Froome’s Ventoux heroics leave us desperate for repeat performance

How can a nation so bereft of cycling heritage when compared to that of the continental superpowers, ever dare to dream that it would one day have a man capable of leading the charge up the summit of a mountain steeped in Tour history?

It was unfathomable to the outside world, and to us here across the Channel.

But then five years ago Mark Cavendish began winning stages for fun.

Then last year Bradley Wiggins took the Tour de France by the scruff of the neck, propelled by the unwavering support of his team to rewrite cycling history in this country and help hasten the sport’s journey into a drug-free era.

And then just a week or so ago, more heights were scaled – literally.

With the yellow jersey on his back, Chris Froome led the peloton up Ventoux, that beast of a mountain that bears an eerie resemblance to the surface of the moon.

He broke away from the pack and went up alone, taking a sizeable chunk out of his opponents’ spirit and legs, by producing arguably the greatest ride in British cycling history.

In this golden age for cycling and sport, Froome’s ride up Ventoux has to be content with a place on the pantheon of great sporting moments of the last two summers; from the myriad memories of our Olympians to Andy Murray’s historic Wimbledon triumph, a Lions series win and a first US Open champion for four decades in Justin Rose.

Time often lends better perspective on events. Just as Tom Simpson’s death on Ventoux 46 years ago still sends a chill up the spine of British cycling enthusiasts, so as the years pass, Froome’s astonishing ride will be given higher regard.

It was a ‘where were you when’ moment for British cycling – and let’s be honest, there have been a fair few of those in recent years.

Froome’s triumph up Ventoux, and his other two wins up Ax 3 Domaines and the time-trial from Embrun to Chorges, rendered his coronation under the lights in front of the Arc de Triomphe on Sunday a formality, which merely underlines his dominance of the 100th Tour de France.

It also highlights how far British cycling has come in such a short space of time.

We have gone from expecting so little from our road cyclists to a position in which seeing one of our own in the yellow jersey and on top of the podium in Paris has become de rigueur.

As Froome stood with the teddy bears and the flowers, and as he sipped champagne with the team-mates who had helped him reach such dizzying heights, thoughts were already turning to next year and the defence of his title and the continuation of the building of a dynasty.Froome says he hopes to dominate the Tour for years to come, no matter what the organisers throw at him.

Well, for the start of his 2014 bid, Tour chiefs the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) have chucked two stages in Yorkshire into his path.

Having bested the beast of Ventoux, it is hard to imagine Froome worrying too much about Holme Moss and Cragg Vale, the longest continuous gradient in England at 968 feet over five and a half miles.

But he disrespects the White Rose’s finest challenges at his peril. Not that anyone expects a man so diligent, operating in a team that leaves no stone unturned, to turn up unprepared for the biggest race of the year.

Team Sky have ridden to the front of the peloton because of their planning, their science, their nutritional discipline and their relentless work ethic.

It is up to the rest to see if they can catch them.

The 100th Tour de France saw not only the continuation of British dominance but also a changing of the guard.

Alberto Contador’s best days appear to be behind him, while Joaquim Rodriguez completed the treble of podium finishes on all three grand tours.

The man to emerge over the last three weeks was MoviStar’s Nairo Quintana. The manner in which the 23-year-old Colombian rode to victory on Mont Semnoz on Saturday, leaving Froome in his wake, points to a young climber with a very bright future.

The next few years of the second century of the Tour de France look to be in safe hands – and it all starts in Yorkshire.