack. Attack $Rival2 as much as you possibly can, and $LeaderLastName will do the same. $Rival2 seems to be in great form, being able to cover most any attacks. But to defend his jersey, he'll need to do so again today. [[Attack. Attack. Attack.|Chapter 20 Ending 1]] General Classifications 1 $Rival2 73:06:49 2 $Rival4 + 0.47 3 $Name + 1.21 4 $Leader + 1.59 5 $Rival5 + 2.51 6 $Rival3 + 3.11 7 $CoCaptain + 4.21 8 $Rival7 + 4.37 9 $Rival6 + 6.08

Since you need to gain a lot of time you decide that you can't wait any longer, and move to the side of the road and accelerate in one last, ditch effort to win the Tour de France. The Col de Joux Plane is a punishing climb, with steep gradiants towards the end, and you use this to your advantage. Spinning a low gear you're able to accelerate a lot faster than $Rival2, and you quickly get a gap, but he's chasing you behind. You have a gap of about twenty metres when you have to sit down. Looking behind, you see that he's closing. [[Damn. You feel that it was worth a shot, but your legs are killing you.|TDF 11.1]]

Deciding to save your energy for one kilometre, you sit on the wheel of $Rival2, trying to conserve yourself as much as possible. When the time comes, you move to the side of the road and accelerate in one last, ditch effort to win the Tour de France. The Col de Joux Plane is a punishing climb, with steep gradiants towards the end, and you use this to your advantage. Spinning a low gear you're able to accelerate a lot faster than $Rival2, and you quickly get a gap, but he's chasing you behind. You have a gap of about twenty metres when you have to sit down. Looking behind, you see that he's closing. [[Damn. You feel that it was worth a shot, but your legs are killing you.|TDF 11.1]]

You know that he'll be able to pace himself and limit his losses if you attack now, so you decide to save yourself as much as possible. You sit on the wheel of $Rival2, trying to conserve yourself as much as possible. When the time comes, you move to the side of the road and accelerate in one last, ditch effort to win the Tour de France. The Col de Joux Plane is a punishing climb, with steep gradiants towards the end, and you use this to your advantage. Spinning a low gear you're able to accelerate a lot faster than $Rival2, and you quickly get a gap, but he's chasing you behind. You have a gap of about twenty metres when you have to sit down. Looking behind, you see that he's closing. [[Damn. You feel that it was worth a shot, but your legs are killing you.|TDF 11.1]]

When $Rival2 closes to just ten meters you notices he has to sit down too! He has to slow down, the acceleration proved too much for him, he can't catch you! Digging deeper in your reserves, deeper than you've ever gone before, you stand up out of your saddle, trying to push yourself to the limit. [[This is your only chance.|TDF 12.1]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/IljBfuz.jpg" width="700" height="500">

When $Rival2 closes to just ten meters you notices he has to sit down too! He has to slow down, the acceleration proved too much for him, he can't catch you! Digging deeper in your reserves, deeper than you've ever gone before, you stand up out of your saddle, trying to push yourself to the limit. [[This is your only chance.|TDF 12.2]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/IljBfuz.jpg" width="700" height="500">

When $Rival2 closes to just ten meters you notices he has to sit down too! He has to slow down, the acceleration proved too much for him, he can't catch you! Digging deeper in your reserves, deeper than you've ever gone before, you stand up out of your saddle, trying to push yourself to the limit. [[This is your only chance.|TDF 12.3]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/IljBfuz.jpg" width="700" height="500">

You constantly increase the gap between the two of you, but will it be enough? After the top of the climb there's 12 kilometre descent into the finishing town of Morzine. You're unlikely to gain time on him there, so you push yourself as hard as you can over the mountain prize and pray that it will be enough. And who knows? [[Maybe he'll make a mistake on the descent?|TDF 13.1]]

