2011 doesn’t feel so long, but plenty of changes have occurred. Barack Obama was president, Adele had album of the year with ’21’. Twitter was still in its infancy and riders were more indiscreet in their postings. In the wider world, it was also the year of a devastating tsunami and series of earthquakes in Japan, the Arab Spring and the wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton (possibly stealing a few viewers from stage 3 of the Tour de Romandie that day).
In the cycling world, there was a sense that a bad era was coming to a close with a welcome lack of seismic doping scandals. A vintage Tour de France with slow-burner tension, a cleverly designed course and some major comebacks. The World Championships was a special moment too for Mark Cavendish and British Cycling.