From A to Z: a look back at the 2011 Tour de France's highs and lows | William Fotheringham
From Cadel Evans's mechanical mishap on the Col du T�l�graphe to Tommy Voeckler's hissy fit
A is for Australia Advancing. Fair. Public holiday to celebrate first win in Tour, 30 years since the first yellow jersey worn by a man from down under. Let's not forget him: Anderson, Phil.
B is for Barbed Wire Car 800's swerve to avoid a tree while overtaking the break on stage nine, bringing down Johnny Hoogerland and Juan-Antonio Flecha, is now infamous. The images of Hoogerland with his shorts ripped to shreds after becoming entangled in a fence are unforgettable. But he finished the Tour, 33 stitches in his legs, as did Flecha, both racing hard in the final week.
C is for Crashes They dominated the first week's racing, ruling out Bradley Wiggins, Janez Brajkovic, Chris Horner, Robert Gesink, Andreas Kl�den, J�rgen Van Den Broek, Alexander Vinokourov and disabling Alberto Contador. C is also for Clenbuterol. Largely forgotten by the end of the Tour but back on the agenda next week when the CAS rule on the Contador case.
D is for Doping On the face of it the race looks far cleaner this year although, as always, reserve judgment until the last test results are in. But there is major encouragement from the following: no supernatural performances, 11 stage wins out of 20 for Garmin, Sky and HTC, all teams with strong internal anti-doping policies, strong riding by the French and slower times for the main climbs. One positive test to date, for the Russian Alexandr Kolobnev, which is as nothing compared with the shenanigans of 2006 to 2008. Also Descents, which were unusually decisive in this year's Tour. The crash on the Pas de Peyrol on stage nine led to the peloton go-slow which put Voeckler in yellow. The time Evans gained on Andy Schleck on the Col de Manse going down into Gap on Tuesday was vital.
E is for Europcar Giving them an invite was not the worst decision the Tour organisers have ever taken: fourth overall and 11 days in yellow for Tommy Voeckler; Alpe d'Huez stage win and the best young rider's jersey for Pierre Rolland. Good work for a team that was heading for oblivion 10 months ago, has a budget well below the Leopards, BMCs and Skys of this world, and has a long record of building young riders as a way of combatting doping.
F is for Flat As in the Pyrenees. In the big picture of this year's Tour at least.
G is for Galibier Quite the opposite. Last year the gamble of running the race up the Tourmalet twice didn't work. This time round, up each side of the old giant it was jackpot time, thanks to Andy Schleck, Cadel Evans and Alberto Contador. Spectacular racing both times for the Col's centenary year.
H is for Hissy fit Tommy Voeckler going all John McEnroe as he lost the yellow jersey, screaming at his team-mates, throwing a bidon to the ground and gesticulating at Johnny Hoogerland fans who were giving him the thumbs down on l'Alpe d'Huez. He rides on emotion, as the French say.
Hilltop finishes Nine of them, varying from the brief pull past the Basilica in Lisieux to the top of the Galibier, plus two finishes (Gap and Pinerolo) with a hill so near to the finish, the line might as well have been on the top. Definitely the way to produce a thrilling Tour. More can be expected in future.
I is for Intermediate sprints Changed over this year to one sprint per stage, carrying a shed load of points. Mark Cavendish and Jos� Joaqu�n Rojas rose to the challenge. Added a new element to every stage. Should also be repeated.
J is for Jaune Not as in maillot but as in the unidentified spectator who stood too close to the road on stage one and caused the crash that lost Alberto Contador over a minute. Christened La Dame en Jaune by the newspaper L'Equipe and eventually identified as a 13-year-old called Th�o.
K is for Kidology As usual, the Tour was full of it. The best example was Movistar's plan to attack Mark Cavendish on the Col d'Agnel in the hope he would be eliminated from the green jersey competition. Announcing it 36 hours in advance made it clear it was designed to play on Cav's mind rather than play out on the road.
L is for Leaderless Team Sky was decapitated by the crash that did for Bradley Wiggins but the British team responded thanks to Edvald Boasson Hagen, Geraint Thomas and Rigoberto Ur�n.
M is for Mechanical Cadel Evans's key moment came when the quick release on his bike jammed on the climb of the T�l�graphe on Friday when he had escaped with Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck. Critically, he didn't panic but waited for his team and chased for the rest of the stage. And the adjective describes Evans's style on the bike: not pretty but effective.
N is for Norway An outrageous hit-rate for its two representatives, Boasson Hagen and Thor Hushovd, with two stage wins each (and part of a third, the team time trial for Hushovd). Sadly overshadowed by Friday's tragedy.
O is for Old School Andy Schleck's long-range move on the Col d'Izoard and Alberto Contador's attack at the foot of the Col du T�l�graphe 24 hours later were a throwback to the old days, when riders threw caution to the winds.
P is for Pramartino The backyard of a house on the descent now has a little place in history as the landing place of first Jonathan Hivert and then Tommy Voeckler after they overshot the corner just up the hill.
Q is for Queen stage The triptych of the Agnel, Izoard and Galibier on Thursday lived up to its billing as the �tape reine thanks to the epic pursuit match between Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans.
R is for Rihs Andy. The Swiss tycoon, founder of hearing-aid company Sonova, also known as Phonak, and owner of the BMC bike company, which returned to the sport to finance Cadel Evans's team in 2010 after getting his fingers burnt in 2006 with Floyd Landis.
S is for Schlecks. The first brothers to stand on the podium together.
T is for Twitter @MarkCavendish probably the funniest on a daily basis, from a toilet that was too tall for his "Munchkin legs" to this: "1 point today I got bad stomach cramp & farted unintentionally. Really thought I'd ... ahem ... followed through. So sorry to Liquigas guy behind."
U is for Unexpected. What the 2011 Tour produced, day after day. Evans's triumph in the final time trial made sense on paper, but was surprisingly emphatic.
V is for Vinokourov Do svidaniya Alexander. Our last image of you is a poignant one: a broken man being hauled out of a tree after that vast pile-up on the descent of the Pas de Peyrol. We loved your attacking racing but were always uneasy about you after that doping ban.
W is for Wales Evans has distant Welsh ancestry but this Tour showed the all-round qualities of Geraint Thomas, a constant presence in the bunch sprints, up there on the hilltop finishes, second man over the Col du Tourmalet and strong in the Alps. The ultimate hard nut.
X is for X-tra-ord-i-naire French television commentators in ecstasy at Plucky Tommy V.
Y is for Yellow. One day for Evans, one for Andy Schleck, one for Philippe Gilbert and a whacking 11 for Plucky Tommy, now on a total of 21, just behind Laurent Fignon, Greg LeMond and Joop Zoetemelk.
Z is for Zabel, as in Erik, six-times points winner in the Tour and a key factor in Mark Cavendish's triumph this year.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/jul/24/tour-de-france
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