We witnessed a fantastic 2021 season, and after an abbreviated 2020 season, it was great to see almost all the races back on their traditional dates… hopefully in 2022 we’re back to normal. It’s to be expected but I really enjoy the sprints and that’s what I wanted to take a look at. So here’s my top six from the season in no particular order.
Giro d’Italia Stage 2 - Merlier arrives
So many big names there, including Caleb Ewan and the returning Dylan Groenewegen, but it was a first-timer, Tim Merlier, who won the big bunch sprint.
He went long. He rounded them up, went to the front and dared everybody else to chase him down.
It was Nizzolo in second, Viviani there, Groenewegen in fourth, Tim Merlier arrived on the big stage with that win.
Giro d’Italia Stage 5 - Ewan winning
Sticking with the Giro, it was great to see Caleb Ewan getting another Giro stage win. It was his fourth, he would get another one later in the race.
In Stage 5, he got himself tight up against the right barriers, he almost came to blows with Tim Merlier who dropped his chain. Ewan squeezed through and followed the wheel of Viviani, there was a hesitation... a pause in his sprint as he waited for the gap to open. It opened up on his left, he pulled out into the lane, went to another gear and he was in a different class.
Tour de France Stage 4 - Cav's comeback
This one was pretty special. About a year ago, most people had written off Mark Cavendish and I was pretty much on that bandwagon, I didn’t see him coming back.
But then he took his opportunity when Bennett wasn’t there for Deceuninck-QuickStep. He was in pretty good form, he had leadout man Michael Morkov doing an incredible job and he took four stage wins.
It was an incredible performance by the Manxman to get back to the top after what he’s gone through over the last few years.
Tour de France Stage 21 - Van Aert the champ on the Champs
Wout van Aert on the Champs-Élysées got it just right. Mike Teunissen, he did it to perfection, let van Aert through on the left-hand side and he was able to hold off Mark Cavendish quite handily.
He did it all, he won the Mt Ventoux stage, he won the time-trial and he won the sprint on the Champs-Élysées… just ridiculous.
Vuelta a Espana Stage 4 - Jakobsen goosebumps
This was something special. Fabio Jakobsen was the man involved with Dylan Groenewegen on that horror crash in the Tour of Poland a couple of seasons ago. He fought for his life, we never thought he’d get back on the bike. Not only did he get back on, but he returned to the pro peloton, won a couple of minor races, then did it on Vuelta Stage 4 to Aragon.
He was so powerful, he never looked like losing that stage. Fabio Jakobsen, for where he’s come from to be on the top step at a Grand Tour, it brought tears to so many eyes. For me, the ride of the season, the one that gave me goosebumps.
Women's World Championships road race - Balsamo shines
It would be remiss of me to not include something from the world championships for sure, and what I really liked in the sprints was the women’s race. Marianne Vos covered everything, she looked so incredibly strong. She was the favourite and everyone was looking at her, except for Elisa Balsamo.
It would have been the easy choice to follow Vos’ wheel, instead, she got her teammate to lead her out from the front, she took full responsibility with Vos in her wheel. Balsamo just blasted to the line, Vos did everything she could but couldn’t come over the top of the Italian and Balsamo is the world champion.
