Anyone who has been following this year's Vuelta a Espana will know it has not been all about Alberto Contador and Chris Froome.
Heading into Stage 17 on Wednesday, Movistar's Alejandro Valverde and Katusha's Joaquim Rodriguez are still in contention for podium places. One of the young stars of 2014, Astana's Fabio Aru, has been in impressive form and does not sit too far behind in fifth.
Save for two awful, race-ending days last week, this year's Giro d'Italia champion, Nairo Quintana, would almost certainly have been in the general classification conversation. Meanwhile, some stirring breakaways and John Degenkolb adding to his burgeoning Vuelta win tally in the sprints has meant there has been plenty to savour elsewhere.
With all that said, Contador and Froome's renewing of their competitive acquaintance was expected—and has turned out to be—one of the main draws of the year's final Grand Tour.
Two of cycling's premier three-week specialists, their planned-for meeting at this year's Tour de France did not come to fruition after both crashed out.
The background to that hoped-for contest began with their first notable crossing of paths at the Vuelta two years ago.
Froome—fatigued after his tremendous efforts helping Sky and Bradley Wiggins to Tour victory, and winning time trial bronze for Great Britain at London 2012—could neither repeat nor exceed the previous year's reputation-making second-place ride in Spain.
He could not get close to an inspired Contador, hellbent on making up for time lost during his preceding ban for a positive drugs test (which he blamed on an accidental contamination).
The Spaniard won, but the subsequent positivity was to prove short-lived. In 2013, top-level form never quite materialised for Contador, at least compared to the brilliant run of stage-race victories Froome enjoyed. The latter's superiority was typified at the Tour de France that July, winning ahead of Quintana and Rodriguez, an off-the-pace Contador in fourth.
The prospect of the two takings leads in the tale of the 2014 Tour was a tantalising one. Respective successes in early 2014 set the scene, before they took turns testing each other in the story's prologue, June's Criterium du Dauphine.
It was never going to be just about Contador and Froome at this year's Tour. Although his quiet ride in the Dauphine saw his own form come under question, Vincenzo Nibali of Astana harboured ambitions of a crack at the yellow jersey after his earlier successes in Spain and his native Italy. Having already gained an initial advantage prior to the favourites abandoning, Nibali ultimately dominated in France in his rivals' absence.
While, as already noted, there also was more to the ongoing Vuelta than what this article's main protagonists did, there was always going to be some focus on their efforts. The added twist was their questionable fitnesses resulting from their Tour de France crashes.
Both spoke about their respective battles to recover from injuries suffered earlier in the summer.
"I know it will be a Vuelta that I’ll have to do in a very different way than I had imagined earlier on in the season and during the first part of the Tour," Contador noted in the above video, via his Tinkoff-Saxo team's official website.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Froome was similarly cautiously optimistic: "It has been a different approach to how I'd approach the Tour de France but I am here with less pressure and hoping to finish off the season in a good way."
Stage One's team time trial in Jerez de la Frontera saw Movistar's main men of Quintana and Valverde gain the early advantage. They kept it through to the first rest day in an entertaining, if largely uneventful opening nine days.
What has followed between Contador and Froome has not disappointed, even if it has been—and likely will remain—exciting rather than thrillingly close.
The Stage 10 individual time trial to Borja that severely damaged Quintana's ambitions also hurt Froome's. He ended the day one minute and 18 seconds down to Contador on the GC. "For the first 15 minutes I felt fantastic and I think I chased it a little much," Froome told Team Sky's official website of the start that left him struggling on the day's climbs.
Where Contador looked to be finding the legs that had rode him to impressive spring wins in Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour of the Basque Country, Froome still looked someway off his best. The 29-year-old's search for it resulted in a compelling few days that saw him stoically hold on in the face of attacks that would have knocked down lesser men.
Stages 14 through 16 were pinpointed as the potentially race-shaping days of this year's Vuelta. Those at the top of the GC attempted to turn them into such.
On 14, up La Camperona, Froome appeared to be struggling behind the race's Contador-led chief Spanish contingent. Instead, he had been biding his time and finished the day speeding ahead of them to regain some time.
