Tour de France EF Education-EasyPost
Behind the Scenes
Ahead of this year's Tour de France many touted the 2024 edition to be the most exciting one in memory and for good reason. There was a scintillating battle brewing between defending champion, Jonas Vingegaard, and recently crowned Giro d'Italia winner, Tadej Pogacar and we were fortunate enough to witness the less than conventional closing weekend out on the French Riviera, with Cannondale and the EF Education-EasyPost Team.
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The final mountain test
Arriving in a bustling Nice, prior to the penultimate stage in this year's race and the final mountain test, we headed down to the port to meet the EF Education-EasyPost soigneurs, who we would be spending stage 20 with. A team of six, the soigneurs had a big day on their hands, what with Ecuadorian superstar, Richard Carapaz, aiming to defend his mountains classification leader's polka dot jersey and temperatures for the remaining seven riders, reaching over 30 degrees celsius.
From the sun-drenched streets around the port of Nice to the comfort of the air conditioned EF Education-EasyPost van, we jumped in with Albert and James who told us our first stop would be kilometre 49, on the early slopes of the second climb of the day for the riders, the Col de Turini. Arriving to an emphatic welcome from a sea of fans, we parked up and prepped the musettes, bottles and ice socks for the riders before finding a relatively quiet stretch of road to provide a feed.
It wasn't long before a flying Richard Carapaz sped through in the breakaway. Not wanting a feed he looked focused as readied himself for the final assault for mountain classification points at the top of the climb. Not so long after Nielson, Ben, Stefan, Marijn, Rui and Sean rolled through, picking up much needed sustenance as the pace and weather were hot from the outset.
A brutal stage when it came to the sheer amount of elevation, especially after three grueling weeks of racing. We watched on in the team van as Richard Carapaz secured his polka dot jersey before turning his attention to winning the stage. A feat he nearly achieved, if it wasn't for the rampaging Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, who rocketed up the final 7.5km climb. A sterling effort nonetheless saw Richard taking a well-deserved third place on the stage to bring to a close the final road stage of the 2024 race.
A Nice finish
Sunday dawned and it became quickly apparent that dots were the order of the day for the EF Education-EasyPost team. From the freshly wrapped polka dot Cadillac team car to Carapaz's stunning celebratory Cannondale SuperSix EVO which had received the spotty treatment, it is safe to say there was a jubilant atmosphere amongst the World Tour team as we met them in Monaco ahead of the final 33km time trial.
2024 saw a first for the Tour, what with the Olympics being run in Paris, the final stage culminated in Nice, and not the French capital. Throw in a time trial to spice the general classification up for one last time and you have a recipe for a fantastic climax. The plan for us was to hang out with the team at the bus, as riders warmed up on their Wahoo trainers, before jumping in a van to follow Sean Quinn on his time trial.
The clock struck 4pm and we sprung into action, jumping in the van with team manager, Jonathan Vaughters, former pro, Mitch Docker and current USA National Criterium Champion, Coryn Labecki. We were in good company, as Sean rolled down the ramp and before long straight up the climb out of Monaco and onto the slopes of La Turbie, an 8.1km pass that was sure to add a sting to the rider's already tired legs.
Racing with panache and tackling the descent with ease on his Cannondale Super Slice Time Trial bike it was an honour to watch Sean Quinn power across the line to complete his first Tour de France. A fitting way to wrap up a truly exceptional two days for us with the team.
Our experience at the Tour with EF Education-EasyPost was one we will not forget in a hurry. Welcomed in by everyone from mechanics to riders and soigneurs to director sportifs, we were made to feel part of the team. Congratulations to all riders and staff on what was an incredibly successful race for the team. A yellow jersey, a stage and a mountain classification win cemented their place as one of the world's best teams on the world's biggest stage, the Tour de France.
