Highlights from the 100th Tour de France

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The Tour de France has been raced and won for another year. This year's tour, the 100th edition, might have been a one horse race for the yellow jersey but it certainly didn't detract from the excitement.

Here are a few of my highlights:

1. As an Aussie, of course the number one highlight would be Simon Gerrans winning stage 3 and the Orica-Green Edge taking the win in the Team Time Trial on stage 4 elevating Gerrans to the yellow jersey position. An Aussie holding the leaders jersey is special, but an Aussie wearing the leaders jersey as a member of an Australian pro-cycling team is something else.

2. Nairo Quintana. The pint sized Colombian walks away from her first Tour de France with two jerseys! The white young riders jersey as well as coveted polka-dot King of the Mountain jersey. Quintana has proven his worth as a serious contender for overall honours in years to come.

3. The Green Jersey Competition. Although Sagan practically had this wrapped up early on with his aggressive attacks during the intermediate sprints the battle between Sagan, Cavendish, Greipel and Kittel was still exciting to watch. Kittel was the surprise packet of the sprinters proving that his stage 1 win was not due to luck but talent and speed taking a total of four stages. Some say a changing of the guard with Mark Cavendish having an understated tour, but I wouldn't be writing him off just yet especially considering he is going to have the likes of Alessandro Petacchi and former team mate Aussie Mark Renshaw set to join his lead out team in 2014.

4. The Alps. The anticipation when the riders reach the serious mountains of the French Alps is always huge and this year was no different. Would Froome and Team Sky be able to survive? Would Contador make his move? What did Movistar have planned? How would the little Colombian Quintana hold up on the big climbs? All questions were answered in spectacular fashion. Once again the Alps didn't disappoint. Especially exciting was the race for the podium with four or five riders vying for the minor places and indeed going down to the wire.

5. Chris Froome. He may have been the red hot favourite but it was for good reason as he and his Sky team mates crossed the line on the Champs Elysees victorious. Chris Froome proved he was the the best of the best. His remarkable attacks and show of speed with this trademark high cadence on the high climbs left no doubts that he was the best of the best and deserving of the yellow jersey. Team Sky was under pressure all tour with many doubting their ability to hold it together for Froome but they certainly had all the answers, in particular another Aussie Richie Porte. Porte was Froome's right-hand man with unwavering support for his Team Leader.

6. SBS Australia. Here in Australia free to air TV channel SBS is the home of cycling. They package the tour up in all its glory and serve it to us on a silver platter beautifully. And they are set to do so for another 10 years which makes this little Peloton lover very happy indeed.

Lowlights?
Of course there were a few disappointments along the way. Cadel Evans had a tour he would rather forget. It would seem that his efforts on a third place in this years Giro d'Italia took more out of the Aussie battler than he had hoped. Time will tell if Cadel's time in the peloton is up and whether TeeJay van Garderen should take up the team leaders position next year at BMC.
Contador too was not his usual self. He lacked the legs and punchy acceleration to make any impact unable to even hold on to a podium position. Make of that what you will, but I hope the Contador of old is back next year.
Stage 1 carnage. The most anticipated opening to this years tour with a visit for the first time to beautiful Corsica promised so much, but a mammoth crash not too far from the finish line saw to it that many of the sprinters were taken out of action. The major sprinting contenders were looking forward to taking out opening stage honours and spectators and fans alike were waiting for an edge-of-the-seat fast finish but it wasn't to be. However, ask Marcel Kittel and he would be more than pleased with the outcome!

So that's a wrap on this year's tour. Now I have scheduled in a few nights of catch up sleep, which after than I'm sure the post tour blues will kick in. Thank goodness there's only a few weeks until the final grand tour of the year, The Vuelta Espana!

What were your favourite moments of this years tour?

Froome displays his prowess

One of the most anticipated stages of this years tour de France certainly didn't disappoint and it was yellow jersey holder Chris Froome (Team Sky) who showed who was boss of this years race.

