What if a few (2/3) stages to the end of the Tour de France a cyclist retires when he had a number of points that would make it mathematically unreachable by other cyclists in the climber ranking?
Does he win the climber rankings or is it necessary to arrive to Champ Elysee?
Quote from 2016 Tour de France rules (emphasis mine):
ARTICLE 24|RANKINGS
...
c) General best climber ranking
The general best climber ranking is established by adding together the points obtained on all passes and hills, according to the following tables:
...
Riders must finish the Tour de France in order to appear in the best climber ranking.
A similar rule is mentioned for points classification, too.
When rules didn't specify that the rider had to finish the Tour, the Climber Jersey was awarded to Félicien Vervaecke (1937) even when he didn't finish the tour.
After the last mountain in the fifteenth stage, the [mountain] classification was won by Félicien Vervaecke. Vervaecke did not finish the Tour, but in 1937 that was not needed to win the mountains classification.
Source: Wikipedia
