Cycling: In our first and second part of the highlights, we dealt with the most exciting and interesting races of the year. Among them were some of our top drivers of 2016. Although there are numerous candidates for this designation every season, we have chosen three particularly well-known stars.
Chris Froome - the tour high-flyer on any terrain
Admittedly, Chris Froome (Sky) also had at least two weaker appearances this year. One performance when he missed the decisive attack at the Olympics and was left behind without a chance and the other when he did not find his best form at the Vuelta in the mountains. Nevertheless, he has to be named when it comes to the top drivers of 2016. This is not necessarily because he won the Tour de France. Rather, it is about how he was able to win the Tour de France. It's not exactly easy to start as a favorite anyway. How he then mastered this task, however, was worthy of a dominator. The Briton had his strong team work for him on almost every stage. At the same time, even then, he made the difference to Nairo Quintana (Movistar). He was the strongest on every terrain. He attacked on a descent and on a flat classic stage he held his nose in the wind himself. In the mountains and in time trials, no competitor could hold a candle to him anyway. All these performances didn't make for an exciting race for victory during this three-week tour, but that wasn't down to Chris Froome. The Brit did his job well and got the maximum out of everything. Like him or not, the Sky captain put in an outstandingly dominant performance in the Tour de France and deserves every respect.
Peter Sagan – the rock star in everyday cycling
Every young professional has to earn respect in professional cycling at the beginning. Peter Sagan (Tinkoff), who is almost 27 years old, is no longer one of these, but not too long ago he earned this respect as a very young pilot. Now he could finally fulfill his big dream and win a monument. After a few unsuccessful attempts, he left all strong opponents behind in the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Among other things, Fabian Cancellara didn't stand a chance against the high-flyer from Slovakia in his last race. For that reason alone he rightly belongs on our list of the top drivers of 2016. But of course Peter Sagan was not satisfied with this success so early in the season. The Tour de France was also back on his schedule. For the fifth time in a row, he cheered on the fans in Paris wearing the green jersey. Next year he will try to catch up with record holder Erik Zabel. Incidentally, he also won three stages in the big loop and wore the yellow jersey for three days. But a Peter Sagan not only marked two highlights of the season in red in his calendar. Finally, at the end of the year, the World Cup was still on the agenda. There he wanted to defend his title, after he was also able to win the title of European Champion on the way there. Sagan drove extremely attentively, despite having significantly less support than his competitors. And? He won again! No question: Peter Sagan is one of the outstanding drivers of our time. That is why we are particularly pleased that he will be at the start for the German team Bora-hansgrohe in 2017.
Greg Van Avermaet - the Belgian golden boy is finally breaking through
Greg Van Avermaet is also one of those drivers who has been in good shape for almost the entire season. The Belgian started his best year with his impressive overall victory at Tirreno-Adriatico. In all, he finished almost 30 times in the top 10. This value, while extremely strong, is actually nothing special for Van Avermaet. In recent years he has always been at the forefront of numerous races. The difference this year is the fact that the Belgian has suddenly mutated into a winning driver. He was able to win twelve races in total, which also brought him third place in the UCI World Tour rankings at the end of the year. He won a stage of the Tour de France and then wore the yellow jersey for three days. However, there was no low afterwards. This resulted in good placements at the Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian and the Eneco Tour. Another win came in Canada at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal and he finished second in Québec. However, the greatest success of his career came in August. He won gold in the road race at the Rio Olympics. It will be exciting to see whether the 31-year-old professional will be able to confirm the best season of his career. In any case, the likeable Belgian has not only made his way into the history books, but also into the hearts of the fans. He has therefore fully earned his place in our list of the top drivers of 2016.
More retrospective articles:
The big season review: The cycling highlights 2016 - Part 1/2
The big season review: The cycling highlights 2016 - Part 2/2
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