The climb up daunting Mount Ventoux is 21 kilometers of unrelenting torture and it didn't take long before the pressure of Team Sky, namely Richie Porte, started to separate the contenders for the pretenders.

The anticipated show down between Froome and Contador was looming and when Porte dropped off after doing his jo,b within seconds Froome raised the pace. Contador was unable to match him and Froome rode away to join Quintana of MoviStar before leaving him behind as well and crossing the line for the stage win and cementing his right as race leader.

With all the talk of the possible weakness of Team Sky, they again proved they have what it takes and Froome can do it alone when necessary.

Contador admitted he couldn't keep the pace, but also said the race wasn't over. With the alps to come and days of multiple climbs he still believes he can break Froome. Only time will tell, but there would need to be a fairy tale come true for Contador to claw back the 4:25 he needs to in order to take the yellow jersey.

However, for me one of the highlights of the day was Peter Sagan. He managed to take off with the early break away in order to gain the sprint points for the green jersey which he took, now maintaining an almost unbeatable lead.

After his effort taking the uncontested sprint Sagan continued on only surrendering at the beginning of the Mount Ventoux climb. But in pure Sagan Style he didn't just casually rejoin the peloton, no, he marked the occasion with a one handed wheelie!

Gotta love his spirit!
You can view a snippet of it at http://video.cairns.com.au/v/123382/Peter-Sagan-pulls-wheelie-midstage-in-Tour-de-France

Reflections of the 2012 Tour de France. Why I feel flat.

Well after a full nights sleep last night, the first in about three weeks I thought I would be refreshed and full of life today. But no, it seems the sleep account balance is still very much in debt.

But perhaps I am just a bit flat, much like Cadel in the Pyrenees. Usually at the end of the great race I am buzzing for days. I still get the 'tour blues' but that stems from coming down from such a high.

There were some great performances at this years tour Peter Sagan smashing the green jersey and with some pretty cool victory salutes, Thomas Voeckler's theatrics and determination to win the king of the mountains, the coming of age of riders such as Van Garderen, Pinot and Rollands, the anticipation of wanting to see Chris Froome break free, and of course the amazing sprint finishes of Mark Cavendish.

But I can't shake this feeling that this years tour was..... a disappointment. I missed the attacks in the mountains. I don't care who it is that is doing the attacking, the more the merrier, but for me that is what the tour is about. These guys pushing themselves to the limit, then pushing themselves even further over the edge. The guys cracking and falling off the back of the peolton with the explosive attacks. The grimaces, the pain, the triumph. It was missing. I sigh. I missed it.

Well, there's always next year isn't there? And an exciting few months of racing coming up with the Olympics road and track, the Vuelta and the Worlds. There is sure to be some excitiement amoungst all of that!

What did the tour lack for you this year? Or was it up to your usual expectations, just in a different way?

Final Glory in Paris - Tour de France 2012 finale

Today is a mix of excitement and sadness. The end of another Tour de France.

I remember the 2005 Tour de France finale on the Champs Elysees well. I was five months pregnant and sat for hours on the cold stone of Rue de Rivoli. The atmosphere was amazing. It didn't matter that I had to walk five miles to the closest toilet, or that we were over1km from the finish line- I was there. It was amazing. The first time the peloton went around was an electric feeling, almost surreal and nothing like I had ever experienced.

I had come to see Robbie (McEwen) take the stage win, but even though that didn't eventuate with Alexandre Vinokourov escaping and stealing the stage, you still couldn't wipe the smile off my face. (At least an Aussie came second in Brad McGee).

And today here in 2012, I wish I was sitting on that fence yet again.

But I'm not. I'm here at home in Australia sitting with anticipation for an exciting finish to a fairly uneventful tour.

This stage will be anything but uneventful I hope. All the sprinters teams will be working to position their chosen ones in the best spot to deliver them over the line to glory on this hallowed ground.

