How did we view the 2013 Tour de France? I’m not talking of suspicions about doping or the believability of the final result, but how the race stands against the great editions of the past as a spectacle.
Did the race entertain you? Did you become emotionally involved with its participants?
Did it spark your curiosity, capture your imagination and give you that irresistible urge to battle sleep deprivation and continue watching night after night?
Or was it just ho hum?
Was there enough drama? Was there a defining moment? Was it magical?
Will your memories of the 100th edition of this grand race stand the test of time or will they gradually be swallowed up and become indistinguishable from the countless other sporting memories already stored in your decaying grey matter?
I’m yet to decide.
I enjoyed the Tour, especially the early stages in Corsica and, being Australian, the early success of Orica-GreenEDGE, but I can’t put my finger on a defining moment – a moment that will become synonymous with this Tour.
Not every Tour has them of course. Not every Tour can be like 1989.
In that year American Greg LeMond won the tour by just eight seconds after starting 50 seconds behind French favourite Laurent Fignon on the final day’s time trial.
You can’t mention 1989 without mentioning LeMond and Fignon.
For the French, perhaps 2013 will be Christophe Riblon’s Tour. The delighted Frenchman saved the home country from embarrassment by winning their only stage on the glorious double ascent of Alpe d’Huez.
If ever there was one stage you would want to win for your country, that would be it!
But it was hardly race defining.
Rather than one memorable moment, my mind tumbles over a series of unrelated incidents and events.
Of Tony Martin collapsing in his team bus after suffering terrible injuries at the end of stage one and then gradually gaining strength each day thereafter on his way to winning the stage 11 individual time trial.
Of Sky’s Geraint Thomas riding the entire Tour with a fractured pelvis.
Of the evil Mark Cavendish smashing Tom Veelers to the ground at the end of stage 10.
Of the emergence of Marcel Kittel and Nairo Quintana, one now a sprinter to be reckoned with and the other a climber who should make his mark on the Tour for years to come.
Of Froome’s high cadence attacks on Mont Ventoux.
Of the crosswinds blowing the peloton to bits on stage 13.
But when I really stop and think about what I enjoyed most about this year’s race (Simon Gerrans’ successful drag race against Peter Sagan aside), the younger riders start to emerge.
Quintana, Kittel and Michal Kwiatkowski are the next generation and each is a huge talent.
I enjoyed their rides immensely.
In just three weeks of racing, Kittel left the dreaded tag of ‘potential star’ behind and finally joined the big three of Cavendish, Andre Greipel and Sagan as an equal.
Quintana has shown glimpses of his talent over the past 12 months but now everybody knows his name. He has become a stage winner of the Tour de France and has shown he can match it with the best on the slopes of Europe’s most notorious climbs.
A mouthwatering rivalry with Froome beckons and the two should keep us entertained for years to come.
And perhaps that’s what this Tour has been all about – the future.
Perhaps its defining moment didn’t happen on the roads of France at all, but rather on the podium at the completion of its crazy 3,399.5 kilometre route.
As the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe lengthened in the Parisian twilight and Froome stood atop the podium to received his much sought-after maillot jaune, the moment that will either make or break the 2013 Tour de France came to pass.
“This is one yellow jersey that will stand the test of time.”
Those 12 words from the victor rang out around the Champs-Elysees, their meaning implicitly understood.
It was a sentiment that resonated in the hearts of all cycling fans. While not all believe it, we all hope it’s true.
After all, the 100th edition of the Tour deserves its defining moment, even if it won’t be confirmed for many years to come.
I, for one, want to believe, because a Tour such as this deserves to be remembered for so much more than having a bus wedged beneath a gantry!
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