Here they are, several weeks later and after Vuelta already started. But I had many stuff to do including some sightseeing so sorry about that.
Hope you enjoy reading it, as much as I enjoyed coming up with them:
"I Don't Want It" Award: There was that rider that didn't want to lead the escapees on a climb so he swerved right so fast that almost crashed into a motorbike. And there was that other rider that didn't want his musette bag so he fell when it was given to him.
But the award must go to Fabian Cancellara and Tony Martin that both crashed and had to quit the race when wearing the yellow jersey. Martin at least wore it for 2 days.
Best Point of View Award: Those guys standing in an opposite cliff during that short but awesome climb of Lacets de Montvernier on stage 18 for sure had a nice point of view. Also the workers on the power lines that were shown by the helicopter, riding their special bikes on the power cables were on a interested point, but this year the best point of view were from the action cams on the bikes, that have become a feature and brings a whole new perspective on road cycling.
"Move Over" Award: This is usually best suited to sprinters when fighting for the stage win, but this year I didn't see many shoving around, so the award most go to Warren Barguil on the descent to Gap on Stage 16 when he used Geraint Thomas as break for turning, throwing the poor bastard against a pole and making him loose is favourite pair of sunglasses.
Best Beard Award: Beards are not that common on the peloton, but they make for a nice and distinguishable look. Of course this year, the award goes to Simon Geschke, the German that won Stage 17.
Best Bike Handling Award: I remember Michal Kwiatkowski jumping over a cement road separator and heard that Peter Sagan was again doing wheelies on major climbs, but the award must go to Romain Bardet for his impressive bike control going downhill, that actually gave him the win on a mountain stage.
"Remember Him?" Award: We Portuguese had high hopes for Rui Costa but he quit after the first rest day, after a couple of crashes. Joachin Rodriguez is an usual presence in the main stages but not so much this year and we may forget he actually won 2 stages this year. But the award has to go to Tejay Van Garderen, that was up there in the Top 3 for much of the race, until he quit also after a rest day, so in the end nobody even remember him any more.
"Last Hurrah" Award: When Bryan Coquard made a final and strong push in the Champs-Élysées but could only take 2nd spot, he symbolized the last hurrah for his team Europcar, that are going to loose the sponsorship and either fold or change names. It is a team that brought us a lot of entertainment in the years it competed with this name on Le Tour, but this year no stage win, nor other award. Pierre Roland tried some times, and was rewarded with a Top 10. And now I give them this award too.
Best Guardian Angel Award: I said it before and say it again, were it not for his 2 team mates, Wouter Poels and Richie Porte, during the final climb to Alpe d'Huez, Froome would have lost it. They kept him going and helped him minimize the losses, so the award goes to them both.
"From Glory to Ashes" Award: At one point during Le Tour, the Top 3 of last year seemed to be completely off the race. But Nibali came back strong with a win and finishing in the 4th place overall, whilst Pinot won on the Alpe d'Huez. But Jean-Christophe Péraud, 2nd overall last year, really crashed and burned. He crashed several times, was most times seen dropping off the main group very shortly and was only a feature in Stege 20 when he tried to help his team-mate Romain Bardet in the mountains but to no avail. He is of course the winner of this award.
"Almost There" Award: Peter Sagan didn't win a stage but was almost there 5 times and won the points classification. Pierre Roland tried in some stages but could only get second. But of course the award could only go to Nairo Quintana. He managed to take time off Froome and finished close to him, but he needed a bit more. He also didn't a win stage and finished second, to Froome again, on the mountain classification, although he is considered the best climber of them all.
Key Moment Award: One more time, I said it before and say it again: Stage 10, the final climb to La Pierre-Saint-Martin. Here Froome won his only stage, battling Nairo Quintana. He won 1m04s plus bonus seconds on a HC climb, where Quintana was expected to at least match him. He eventually won the race by 1m12s. This was the key moment of the race.
Best African Award: We had an African team participating for the first time this year and they managed to get a stage win, albeit with a British rider. On top of that we had for the first time an African rider wearing the polka-dot jersey, also from the same team. But of course the award must go to Chris Froome, that even though is brit, was born in Africa and still considered an African by many
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