Le Tour review: Overall standings...alternative standings...predictions review...team of the Tour

Here is a look across all the various final standings of the 2016 Tour de France with a little word on each. From the overall classification to the best French riders and from a review of my questionable pre-Tour predictions to my overall team of the Tour of which there can be no debate! First up though, the yellow jersey...

The Final General Classification:

1. Chris Froome (GBR/Sky) in 89h04'48"
They took out the early summit finish to try and test him more, so what did he do? He took the race by the scruff of the neck by attacking on the descents and in the cross winds, by out gunning his rivals in the time-trials and by running up Mont Ventoux. There's no doubt Froome was the best rider here but unexpectedly, he was also the most entertaining.

2. Romain Bardet (FRA/AGR2 La Mondiale) @ 4'05"
I'd picked him for the top five but didn't think he could soar this high. No pressure goign forward for the young Frenchman, but he showed a lot of maturity in this race, got stronger as it went on and took an excellent stage victory to Saint-Gervais-les-Bains to move onto the podium.

3. Nairo Quintana (COL/Movistar) @ 4'21"
Failed to flatter and rarely left the rear wheel of Froome. By the time he attakced on Mont Ventoux he was already trying to make up time and by the time he went again it was on the final 4th cat. climb just outside Paris and the Tour was long over. Allergies or too long training back in Colombia? Whatever the reason this wasn't the Quintana we expected...and yet, he still made the podium.

4. Adam Yates (GBR/Orica-BikeExhange) @ 4'42"
A breakthrough Tour for the young British rider. Expected to hunt for a stage win and continue his learning curve, Adam Yates soared high in the overall and for a long time was sitting in a podium position before falling to 4th but winning the young riders white jersey classification.

5. Richie Porte (AUS/BMC) @ 5'17"
Finally proved himself capiable of contending for three week Grand Tours. If it wasn't for the time lost on stage two after a puncture with just four kilometres to go, Porte would probably have finished second to Froome overall. He was always willing to try and attack and Froome aside he looked the best climber at the race.

6. Alejandro Valverde (SPA/Movistar) @ 6'16"
Such a consistent competitor, Valverde has now finished 3rd, 7th, 3rd and 6th in the last four Grand Tours. In the last nine Grand Tours he's competed in out of 13, he's finished in the top 10 in all of them with five podium placings. He never threatened Froome but he worked hard for Quintana and was often the first to make a move and at least try and hurt Team Sky.

7. Joaqium Rodriguez (SPA/Katusa) 6'58"
The Spaniard riding his final Tour de France quietely went about his business with little fanfare. He had been running in the top 5 overall up until stage 10 when he then slipped outside the top 10 but getting in a surviving break on one of the later stages propelled him up to 7th overall just in time for Paris.

8. Louis Meintjes (ZAF/Lampre) s.t.
Another young man for the future, the South African was extremely consistent through the mountains and always able to limit his losses. He wasn't on the attack too often but a fine time-trial on stage 18 got him back into the top 10 which he consolodated through the Alps.

9. Daniel Martin (IRL/Etixx - Quick Step) @ 7'04"
The Irishman was in a podium place until stage 11 when a tough day on Mont Ventoux dropped him back to the position he would eventually finish in. Martin didn't sit on his top ten placing though, he was frequently on the attack in a bid to try and get something from the race.

10. Roman Kreuziger (CZE/Tinkoff) @ 7'11"
Kreuziger was even quieter than Rodriguez, hanging around just outside the top 10 throughout the Tour he used that late race break to gain some time and took advantage of the collapse of both Bauke Mollema and Fabio Aru. A solid showing from the man who thought he would be here to support Alberto Contador's bid.

