For drama, this battle had it all

2017 TOUR: SPECTACULAR CRASHES, DISQUALIFICATIONS

“The challenge is even bigger this year – I feel as if the level of rivals is even higher,” said Chris Froome before the Tour de France began.

His projection proved true as he won the race by his slimmest margin yet: just 54 seconds.

It was a dramatic Tour, for many reasons.

World champion Peter Sagan was sensationally kicked out for elbowing Mark Cavendish in the sprint finish to the fourth stage.

Cavendish broke his collarbone, and Sagan paid the penalty.

Everyone was waiting for the first uphill finish on the fifth stage at La Planche des Belles Filles, where Froome had taken his first stage win in 2012.

This time, though, he was beaten into third as Fabio Aru took a brilliant solo victory with Dan Martin even distancing Froome into third.

Beaten on the day, Froome did however take the yellow jersey off his loyal lieutenant Geraint Thomas, the shock winner of the opening time-trial.

There was something familiar about seeing Froome in yellow and Sky in control of the peloton but things were far from straight-forward, not only for Froome.

The ninth stage in the Jura was a costly one for the Tour favourites as rain made the descent of the Mont du Chat climb perilous.

Richie Porte came crashing down in a spectacular fall that ended his race with a broken collarbone and pelvis.

And Froome also lost Thomas in another crash, while it was the day that confirmed Nairo Quintana’s gamble to ride the Giro d’Italia in May followed by the Tour would backfire.

Twice a runner-up to Froome in France and third last year, Quintana would gradually fall further away and finish a lowly 12th.

Froome would have dearly loved to crown his fourth Tour win with a stage success but he came up 6sec short in the 20th stage time-trial in Marseille.

It was but a minor blow, though, for the man long established as the finest of his generation, and in a couple of years, maybe the greatest of them all. –