2014 Tour de France Wrap Up

By Kit Hinders We’re back! And while we have not been posting updates during the Tour de France, rest assured, we’ve had it queued up at work, at home, and on our phones for the entirety of July. To address the elephant in the room, thousands- if not millions- of people have declared 2014 the ?Tour de Bore.? Need more proof? The race even bored Luca Paolini enough to get out his cell phone and check his tweets… So while we agree with you, the Tour was a bit of a let down, it still had some compelling story lines to revisit.   Nibali’s Carpet Ride Vincenzo Nibali did win, and by quite a fair margin. Which makes the third straight Tour de France that has effectively been over before the final week of racing has even begun. Nibali’s two primary competitors, Chris Froome and Alberto Contador, withdrew from the race due to injury, leaving Nibali free to fly against a slew of younger competitors. It is all a fairybook script for the Italian but hardly predictable. None of the talking heads were keen on Niabli’s chances entering the Tour. This is bike racing though, and that’s exactly why they have to ride the race. Detractors are quick to point out Nibali’s knack for being ?the best of the rest.? Looking back, notice that his Grand Tour success has come against second tier fields? Nibali’s 2013 Giro victory came after Brad Wiggins abandoned in the second week. Likewise, his 2010 Vuelta victory came against the likes of Ezequiel Mosquera and Peter Velits. When put in context, Nibali’s victories are less impressive, yet it is crucial to note ?In order to finish first, you first must finish.? Nibali wins this time; instead of sulking, let’s have a rematch soon.

  Favorites Flop If you stood there scratching you head at the results sheet this July, you were not alone. The names we are accustomed to seeing, Contador, Froome, Cavendish, Cancellara,…etc were all missing. Instead, we had a steady stream of new names flooding the results page. Of the 2014 stage winners, only Marcel Kittel, Matteo Trentin and Andre Greipel had previously won road stages in their careers. That meant there was a void ready to be filled by new names. Riders such as Milan San Remo winner, Alexander Kristoff, stepped up to claim a pair of stages. Nibali himself had never won a stage before this year and he took four. Rafel Majka, Tinkoff-Saxo wonder kid, swiped two mountain stages. Youngster Tony Gallopin won a stage and wore yellow for a day. While some of the familiar stars faded, a new constellation emerged from the dark to claim the limelight. Green Losing It’s Gleam? Peter Sagan had his way with the Green Jersey for the third consecutive year. It was never even close. Sagan took the Green jersey off Kittel on stage 2 and never looked back. The Slovakian manufactures his point differential by gaining points every day, whereas his competitors cannot hope to score points on the lumpier terrains. Summing up Sagan is no easy task. When asked about the young rider, sprint king Mark Cavendish said, ?Oh he is no sprinter, he is Peter Sagan.? That is, he sprints better than the climbers and climbs better than the sprinters. This ability provides him with a seemingly insurmountable advantage when it comes to any points category. In the early 2000’s, tired of Lance Armstrong’s continued success, Tour director Christian Prudhomme attempted to make a ?Lance-Proof? course. Despite his best efforts, Lance continued to win. With that in mind, is it time to reconsider how the Green Jersey competition is run? Perhaps we shall return to the past and reintroduce a Red jersey for the rider who places best in the intermediate sprints. If organizers keep the layout the same, Sagan will stay Green until further notice. Cobbled Calamity Back in October, when the Tour route was revealed, the big news was the controversial decision to include sections of cobblestones in the race. General Classification riders were not pleased and were forced to adjust their preparations. When Stage 5 finally rolled around, it rained and the course was soiled. Conditions were so bad, ASO removed two of the sectors for rider safety. It was not enough for some though. Chris Froome, last year’s champion, was forced to abandon after repeated falls. Contador lost time too after a mechanical. All the while Nibali, aided by his teammates, drew first blood and took time out of everyone except Lars Boom of course- who probably thought he was in a cyclocross race. It was supposed to be a a legendary stage but was instead a complete wash. In post race interviews, the day wore heavy on Fabian Cancellara. He succinctly stated, ?A stage like this has nothing to do with the Tour de France.? The cobblestones were not safe and should not have been included. Instead of seeing the savage attacks of the spring, we saw riders simply trying to survive treacherous conditions. The day’s highlight reel was composed not of bike riding, or feats of strength, but instead of the dozens and dozens of crashes that marred the peloton. This was a day to be forgotten and a lesson to be learned.

Tony Martin’s Excellence Since 2011, cycling fans have been conditioned to expect Tony Martin to dominate time trials whenever and wherever he finds them. While it feels like a foregone conclusion that Martin will win and win big, it should not be taken lightly. His results are a testiment to his commitment and work ethic. Even more impressive than Martin’s time trial success is his unwavering loyalty to his teammates. After winning solo on Stage 9, he was right back at it the next day, driving the pace for team leader Michal Kwiatkowski. The tv cameras captured the scene brilliantly. Martin was glued to the front of the group, no other riders were pulling through; it was a gutsy solo effort for the second day in a row. This sort of behavior is precisely the kind of selfless act that deserves recognition. Oh, and on Stage 9 he was solo for six billion kilometers. Know who was in the first chase group? None other than Fabian Cancellara. Sure ?Spartacus? has won solo at Flanders and Roubaix, but he’s never broken away from the entire peloton for 100 kilometers at a time. Never take Tony Martin for granted; he is something not of this world.

  French Revolution Sacrebleu! What happened to the French!? They were brilliant as opposed to normal. For the first time, AG2R-La Mondiale was fighting for the GC and making a difference. It was a whole new color at the front of the peloton: brown. The traditionally quiet French squad put two riders in the top six with Jean-Christophe Peraud in 2nd and Romain Bardet in 6th. FDJ was not as strong a unit, but Thibaut Pinot managed to claw his way to the third step on the podium. The last time a Frenchmen stood on the overall podium was 1997. The last time two stood on the podium? 1984. For Peraud, 37, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. When asked for comment after stage 20, through tears he said, ?Beautiful.? Pinot won the white jersey for the Tour’s best rider under the age of 25 and will look to trade White for Yellow in the coming years. It has been a long time coming for France and these two will not soon be forgotten.

When is the Vuelta? Okay, that’s over now. We are finished defending this year’s Tour as an exciting race. With all the favorites that went down, the battle for Yellow was muted. The Vuelta promises to give us more conflict and suspense. Chris Froome has thrown his hat into the ring. Last year’s winner, Chris Horner, says he will be ready to defend his crown. Alberto Contador is questionable for the start but has communicated his interest in the race. Is it August yet?