Ten select others:
11. Bauke Mollema (NLD/Trek-Segafredo) @ 13'13"
13. Fabio Aru (ITA/Astana) @ 19'20"
15. Geraint Thomas (GBR/Sky) @ 28'31"
23. Warren Barguil (FRA/Giant-Alpecin) @ 52'14"
27. Rafal Majka (POL/Tinkoff) @ 1'04'25"
28. Wout Poels (NLD/Sky) @ 1h06'57"
29. Tejay Van Garderen (USA/BMC) @ 1h12'06"
30. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA/Astana) @ 1h19'59"
41. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA/Etixx - Quick Step) @ 2h00'09"
95. Peter Sagan (SVK/Tinkoff) @ 3h27'09"
107. Antoine Duchesne (CAN/Direct Energie) @ 3h44'54"

Green jersey points classification:

1. Peter Sagan (SVK/Tinkoff) 470 pts

2. Marcel Kittel (GER/Etixx - Quick Step) 228 pts

3. Michael Matthews (AUS/Orica-BikeExhange) 199 pts

Five in-a-row then for Sagan and where will it stop? He's won the competition every year he has raced the Tour and is still only 26 years of age. This year he took the competition with his biggest points haul yet, at more than twice that of second place. With an ability to get points on stages the other pure sprinters cant, Sagan could win this for many years to come. He's now just one shy of Erik Zabel's record of six in-a-row between 1996 and 2001. Assuming they don't change the points format to try and spice this competition up, only someone of the ilk of Matthews perhaps could give Sagan a fight in the future, but even that would be a big ask.

Polka-Dot jersey King of the Mountains classification:

1. Rafal Majka (POL/Tinkoff) 209 pts

2. Thomas De Gendt (BEL/Lotto Soudal) 130 pts

3. Jarlinson Pantano (COL/IAM Cycling) 121 pts

It was clear from the early days of the Tour that Majka was here in a bid to win his 2nd King of the Mountains crown at the Tour. Thibaut Pinot may have been a threat, but he abandoned mid-way through and only Thomas De Gendt challenged, losing the jersey to Majka for the final time on stage 15. You get the feeling with Majka this could become a competition he goes after on a regular basis much like Sagan and green.

White jersey Young riders classification:

1. Adam Yates (GBR/Orica-BikeExhange) in 89h09'30"

2. Louis Meintjes (ZAF/Lampre) @ 2'16"

3. Emanuel Buchmann (GER/Bora-Argon 18) @ 42'58"

Adam Yates was superb throughout the Tour, fading only towards the end and coughing up a little too much time against the clock. It wasn't until the later stages that he fell away from a podium finish, but the white jersey prize confirms his status as a potential future winner of the Tour. Louis Meintjes is another one for the future.

Team classification:

1. Movistar in 267h20'45"

2. Sky @ 8'14"

3. BMC @ 48'11"

Pretty close between Movistar and Sky with nobody else in sight. Team Sky were the best team at this Tour given how well they rode in support of Froome but the high placings of both Quintana and Valverde helped secure this contest for the Spanish giants.

Most aggressive rider classification:

1. Peter Sagan (SVK/Tinkoff)

Hard to argue. He should have won it last year given he was perhaps even more dominant then (without the stage wins) and I remember being surprised when it went to Bardet, but once again Sagan was often found on the attack, mopping up points in the green jersey prize and also winning stages. He took three in total proving he is no longer Mr. Second Place and proving there's no such thing as the Rainbow jersey curse.

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ALTERNATIVE (UNOFFICIAL) STANDINGS

Lanterne Rouge:

174. Sam Bennett (IRL/Bora-Argon 18) in 94h22'02"

173. Lars Bak (DEN/Lotto Soudal) @ 15'56"

172. Leigh Howard (AUS/IAM Cycling) @ 22'01"

An early crash left Sam Bennett riding hurt for a lot of the race and thus fighting his way across the mountains. But he made it to Paris whereas 24 men did not. That said, this 2016 Tour had the fewest abandonment's in Tour history leaving Bennett, as he said himself, as the worst place last man of all time!

