Sonic boom: Belkin's Lars Boom goes on the attack at the Tour(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The Specialized Lululemon team on the podium at the Worlds in Spain(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Vincenzo Nibali (Team Astana) dominated the Tour de France(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The rain falls on stage 19 of the Tour de France(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Out on his own: Vincenzo Nibali heads to the stage win at Chamrousse(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Vincenzo Nibali wins at Chamrousse during the Tour de France(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
It's all over for Alberto Contador at the Tour de France after his crash in stage 10(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Andrew Talansky takes a heavy fall on stage seven of the Tour de France(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Vincenzo Nibali puts time into all his rivals on the cobbles at the Tour(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome (Team Sky) after his first crash at the Tour de France(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
London calling: The Tour hits London and see Marcel Kittel come out on top(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mark Cavendish on the deck after his Tour de France crash(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The Tour de France sets off from Harewood House in Yorkshire(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Peter Sagan (Cannondale) goes on the attack at the Tour de Suisse(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Maarten Tjallingii (Team Belkin) takes a heavy fall at the Vuelta(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The peloton race through stage 4 of the Vuelta from Mairena Del Alcor to Cordoba(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Rigoberto Uran gets a helping hand from his teammates at the Vuelta(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alberto Contador (Tinkoff Saxo) came back from a fractured leg to win the Vuelta (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
In October cycling bid farewell to the Tour of Beijing(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
David Millar suffers through one of his final races (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) strikes for home at the Worlds(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Lisa Brennauer and Emma Johansson finished on the podium in the women's elite race at Worlds(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Bradley Wiggins puts Tony Martin to the sword(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Team Ecuador during their race against the clock at Worlds(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The team trial saw national and trade teams compete against each other(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alberto Contador has dropped Chris Froome and with that seals the 2014 Vuelta (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alberto Contador lines out his rivals at the Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Stunning scenery at the Vuelta a Espana on stage 14(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tomy Martin (Omega Pharma QuickStep) in full time trial mode(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
He's back. After crashing out of the Tour de France Alberto Contador returned at the Vuelta(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tony Martin and Mark Cavendish face up to the media during a press conference(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Stage 2 at the Tour de Suisse(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Fabian Cancellara leads Sep Vanmarcke on the Oude Kwaremont(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Picture perfect at Gent - Wevelgem (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Peter Sagan (Cannondale) goes up the road in E3 Harelbeke (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tom Boonen warms up with his usual attack at Dwars door Vlaanderen (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tom Boonen raises his arms at Kuurne - Brussels - Brussel (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Dario Cataldo takes time out at the Tour of Oman(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome (Team Sky) attacks at the Tour of Oman(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Where Chris Froome goes the media follow(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Two riders hit the ground at the Tour of Qatar(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Many riders start their season at the Tour of Qatar(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tony Martin starts the season at the Tour of Dubai(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tom Boonen cools down at the Tour de San Luis(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Rudiger Selig (Katusha) shows off his skills(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Martin Elmiger (IAM Cycling) hits the deck at the Tour of Flanders(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma QuickStep) wins Paris-Roubaix(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Marcus Burghardt almost falls, Steve Chainel does during Paris-Roubaix(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
A young fan takes inspiration from the fast moving peloton(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Pierre Rolland (Europcar) keeps his cool at the Tour de France(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jerome Pineau (IAM Cycling) needs help after a crash at the Dauphine in June(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome (Team Sky) lets his teammates pace him back after a fall at the Dauphine(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
A unique time trial shot from the Criterium du Dauphine(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Nairo Quintana came out on top at a controversial Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Nairo Quintana leads Rigoberto Uran up the Zoncolan(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Michael Rogers rides through the crowd on the Monte Zoncolan(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Rigoberto Uran signs on at the start of stage 13 of the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Stage five at the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Michael Matthews (Orica GreenEdge) on the podium at the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mark Cavendish gets in the practice during a team photo shoot(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
But for a few far flung races, the curtain has well and truly been drawn on the 2014 season. The members of the roving cycling circus are taking a well-deserved break before gearing up for the year to come, giving us time to reflect on some of the season’s biggest moments. In this gallery, we take a look back at 2014 through the lens of Belgian photographer Tim de Waele.
It has been yet another huge season in the professional peloton, kicked off by Simon Gerrans’ victory at the Tour Down Under. The peloton moved through Europe before settling in Belgium for the spring Classics. Omega Pharma-QuickStep dominated on the cobbles, with Niki Terpstra and Tom Boonen finding success early on. However, they were outdone by a lone Fabian Cancellara at the Tour of Flanders. Terpstra would get his own back a week later, soloing to a strong victory in Paris-Roubaix.
The Grand Tours threw up more than their fair share of controversies and epic feats during 2014. Nairo Quintana’s attack on the Stelvio had teams calling foul, but the Colombian still stormed to his first Grand Tour victory. The expected battle between Alberto Contador and Chris Froome at the Tour de France was put on hold when the pair crashed out of the race within five days of each other. Their departure left the road clear for Vincenzo Nibali to complete his triptych of three-week victories. The Italian added four stages to his palmarès for good measure.
After the trials and tribulations of the Tour, there was a mouth-watering line-up at the Vuelta a España. Froome and Contador were back in action, while Giro winner Quintana was in the mix for another win. The Colombian, however, emulated his rivals and crashed out mid-way through the race. In the end, Froome was unable to match Contador on his home soil and the Spaniard came out triumphant.
The year was rounded off with the World Championships in Ponferrada. Tony Martin saw himself lose two world titles in less than a week. His first went as Omega Pharma-QuickStep handed over the team time trial title to BMC and lost his second just a few days later when Bradley Wiggins put in a phenomenal ride to take gold in the individual event. Lisa Brennauer made sure that Germany took home a time trial gold and went on to take silver in the road race, where victory fell to Frenchwoman Pauline Ferrand Prévot, as Marianne Vos finished off the podium for the first time in her career. Michal Kwiatkowski caught the peloton by surprise in the men’s race to take an emotional victory, while Alejandro Valverde took yet another runner-up prize.
Click here to view the full gallery of images.
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