Sturney: 2013’s top-10 moments in cycling
With the close of 2013 just a few weeks away, Canadian Cycling Magazine‘s writers are reflecting on the major moments of the past year. The first writer to take a look at the past 12 months is Rob Sturney.
10. Fabian Cancellara’s Spring Monuments double
While it was impressive how the Swiss rider reeled in an octet enjoying a 15-second lead with 30 km to go after he had played possum, and then beat Sep Vanmarcke in a sprint to win Paris-Roubaix, his dispatching of Peter Sagan on the Paterberg to take his second Tour of Flanders was masterful.
9. Svein Tuft wins the lanterne rouge
Even though the Tour de France doesn’t officially recognize this distinction, it was great to see Canadian hardman Tuft, one of the workhorses of the peloton, get some kind of notoriety for finishing on the cobbles in Paris. Chapeau, Svein.
8. Lance Armstrong admits to doping
Ryder Hesjedal’s admission to a shady start to his career was the season’s nadir. Armstrong’s confession to using doping throughout his seven Tour de France titles was both unsatisfying because of the damage done to the sport, and satisfying because he finally dropped the firm-jawed gunfighter’s squint of denial. Recently on ESPN.com, Lance complained that he was singled out for harsh punishment because he “tested positive for being the biggest a**h*** in the world.”
7. Vincenzo Nibali wins the Giro d’Italia
If Chris Froome’s Tour win was the most impressive Grand Tour performance and Chris Horner’s Vuelta victory was the most surprising, Vincenzo Nibali’s Giro triumph, in the most relentlessly wretched of weather, was the most hardcore.
6. Road cycling world championships
Rui Costa capped off a fantastic season by nicking the rainbow jersey as the Spaniards marked Vincenzo Nibali. Marianne Vos continued her utter dominance of women’s racing.
5. Canadian cyclocross championships
Catharine Pendrel won her first elite title and Geoff Kabush won his fourth in South Surrey, B.C.
4. Canadian women’s team pursuit quartet wins the L.A. Grand Prix
This powerful and well-drilled foursome has been the cream of Canada’s track cyclists since 2012. After several second- and third-place finishes the gang deserved their November victory.
3. Chris Froome’s attack on Mont Ventoux
Chris Froome handily won the Tour de France, even with his Sky squad looking vulnerable compared to 2012 when it was dominant in aiding Bradley Wiggins to his Tour triumph. Froome’s remarkable, high-cadence attack to win his second of three stages stamped his authority on the centenary Tour.
2. Nairo Quintana’s Tour de France win on Mont Semnoz
The revelation of the race took his first Tour victory on the penultimate stage. In one fell swoop, Colombian Nairo Quintana jumped up to second place, nailed down the young rider’s category and stole the mountain’s jersey from Chris Froome.
1. Steve Smith wins UCI elite men’s downhill World Cup
Steve Smith (Devinci Global Racing) battled Brit Gee Atherton for the World Cup all year. The Canadian won in Mont-Ste-Anne, Que., Hafjell, Norway and Leogang, Austria to become the first Canadian to take an elite title or even a podium spot.