What you do know is that you'll win the stage. As you pass the line, you can’t take another pedal stroke, and are close to collapsing as the organizers are pushing you along for a bit, before leaving you with your soigneur, who helps you off the bike. You are crowded by journalists pushing microphones, tape recorders, cellphones and cameras in your face. You don’t know if you’ve won the Tour de France, and you can’t hear what they’re saying. [[Looking towards your soigneur, with a question in your eyes, he opens his mouth and says…|Tour de France TDF 15.1]]

(either: "Coming down from the podium you are met by $LeaderLastName, who gives you a bear hug. The celebrations extend to the team bus, and then later on to the hotel itself. It’s all a haze, in the mixture of alcohol, exhaustion, joy and a lot of people. A lot of people. They all seem to want your time, and you do your best to give everyone who wants to talk to you an opportunity, but in truth all you want to do is lie down. Eventually you excuse yourself and head back to the hotel room. It all seems so unreal. After three weeks of racing, you are less than 24 hours away from having won the Tour de France. One day more. [[Then you’ll be in Paris.|Chapter 21 Ending 4]]", "Unfortunately it wasn't enough, he says, and you break down crying. So close. You went through all that effort, and even though it feels like a failure now, you remind yourself that you still managed a podium place. That's not bad in your first ever Tour, never mind winning the white jersey. That night, the team still celebrates at the hotel. You are being congratulated, and patted on the shoulder, by a lot of people. Eventually you excuse yourself and head back to the hotel room. It all seems so unreal. After three weeks of racing, you are less than 24 hours away from having finished your the Tour de France. One day more. [[Then you’ll be in Paris.|Chapter 21 Ending 3]]")

When you come down to the hotel breakfast room, you’re met with the rest of the team and all the staff and crew, as well as the team owner. They’re all dressed and are just standing there when you come in, and you stop. All of a sudden, applause break out among them, and soon the entire room joins in, even the few members of the other teams that have sauntered down at this early morning. Stunned, you raise your hands to silence them, feeling slightly embarrassed by their public display of loyalty. [[Hold speech|Tour de France 127]]

{(if: $Team is "Orica-BikeExchange")[Not only has this been a successful Tour for you, but Jonesy comes up and tells you that the backstage passes have been more popular than ever before.]} After signing in for the day to the applause of the public, you’re being ushered toward the strating area, but you’re constantly stopped and having to sign autographs and taking pictures with people. There’s still time until the start, but it’s mentally tiring work. [[Do you want to let them take their time?|Tour de France 128]] [[Do you want to go ahead to the starting area, ignoring your fans?|Tour de France 128]]

After coming to the starting area, you’re being ushered to the front of the peloton, together with the rest of the team and the wearers of the other leader’s jerseys are supposed to be in front, for photographs among other things. It’s you, your teammates, Peter Sagan in his green jersey, $Rival1 in the polka dot mountain jersey and the wearer of the youth competition (since you won that competition too). As you’re standing there, posing with the others, the director of the Tour de France, Christian Prudhomme, comes up to you and shakes your hand. The final stage starts, and you’re off, leading the peloton towards Paris. The first part of the stage is more of a formality and an opportunity for the winner and his team to celebrate the victory in front of the peloton, and in front of the eyes of millions worldwide. [[It’s more of a parade than anything else.|Tour de France 129]]

The champagne gets poured while you’re still a few miles outside of Paris, and you ride with your teammates arms over your shoulder, with you in the middle, for yet another photo opportunity, the twentieth of the day it seems. But it’s tradition. And it is tradition that makes the Tour what it is. The racing starts when you enter the Champs-Élysées for the first lap, and as you enter Paris, you feel a hand on your shoulder. Looking behind you, you see $Rival2 riding up next to you, with his hand around you, and when he comes up next to you his hand is around your shoulders. You force yourself to wrap an arm around him, partly for balance, partly for the avoidance of drama in front of the cameras who are focusing on the two of you just some ten meters away. “Congratulations, my friend,” he says. How do you want to respond? [[Thank you, $Rival2.|Cordially TDF]] [[Thank you, $Rival2. I’m sure you really mean it|Sarcastically TDF]] [[Oh yeah, thanks a lot $Rival2, you’ve been great.|Angrily TDF]] [[Thanks. (I guess.)|Tense TDF]]

