2011 season in review: The year an Austrialian won the Tour

I had hoped to get this site up and live around the turn of the new year but unfortunately time, among other things, conspired against me and so we find ourselves into the middle of the first month of the new year, but before the year of twenty-hundred and eleven disappears too far into our rear view, let's hand out some awards for the year that was...

Awards and Gongs

Cyclist of the Year: PHILIPPE GILBERT
Philippe Gilbert. Was there ever anyone who truly came close? The Belgian dominated the spring classic's season before taking a stage win in the Tour de France. He even rode high up the overall well into the big mountains before finally succumbing to the little men. There's a belief that if Gilbert trained for it he could win a Grand Tour and while that would be something to see, it's still fun to enjoy the aggressive riding style he current entertains us with.

Canadian rider of the year: RYDER HESJEDAL
A fitting name for the title! Not quite at the level of 2010 but still Canada's biggest hope.

Sprinter: MARK CAVENDISH
Who else?

Climber: DAVID MONCOUTIE
David Moncoutie for winning his forth mountains classification title in the Vuelta a Espana.

Time-trialist: CADEL EVANS
Cadel Evans to overcome the Schleck's and secure the Tour de France crown.

Classics rider: PHILIPPE GILBERT
He dominated the spring. He appeared unbeatable.

Breakthrough young rider: PIERRE ROLLAND
An award with such past winners (if I'd been doing this in the past) as Richard Virenque, Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso, Alberto Contador and Riccardo Ricco, goes to Pierre Rolland. He won a-top of Alpe d'Huez and scooped the young riders prize at Le Tour. The French are all hoping he's for real and we're all hoping that unlikely those I just named when they broke in, that this kid represents a new generation.

Hard-man: JOHNNY HOOGERLAND
It's an award that should be named the Jens Voigt prize, but not even Jens could win it, and how could anyone else other than Johnny Hoogerland for being knocked off the road by a car and into a barbed wire fence. It was a horrific crash and the injuries only confirmed it. How he got up and continued I will never know.

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MOMENT OF THE YEAR

1. VOECKLER'S ATTEMPT TO DEFEND YELLOW
The grimmace on the face of Thomas Voeckler as he fought tooth and nail to hang onto his Yellow Jersey. When people say 'the yellow jersey brings that little bit extra out of you and makes you go that little bit further' I consider it a bit of a cliche, but men like Voeckler put weight behind such cliches.