Most memorable cycling moments of 2020

2020 has been a memorable year. For most people it was a very unpredictable year with highs and lows, often related to a global pandemic that was rushing through the year. For us cycling fans it's been a short but intensive year. We lost many of our favourite races but from those that remained, we had often the most exciting edition since many years. Here are a few remarkable moments of 2020.

 

19^th December 2020 : Tour de France stage 20

This stage threw many people back in time. One of the best time trialists in the world losing the yellow jersey on the end of the Tour de France in a time trial? That happened to Primoz Roglic but that happened to Laurent Fignon in 1989 as well. This time it wasn't to Greg LeMond but Tadej Pogacar. He kept his countryman from the first Slovenian overeall victory in the Tour de France and became the first Slovenian winner himself. Will we still talk about this time trial in 30 years as well? 

 

18^th October 2020 : Tour of Flanders

A sprint between the two most all round riders of this generation. That happened in the Tour of Flanders this year. When Julian Alpahilippe crashed out the race, they were competing against each other for a big victory once again. They both grew up in the Belgian province of Antwerp and raced already against each other since they were teenagers. A sprint in a monumental classic would be another highlight for the carreer of both men. Van der Poel was the coolest at the line and won it this time. Can Van Aert take revenge in another sprint in Flanders next time?

 

1^st August 2020 : Strade Bianche

Chasing down a 4 minutes gap on your own? No, we're not talking about Eddy Merckx, but about Annemiek van Vleuten. The 37 years old rider from Mitchelton-Scott was stronger then ever before and seemed unbeatable. She managed the race very well and surpassed a very strong Mavi Garcia right before the finish kilometers. She took her 5^th victory in a row and would reward her strong form with the European champion's jersey at the end of the Summer. 

 

4^th October 2020 : Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Worldchampion, Olympic medalist, winner of the biggest classics, but one big race was still missing on the palmares of Elizabeth Deignan. She was in an elite group breakway and decided to go solo when the final began. It seemed long to be a quite easy solo win for Deignan but in the end Grace Brown came very close. It wasn't a dominant win but such a close finish made the race even more exciting and unpredictable. The fact that the third rider was already more then 2 minutes behind, showed how strong both ladies were. Grace Brown wouldn't say with empty hands, because a few days later she would win the Brabantse Pijl after another strong performance. 

 

7^th November 2020 : Vuelta a Espana

The Tour of Spain had only 2 leaders this year, but despite that, the jersey never stayed long on the same pair of shoulders. The race turned into a two men horse race for the red jersey. The two men battled every day for the red jersey and the raceand both seemed to have the upper hand in different stages, what made it very unpredictable for fans. Hugh Carthy and Daniel Martin were never far behind as well and that could have lead to even more suprises. In the penultimate stage, Roglic and Carapaz had their last race for red. Carapaz left Roglic behind but Roglic could maintain the gap and entered Madrid in red the day after.

 

11^th October 2020 : Ghent – Wevelgem

We don't finish our line-up with a victory, but with an event early in the race. Former worldchampion Mark Cavendish did something that never did before in his carreer. The 35 years old rider from Great Brittain won 34 sprints in the Tour de France before and had an expiring contract at his Bahrein – McLaren team. The Manx Misile couldn't impress this in the sprints this season so he chose for another approach. He went in the breakaway and showed his passion for the sport in another way. His words after the race were problably the most emotional words in cycling this year. In the end, the drama finished with a happy end. Mark Cavendish got reward with a contract for 2021 with Deceuninck-Quickstep. He'll be looking forward to a brand new start in 2021 and so are we!