At the season opener, the Tour Down Under, Rohan Dennis got off to a winning start just as he would in the first stage of the Tour de France that summer. Cadel Evans retired following his third place finish, opting to bow out in front of his home fans rather than at the end of 2014. Aussies swept the podium, with Richie Porte filling the second step. Porte went one better at the first of the European races, the Paris-Nice, two stage wins helping him to the GC victory.
Porte won again two weeks later at the Volta a Catalunya, following the two Italian races. The Tirreno-Adriatico, in particular, was the first chance to see the big names slugging it out. 2014 champion Alberto Contador faced competition from Nairo Quintana and Vincenzo Nibali. Nibali barely featured, while Quintana won the vital stage 5 to take a GC lead he would not relinquish, with Contador back in 4th overall.
The cobbled classics were typically hard fought, with many riders attempting three or even all four. Zdenek Stybar and Niki Terpstra were unlucky to finish 2nd twice each, also with each losing out in a sprint. Alexander Kristoff pipped Terpstra in the Tour of Flanders, while John Degenkolb won the Paris-Roubaix from Stybar. Luca Paolini's win at the Gent-Wevelgem would be his last win before being ejected from the Tour de France after testing positive for cocaine.
Alejandro Valverde dominated the Ardennes Classics, winning both La Fleche Wallonne and the Liege-Bastogne-Liege in the space of five days, just as he had in 2006. Since then only Phillippe Gilbert had won more than one in a year. Indeed, he was only beaten into second in the Amstel Gold Race by a long sprint from Michael Kwiatkowski, coming within a whisker of the triple.
At the Giro, it was another Spaniard who wrote his name in the history books. After three Australians (Gerrans, Matthews and Clarke) held the maglia rosa in the first four days, Alberto Contador took control on stage 5, and only relinquished the jersey for one day before finishing almost two minutes clear of Fabio Aru in Milan. Aru's second place, coupled with the young riders' jersey win, and both team jerseys, made it a successful Giro for the Astana squad.
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Contador's victory put him alongside Bernard Hinault as the only men to have won multiple times in each Grand Tour, and set Contador up for his stated aim to win all three Grand Tours consecutively. His win at the previous year's Vuelta also made him the first since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win two consecutive Grand Tours. The race may have lacked the start power of Nibali, Quintana and Chris Froome, but the win nevertheless helped cement Contador as one of the all-time greats of the sport.
Froome's two stage wins and last day victory in the Criterium du Dauphine made him the hot favourite to regain the Tour de France title he lost last year, and he did not disappoint, winning both the yellow jersey and the polka dot for King of the Mountains. It was a dramatic Tour, with first Fabian Cancellara, and then Tony Martin having to relinquish the yellow jersey through injury-forced withdrawals.
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Unfounded allegations of doping plagued the Tour for both Froome and Sky as a whole, with verbal and even physical abuse, particularly in the Pyrenees, where Froome was punched by one spectator, and doused in urine by another. The release of Froome's power data was a slightly baffling choice from Team Sky, not least because out of context, it meant little. Regardless, despite a very late attack from his nearest challenger Quintana on the final two stages before Paris, Froome held on to the jersey he'd held since stage 7 to win by just over a minute.
In the points competition, Peter Sagan took his customary green jersey despite failing to win a stage for the second straight year. His five second places and two combativity awards may have been some further solace, but much more was to come for the Slovakian in 2015.
Elsewhere in the Tour, MTN Qhubeka announced themselves on the world stage. Their debut wildcard entry to the Tour was marked by their Eritrean rider Daniel Teklehaimanot holding the polka dot jersey for four days, after a successful attack on stage 6. The team finished with riders in the top 10 of the mountains and young rider classifications, and 5th in the teams, a superb showing. The top team, however, was undeniably Movistar, with Quintana and Alejandro Valverde giving them a double podium finish, to go with Quintana's young rider and the teams classification wins.
The four weeks before the Vuelta a Espana contained three WorldTour events, with Adam Yates taking his first one-day and WorldTour victory in the Clasica de San Sebastian following a well-timed attack. Movistar's Jon Izagirre also took a maiden WorldTour victory in the Toue de Pologne, while the Eneco Tour was won by defending champion Tim Wellens.
The Vuelta began with something of a farce, as the Team Time Trial course was neutralised due to several ill-advised sandy sections along Marbella's beach. Most GC contenders' teams did not contest the time trial with any vigour, although Tejay van Garderen's BMC team took the opportunity to warm up for the Worlds with a stage win.
Stage 2 contained a different sort of controversy. A crash split the peloton, with Fabio Aru and Vincenzo Nibali notably being held up. Both eventually caught up, but tv footage showed Nibali being given a slingshot by his team car in the process. The commissaires disqualified Nibali from the race that evening.
