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With a new and exciting season fast approaching, it’s time to look back and decide just who were the superstars of 2012. In a totally subjective exercise, I have nominated my top five cyclists of the year.
5. Joaquim Rodriguez
Coming in at number five is the ‘nearly’ man. The Spaniard is consistent if nothing else. He has accumulated seven top 10 Grand Tour finishes since 2008 and twice this year made the running for a Grand Tour victory, finishing agonisingly short against Ryder Hesjedal in the Giro, and only losing out to Alberto Contador on the very last mountain of the Vuelta.
He animated both races, thrived on the super steep summit finishes, and claimed five stages. In all he spent 23 days wearing Grand Tour leaders’ jerseys.
Rodriguez finished the year atop the UCI WorldTour rankings, the second time he has done so, and claimed victories at Fleche Wallonne and Il Lombardia, and picked up stages at Tirreno-Adriatico (one) and Vuelta al Pais Vasco (two).
4. Peter Sagan
Between the dates of May 13 and July 6, the Slovakian went on an eight week winning spree that saw him net no fewer than 12 victories. Firstly, he demolished his fellow sprinters at the Tour of California taking home five stages. He followed this up with four stages at the Tour of Switzerland, and finally defined his season with three memorable Tour de France stages.
He made the likes of Cancellara and Gilbert look silly on those nagging, dragging uphill sprint finishes in France and even surprised the flat track bullies on stage six to Metz by outsprinting Andre Greipel and Matty Goss.
He led the green jersey competition from start to finish and, far from being a one trick pony, often stayed with the main group deep into the mountain stages.
He polarised us with his victory celebrations, but left us in no doubt to the extent of his talent.
He also won stages at the Tour of Oman, Tirreno-Adriatico and Driedaagse de Panne-Koksijde, as well as his national road racing championship. Add near misses at Gent-Wevelgem and Amstel Gold and his palmares becomes even more impressive. He finished the season with 29 podium places.
3. Andre Greipel
There are few more imposing sights in cycling than Andre Greipel cranking up his huge frame and going all out in a sprint. With head bobbing like an out of control metronome, and his bike rocking violently beneath him, brute strength alone propels this beast of a man to victory.
It isn’t pretty, but it is effective. 19 times effective in 2012.
He resumed his love affair with the Tour Down Under in January by winning three very nervous sprints and didn’t stop winning until the GP Impanis-Van Petegem in September, which is why he comes in at number three on the list.
In between times he took stages at the Tours of Oman (two), Turkey (one), Belgium (three), Luxembourg (two), France (three), Denmark (two) and Ster ZLM. He also claimed the ProRace Berlin.
His three hard fought Tour de France wins were the undoubted highlight of his season, and typified the popular German’s all or nothing approach to the sport.
2. Tom Boonen
The big Belgian opened the season as he always does, by dominating the Tour of Qatar where he claimed two stage victories and the overall classification (having already won a stage of the Tour of San Luis). He maintained his form for Paris-Nice (another stage win) before hitting the spring classics healthy, fit and confident. The rest, as they say, is history.
The E3, Gent-Wevelgem, Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix played host to two weeks of cobble eating dominance that we may never see the likes of again. Tommeke claimed them all.
Granted, he had the added bonus of not having arch rival Fabian Cancellara sweating on his every move, but you can only beat those who line-up on the day, and he certainly did that.
My lasting image of Boonen’s magical spring is of him riding away from the Roubaix field with 60 kilometres still to go. It wasn’t so much an attack that saw him get away, as a strong piece of tempo riding. Simply, he was stronger than the rest. Even he seemed bemused by it!
Boonen finished the season strongly as well, adding Paris-Bruxelles, his national championship road race and both a stage and the overall classification of the World Ports Classic to his bulging list of credits. He was also a member of OmegaPharma-Quick Step’s world championship team time trial win.
1. Bradley Wiggins
That Bradley Wiggins comes in at number one is no surprise. Ably supported by a superb team, the eccentric Brit was the dominant stage racer of the year.
Paris-Nice, Romandie, Dauphine and of course the Tour, all fell to Wiggins in clinical fashion. As with Boonen, health, form, desire and confidence coincided to give Wiggins his best shot yet at cycling’s ultimate prize, and when melded with Sky’s faultless preparation and scientific approach, the ex-track cyclist was nigh on unbeatable.
His destruction of Cadel Evans during the time trial at Dauphine was perhaps the most important moment of his season. That he could take so much time out of Evans – no slouch at time trialling himself – had a twofold effect. Not only did it reinforce Wiggins’ belief, it trigged nagging doubts within the mind of Evans.
A month later and Wiggins was standing on the top step of the podium on the Champs Elysees, Britain’s first Tour de France winner.
He was unbeatable against the clock all year, although he couldn’t snare a prologue win (second at Dauphine and the Tour, 11th at Romandie). Otherwise he was undefeated. He took part in eight full length Itime trials and won them all, including the Olympic Games.
His gold medal in London, in front of an adoring home crowd, crowned what was a superlative year for Wiggins and his team.
So there it is. My top five for 2012. Now it’s your turn my fellow Roarers. Who would you have chosen?
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