'Running Man' Chris Froome a rare highlight of a stale Tour de France

It’s been far from a classic Tour de France but the 2016 edition did provide one of the most memorable moments in the race’s history.

Just like the 1978 strike, the tears of Richard Virenque when kicked out of the 1998 Tour over the Festina affair, or Lance Armstrong going off road on a dangerous mountain descent yet remaining upright, this year’s race provided an image that will endure for years.

It was Chris Froome, the reigning champion and race leader, who would go on to win a third title, clad from head to toe in yellow and on foot, sensationally running to the finish line of the race’s most iconic mountain, Mont Ventoux.

The race won’t live long in memories, but that moment will, as Froome demonstrated the single-minded determination that would guide him again to victory.

Live television pictures missed the crash with a motorcycle in which Froome’s bike was broken, and cut from one shot to that of the yellow jersey running, alone through an imposing tunnel of boisterous fans, no bike to be seen anywhere and with pandemonium all around.

It’s the kind of incident that could have made this one of the most spectacular Tours of all time, along with the collapsing inflatable arch that knocked young Briton Adam Yates off his bike the day before Froome’s own troubles.

Such photo-friendly moments disguised to a certain extent the lack of action on the roads, at least when in came to the important prizes.