The Frenchmen:

1. Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) in 89h08'53"

16. Pierre Rolland (Cannondale) @ 26'37"

20. Alexis Vuillermoz (AG2R La Mondiale) @ 38'23"

Until a Frenchman actually wins this thing for the first time since 1985, I'll continue to run the Frenchmen standings. Last year was more competitive with more in the mix and two years ago we had two on the podium and while there will be disappointment in the showings of Thibaut Pinot (DNF) and Warren Barguil (23rd) and the fact it took until stage 19 to get a win, at least the win did come and Bardet who got the win climbed as high as 2nd. Also the performances of Julian Alaphilippe will give cause for hope in future stages whereas Bardet is probably now the best hope of France going forward.

The What-if:

1. Chris Froome in 89h06'28"

2. Romain Bardet @ 2'25"

3. Nairo Quintana @ 2'41"

4. Richie Porte @ 2'52"

5. Adam Yates @ 3'02"

6. Alejandro Valverde @ 4'36"

These standings look at how things would have turned out IF Richie Porte hadn't punctured with 4km to go on stage 2 and lost 1min 45sec -- a loss in itself that would have cost him 2nd place overall. They also factor in that epic day on Mont Ventoux and consider the standings if Froome and Porte had been given their times on the line and not revised times given the exceptional circumstances of the day. As it was Froome would still have won and won well whereas Porte would only have jumped one single place. All in all a top three in Paris that fully deserved it.

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MY PREDICTIONS:

1. Nairo Quintana (finished 3rd)
2. Chris Froome (1st)
3. Thibaut Pinot (DNF)
4. Alberto Contador (DNF)
5. Romain Bardet (2nd)
6. Fabio Aru (13th)
7. Tejay Van Garderen (29th)
8. Dan Martin (9th)
9. Warren Barguil (23rd)
10. Pierre Rolland (16th)

Other jerseys:
Green: Peter Sagan (1st)
KoM: Pierre Rolland (30th)
White: Warren Barguil (4th)

For a second straight year I picked Froome to finish second to a rival. Last year it was Contador, this time Quintana and both times he's reminded me never to write him off. So the 2017 winner: Chris Froome. Quintana was third and not first; Pinot and Contador both failed to finish; and I was well off on Van Garderen, Barguil and even Pierre Rolland (albeit Rolland had to ride around most of France with a badly injured wrist). Bardet was perhaps the biggest surprise despite still thinking he'd get 5th while I was closest on Dan Martin. As for Fabio Aru, I might have had him right had he not collapsed in the final mountain stage. The green jersey contest was easy and I should have seen Majka coming in the mountains. Also, I never expected Adam Yates to do so well in the young rider competition.

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TEAM OF THE TOUR

Leader: Chris Froome (Sky)
Backup: Richie Porte (BMC)
Domestique: Wout Poels (Sky)
Domestique: Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx - Quick Step)
Climber: Jarlinson Pantano (IAM Cycling)
Climber: Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal)
Sprinter: Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data)
Sprinter: Peter Sagan (Tinkoff)
Rouleur: Greg Van Avermaet (BMC)
Rouleur: Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin)

I cannot think of too many that would get in here ahead of anyone else on the list given the categories of a leader, backup, two domestiques, two climbers, two sprinters, and two all-rounders/roulers. I know Tom Dumoulin failed to make it to Paris, crashing out late, but two stage wins and a solid presence throughout was hard to ignore. Jarlinson Pantano was probably the most present Colombian at the race while Thomas de Gendt seemed to always be in on the attacks and took a fine win at Ventoux. Van Avermate took a superb stage win and spent a few days in yellow while Alaphilippe was a frequent attacker and displayed a huge raw talent for the future. Froome, Sagan and Cavendish go without saying; Porte was probably the best climber beyond Froome; and Wout Poels the best super-domestique by a stretch.

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Rider of the week

Has to be Romain Bardet for the way in which he attacked in the Alps to win a stage and jump right up into second place. The Frenchman came of age on this Tour and showed himself to be an opportunist who will attack, can survive the high mountains, win stages and, perhaps, one day win the Tour.

Rider of the month

Chris Froome. Fan punch, super tuck, crosswind breakaway; running man, TT win, crash and bike change. Oh, and he rolled into Paris in yellow.