"Thank you, $Rival2LastName. I know we haven't always seen eye to eye on everything, but it's nice to know that we can put those things behind us and focus on what's important - cycling, and doing what's best for our lovely sport." "I agree $Name. Much has been made of our so called "feud", but really, we're just two competitors who are very keen on being the best. But I guess there's no doubt that we truly are the best." [[You mean //I'm// the best|Cordially TDF 2]] [[Sure.|Cordially TDF 3]]

$Rival2LastName huffed, before saying "You're right, I don't. Doesn't mean you have to be an ass about it. I mean, you've already won, right? Why make a big deal out of it?" Shaking his head, he went backwards in the peloton, out of view from the cameras that probably caught his 'dissapointment' in your conversation. [[Sigh, the journalists will likely have a fieldday. You can't imagine anything having gone //more// wrong.|Tour de France 134]]

$Rival2LastName looks over at you, before shrugging and saying "Every hero needs an antihero, what would Hinault be without Fignon and LeMond?" Before you can say anything, he adds "Oh, and you don't have to be grateful, but if it wasn't for me, you'd be forgotten so I would appreciate some fucking respect." [["Respect? You? Ha, over my dead body"|Angrily TDF 2]] [["Fuck you."|Angrily TDF 3]] [["Maybe you're right. But man, grow up. You lost, I won. Get over it."|Angrily TDF 4]]

$Rival2 nods, accepting your thanks, before going on with his small talk about the sport. [[Do you want to small talk with him for a while?|Tour de France 134]] [[Do you want to make the conversation as short as possible?|Tour de France 134]]

$Rival2 shrugs, but before you can say anything else, he's taken off again, leaving you alone. [[Man, what is that guy's problem|Tour de France 134]]

"Yeah, I mean, it's been such a huge boost for the popularity of the sport though, we really should get a paycheck from the UCI!" he says, laughing. [["Cycling has always been popular, it's just gotten popular in new places, that's all"|Tour de France 134]] [["Yeah, that wouldn't be so bad"|Cordially TDF 5]]

The racing is as expected, a few breakaways on the first lap, but never gaining much time as the sprinting teams won’t give this stage away, and they don’t let them from their sights. With just four laps to go, you hear in the race radio that there are some punctures, but nothing to concern you or your team, as they continue to keep you safe. The clock rings, indicating the final lap, and you feel yourself straining to keep a position at the front, trying to avoid any crashes or mishaps until the final three kilometres. Coming down the boulevard, back down and around for the last time, you start to feel relax and confident that you’ve done it. You feel yourself slipping back a few riders, but you’ve passed three kilometres from the line, and you’ve got enough time on $Rival2 [[to not have to worry about any gaps.|Tour de France 136]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/NBMDzLU.jpg" width="700" height="500">

$Rival2LastName continued laughing, before adding "We're truly the giants of this sport, maybe not everyone can see that yet, but they will." And with that, he lightly touched his brakes, and dissapeared from your sides. [[Strange man|Tour de France 134]]

"Well, fuck you too then." he says, before braking and going towards his team mates in the peloton instead. [[You do the same, but with your team mates, deciding that $Veteran makes better company|Tour de France 134]]

"What the fuck did you just say to me?" "You heard me." "No, I didn't, ass. If you have something to say -" "I do have something to say, and I've said it." "Say it again, say it to my face." "Fuck you, $Rival2LastName." By now, the two of you have started to gesticulate wildly, ignoring the cameras catching it, making the pictures of the top two riders arguing immortal. The argument escelates, and you get a strong urge to punch him, to show him how you deal with bastards. [[Eventually $Veteran comes over and moves in between the two of you, breaking up an escalating fight.|Tour de France 134]]

"Grow up?! What the hell is that supposed to mean?" "You know precisely what I mean, it's no secret that you're a sore loser. But losing is a part of life, get used to it." "Hey, at least I've won grand tours fair and square." [["Fuck you, you arrogant asshole"|Angrily TDF 3]] [[Do you want to break out of the conversation?|Angrily TDF Exit]]

