It is always an interesting and rewarding endeavor, trying to put each year’s Tour into its proper perspective. For the past decade, I have used this opportunity to revel in delight over American success, or marvel in a nail-biter of a finish, only to have to revisit the results with a critical eye, after the fact. I started to follow this Tour with perhaps a sense of skepticism. I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for, whether it be a dominant performance from the former champion, challenges from American riders, otherwise considered after thoughts, or perhaps a close battle between riders who were searching for new Tour glory, looking to cement their names in history.
I am pleased that perhaps more so than at any time in the last decade, we have witnessed a clean event. Of course, we have no means of knowing this any more than others, but what I saw on a daily basis was a lot more of the human frailties which makes the race seem more believable. Some of this was due to dumb luck, with key riders missing out on their chances to do overall battle due to crashes and injury, while other riders simply succumbed to the tortures of the race. It never ceases to amaze me that when the Tour course is announced, the stages may seem easy or demanding on paper, but it on the roads in battle when the tales of the Tour come alive. I was so pleased to see the level of drama which came about in the last week, when depending upon which day, or which stage, I thought for sure that a different rider was going to win the race overall. We saw a relatively obscure rider thrive on his courage and grit, in Thomas Voeckler, leading the race for eleven days, and really only losing the race on the penultimate climb of the Tour, when perhaps his reputation might have suggested that he would have lost the jersey in the early slopes of the Pyrenees. We saw Andy Schleck ride a gritty race, using his team and his skill to persevere through what might have been a historic breakaway over one of the hardest stages I have seen in over a decade, when 80% of the field finished over 20 minutes behind him, only to fall apart in 42.5 km worth of a time trial. Runner-up for a third straight year is nothing to sneeze at, but at some point, one has to wonder when he will put it together, and finally win won. Did he lose the Tour somewhere along the way, or was it simply taken by a better rider.
Of course, we saw the ups and downs of Alberto Contador, winner of the last six Grand Tours he has ridden. More so than any other rider in the peloton, I believe that his is the name who will ultimately make the most historical significance, and it is this overall class that suggests to me that while this may not be the last Tour he does not win, he still has more Tour de France titles under his belt. I believe that he rode this year with podium level fitness, albeit with some bad luck which left him in fifth place, but we did see a side of him that reminds us that he may still be the classiest rider on the circuit today. He never gave up, persevered through tough weather, crashes, and unfulfilled hopes. He attacked in a manner we have not seen in years, and he showed that he is human after all. Seeing him crack reminded me that he does have limits, and perhaps the Tour/Giro double may indeed be too much for the modern rider to win, especially given the short recovery in between on today’s calendar.
Today, I toast the champion, Cadel Evans. If Contador is perhaps the most dominant, at least at his best, Evans must be considered the most consistent, and the grittiest. At their peaks, Contador is a much better climber, and Evans is a marginally better time trial rider. It seems like a long time ago Evans was second, even if was just in 2007 and 2008, and but for just over 1:00 of cumulative time lost, Evans might have been winning his third career Tour. Evans rode a brilliant race, and made the sacrifices, especially in the mountains, to keep himself close to the Schleck brothers, and to the yellow jersey, to be able to put on a truly dominant ride in the time trial. This was Evans’ crowning achievement, and very clearly the ride that has been expected of him in the past. Realistically, he may not win again; I would still put my money on either Andy Schleck or Alberto Contador next year, but this was three solid weeks of absolutely no mistakes for Cadel Evans, and his victory was won by being the most complete rider in the race this year. Well deserved, and he will now go down as perhaps the second best rider of his generation.
It is important to understand that even without a real overall contender, this was a banner year for the Americans. We celebrated the existence of FOUR American teams, and a record ten starters and eight finishers. Three of the four teams were amongst the most dominant in the race. Garmin-Cervelo, had a solid presence from Day One until the end. They started with a victory in the team time trial, celebrated the first career stage win for Tyler Farrar (over Mark Cavendish), and saw a breakout performance by American rider, Tom Danielson, who finished 9th, climbing with the best in the race, in his Tour de France debut. They also supported the yellow jersey for ten days for Norwegian Thor Hushovd, before ending up with a victory in the team competition. A true breakthrough for manager Jonathan Vaughters, who has built a reputation as running the cleanest team in the peloton.
Team HTC-Highroad only boasted two Americans, Tejay Van Garderen who wore the mountains jersey for one day, and workhorse Danny Pate, but they celebrated, count them “FIVE” more stage wins for Brit Mark Cavendish, who finally earned the green jersey, as officially the best sprinter of the year.
Team BMC boasted the Tour de France champion, and after a few cracks shown last year, demonstrated that they were truly up to the task, controlling the bunch when necessary, and showing that they knew how to ride in support of Cadel Evans. Leading the way, as has done for eight previous Tour de France winners, was veteran George Hincapie, who tied the record for Tour de France starts at sixteen. Despite all of the miles and years behind him, “Big George” is still going strong, and was an integral part of another Tour victory.
Interestingly enough, it was Team RadioShack,(the former Team Discovery/USPS) machine of Johan Bruyneel, who finally had a decade worth of Tours with little to now bad luck catch up with him. Despite having perhaps the most loaded team with overall contenders Andreas Kloden, Chris Horner and Levi Leipheimer, the RadioShack team may have just officially ended an era, riding a Tour with literally no distinction, save for having three of their four leaders leave the race due to crashes, and having their fourth suffer in the mountains, finishing well behind the leaders.
It will take a while for this Tour to really sink in. I didn’t root for Cadel Evans to win, but I salute his achievement. He has waited a long time, winning other significant races, but never coming through in the Grand Boucle. He earned this one, and by doing so, formally cemented his name amongst the absolute best in the history of the sport. Time will tell how this one stacks up with other great races, but for another year, we can celebrate the event for the beauty and drama that it created. I believe that over the course of the last three weeks, we witnessed sport at its best, testing the resolve, the strength, the skill, and the mental energies of all of the riders. We didn’t see a dominant patron this year, but we saw a worthy winner emerge from a tight dual. We saw new faces emerge, while others confirmed their reputations, and still others perhaps suggested that their best days are in the past.
We raise our glasses, to say “Vive le Tour”, announcing with firm resolve that despite the bruises absorbed by the sport of cycling over the recent years, this race is still well and alive.
