In no particular order:
Best Team - Orica Greenedge: TTT win, 1 sprint win, 5 yellow jerseys in 9 stages. OG is having the tour they had to have, and they've got more wins in their sights.
Best Rider - Peter Sagan - Cannondale: Green Jersey, 1 stage win, 5 podiums out of 8 individually contested stages. His green jersey points lead is massive, we may need to change his nick name to Mr. Consistent.
Best young rider - Michal Kwiatkowski - Omega Pharma Quickstep: He's been performing in every type of stage. Showing up in the flats and holding his own in the mountains and is currently sitting in 13th place. Nairo may be wearing white thanks to his climbing prowess, but MK has been all over this tour.
Most combative - Jan Bakelants - Team Radioshack: He seems to have learned a thing or two from his teammate Jens Voigt. The Belgian has been up front animating the race on more than a few occasions.
Best Climber - Chris Froome - Team Sky: Quintana has arguably been the most exciting climber so far this year, but Froome has ruled the mountains with an iron fist. His performance on Stage 9 was masterful as he neutralized attack after attack from the Colombian and others to maintain his lead in the GC.
Best Crash - Peter Kennaugh - Team Sky: Stage 9 saw him literally disappear off the road and into the bushes. Had it not been for his bike you would never have even known he was there. Glad to say he was only scraped up a bit, but it looked far worse as he tumbled off the bike and down the hillside.
Rule 5 award (Toughest rider) - Geraint Thomas - Team Sky: He broke his pelvis on the first stage of this year's tour. He now sits 1 hour, 51 minutes and 26 seconds behind teammate Froome on the GC. But he hasn't quit the race and has no plans to. I have a friend who recently came back from a broken pelvis and saw first hand the kind of pain it causes...Geraint Thomas has Rule 5 coming out of his ears.
Pelvis injury....not fun at all......I can't imagine riding with the injury.....
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ReplyDeleteHis is definitely not as severe as yours was. I read that they said his was up on the top of the bone and did not go all the way down to the bottom so the docs told him he can pedal without doing more damage. Still can't imagine riding at those speeds and on those climbs with that injury though.
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