After all, the man with the strongest team has won. But was he actually the strongest rider? Would Froome have won in the Movistar team? Probably. He's so composed and smart, he knows what his body can do, he makes the right decisions, even when isolated. I was probably most impressed with him at stage 19 to Les Sybelles. It was a tough day for him, he was alone, but he lost only half a minute to Quintana, what was a calculated effort from him up the hill, managing the time well. He didn't kill himself only to get back to Quintana or save some 10s, knowing the next day would be even more important. Others would have lost their head in panic and would have gone completely into the red.
I think this is a really important point. You see people like Ross Tucker saying there were plenty of better, quicker riders in South Africa, how did Froome get anywhere. Yet speed is only a fraction of what makes a champion; determination, mental strength and emotional intelligence play a large part, as does simply wanting it enough.
Having said that, would he have won in Movistar? I'm not so sure. To be able to do what he did takes - and took - a strong team that isn't internally divided, that you know are there working for you; and while a lot of the mental strength is Froome's, I'll bet Sky have played a hand in developing it. That's academic though - whatever the outcome, I think he'd have had a good go.
What will be interesting is his attitude to next year. Someone commented earlier that Wiggins will never win another tour, but I don't think Wiggins ever wanted to. For him, it was been there, done that, time for a different target; at least after he'd settled down from his post-tour wobbly. Is Froome a guy with multiple aims, or are 3, 5, 6 Tour wins his thing? Will he stop wanting it enough the third time round? Will he back G for it?
Movistar needs a stronger team to support Quintana otherwise he's always likely to fall short. Sure he'll improve and have learned plenty, but can't do it on his own. We have seen how a strong team can make all the difference. Not to forget this years tour profile probably suited Quintana a lot with all the climbing. Nonetheless I like the small Colombian. He was riding smart too and came as close as it gets. Don't share some experts opinion that he should have attacked more often or early. It's not that easy, is it? If he would have done that it's unlikely he would have broken Froome but only would have worn him out and wouldn't have been able to put in such a strong attack as he did up the Alpe.
I think Movistar suffered because they didn't have the strength in depth Sky did, they had multiple aims and because Valverde was looking after Valverde in the early stages. It's easy to say Quintana should have attacked earlier, and easy to say he shouldn't have; I think it's difficult to know what the outcome would have been. We saw Sky blown apart by early attacks at times, and we saw them strong and untroubled. Had he attacked earlier, he might have blown and been unable to attack on the Alpe - but at the end of the day, top two GC was fixed from stage 14 and La Toussuire and the Alpe made no difference.
I'd really like to know what was going on in Movistar, what the decisions were. They certainly looked cautious and defensive. Was it a tactical decision based on incorrect assumptions, Quintana's or the team's limitations? Did he / they have the strength but just got the tactics wrong? On one stage - I forget which - he said he'd given all he had, I think; did he simply not have the strength? Interesting, but just speculation at the end of the day; we can't know and probably never will, even when the biographies come out!
Something that might bode well for next year is the competition that's coming through. The Yates' are developing quickly, G is looking increasingly like a GC contender (though unless things change I guess he'll be subservient to Froome again); Contador will be riding his last tour; Nibali might be on form; the French are developing some serious competitors; even Porte and TvG might be there or thereabouts. OK, we'll have the usual disappointments, but it still feels like something to look forward to, with ASO leaning towards more varied and challenging parcours.
