1) Great Britain’s women’s team pursuiters win fourth world title in a row
High drama in Cali as the most consistent gold medal winners in
British cycling almost threw away a fourth consecutive title in the final against Canada.
Elinor Barker swung up the track exhausted and came close to colliding
with Laura Trott, who had just changed and was above her, meaning that
Trott had to stall then sprint after Joanna Rowsell and Katie Archibald
to save the day.
The Olympic, world and European title holders, this
quartet could claim to be the best team in Britain in any sport, but
this was a reminder that no matter how perfect they look, the margins
are infinitesimal.
2) Nairo Quintana attacks on descent from Stelvio to win Giro d’Italia
There was confusion and controversy as the Colombian climbing prodigy
took the pink jersey in the Giro in one of the most hotly debated day’s
racing this year. What was not quite clear was whether other riders had
been told that the race would be stopped on top of the 2,645m Stelvio,
where snow was falling and the roads were icy, and then “neutralised” –
the cycling equivalent of driving behind the safety car – for the
dangerous descent. What was clear was that Quintana seized the moment,
descended like a maniac then proved himself the best climber in the
race. Controversy or not, he was a deserving winner.
3) Yorkshire welcomes the Tour de France
Images abound of the vast crowds that welcomed the great bike race to
God’s Own County, with the gallery gathered on the Buttertubs climb the
most distinctive. On day one, we turned off the race course north of
Leeds in the Guardian’s Jaguar and set off down a main road leading to
the race, because it had dawned on us that with tens of thousands of
cyclists riding the route, driving was simply too stressful. Driving
away from the route, we passed thousands of people walking in from car
parks several miles away. That was when the sheer scale of it hit home.
4) Arenberg stage, Tour de France
The day the Tour was decided,
as Vincenzo Nibali rode a tactically perfect race to steal a march on
Alberto Contador and the rest over the mudsoaked cobbled lanes of
northern France. Also saw the exit of defending winner Chris Froome,
igniting controversy about whether 2012 Tour victor Sir Bradley Wiggins
should have been selected as back up. That all this happened to an epic
backdrop of mud and cold that took cycling back to its antique roots
made it all the more memorable. No wonder the organisers are including
more cobbles in 2015.
5) French emotion in Périgueux after last Saturday of Tour
Possibly my favourite individual moment of the year was when
Jean-Christophe Péraud told television to let him emote in peace after
clinching second in the Tour to Nibali in the final Saturday’s time
trial. Just before, the fdj.fr manager Marc Madiot could be seen
punching the air after putting Thibaut Pinot into third overall. The
French had every right to savour the moment; this was the first time two
home riders had made the podium in 30 years. The 2015 Tour will be all
the bonnier for their success … as long as they deliver again.
6) Marianne Vos wins La Course
One win among many for the Queen of cycling, but this one had
significance in the greater scheme of things as this race marked the
return of women’s cycling to the Tour de France after a campaign led by
Vos and Britain’s Emma Pooley, among others. The initial hope is that
the
circuit race on the Champs Élysées on
the Tour’s final day will raise the profile of women’s cycle racing and
bring in new cash. In the long term it could well induce the Tour
organisers to bring back a longer and more meaningful event.
7) Emma Pooley retires in tears after two silver medals at the Commonwealth Games
The 2010 world time trial champion had announced that she would
retire from road cycling to move to triathlon after the Glasgow Games;
her silver medal in the time trial was followed by a starring role in
Lizzie Armitstead’s gold medal winning ride in the road race, with
Pooley piling on the pressure late on to pave the way for
Armitstead’s solo ride to gold.
Pooley escaped in her turn for a silver medal before an emotional
farewell on live television. It’s hard to avoid the impression that
Great Britain should have fought harder to keep her in the fold.
8) Sir Bradley Wiggins wins time-trial gold in Ponferrada
One of the few major trophies missing from Wiggins’s mantelpiece, the
time-trial world title had been a target since the Londoner finished
seventh in 2005. This gold came after silvers in 2011 and 2013, and
it was a finely calculated win,
with the pressure piled on in the final phase at the expense of the
German Tony Martin, untouchable in Florence the previous year. The only
remaining gaps in Wiggins’s
palmares are a one-day Classic and the Hour Record; they will be targets in 2015 as his career enters its twilight phase.
9) Pauline Ferrand-Prévot comes through in sprint to take women’s world road title
Cycling needs charismatic stars, and women’s cycling needs riders who
can counter-balance Marianne Vos’s dominance. The 22-year-old from
Reims scored a
clever sprint win in Ponferrada from
an elite group including Vos and Lizzie Armitstead to take the rainbow
jersey. That came in addition to a first Classic win at La Flèche
Wallonne, but what truly impresses is Ferrand-Prévot’s range of skills:
this year, she is French champion at road race, time trial, mountain
bike and cyclo-cross. With the potential to win major titles off road as
well as on, the Frenchwoman could spearhead the expansion of women’s
cycling in years to come.
10) Daniel Martin achieves tactical perfection in the Giro di Lombardia
Ireland’s leading cyclist is steadily building a palmares to reckon
with thanks to his climbing strength and tactical skill. This win in
Bergamo was a little masterpiece after an attack 600m from the line as
the lead group – which included strong finishers such as Alejandro
Valverde, Rui Costa and Philippe Gilbert – stalled in expectation of a
sprint. It compensated for horrendous luck in the Giro d’Italia, where
Martin crashed out on the opening day in Belfast, and it placed Martin
in the same bracket as past Irish heroes Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche.
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