For almost a century Great Britain has been on the sidelines of the Tour, now resigned after the tragic end of Tommy Simpson on the sunny ramps of Mont Ventoux chasing some stage successes but never fighting for the yellow jersey. In the last ten years cycling under the Union Jack flag has become the most successful in the world: since 2012 the Tour de France, except for the victory of Vincenzoi Nibali in 2014, has been dominated and won by Her Majesty's riders: once Bradley Wiggins, who led the way, four times Chris Froome who handed over the yellow jersey this year to Geraint Thomas, six triumphs under a single jersey, that of Team Sky, the team that dominated the scene accelerating the replacement of consolidated hierarchies and imposing the English language in a sport that for decades has always spoken French, Italian and Spanish.
Even in cycling as in football it is increasingly difficult to establish oneself without large investments and huge financial resources, a sine qua non condition that has expelled glorious houses of the past, like so many Italians, and industrial sponsors who no longer felt like spending. In these years of domination, Team Sky has always focused on a leader – first Wiggins, then Froome – placing at its disposal, convincing them with the sound of money, riders who would be captains in any other team, winners of world titles and Milan Sanremo like Mikal Kwiatkowski.
The novelty this year is that the leader was changed during the race after Geraint Thomas, by winning at La Rosière and on Alpe d'Huez , proved to be the strongest of all, even Froome on whose legs in the end the efforts of a Giro d'Italia weighed, won with the amazing feat of Bardonecchia-Jafferau. A success that rewards an athlete who has put himself at the service of others for years, "an important and decisive work" as Froome recognized it for his four triumphs in the Tour and their embrace was beautiful when it was time to cut the last finish line on the Champs Elyséès, where Alexdre Kristoff finally imposed his sprint by beating Degenkolb and Démare.
Thus ends a Tour designed for grimpeurs, but which was won by a rider who comes from the track, proving that the breed of pure climber a la Quintana is disappearing or increasingly succumbing to that of long distance climbers such as Thomas, Froome or Tom Dumoulin himself, the only one with Primoz Roglic - pity his failure in the time trial - who was able to enter the all-British duo match.
There are many who emerge defeated from this Tour, including Froome having come to win it and achieve the double Giro-Tour but he lost as champion by placing himself at Thomas' disposal but trying to do the impossible feat in the time trial. Disarming was the surrender of sprinters such as Kittel, Greipel, Gaviria, Groenewegen and Cavendish who returned home as the Alps and the Pyrenees appeared, exalting by contrast the courage and professionalism of colleagues such as Kristoff, Degenkolb, Dèmare (the first three on the Elysian Fields) and above all of Sagan who, despite being battered, brought his sixth green jersey to Paris, equaling Erik Zabel's record.
Romain Bardet was disappointed again, on whom the French were aiming to win again the Tour which hasn't seen a transalpine in the yellow jersey since 1985. Rejected from the Grande Boucle once again was Nairo Quintana who had put the French race at the center of his season but who had only one day of glory on the Col de Portet. Finally, Aso, the company that organizes the Tour, must be placed among those rejected: smoke bombs, tear gas, insults and spits against Froome and his Team Sky companions.
Everything and worse happened in the three weeks of the race. Embarrassing situations for whoever presides over the most important stage competition on the calendar, even worse when it is not possible to stem the chaos created by the crowd that invades the roadway to the point of causing accidents as happened to Vincenzo NIbali on Alpe d'Huez: a uphill fall in the confused final that forced the Shark to retire when he still had all the credentials to enter the fight for the final victory.
