Some sporting triumphs are meant to be savoured, and British fans were treated to a host of huge victories in July this year.
Andy Murray ended a 77-year hoodoo at Wimbledon, the British and Irish Lions won in Australia and England’s cricketers were well on their way to defending the Ashes.
And, of course, there was also the small matter of Team Sky’s Chris Froome storming to victory in the 100th edition of the Tour de France.
Froome may have missed out on a Sports Personality of the Year award, but his triumph in France is one which will undoubtedly be fondly remembered for years to come.
The Kenyan-born Brit did not just win the greatest prize in cycling, he destroyed his rivals – including multiple Grand Tour winner Alberto Contador – on his way to claiming the prestigious maillot jaune.
Having blown the race apart on Ax 3 Domaines with a stunning solo attack, Froome also went on to win with a blistering ride up Mont Ventoux and showed his versatility as a rider by time-trialling to a third stage victory.
With faithful lieutenant Richie Porte almost a permanent fixture by his side, Froome blasted up mountains with a simply peerless performance to become only the second Brit in history to win the Tour, a year after Sir Bradley Wiggins.
The Tour was not just about Froome, of course – Slovak superstar Peter Sagan stormed to a second consecutive green jersey, while Nairo Quintana underlined his sensational ability by winning on Mont Semnoz to secure the King of the Mountains jersey, first place in the youth classification and second place overall.
Rui Costa gave us an example of exactly what he could achieve too, with two stage victories, both courtesy of stunning long-range attacks, to set himself up nicely for the World Championship victory which was to follow.
Marcel Kittel also stole a few headlines, as he outsprinted the greatest of them all – Mark Cavendish – to record four stage victories.
If his victory on stage one had been a little fortunate, owing to the crash which preceded it, there was nothing lucky about how he outsprinted Cavendish on stages 12 and 21 – the latter ending the Manx Missile’s run of four straight victories on the Champs-Elysees.
Such was Kittel’s phenomenal success, Cavendish tagged him as the next sprinting superstar – but the Manx Missile ensured he did not leave France empty-handed, with a hugely impressive victory when he conquered the crosswinds into Saint-Amand-Montround during stage 13.
Christophe Riblon (Ag2r-La Mondiale) was left to provide joy for the home supporters – conquering the double ascent of Alpe d’Huez to record a famous stage victory.
Away from the Tour, there was also personal success in France for thousands of amateurs who tackled the Etape du Tour – including our man George Scott who blogged about his experience.
Preparations were also well underway for the inaugural RideLondon-Surrey Classic, as the popularity of cycling in the UK took another huge leap forward.
But central to the most recent step on the phenomenal rise of cycling in this country was just one man – the 2013 Tour de France champion Chris Froome.