On the topic of controversy, bizarrely motorbikes were a hot topic of conversation. Saxo Tinkoff threatened legal action towards the Vuelta organisers after two of its riders were knocked off by tv camera bikes, including Peter Sagan in the run up to a sprint he was tipped to win. But also, wild allegations of motorised bikes were thrown around, stemming from Movistar 'hiding' a damaged bike in their team car following a crash. Normal procedure, they said. What followed was bordering ridiculous, as following Frank Schleck's win in stage 16, five bikes belonging to riders from several teams were inspected for motorised shenanigans. Hardly surprisingly, nothing was found.
In the points competition, Peter Sagan took his customary green jersey despite failing to win a stage for the second straight year. His five second places and two combativity awards may have been some further solace, but much more was to come for the Slovakian in 2015.
Elsewhere in the Tour, MTN Qhubeka announced themselves on the world stage. Their debut wildcard entry to the Tour was marked by their Eritrean rider Daniel Teklehaimanot holding the polka dot jersey for four days, after a successful attack on stage 6. The team finished with riders in the top 10 of the mountains and young rider classifications, and 5th in the teams, a superb showing. The top team, however, was undeniably Movistar, with Quintana and Alejandro Valverde giving them a double podium finish, to go with Quintana's young rider and the teams classification wins.
The four weeks before the Vuelta a Espana contained three WorldTour events, with Adam Yates taking his first one-day and WorldTour victory in the Clasica de San Sebastian following a well-timed attack. Movistar's Jon Izagirre also took a maiden WorldTour victory in the Toue de Pologne, while the Eneco Tour was won by defending champion Tim Wellens.
The Vuelta began with something of a farce, as the Team Time Trial course was neutralised due to several ill-advised sandy sections along Marbella's beach. Most GC contenders' teams did not contest the time trial with any vigour, although Tejay van Garderen's BMC team took the opportunity to warm up for the Worlds with a stage win.
Stage 2 contained a different sort of controversy. A crash split the peloton, with Fabio Aru and Vincenzo Nibali notably being held up. Both eventually caught up, but tv footage showed Nibali being given a slingshot by his team car in the process. The commissaires disqualified Nibali from the race that evening.
On the topic of controversy, bizarrely motorbikes were a hot topic of conversation. Saxo Tinkoff threatened legal action towards the Vuelta organisers after two of its riders were knocked off by tv camera bikes, including Peter Sagan in the run up to a sprint he was tipped to win. But also, wild allegations of motorised bikes were thrown around, stemming from Movistar 'hiding' a damaged bike in their team car following a crash. Normal procedure, they said. What followed was bordering ridiculous, as following Frank Schleck's win in stage 16, five bikes belonging to riders from several teams were inspected for motorised shenanigans. Hardly surprisingly, nothing was found.
Back to sporting matters, the red jersey changed hands eight times during the Vuelta, between five riders. Esteban Chaves took the jersey from Peter Velits, who was first over the line for BMC in stage 1, before losing it to the revelation of the Vuelta, Tom Dumoulin. The Dutchman recovered from a broken and dislocated shoulder sustained in the Tour de France to trade the lead with Chaves over the course of the less hilly first half of the Vuelta, but he dug deep to keep in touch through the mountains. He gained almost two minutes on the leader following the mountains, Aru, and three on Joaquim Rodriguez to retake the red jersey by just three seconds.
Defying the odds, Dumoulin withstood several attacks to actually extend his lead by a further three seconds in the following stage 19. Sadly for Dumoulin, and his rapidly growing list of supporters, the penultimate stage 20 proved one too many. Astana, united behind Aru in Nibali's absence, powered up the third of four climbs, smashing the peloton to pieces, and Dumoulin did not have the energy to respond. Indeed, he lost four minutes, dropping to 6th in the GC standings.
Few, perhaps with the exceptions of eventual podium finishers Joaquim Rodriguez and Rafaj Majka, would have begrudged Dumoulin a place on the GC podium for his efforts. The overall combativity award from a public vote showed that his spirited race will perhaps be the abiding memory of this year's Vuelta. Despite Dumoulin's heartbreak, it was a well deserved first Grand Tour win for Aru, although marred slightly by allegations of him benefitting from another sling from a teammate, this time the hand of Luis Leon Sanchez on stage 19.
Spaniard Alejandro Valverde marked his home race by taking the points jersey and 7th overall, as well at the team classification again with Movistar. The points gained gave Valverde an almost unassailable lead at the top of the UCI World Rankings, as he closed on a second successive win.
Attention turned then to the World Championships, held in Richmond, Virginia, on a course that has a slight rise leading up to the finish, sure to test tired legs. BMC took the men's TTT, with Velocio-SRAM winning the women's. Linda Villumsen and Vasil Kiryienka were the individual time trial champions, but much of the attention was on the road race.
Following several attacks up the twisting, cobbled Libby Hill Park on the final lap, Peter Sagan burst clear, and an unco-ordinated group was unable to reel him in The Slovakian rolled home three seconds clear, to take a famous win, arguably even greater than his four consecutive green jerseys in the Tour de France.