Peter Sagan, Mark Cavendish, Matthew Goss, Andre Greipel will all by vying for that triumphant feeling.

I don't know who is going to win. My head says it will be a Cavendish / Greipel showdown but it is the Champs Elysees and anything can happen and I hope it does!


Who's your pick for final glory?

The future shines bright. Tour de France 2012

There has been a lot of talk at this year's tour. Isn't there always? The 'talk' is that it has so far been uneventful and hasn't lived up to the hype and expectations it possibly should have. However, even though cycling fans may be a little disillusioned, there is still much to take away.

Tour de France 2012 has seen what has been described as 'a changing of the guard'. Younger riders have stepped up to the plate, stamping their arrival and enticing us with what we can expect in the years ahead. Names like Thibaut Pinot, Pierre Rolland, Tejay Van Garderen and Peter Sagan all come to mind.

They have been able to provide nuggets of excitement when perhaps there wasn't much to be enthusiastic about.

Pinot's bold attack on stage 8 that lead to taking the stage win showed us that we may have just seen a glimpse of a future yellow jersey winner. And then there was Pierre Rolland taking one of the toughest stages in this years tour, stage 11, even after crashing on the decent (and yes we will forgive his little indiscretion of lack of sportsmanship on stage 14 for now). 

Tejay Van Garderen has shown that he is a star of the future with suggestions that he is already stronger than his team leader Cadel Evans with his superb time trial performance and his strength and resolve up the mountains.

And then of course there is Peter Sagan. Sagan has had an outstanding year so far. He dominated the Tour of California with 5 stage wins and walked away with the sprinters jersey. Now he is continuing his brilliant form already notching up three stage wins at Le Tour and dominating out on the road to ensure he will be packing the green jersey in his suitcase in Paris.

Yes, the tour may have been a little lackluster and uneventful in the GC department (so far), but we as cycling fans have a lot to look forward to in the years ahead with these amazing young talents, that is certain.

Who's your favourite up and coming rider?

Green Jersey Battle Gets Controversial

Last nights stage of the tour ended with a brilliant ride from Britain's David Miller. Surviving in the break and then out sprinting Jean-Christophe Peraud in a gallant display. But the stage became controversial as the battle for the green sprinters jersey heated up.

Australia's Matthew Goss and Slovakia's Peter Sagan headed to the line to battle for sixth place and more all important green jersey points. With Gossy seeming to have Sagan under control for the intermediate sprints, he wanted to prove once and for all he can outsprint him to the finish line also.

However, as the two tried to out-sprint each other Goss appeared to have deviated from his line within the last 100 meters. A visibly agitated Sagan gestured towards Goss as they crossed the line. 

After the commissaries viewed the footage their decision was to relegate Goss to last place and strip him of 30 points, which now almost secures Sagan of carrying the green jersey all the way to Paris.

The decision sent Aussie Twitterers into a flurry, but it seems that Matthew Goss was almost expecting an unfavourable decision although possibly not the loss of points, which would surely hurt.

It is pretty clear that Goss deviated. He impeded Sagan's sprint and although the young Slovak may have been animated in his disproval (isn't he always animated - he's a sprinter!) I think the decision to relegate was the correct one.

Over the years there has been many a controversial decision in regards to sprinters. Remember Mark Renshaw's disqualification for headbutting during the 2010 Tour de France? And Australian sprinting legend Robbie McEwen has been involved in one or two incidences during his career.

Sprinters are a different breed. They are hungry, angry and explosive. Decisions are made in split seconds and whilst under huge pressure as they charge towards the line.

Although I hate decisions that are borderline, such as this one could be interpreted, you also have to think of the safety of the riders. No-one wants to see a crash, no-one wants to get injured and no-one wants a dirty race.

I think the decision made to relegate Goss was correct, but the 30 point penalty... not so sure.

Check out the footage and make your own mind up.