Racing

A Year in Review: the five best sprinters of 2014

Who's top of the class after another high-octane season?

Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol)

Who was first to the line in 2014? (Pic: Tim de Waele/OPQS)
Andre Greipel salutes another Tour Down Under victory as he enjoyed plenty of early-season success (pic: Sirotti)
Mark Cavendish still earned 11 wins in 2014 despite an injury-hit campaign (pic: Tim de Waele/OPQS)
Nacer Bouhanni left FDJ.fr despite earning five Grand Tour career stage wins (pic: Sirotti)
John Degenkolb bagged four stage wins on his way to winning the Vuelta's green jersey in 2014 (Pic: Sirotti)
You can work on you race-winning sprint at the same time as aiding recovery (Pic: Sirotti)

Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol)

German champion Andre Greipel was quickest out of the blocks in 2014, enjoying a fine start to the season Down Under to rack up six victories by the end of February, and he went on to win more races than any other rider.

That came despite a broken collarbone which cost The Gorilla a month of the season in the spring, but much of Greipel’s success can be attributed not only to his sprinting prowess, but also the experience he and his Lotto-Belisol team possess.

The Belgian-based squad held its own against the likes of Giant-Shimano and Omega Pharma-QuickStep in the first half of the year, and even when they suffered a tough start to the Tour de France, with Greipel out of the running and out-gunned on several stages, the 32-year-old recovered to pick up the 12th Grand Tour stage win of his career.

Three one-day wins in Belgium sealed his position atop the race winners’ list in 2014, with 16 victories in total.

Andre Greipel in 2014

Race wins: 16
Grand Tour stage wins: Tour de France x1
Champagne moment: Winning stage six of the Tour de France to prove himself after what had been a difficult start to the race for both Greipel and his team.