All-round Chris Froome just too good

Chris Froome enjoyed a relatively comfortable 54-second winning margin in the general classification in the end, but he readily admitted in his podium interviews that his fourth Tour de France victory was the toughest yet.

Ahead of the stage 20 time trial, less than 30 seconds separated the top three riders, while Froome became the first rider since Oscar Pereiro in 2006 to take the Tour title without winning a single stage.

Giro-Tour double just not possible

When Nairo Quintana announced his plans to attempt the Giro-Tour double in 2017, the Colombian deserved applause for his ambition, albeit that it always seemed a fruitless endeavour.

And after finishing second at the Giro behind Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), his 12^th-place finish at the Tour only served to reiterate the belief that it’s just not possible to win both Grand Tours in the same year. Alberto Contador was the last man to try, in 2015, and finished fifth at the Tour after winning the Giro.

Quintana was, in truth, hamstrung from the start by Alejandro Valverde crashing out of the race in the stage one time trial but he was too frequently dropped from the GC group long before the serious climbing started on the mountain stages.

And Quintana was not the only one to struggle, with Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) abandoning on stage 17 and vowing never to ride both races in the same year again.

Pinot was fourth at the Giro d’Italia, knocked off the podium in the final stage time trial, and had arrived at the Tour to hunt stage wins and mountains points. He never got close to either, however, and it is unlikely we will see anybody else attempting a double in the near future.

Indeed, had Quintana targeted the Tour de France specifically this year, then we may have had a very different final result. After all, it was Quintana who came closest to toppling Froome in any of his four Tour wins back on Alpe d’Huez  in 2015.

Enthralling finale saves ‘boring’ route

We have already discussed the largely uninspiring first two weeks of this year’s race, which resulted in six bunch sprints and very little breakaway action thanks to a route full of long, flat and tedious stages.

Fortunately, from that point, it all picked up – the final ten days finally enticed the breakaway riders out, saw the battle for the green jersey really heat up, and most importantly gave us plenty to enjoy from the GC riders too.

The summit finish on Peyragudes where Froome was finally dropped was brutal, while the short, climb-laden stage 13 was a great addition to the race with action all over the road.

We enjoyed an uphill finish into Rodez on stage 14, a day for the break on stage 15, and a super-fast stage 16, where the pace was rapid from the start and ensured a diminished bunch sprint, before two days in the Alps.

That was more like what we have to come expect from the Tour so we can only hope organisers ASO have learned their lessons.

Hopefully next year will bring more early excitement, as we have enjoyed in recent editions of cycling’s biggest race.

Never put all your eggs in one basket

This year’s Tour de France claimed some high-profile victims, with Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) crashing out on stage one and setting the tone for much of the three weeks that followed.

Movistar, without Valverde to support Nairo Quintana in the mountains and provide a second option overall, and Bahrain-Merida, missing their team leader, had disappointing Tours and finished well down the money table as a result.

But perhaps the biggest disaster of the Tour was FDJ, who made a flying start with Arnaud Demare winning stage four and briefly claiming the points jersey, but reached the first rest day with just five of their nine riders left in the race.

It was down to three when Thibaut Pinot climbed off in the Alps, after Arthur Vichot had already abandoned in between, and yet it was totally avoidable.

Demare, struggling with illness, was surrounded by lieutenants in the mountains on stages eight and nine, with the aim of helping him to make the time cut.

That itself is fair enough, but by stage nine – having just got in the previous day – it was clear Demare would not make it on the brutal, climb-laden stage.

And yet Demare had three team-mates miss the time cut with him, and FDJ were barely spotted in the race thereafter.

Compare that to Dimension Data, who lost Mark Cavendish to the crash that marred the end of stage four. With their lead sprinter absent, Africa’s Team promptly switched to plan B, with Edvald Boasson Hagen taking over.

He promptly finished second by the smallest of fractions on stage seven – a photo finish determining he had been beaten by Marcel Kittel by mere millimetres – was second again on stage 16 and finally got his deserved stage win on stage 19.

Added to Boasson Hagen’s three third-place finishes, it meant a relative decent return for Dimension Data, albeit down on their five stage wins in 2016.

The future’s bright for Simon and Adam Yates

By finishing seventh overall and top of the youth classification, Simon Yates became only the second British rider to win the Tour de France’s white jersey.

The first, of course, was not only from the same country but from the same household, born in the same place on the same day no less.

Simon’s success mirrors that of twin brother Adam last year, with the two of them now having finished inside the top ten of each of the last four Grand Tours.

Adam’s Tour success last year was followed by Simon’s stage win and sixth place at the Vuelta a Espana, while Adam was ninth at the Giro d’Italia in May.

The best decision the two of them have ever made was to join Orica-Scott, where they have been able to flourish, afforded freedom and can now target major GC results.

It is worth remembering that Simon was not even supposed to be at the Giro d’Italia, until injury hit Johan Esteban Chaves’ preparations and forced a re-think.

The two twins are now due to team up at the Vuelta a Espana to write the latest chapter in the burgeoning careers.

There is a long way to go yet – the last rider to win the white jersey before going on to win yellow was Andy Schleck in 2010 – but the future is certainly very bright indeed for two of Britain’s most prodigious talents.

Add to them, Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo), Adam and Simon Yates and Johan Esteban Chaves (all Orica-Scott), and Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) and we could be set for an enthralling GC battle on a mountainous parcours.

The race features nine summit finishes, including atop the Alto Hoya de la Mora and fearsome Alto de l’Angliru, dubbed the toughest climb in pro cycling, while the only individual time trial is 42.5km long.

That seems to be play into the hands of riders like Uran – who can no longer be overlooked as a Grand Tour contender – providing he recovers well from the Tour.

Bardet proved himself in the mountains at the Tour too, while Contador animated the race in the Alps and looks to have more to offer when he returns to his home country.

It will be a very different challenge to the Tour, but with all the usual suspects sans Quintana set for the start line, it could end up being the best Grand Tour of the season.