Those seconds were lost the following day up the hors categorie ascent of Lagos de Covadonga. Sky's leader looked to be on the limit, but he commendably maintained a reasonable distance as Spain's best failed to leave him behind. Contador's wariness of his rival's threat was seen in his frequent looks over the shoulder to check they were not being sneaked up on.
Then came the five-climb Stage 16 to La Farrapona.
The superiority of Contador and Froome was seen in a thrilling battle on the final climb. The British rider attacked, doing his utmost to leave the Spaniard behind. Contador held on, knowing just keeping close to Froome would be enough.
"We talked in the morning and we felt that the best scenario would be if Froome attacked early and Alberto went with him," Riis revealed to Biciciclismo, via CyclingNews.com. "That way, we only had to follow the wheel."
Contador not only did that, he raced away to win his first stage and head into Tuesday's rest day one minute, 39 seconds ahead of third-placed Froome (with Valverde sitting three seconds ahead of the latter, but dropped on the day).
The Vuelta is not over yet, not for any of the top four heading into Stage 17's bumpy run into A Coruna.
Thursday and Friday then pose their challenges, but Saturday's leg-killer of a penultimate stage, culminating in another HC climb up Puerto de Ancares, is where any real remaining drama is likely to take place.
Sunday's concluding time trial around should provide an opportunity for those seeking an individual win rather than the red jersey. Whatever the circumstances as the peloton individually works their way around Santiago de Compostela, we are likely to be reflecting on a Contador vs. Froome duel that has been worth the wait.
Fabian Cancellara won't be threatening Tom Boonen in the Classics any more this year, and Boonen is now the clear favorite to dominate the field the rest of the way.
Cancellara was involved in a brutal crash at the end of the Tour de Flanders. He had just entered into the feed zone when he fell off his bike and shattered his collarbone.
Cancellara will require surgery to repair his mangled collarbone, and he won't be able to get back into training for quite some time.
Boonen and Cancellara had won a combined three Tours of Flanders and five editions of Paris-Roubaix—both races among the most prestigious in the sport—before this unfortunate incident.
Boonen will now have a clear path to victory the rest of the season. He is riding at the top of his game right now, as his latest victory proves. He easily out-sprinted Filippo Pozzato (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia) and Alessandro Ballan (BMC Racing Team) after the three of them had pulled away from the pack towards the end of the Tour de Flanders.
With Cancellara out of the picture, there is no one left to challenge the Belgian.
Next up for Boonen is the Paris-Roubaix, where he has won three previous times. He will easily be the favorite this year, and there isn't any reason to believe Boonen won't completely dominate the competition the rest of the way in 2012.
Belgian Jelle Vanendert (Omega Pharmo-Lotto) took a stage win ahead of Spaniard Samuel Sanchez (Euskatel) as the men fighting it out for the yellow jersey finished almost a minute behind.
Vanendert, who will take the lead in the Mountain classification, timed his attack to perfection taking advantage of the fact those riders looking to take the yellow jersey seemed reluctant to attack and show their hand.
A large breakaway group of twenty riders formed early in the day, and after they had cleared the first climb of the day and swept up all the points at the intermediate sprint they were joined by four more to become 24 riders as they headed up the Col de la Core, the day’s first major test.
That group did not last too long however, as it broke down into several smaller groups, with Riblon (AG2R), Casar (FDJ) and El Fares (Confidis) leading up the Category 1 Col d’Agnes before Sebastian Chavanel (Quick Step) reached the summit first.
Leopard-Treck took control of the peloton and increased the pace as the breakaway riders seemed unorganised and unable to arrange any meaningful break as many were swallowed by the peloton and the leaders had their gap reduced to under two and a half minutes at the foot of the Plateau de Beille.
The leaders were caught and passed by the thinning peloton leaving Sandy Caser (FDJ) out alone at the front with a chasing pack of the main contenders for the yellow jersey along with current holder Thomas Voeckler (Europcar).
In the final kilometres, after the Scheck brothers (Leopard-Trek) and Ivan Basso (Liquigas) had attacked it was Belgian Jelle Vanendert who sprung off the group as they caught Caser to take a lead in an ultimately successful bid for stage victory.