Shaking your head, you accelerate slightly, trying to get away from that infuriating man. Remembering the cameras, you realise that you might have to do something to relax the situation. [[Do you want to go back an apologize him?|Apologize Armstrong TDF]] [[Do you want to shake your head, and smile towards the cameras?|Tour de France 134]] [[Do you want to ignore the cameras?|Tour de France 134]]

"Look, $Rival2LastName, I'm sorry for what I said. It was disrespectful of me, I know we're competitors and rivals, but it doesn't have to be like this." He seems a bit taken back by your apology, but he nods and extends his arm towards you, but not saying anything. [[Do you take it, shaking it earnestly?|Tour de France 134]] [[Do you take it, shaking it but half heartedly?|Tour de France 134]] [[Do you refuse to shake his hand?|Tour de France 134]]

Going down the tunnel and up the road besides the Louvre, you feel a surge of excitement as the peloton launches towards the finishing straight, sprinters at the front. You barely spare them a thought as you go towards the line, and towards your destiny. The final turn, and you’re into the finishing straight on the Champs-Élysées, the sprint having already been won by Mark Cavendish, but Peter Sagan coming second and ensuring his win in the green point’s jersey competition. You find your teammates, and together you raise your arms together as you pass the line. As the best cyclist in the world, you cross the finish line of the final stage, and like that, [[you’ve won.|Tour de France 138]]

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/cvCztuy.jpg" width="700" height="500"> First comes the cermony for the youth competition, and as they adorn the jersey on you the crowd cheers. You've really made a lot of fans this last month with your aggressive style of racing. Given the demographic of the people asking for your autograph, a lot of them are young French women. Then it's time for the yellow jersey cermony. The maillot jaune. The most iconic item in cycling history. A moment that you've been waiting for your entire life. Standing on the podium, with $Rival3 and $Rival2 standing next to you, is an indescribable feeling. You wave to the public who seem to adore you. Standing atop the world. {(if: $Country is "France")[As you listen to the //La Marseillaise// tears come to your eyes. You are the first Frenchman to win Tour de France since Bernard Hinault in 1985. It’s a special moment for you, and for France.] (if: $Continent is "South America")[As the first South American winner of the Tour de France, you raise your arms as you welcome the cheer of the public, knowing that an entire continent, and the entire world, is looking at you.] (if: $Country is "USA")[After the backlash against cycling after the Armstrong scandal, you’re happy to prove everyone wrong. During the entire Tour you’ve gotten calls of congratulations, and you’ve briefly browsed the newspaper back home, they all hail you a hero.] (if: $Country is "England")[The United Kingdom has produced some great cyclists these last ten years, and you’re proud to be one of them. The population of the UK has gotten fanatic about the sport, and you can’t wait to get home and bask in their celebration.]} [[As you’re standing on the podium, you take out your carefully prepared speech from the night before.]]

(put: (prompt: "Your victory speech:") into $VictorySpeech) As you are lying there in your bed, switching channels but mostly just enjoying the moment and resting, you happen upon the Eurosport, where Greg Lemond was just saying “Here's what $name had to say after he finished first in the Tour de France.” The TV cuts to you, standing there atop the podium, cameras flashing. You look at yourself from yesterday, it’s difficult to understand that you’ve actually won it. You can see the look of disbelief on your face as you start to speak. [[And what a speech.|Credits]] "$VictorySpeech"

<center>Credits</center> Thank you for taking the time to read and play this game, it means a lot to me. It’s been a lot of fun writing this, and although it has taken a long time and a lot of effort, I’m glad to finally be able to present the finished product to you. I hope you’ve enjoyed the game. /Mats Larsson 18th of July 2016

{(if: $Team is "Orica-BikeExchange")[Not only has this been a successful Tour for you, but Jonesy comes up and tells you that the backstage passes have been more popular than ever before.]} After signing in for the day to the applause of the public, you’re being ushered toward the strating area, but you’re constantly stopped and having to sign autographs and taking pictures with people. There’s still time until the start, but it’s mentally tiring work. [[Do you want to let them take their time?|Tour de France 128.1]] [[Do you want to go ahead to the starting area, ignoring your fans?|Tour de France 128.1]]

