Tour de France 2015: Thrills, spills and biblical downpours - the most memorable moments from Le Tour

From drama in the mountains to Sky’s Thomas headbutting a telegraph pole, Alasdair Fotheringham rounds up the Tour’s most memorable moments

A spectator on the Tour de France (GETTY IMAGES)

Best stage win

Steven Cummings’ victory at Mende for the MTN-Qhubeka team was a breakthrough win for African cycling, and a just reward for a craftily calculated manoeuvre in which the Briton stormed past the French opposition 500 yards from the finish.

Cummings’ win crowned a long career of solid racing and was a timely reminder that there was GB road-racing cycling life in the Tour beyond Mark Cavendish, the Yates brothers and the Sky boys in black.

Strangest stage finish

Eight kilometres long, the tidal barrier reef in Zeeland in the Netherlands is spectacular to look at, but placing the stage two finish there, on a wind-lashed artificial island 10 metres above sea level with a population consisting only of overweight seagulls and some patches of dandelions, was an odd choice.

Most dramatic finish

Alpe d’Huez. Nairo Quintana’s blazing attack nine kilometres from the line put Chris Froome in serious difficulty and almost cost the Briton the race. Woet Poels and – above all – Richie Porte saved the day for Sky, but it made for a thrilling finale nonetheless.

An emotional Chris Froome on the podium (Getty Images)

Biggest disappointment

Two of the top favourites, Alberto Contador and Vincenzo Nibali, had a minimal impact on the race. Contador was a shadow of his usual self and Nibali only roared into battle for one spectacular mountain-top stage win and an argument with Froome over the whys and wherefores of attacking when the leader had briefly stopped because of a mechanical incident. In terms of the race overall, neither lived up to expectations.

Best newcomer

Warren Barguil did not win any stages, but the young Frenchman has taken to the Tour with a vengeance, finishing 14th overall. Barguil’s highest-profile moment was, regrettably, on a descent, when he unwittingly skidded into Geraint Thomas, causing the Welshman to go flying into a telegraph pole. But on the climbs there should be a lot more to come from him.

Most powerful mountain ride

Froome’s victory at La Pierre-Saint-Martin in the Pyrenees blew the race apart and proved that, if others were performing below expectations, the Sky rider was right on target for a second Tour win. Sky are at their strongest on set-piece mountain climbs, and they all delivered here, with Porte and Thomas providing large cherries on the Froome-shaped cake by taking second and sixth. A masterstroke.

Chris Froome, wearing the leader’s yellow jersey, climbs Croix de Fer pass during the 19th stage of the Tour de France (AP)

Most unexpected quote

Having covered himself in glory with a first-week stage victory, in the middle of his winner’s press conference, Mark Cavendish asked a journalist why he was wearing socks. Presumably this was something to do with the heat that day, but it was never fully explained.

Best innovation

The Tour’s decision to suspend racing for the first time in its 112-year history for medical reasons. This followed a huge crash on stage three where doctors and ambulances were blocked behind and the race was put on hold for 20 minutes. As a long-term answer, it’s probably not ideal – that would be for more ambulances. But under the circumstances, it was the right thing to do.

Worst weather

This year’s Tour has felt like a three-week warning about the consequences of global warming. There have been several days when the heatwave has reached temperatures in the low forties, while there have also been Old Testament-style torrential downpours and hailstorms.

On Plateau de Beille in the Pyrenees, there was a drop in temperature of 25 degrees as the rain came down over the course of the racing and your correspondent wondered if the press tent would cave in.

Biggest ‘what if’

Quintana’s loss of 90 seconds in stage two of the race after he was caught behind a crash and then a split in the peloton led the Colombian to say: “I lost the Tour in the first week.”

Froome’s answer was that his Tour strategy would have been different had he not gained that time on Quintana, probably racing more aggressively in the second half of the Pyrenees and at Mende’s mid-race summit finish. However, as things stand, Quintana’s time loss on the flatlands of the Netherlands proved more crucial than the finale.

Wackiest cuisine

At La Toussuire, the huge, metallic, outdoor pots looked like railway locomotives, right down to the elongated, blackened stovepipes, and cooked up vast quantities of polenta. Staffed by hefty Alpine shepherds in undersized T-shirts, La Toussuire gets bonus points for being the one stage finish where locals allowed press cars to park on their lawns.