The past three weeks have been a remarkable period for British cycling, as Team Sky has totally dominated the 2012 Tour de France, resulting in the first ever British winner as Bradley Wiggins stood atop the podium wearing the yellow jersey at the Champs-Elyse. Wiggins’s margin of victory was monumental, as he beat his teammate and fellow Brit, Chris Froome who finished in second place by over three minutes. Team Sky were in control throughout, and after Wiggins seized the yellow jersey after the first mountainous stage, he never looked like losing it.
In fact Sky went on to win 6 stages, all by British riders. Wiggins romped to victory in decisive fashion in the two time trials, Froome climbed his way to one stage victory, and could have helped himself to more if he wasn’t tasked with being Wiggins’ “Super-Domestique”, whilst World Champion Mark Cavendish sprinted to victory on three occasions. Cavendish’s most notable victory was in the final stage as he surged over the line to record a historic fourth consecutive victory on the Champs-Elyse, and win his 23rd Tour de France stage. In addition to all of this, Garmin’s British rider David Millar also helped himself to a stage, as he proved the strongest man in the victorious breakaway of stage 12. It truly was a British dominated tour.
Wiggins not only won in sublime fashion, but the manner in which he conducted himself was a joy to behold. Due to his courteous behaviour and actions the French supporters took to him kindly, dubbing him “Le Gentleman”, and sparking calls of “allez Wiggo”. On stage 14 after sabotage by the fans in throwing tacks onto the road causing numerous punctures, Wiggins ordered the peloton to slow down to allow the other main contenders, who had been unfortunately hampered, to return to the main bunch. Through his actions Wiggins endeared himself to the public and his fellow riders, by not unduly capitalising on others’ misfortune.
Before 2012 no British rider had even finished on the podium of the Tour de France, with the best placing being 4th for Wiggins in 2008 and Robert Millar in 1984. Millar did manage to win the Mountains Classification that year, and of course Cavendish was victorious in the Points Classification last year winning the green jersey, but neither compare to the prestige of the yellow jersey.
The route may have favoured Wiggins with its long time trials which he specialises in, and the British rider was aided by the absence of Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck, but Wiggins and Sky deserved their victory. This was not just an individual victory, but a success for each member of the team, who all played their part in securing the yellow jersey for Wiggins. As a unit Team Sky looked by far the strongest outfit on show, and this has caused others to wonder how they will compete with the British team in the future. Team Sky’s aim is now to become the “Barcelona of Cycling” and assert their dominance over the Cycling world for the next decade. This year’s tour may only be the start, but for now we should saviour the victory, which could even surpass any Olympic achievements in London.
