Tour de France: Geraint Thomas's victories mean Team Sky was more dominant than ever despite an abrasive road

The 1965 edition of the Tour de France ended on the usual ramparts of Champs-Elysées . And as the trend has been over the past half decade, it 's again the British Team Sky that has emerged as dominant on French soil. In fact, they finished stronger this year than by their recent performances, with two runners on the podium (a feat that they also achieved in 2012).

For the locals – who have not enjoyed the dominance of Chris Froome in the past few years – the only relief was that it was not Froome, but his teammate Geraint Thomas who claimed the jersey yellow of the champion. We analyze here the three weeks full of action, at one of the most contested tournaments of the last years

The main distinction of this year's route was the intense climbing stages placed back-to-back and the relative lack of time-trials. There was also the very scary Stage 9, which traveled more than 20 kilometers from the infamous cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix . It was a hard and abrasive course, meant to challenge everyone else, a certain winner four times of the race. It was a road that required maneuverability, explosive escalation and tactical race management, and if you look at the top five, they fit that description perfectly.

Abrasiveness began the first day with Froome losing 51 seconds, putting him on the defensive from the start. Froome arrived on this Tour thanks to three consecutive victories in the Grand Tour, aiming to tie the legendary Eddy Merckx by winning his fourth Grand Tour of the day and a fifth Tour de France. There is a good reason why no one could match Eddy "The Cannibal" Merckx, and that is what turned out for Froome. The exhaustion of a year and more of continuous racing takes its toll, and fatigue has shown in Froome's performance which, unlike in the past, has cracked several times this year when put under pressure.

His position on the podium is more of a reflection of Team Sky's strength than his solo performance in the race. Froome would probably have struggled to stay in the top five, but for the Herculean efforts of Egan Bernal and Michal Kwiatkowski, who brought him back into the race whenever the defending champion was in trouble . The only stage where Froome watched his former team was the individual time trial (ITT) on Saturday, where he finished just one second behind the winner Tom Dumoulin

The Dutchman Dumoulin himself had a bad time. The puncture caused Thomas to lose more than a minute (including a penalty of 20 seconds). In hindsight, it was a defining moment in Dumoulin's race and though he had not lost this time, his race strategy in the mountains would have been quite different. Dumoulin admitted, however, that even without this mishap, he would probably have finished behind Thomas, whom Dumoulin regarded as the strongest of this year, especially in the mountains. Still, there was a feeling among non-Sky fans that had had the traditional amount of ITTs, Tom would probably have made up for the time deficit.

No one, however, can take this victory away from Thomas. The affable Welshman is probably one of the few popular Team Sky pilots, generally enjoyed by pilots and fans alike. As Dumoulin said, Thomas showed his strength throughout the three weeks. Be it the pebbles, the high climbs or the time trial, he was always at the front of the pack, defending the attacks, counter-attacking and never letting his opponents catch him at the slightest moment. His race management was also perfect, which allowed him to collect a total of 33 seconds bonus on different stages. This is a factor that is not usually taken into account by the best, but these unimportant benefits accumulated during the race gave him the stamp he needed on ITT specialist Dumoulin before the ### 39, penultimate stage.

during his career, with his long list of painful injuries, including a broken pelvis, clavicle fracture and a broken spleen. Therefore, despite his immense talent, Thomas had never finished in the top 10 during a Grand Tour, due to untimely accidents. Thus, a fall on the cobblestones or in a downhill sector was his biggest fear. He was scared at the penultimate stage, but it is clear that the Welshman worked on his flying technique, which he showed during the difficult final run of the 19th stage. same, which is one of the ironies of this Tour. We have already mentioned the problems of Froome and Dumoulin, but the big names of Richie Porte, Rigoberto Uran and Vincenzo Nibali have probably deprived this race of part of its sting. Quintana won a brave victory at the 17th stage, raising some interesting questions for the leaders, and then crashing onto a routine scene the next day. The downfall meant that the much-anticipated Colombian attack on stage 19 was never materializing.

If established climbers were tested to their limits, then spare a thought for the sprinters, who would always fight on that road. The record of fast men was so high that the last nine winners of the final sprint in Paris were not even on the road Sunday. Most high-level sprinters could not survive the triple whammy of Steps 10, 11, and 12. No course, however, seems able to challenge the mercurial Peter Sagan, who was completely dominant in the Green Jersey classification even before retirements from mass. His dominance in the race is established by the fact that he finished with almost twice the points of the second Alexander Kristoff

Shockingly even Sagan, one of the best bike handlers in the squad, fell on a routine descent, almost crush the Tour (perhaps he rubbed Thomas during the daily presentations of the jersey, taking the unlucky part of the British with him). Asked about his accident, Sagan replied in his usual nonchalant manner: "I entered a forest and I hit a rock with my buttocks." But Sagan's iron will again dissipated . steps despite significant injuries. Especially during the 19th stage, a massive mountain stage, where he expected the most to succumb to his injuries, Sagan was aiming for pain, to finish well in the allotted time.

The French may have won this race more than any other country (36 wins overall, Belgium being second far behind with 18), but they won in 1985. This fact still irritates locals, who feel that their national race has been taken over by foreign teams and runners. But like every year, there is always something to celebrate for France. This year, they do not have a rider on the podium, but the Frenchmen Julian Alaphilippe and Pierre Roger Latour respectively won the Polka Dot and the White Juniors. Will they continue to justify their talent, or flatter to deceive, only time will tell.

The biggest password probably goes to the American Lawson Craddock, who as 145 in the last position. What's so special about the last death you would ask? Well, for beginners, it was a brutal race where 31 of the best riders in the world could not reach the finish. Secondly, take into account that Craddock crashed from the first day, breaking his shoulder blade, then chose to ride for 20 more days because of the pain. The Tour should probably reward the young American for his perseverance. Participating in the Tour is not an easy task, as the famous saying goes: "You do not finish the Tour de France. You finished the Tour de France . "

It was a classic Tour, which produced a new winner in a very close battle.The total speeds of Thomas and Dumoulin were respectively 40.18 and 40.17 kmph!" At Primoz Roglic and Egan Bernal he has produced stars for the future, who may have missed the podium this time, but are sure to visit him soon, and, as usual, he has given us some breathtaking visuals of the capital So until the next year goodbye and Long Live the Tour !