Samuel Sanchez (Euskatel) then broke away from the race favourites to chase after Vanendert in search of a second stage win as the Schlecks, Contador (Saxo Bank), Voeckler, Evans (BMC) and Basso seemed happy to let them go and stay together.
Attempted attacks from Basso and Voeckler dropped Frank Schleck with just under 2km to go, although the Luxembourg national champion managed to hang on and retain second place in the general classification as Voeckler showed his determination and power to stick with the leaders and retain the yellow once again.
The Frenchman announced his own surprise at retaining the Yellow Jersey through the mountains, but his performance over the past three days have seen him keep pace with those expected to take the jersey and see him emerge as a dark-horse for victory.
The finale of the stage proved something of a disappointment to many fans, who had hoped to see the main contenders battle it out and make a break for the yellow jersey during the last Pyranean stage, with Andy Schleck looking the most comfortable still leaving it very late to make a decisive attack gaining only two seconds on his rivals.
Despite some moments where a big attack looked imminent it never materialised allowing domestique Vanendert to take victory as the tour now heads back onto flat ground for a day before moving along the South of France to the Alps, where it appears the main contenders will battle it out over the steeper Alpine climbs.
We’re over halfway through the 2011 Tour de France—we will finally see the big boys come out to play and the race will get very serious.
Stage 12 of the Tour will take the rider into the first of three days in the Pyrenees with a journey for Cugnaux to Luz Ardiden, which takes the peloton over two high mountain climbs—including the legendary Col du Tourmalet—before finishing at the top of the climb and into the ski resort at Luz-Ardiden.
This stage will be one of the three toughest on this year’s Tour and we will finally see the big boys come out to play.
The serious contenders for 2011 are already well established on the leaders list with the likes of Cadel Evans. The Schleck brothers, Andy and Frank, are within 11 seconds of Evans with three-time champion Alberto Contador a further 90 seconds back.
There is also a group of other riders who are poised to pick up the pieces should misfortune strike the leading lights. Radio Shack’s Andreas Kloden, Liquigas rider Ivan Basso and Robert Gesink of Rabobank will probably all make the top 10 under normal circumstances.
The unclassified climb into Luz-Ardiden could well be one of the pivotal climbs of the Tour and may well set up a rider who can make a serious attack stick.
It is a 14 kilometer climb with an average gradient of 7.5 percent, with a two kilometer section of 9.5 percent in the middle of the climb making the perfect launch pad for a decisive break.
The scary thing for the riders is that to get to this final climb, they first have to get over the highest mountain pass in the Pyrenees—the also unclassified climb up the 2115 metre Col du Tourmalet.
The Tourmalet climb has been a part of the Tour since 1910 and is rarely missed from the race as it provides the ultimate challenge for specialist climbers and general classification riders alike.
The stage will undoubtedly have a significant influence over the composition of the top 10 riders, although with five other high mountain stages left in this year’s race, it is unlikely to let anyone establish a race-winning lead.
At some stage Contador will be forced to make a move to claw back his time deficit. With both Schlecks and Evans, each of his moves will be countered immediately. His knee injury may also influence the outcome of his race.
The Schleck brothers are now in the box seat. Their ability to support and motivate each other over these big climbs is a tremendous advantage and will provide the ultimate contrast with Evans’ team BMC and the lack of support that he is likely to receive.
Evans' biggest support will be George Hincapie who was recruited especially to fill the role of super-domestique in the mountain stages—a role he previously performed with distinction for Lance Armstrong.
Sadly however, Hincapie is now a senior citizen in racing terms and will struggle to keep up when the pressure is on.
This stage will give us clues as to how everyone is feeling after the opening flat stages. Look for Contador to test both his knee and the opposition, whereas Evans and the Schlecks are unlikely to fire any big shots this early in the mountain stages unless they sense that the other riders are struggling with the climbs.
The general classification leaderboard will look quite different after tomorrow’s stage.
Having been through two knee surgeries, with the second coming from an overuse injury aggravated by years of racing, I can tell you just how painful even the easiest ride can be with an injured knee. With that said I never raced the Tour de France, and the pressure for a former champion to continue is immense, but...after today's comments by Contador, we may have gotten the first hint that Paris will not be in his future, at least this year.
What he said:
"I'm a bit bothered with my knee."