After coming to the starting area, you’re being ushered to the front of the peloton, as the winner of the youth competition's white jersey, you are being stood next to $Rival2 in the maillot jaune for photographs and handshakes. Peter Sagan stands there in his green jersey, and $Rival1 in the polka dot mountain jersey. You make small talk while the director of the Tour de France, Christian Prudhomme, comes up to you and shakes your hand. The final stage starts, and you’re off, leading the peloton towards Paris. The first part of the stage is more of a formality and an opportunity for the winner and his team to celebrate the victory in front of the peloton, and in front of the eyes of millions worldwide. [[It’s more of a parade than anything else.|Tour de France 129.1]]

Despite that you didn't manage to win the Tour, you can't help but feel happy and proud as you ride into Paris. In your first ever Tour de France, you not only managed to win several stages, come in the top 10, win the Youth competition - you actually managed to finish third overall. You will be standing on that podium in a few hours. The racing starts when you enter the Champs-Élysées for the first lap, and as you enter Paris, you feel a hand on your shoulder. Looking behind you, you see $Rival2 riding up next to you, with his hand around you, and when he comes up next to you his hand is around your shoulders. You force yourself to wrap an arm around him, partly for balance, partly for the avoidance of drama in front of the cameras who are focusing on the two of you just some ten meters away. “Congratulations," you say, somewhat half-hearted. "Listen, friend, you did well this year. Much better than anyone, including you, had any right to expect." "That feels like a backhanded compliment." "It wasn't meant as one," he laughs. "Come on, be happy. It's a privilege to be here, enjoy it." [["I will," you say before adding your congratulations once again, and he rides off, presumably for more photo-opportunities.|Tour de France 130.1]]

The racing is as expected, a few breakaways on the first lap, but never gaining much time as the sprinting teams won’t give this stage away, and they don’t let them from their sights. With just four laps to go, you hear in the race radio that there are some punctures, but nothing to concern you or your team, as they continue to keep you safe. The clock rings, indicating the final lap, and you feel yourself straining to keep a position at the front, trying to avoid any crashes or mishaps until the final three kilometres. Coming down the boulevard, back down and around for the last time, you start to feel relax and confident that you’ve done it. [[You feel yourself slipping back a few riders, but you’ve passed three kilometres from the line, so as long as you stay in the peloton you'll be fine|Tour de France 136.1]] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/NBMDzLU.jpg" width="700" height="500">

Going down the tunnel and up the road besides the Louvre, you feel a surge of excitement as the peloton launches towards the finishing straight, sprinters at the front. The final turn, and you’re into the finishing straight on the Champs-Élysées, the sprint having already been won by Mark Cavendish, but Peter Sagan coming second and ensuring his win in the green point’s jersey competition. Crossing the finish line for the last time, you've done it. 3000 kilometres after the start in Mont-Saint-Michel you've actually done it. You're in Paris. It's done. [[You find your teammates, and thank them for all their hard work.|Tour de France 138.1]]

First comes the cermony for the youth competition, and as they adorn the jersey on you the crowd cheers. You've really made a lot of fans this last month with your aggressive style of racing. Given the demographic of the people asking for your autograph, a lot of them are young French women. (if: $Ending is "One")[Then it's time to stand on the podium together with $Rival4 and $Rival2 in his yellow jersey. Standing there is an indescribable feeling.] (if: $Ending is "Two")[Then it's time to stand on the podium together with $Rival4 and $Rival2 in his yellow jersey. Standing there is an indescribable feeling.] (if: $Ending is "Three")[Then it's time to stand on the podium together with $Rival3 and $Rival2 in his yellow jersey. Standing there is an indescribable feeling.] <img src="http://i.imgur.com/cvCztuy.jpg" width="700" height="500"> [[Credits]]