In the women's race, nine elite riders broke away towards the end and contested a sprint, with Britain's Lizzie Armitstead beating Giro and La Course winner, Anna van der Breggen, into second. This rounded off an excellent year for Armitstead, where she also won the UCI World Cup, thanks to wins in the Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio, The Philadelphia Cycling Classic and the GP de Plouay. Anna van der Breggen's wins in the Tour's sister event, La Course, and the Giro d'Italia Femminile cemented her as one of the premier names in women's cycling.
The introduction of La Madrid Challenge (won by Shelley Olds) provided a trio of Grand Tour sister events, although of those only the Giro Rosa is anything more than a one-day exhibition on the final stage of the men's race. The nine day Giro on its own course is an established major event, albeit no longer a true Grand Tour, but the issue of parity remains.
Many seasons wound up after the World Championships, but the serious issue of the season ending Il Lombardia remained, with Vincenzo Nibali claiming his first WorldTour win of the year at the last opportunity.
The inaugural UCI Cycling Gala marked the end of the season, with Contador, Froome and Aru being given special awards to mark their Grand Tour victories. Alejandro Valverde was confirmed as the individual rankings for the second year in a row, with compatriot Joaquim Rodriguez and teammate Nairo Quintana rounding out the top 3. Movistar pipped Katusha to the teams award by just 13 of their 1619 points, thanks to a good showing in the World Team Time Trial. Unsurprisingly given their dominance of the podiums, Spain took a fourth consecutive nations title.
And so ends the 2015 UCI World Tour. We'll be looking at prospects for 2016 soon, and naturally covering it as it happens. Until then, if you've got any fond memories of this season, or think we've missed something, do leave a comment below.
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| CyclingWeekly |
Defying the odds, Dumoulin withstood several attacks to actually extend his lead by a further three seconds in the following stage 19. Sadly for Dumoulin, and his rapidly growing list of supporters, the penultimate stage 20 proved one too many. Astana, united behind Aru in Nibali's absence, powered up the third of four climbs, smashing the peloton to pieces, and Dumoulin did not have the energy to respond. Indeed, he lost four minutes, dropping to 6th in the GC standings.
Few, perhaps with the exceptions of eventual podium finishers Joaquim Rodriguez and Rafaj Majka, would have begrudged Dumoulin a place on the GC podium for his efforts. The overall combativity award from a public vote showed that his spirited race will perhaps be the abiding memory of this year's Vuelta. Despite Dumoulin's heartbreak, it was a well deserved first Grand Tour win for Aru, although marred slightly by allegations of him benefitting from another sling from a teammate, this time the hand of Luis Leon Sanchez on stage 19.
Spaniard Alejandro Valverde marked his home race by taking the points jersey and 7th overall, as well at the team classification again with Movistar. The points gained gave Valverde an almost unassailable lead at the top of the UCI World Rankings, as he closed on a second successive win.
Attention turned then to the World Championships, held in Richmond, Virginia, on a course that has a slight rise leading up to the finish, sure to test tired legs. BMC took the men's TTT, with Velocio-SRAM winning the women's. Linda Villumsen and Vasil Kiryienka were the individual time trial champions, but much of the attention was on the road race.
Following several attacks up the twisting, cobbled Libby Hill Park on the final lap, Peter Sagan burst clear, and an unco-ordinated group was unable to reel him in The Slovakian rolled home three seconds clear, to take a famous win, arguably even greater than his four consecutive green jerseys in the Tour de France.
In the women's race, nine elite riders broke away towards the end and contested a sprint, with Britain's Lizzie Armitstead beating Giro and La Course winner, Anna van der Breggen, into second. This rounded off an excellent year for Armitstead, where she also won the UCI World Cup, thanks to wins in the Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio, The Philadelphia Cycling Classic and the GP de Plouay. Anna van der Breggen's wins in the Tour's sister event, La Course, and the Giro d'Italia Femminile cemented her as one of the premier names in women's cycling.
The introduction of La Madrid Challenge (won by Shelley Olds) provided a trio of Grand Tour sister events, although of those only the Giro Rosa is anything more than a one-day exhibition on the final stage of the men's race. The nine day Giro on its own course is an established major event, albeit no longer a true Grand Tour, but the issue of parity remains.
Many seasons wound up after the World Championships, but the serious issue of the season ending Il Lombardia remained, with Vincenzo Nibali claiming his first WorldTour win of the year at the last opportunity.
The inaugural UCI Cycling Gala marked the end of the season, with Contador, Froome and Aru being given special awards to mark their Grand Tour victories. Alejandro Valverde was confirmed as the individual rankings for the second year in a row, with compatriot Joaquim Rodriguez and teammate Nairo Quintana rounding out the top 3. Movistar pipped Katusha to the teams award by just 13 of their 1619 points, thanks to a good showing in the World Team Time Trial. Unsurprisingly given their dominance of the podiums, Spain took a fourth consecutive nations title.
And so ends the 2015 UCI World Tour. We'll be looking at prospects for 2016 soon, and naturally covering it as it happens. Until then, if you've got any fond memories of this season, or think we've missed something, do leave a comment below.
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