"I fell on my same knee that I hurt when I crashed the previous times."
"Im actually quite worried because I have pain in that knee. I thought it was bad at first, but it got worse as the race went on."
I may be making more of this than there is, but Contador is not the same Pistolero he has been in previous tours. Gone is the swagger. and his will sapping attacks that leave the other GC contenders shaking their heads, and it may or may not be the knee.
More likely it is the Giro win on an incredibly challenging course that has taken that little extra out of his legs, but we will know soon if it's a rouse to lull his competitors to sleep, or if he really is diminished by the three crashes in this years Tour.
He just does not look like the same old Contador who just wins.
We are not talking about an Eddy Merckx, Lance Armstrong, or Bernard Hinault- type rider here who stamps his authority on the race. Contador has been unbeatable in Grand Tours until now, but he has never been the Boss, and if today's perceived run in with Karpets says anything about his position within the peloton, it is that he is not the Boss.
But back to the knee. By commenting on the injury in more than a "no big deal" way, he could be paving the way for his early exit. Don't think for a second Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans have not heard the comments. Oh they heard all right.
Only time will tell, and Mondays rest day comments may give us a better idea of just where Contador's Tour is headed...
Stage 2 of the 2011 Tour de France was a comparatively short and flat 23-km team time trial around the town of Les Essarts in the Vendee region of France.
Opinion is divided about the inclusion of the time trial. Some argue that it unfairly penalises good riders in weak teams, such as Cadel Evans in 2009, but others argue that it is a great leveler and that stage cycling is a team sport.
Today’s effort saw more pain for pre-race favourite, Alberto Contador, who lost more time to main rivals Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans, losing 23 seconds to the former and 24 seconds to Evans.
It was a largely uneventful stage seeing the Garmin-Cervelo team finish fastest in 24’28” and delivered the yellow jersey to their leader Thor Hushovd who shares the same time as teammate David Millar, with BMC’s Cadel Evans a further second back.
Contador now languishes 1’42” behind the leader and is now facing an almost insurmountable challenge to breach the gap back to the likes of Schleck and Evans, who can now simply cover Contador and not need to attack him for a change.
Tomorrow is back to the individual flat stages, and the opportunity for the fast men to strut their stuff before the race turns hilly in the second week and the genuine contenders come out to play.
The 2011 Tour de France is developing into a fascinating race.
Results of the team time trial
1. TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO 24' 48"
2. BMC RACING TEAM + 00' 04"
3. SKY PROCYCLING + 00' 04"
4. TEAM LEOPARD-TREK + 00' 04"
5. HTC - HIGHROAD + 00' 05"
6. TEAM RADIOSHACK + 00' 10"
7. RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM + 00' 12"
8. SAXO BANK SUNGARD + 00' 28"
9. PRO TEAM ASTANA + 00' 32"
10. OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO + 00' 39"
Individual standings after Stage 2
1. HUSHOVD Thor TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO 5h 06' 25"
2. MILLAR David TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO + 00' 00"
3. EVANS Cadel BMC RACING TEAM + 00' 01"
4. THOMAS Geraint SKY PROCYCLING + 00' 04"
5. GERDEMANN Linus TEAM LEOPARD-TREK + 00' 04"
6. SCHLECK Frank TEAM LEOPARD-TREK + 00' 04"
7. CANCELLARA Fabian TEAM LEOPARD-TREK + 00' 04"
8. HAGEN Edvald SKY PROCYCLING + 00' 04"
9. QUINZIATO Manuel BMC RACING TEAM + 00' 04"
10. SCHLECK Andy TEAM LEOPARD-TREK + 00' 04"
75. CONTADOR Alberto SAXO BANK SUNGARD + 01' 42"
The 2011 edition of the Tour de France gets under on July 2nd and, before it even begins, we can already discount at least 190 of the 198 starters.
Realistically, there are probably only two or three who would be worth the risk of betting on their chances.
But, for the sake of a bit of fun, let’s have a look at all of the possible contenders and their chances of wearing the coveted maillot jaune on the Champs Elysees when the caravan rolls into town on July 24th.
Unless something sensational happens, the Tour will almost certainly be a race between reigning and three-time Tour champion, Saxo Bank’s Alberto Contador, and runner-up and winner of the young rider classification for the last two Tours, Leopard Trek’s Andy Schleck.
