The Herald on Sunday spoke to Henderson as he prepared for Friday's 173km 13th stage from Tours to Saint-Amand-Montrond. He tweeted that the subsequent massage table experience made him feel like they were "extracting the saddle that was firmly implanted in my sphincter all day".
The previous evening the interview was thwarted by Henderson crashing in the last 3km with a suspected broken elbow. He described it as like "being on the bottom of a rugby scrum". Determination, along with the help of his medical team, brought him back for another start, albeit with a left elbow wrapped in a heavy bandage.
It is part of Henderson's commitment to an annual pilgrimage for the world's cycling community.
"Ask anyone in the world to name a cycling race and they say 'the Tour de France'," Henderson says. "When anyone asks what you do for a living it's great to be able to say you race the Tour de France. It's the only race people remember; the biggest race on the planet. It's a travelling circus; there's no question it's the high point of my career.
"I know I've done a fortnight of riding. I can definitely feel it. You enjoy it more afterwards, really. There's so much stress, so much at stake and you've got a job to do. I'm here to help Greipel win stages; without me he can't win, it's an important job."
Henderson has taken most satisfaction this tour when he dragged Greipel through to win stage six: "It was perfect. He came through the way we've done it so many times before [on other tours]. He's hard to beat when he gets delivered like that because he's one of the most powerful guys in the world. It was nice to see a reward for our hard work."
Says Greipel: "Greg is an experienced link for us in the lead-out train. He is always there when you need him. It's not just about him though, the whole team needs to work. Everybody knows how we tick but he gives comments about when to hit the front. He's the guide."
Another word to describe Henderson is "lithe". Any skinfold test would leave the calipers struggling for a grip. He can't have eaten an ounce of extra pasta or placed excessive demands on the team sweets jar. His bike seat will be smiling, even if it is uncomfortably placed after the 13th stage. Still, you can pretty much eat what you want when you're pedalling 3403km over 23 days.
Henderson says his favourite part of any stage is the last 20km where the intensity mounts, aggression comes to the fore and the fight starts for real estate.
"It's full stress, man. You've got to pick what side of the road to be on, watch out for roundabouts and islands. Spectators hang over the side of the road clapping and taking photos. It is chaotic. You just hear a wall of noise, which makes communicating difficult. You can't hear that well but, by the same token, it's a fantastic feeling."
