This review of the 2011 Tour de France will be not a hagiography. Over the last few days the crème de la crème of Australia’s sportswriters have tried to come up with superlatives to do St. Cadel’s historic feat justice.
I well and truly exceeded the limit on superlatives for Cadel in my daily tour reports. If you want to read them you are most welcome to revisit them.
What you will find in this review is an ode to the Tour de France.
Australian cycling fans over the better part of the last decade have been justifiably preoccupied with Cadel Evans and his quest for a yellow jersey.
This year, we again joined Cadel on his three week odyssey around France courtesy of the brilliant coverage provided by SBS.
In the end, we were rewarded. Three magical nights, two in the Alps and the decisive time trial, will now live forever in our collective sporting memories.
Cadel’s pulsating battle with the Schleck brothers, Contador’s defiance and Voeckler’s courage lit up the dark winter night.
But, you did not have to be an Australian to realise that this was a sporting event of grand spectacle, great courage and high emotion.
What we were witnessing was the universal magic of the Tour de France.
And as I discovered over a decade ago, once you’ve bitten on this apple you are well and truly hooked.
What Cadel’s success has done is relieve us of our sense of dread.
The growing Australian audience of Tour de France fans can now look forward to now is a stress-free 2012 Tour de France. We can enjoy it for what it is, the greatest yearly event in world sport.
We have our champion.
A list of other highlights of this year’s tour;
Tour de Carnage:
The tour had seen nothing like it as team leaders and strong riders went down like nine pins in the early stages.
Team Radioshack became Team Red Cross after they lost four of the nine riders who began the tour. Brajkovic, Horner and Kloden all succumbed to injury while Popovych didn’t have to hit the tarmac, he exited stage right with fever.
Other notable withdrawals included Great Britain’s big yellow jersey hope, Bradley Wiggin, Omega Pharma’s leader Jurgen Van Den Broek, Quick Step’s Tom Boonen and last but not least, Alexandre Vinokourov.
The 37 year old Kazakh kamikaze effectively ended his career with a broken femur after he careened deep into the woods of the Massif Central. It was either the ravine or a concrete column as he tried to avoid a rider who had slipped on a slippery descent.
Three riders were lucky to complete the tour after they almost became official road toll statistics.
Nicki Sorensen was knocked off his bike by a rogue motorcycle rider and watched haplessly as his crumpled bike was dragged 400 metres up the road.
However, nothing could match the incredulity of watching Juan Flecha and Johnny Hoogerland getting side swiped by a TV car.
Hoogerland was almost garrotted on a road side barbed wire fence. He bravely finished the stage and received 33 stitches to his lacerated legs for his troubles.
Tour de France authorities are now seriously questioning whether to extend the contract of Inspector Clouseau’s Advanced Driving School when it comes supplying tour drivers.
Tour de Norvège:
The small Scandinavian country celebrated an incredible four stage victories.
Their hulking cycling god of thunder, current world road race champion, Thor Hushovd, added to his legend with two stage wins, his most satisfying being the hilly sixteenth stage to Gap as he smote his lightweight rivals.
Norway also unearthed a spectacular new talent in dual stage winner Edvald Boassan Hagen. His bravura performances captured the hearts of his countrymen and made him rider to follow for all cycling fans.
Tour de Train Routier:
Britain’s Mark Cavendish made it 20 stage wins in four years and five wins in this year’s tour as his HTC Highroad train put on one final dominant display of team organization before being decommissioned.
The most dominant sprinter of his era is now in search of another team. He is joined at the hip with his lead out man, Aussie Mark Renshaw, who will surely be part of negotiations in cycling’s version of a two for one deal.
The incomparable Eddie Merckx compiled a record 34 stage wins in his five tour victories. Cavendish will never win the yellow but if he keeps up his current rate, he’ll eclipse Merckx in 2014. Can he do it?
Tour de la Renaissance Francais:
In 2010, only one French rider finished in the top 20 and that was 19th.
In 2011, Thomas Voeckler confounded all the experts by finishing fourth. Five French riders finished in the top 15. Three of the riders were born in 1986 including white jersey winner, Pierre Roland,
The last Frenchman to win his own tour was Bernard Hinault in 1985. He was also the last Frenchman to win on Alpe d’Huez that very same year.
Pierre Roland announced himself as a champion of the future with an exceptional stage win on Alp d’Huez.
Epilogue:
The 2012 Tour de France is already shaping up to be tone of the most exciting in its history.
Can Cadel Evans become the second oldest winner in tour history?
Can three-time runner up, Andy Schleck, finally shake off the bridesmaid tag?
Can a Frenchman break the drought and win his own tour for the first time in 27 years?
And, depending on the result of an imminent court hearing, can Contador regain his throne?
See you all at the start line next July.
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