The year in controversies
n Israel and the Giro’s BIG start
Taking a Grand Tour out of its European heartlands was ambitious, taking it to a country that has as turbulent a past as Israel was highly risky given that pro cycling takes place so openly. Nothing malicious occurred, but human rights groups pleaded without success for the race start to be moved.
n alpe d’huez madness
Notorious for its rowdy atmosphere, the Tour and police were worried about the potential for trouble on the notorious Alpe. Their fears were exacerbated by the reception Chris Froome had been receiving throughout the race. An additional rope was used to hold fans back on Dutch Corner but fan intrusion further up the climb pulled Vincenzo Nibali down and led to the Italian fracturing a vertebra in the process.
n team WIGGINS left out of tour de Yorkshire
Back home, team selection for races can never be assumed. But the omission of Team Wiggins was somewhat startling, given the invitation to every other British Continental team. With some of those selected (Holdsworth for instance) making very little impact, it seemed like an even bigger faux-pas after those non-selected riders put in notable performances for the Great Britain team.
n moscon’s misdemeanours
To say the Italian rider has a sketchy past would be polite. Racism allegations and deliberately crashing into other riders are just a few marks against Moscon’s name. Add in punching Elie Gesbert on stage 14 of this year’s Tour de France and it looked to be the end of his Team Sky career. Surprisingly Moscon remains, despite a five-week ban for his latest infraction.
n sky V france
A war of words between Sky boss Dave Brailsford and UCI supremo David Lappartient did nothing to quieten the already rowdy reception the British team received at the Tour. Safe to say neither party are winning prizes for diplomacy any time soon.