2015 season in review: The year of motorbikes knocking over cyclists

2015 was the year terror struck Paris, twice; a Syrian child refugee washed up dead on a Turkish beach; the VW emissions scandal hit; an Iranian nuclear deal was struck; a new Canadian Prime Minister was elected; and Marty & Doc arrived in the future. But it was also the year that John Degenkolb done a Kelly; Contador, Froome and Aru won Grand Tours; Tom Dumoulin became a GC rider; and Mr. Everything, Peter Sagan, shook up the Worlds.

It was a busy year for me, reflected by the fact I wrote so little. Virtually nothing before the Tour, a little on the Vuelta, and a report of my trip to watch the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. Not a word was typed on the Giro, and even the World Championships and Peter Sagan's stunning victory came and went without note. Such is life. But that didn't mean I didn't watch as much as I could, though I didn't watch the Giro and was left resorting to live minute-by-minute text updates. Still I seen enough to know it was a fine year of cycling and while it's much too late to go back now and rehash it all race by un-documented race, what would the end of one season and the start of another be if I didn't pause briefly to look back in broad terms at the year that was so I can at least get something about it down on record...and hand out some awards.

There were some memorable moments in 2015, as there are in every cycling season, I suppose, and those deserve a mention. Consider for a moment the following magical moments in rough chronological order, just to remind yourself how much you seen, heard, took in, and enjoyed: Riders refusing to race at the Tour of Oman; the wind at Ghent-Wevelgem; Wiggins attacking at Paris-Roubaix; John Degenkolb winning Paris-Rouabix; Alex Dowsett's Hour Record pre-Wiggins; Richie Porte recieving a time penalty for taking a wheel from Simon Clarke at the Giro; Contador blitzing Aru across the Mortirolo; Romain Bardet's descent at the Dauphine; that huge crash at the Tour which all but eliminated Cancellara in Yellow, days before Tony Martin also crashed out in Yellow; Tony Martin winning the cobble stage at the Tour and taking the Yellow jersey after so many near misses; Chris Froome on the Col de Soudet; Chris Froome having piss thrown at him and then defending himself against former French professionals; Peter Sagan descending off the Col de Manse; Vincenzo Nibali holding onto his team car and getting DQ'd at the Vuelta; Tom Dumoulin fighting to retain Red at the Vuelta, but falling short; Fabio Aru redeeming his 2nd at the Giro with his first GT win at the Vuelta; Vincenzo Nibali redeeming himself by winning Il Lombardia solo in front of his adoring home fans; and motorbikes running into riders countless times.

An unbelievable year in the sport, so many talking points, and not a single doping scandal (though there was the release of the CIRC report back in early March). And yet I've left five other special moments off that long list. Those five are the ones that, for me at least, rose above the rest and jumped to my mind first when I initially cast my mind back on the cycling year that was. Here are those, followed thereafter by a number of other awards...