In Paris, where Marcel Kittel wins for the second time, it is the great triumph of Vincenzo Nibali, well deserved after a perfect Tour: a race dominated and controlled every day with an authority that makes the Italian champion one of the major protagonists of world cycling Today. Moved on the highest podium of the Champs Elysées, Nibali has finally realized the feat he has accomplished. Now his palmarès is impressive: in the four years from 2010 to today, the Shark has won the Vuelta, Giro and Tour, reaching the podium eight times in the three biggest stage races. A masterpiece of 10 and praise. Behind him is emptiness. Above all, the French with Peraud and Pinot took advantage of the withdrawal of Froome and Contador to regain the podium. He too much superiority of the Italian champion who ended up crushing everyone. Few were saved deserving sufficiency. Given the maximum grade to the emperor, let's see the report cards of the subjects. Many rejected, few promoted, many without votes due to the sequence of falls and withdrawals: from Froome to Contador, from Cavendish to Andy Schleck.
Promoted
Marcel Kittel: four stages like last year: the German of Giant-Shimano, first for the second consecutive time on the finish line of the Champs Elysées, confirmed himself as the king of sprinters. After winning three stages in the first four days of racing, Kittel seemed to have disappeared in the Tour which tackled the mountains, from the Vosges to the Pyrenees: but after leaving three stages for sprinters to his two main rivals, Alexander Kristoff (Saint-Etienne and Nimes) and Marcel Greipel (Reims), the blond German re-emerged on the most prestigious finish line, beating Kristoff (second) and Greipel (fourth)).
Jean Christophe Peraud and Thibaut Pinot: it is the two transalpines, respectively second and third in the standings behind Nibali, who brought France back to the podium in Paris. It's been since 1984 that such an event hasn't happened. Without high notes but neither collapses, Peraud and Pinot waited for Valverde to cook himself to overtake him. Taking advantage of the better result in the time trial than his compatriot, Peraud at 37 has achieved the most important result of a career among professionals that began just four years ago after a long stay between mountain biking and cyclocross. A second place earned with the final thrill of a fall on the Champs Elysées catwalk. But no one wanted to rage, much less Thibaut Pinot, the white jersey of youth leader, who at 24 has plenty of time to improve even uphill where he's already strong.
Rafael Maika: polka dot jersey for the best climber in the Tour and two prestigious victories in the Alps and the Pyrenees. Called at the last minute to replace Roman Kreuziger in Tinkoff Saxo, who on the eve of the Tour had revealed abnormal values in his biological passport, the Pole, back from a good Giro, had reluctantly accepted, practically giving up taking care of the classification. But from the solitary victory of Risoul another Tour began for him culminating with the conquest of the polka dot jersey and with the masterpiece-encore in Saint-Lary-Pla d'Adet. With Michael Rogers, victorious in Bagnères-de-Luchon, he made positive a Tour which after Contador's retirement promised very little to the team of the Russian tycoon, Oleg Tinkoff, and Bjarne Rijs.
Tony Martin: he was known as the strongest time trialist around, it is no coincidence that he has been the world champion of the specialty for three years, but what the German has shown in this Tour goes beyond the expected success in the only race against the clock since Bergerac in Perigueux: the triumph in Mulhouse after a solitary breakaway for many km on a track also in the mountains was his unexpected pearl. Off the charts, Martin has often sacrificed himself to help a Kwiatkowski under expectations. The Omega Quick Step owes it to him (and to the good Matteo Trentin, winner in Nancy) if they saved the Tour which was distorted right from the start with the unfortunate crash of Mark Cavendish, forced to retire at the end of the first stage.
Failed
Alejandro Valverde: the fourth place in the Tour does not deceive. For the Movistar captain, the last week of the race was a disaster, which began in the Pyrenees and ended with a very modest performance in the Bergerac time trial, which cost him the exclusion from the podium. That was the minimum goal for Valverde especially after the departure of Froome and Contador, even the fourth place remains his best result obtained in the arc of his seven Tours disputed. No stage wins, almost never the protagonist of an action other than the very unrealistic one in the Tourmalet descent. In fact, he succumbed to fatigue day after day: at the age of 34, even for what was called "L'Embatido" as an amateur, a decline began that was difficult to stop, with a career behind him beaded with only one great success (the 2006 Vuelta) and rich only in many placements, but also stained by involvement in Operacion Puerto.
Peter Sagan: the green jersey for the third consecutive year would promote him by right but the lack of a stage victory condemns him to failure, an uncomfortable record that he shares with Eric Zabel for those who win the points classification. The Slovak tried every time but he never went beyond so many second places.
Michal Kwiatkowski: for the 24-year-old Polish a Tour that ended decidedly below all expectations, a real collapse in the last two Pyrenean stages – accumulating almost an hour late – made him fall in the general classification after having deluded himself in the first part of being able also aspire to the top ten. In the hamlet of Planche des Belles Filles, the one where Contador fell and retired, he was in the virtual yellow jersey for a long time before Nibali broke loose and that day he regained the symbol of the primacy lent to Tony Gallopin for 24 hours.
Joaquim Rodríguez: it was known that he would race the Tour not for the classification but to make his leg up in view of the Vuelta, after the spring misadventures and premature withdrawal from the Giro due to a bad fall. But seeing him at the rear of the race, even on the most demanding climbs, overtaken by riders who aren't grimpeurs, was an image that hurts when recalling Purito's explosive sprint. The defense of the polka dot jersey conquered between the Vosges and the Alps also failed, Rodriguez hopes to make up for it in the Vuelta but in Spain Froome is waiting for him who is hungry for revenge after retiring from the Tour, not to mention Nairo Quintana who will return to the big races after the Giro success.
Richie porte: at the start he was the second force of Team Sky, also serving the very favorite Chris Froome. Then you know how it went. A double fall in the cobbled stage put the Martian from the 2013 Tour out of action. Porte effectively became the point man, to win the Tour, of the British squadron. Never the protagonist, until Saint-Etienne the Australian was however still second just over two minutes behind Nibali. With the Alps and the Pyrenees to climb and the time trial from Bergerac to Perigueux to be contested, Porte was indicated as Nibali's most serious adversary, more so than Valverde himself. But already on the ascent of Chamrousse Porte was in crisis slipping back into the general. And since that day he has become an extra of the Tour out of the picture, colorless and disappointing.
Rui Costa: after having hit two stages last year, he presented himself in this Tour in the rainbow jersey, also on the strength of his third consecutive victory in the Tour of Switzerland: everything suggested that Rui Costa finally has what it takes to be among the men of ranking. Instead it was one of the great disappointments of this Tour which saw him race up to Nimes without ever getting into the heart of the race. No stage wins, physically tested by a few crashes, Rui Costa retired before the Tour restarted for the Pyrenees when he was 13th in the general almost 13 minutes behind Nibali.