The two have been separated by less than five minutes over the 7000km of the last two Tours. Last year, the gap was only 39 seconds and the way that Contador established that lead is still the subject of debate.
Schleck was attacking on the climb of the Port de Bales and had established a break when his chain jammed, stopping him dead. Contador took the opportunity to launch a counterattack and managed to gain 39 seconds on Schleck—coincidentally the exact victory margin.
It is tradition that riders don’t attack their competitors when they have had a mechanical failure. Whether Contador was aware of the issue or not is unknown, but he has shown himself to be ruthless and willing to do whatever it takes to win.
That is why he goes into this race as the favorite, but it will be interesting to see whether the pressure of the outstanding appeal by WADA will affect him. He has already received a hostile reception from French fans.
Schleck, on the other hand, has improved in each of his last three tours and, with a fit brother Frank by his side, will be best placed to take the race to Contador.
It would have been interesting to see how differently the 2010 Tour would have turned out had Frank not shattered his collar bone on stage three. When working together they are a formidable team.
Barring incident, injury or illness, there are few of the other contenders who seem likely to trouble Contador or Schleck.
BMC’s Cadel Evans has been in the mix for the past half-dozen Tours, but struggled after falls in 2010 and being stuck in a dud team in 2009. This year, he is in peak form and has better team support, but has never shown the killer instinct or ability to break the field as Contador or Armstrong have done in the recent past. Still, with luck and good health, he will influence the outcome.
Ivan Basso, from team Liquigas, has made winning the Tour his sole focus this year. He had a nasty crash during training in May and struggled at the Criterium du Dauphine, but is hopeful of finding form and can’t be discounted.
Other riders who are likely to feature prominently include Sammy Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Cervelo), Jurgen van den Broek (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Bradley Wiggins (Sky Procycling), Robert Gesnik (Rabobank) and Andreas Kloden (Radioshack).
It will take something special for the yellow jersey not to be on the back of either Schleck or Contador when the riders finally make their way back to Paris later this month. The beauty of the Tour de France is that the extraordinary can and does happen.
It is arguably the toughest test of athletic ability on the planet and has a habit of treating favorites with contempt. Some rise to the challenge, others falter, but whoever stands on the top step of the podium in Paris will have earned it.
We’ll find out in 22 days who that will be—my money is on Andy Schleck.
It is perhaps fitting that the 2010 Tour de France was settled on the last climb of the last mountain stage of this year’s race—the 174 kilometer Stage 17 from Pau to the summit of the Col du Tourmalet.
Time is immaterial. For the race winner to have legitimacy, they must, at some point, stamp their authority on the race. In this case, it is to crush their rivals on the 18.6 km climb up the hors categorie slopes of the Col du Tourtmalet.
After 78 hours of cycling, there were only four riders who stood any real chance of claiming victory: yellow jersey holder Alberto Contador (Ast), Andy Schleck (Sax), who is only eight seconds off the lead, Sammy Sanchez (Eus), at two minutes, and Denis Menchov (Rab), at 2:13.
After the controversial finish to Stage 15, where Contador inherited the yellow jersey from Schleck, it was has been expected that Schleck would seek revenge. Not only that, but it is widely believed that he needs at least a two minute lead on Contador to be able to defend the lead on the Stage 19 time trial.
Again, there was a breakaway from about the two kilometer mark of the race, but, again, the focus was elsewhere in the race. 2008 Tour winner Carlos Sastre gamely attempted to catch the leading bunch, but fell short, was eventually caught, and then was passed by the peloton.
Predictably, it was Astana and Saxo Bank who took control of the bunch for the final climb. As has been the pattern, they set a frightening pace, the peloton shattered, and riders started slipping off the back.
As Schleck did when he was wearing the yellow jersey, Contador simply sat on the wheel of his challenger and prepared to match every move.
At 10 kilometers to go, the move came from Schleck with Contador in his shadow, as they disappeared into the mist. Everyone else fell away, and suddenly, it was the two leaders who were alone and fighting for the yellow jersey and the chance of victory in Paris.
It came down to a contest between the world’s best climber, in Contador, and the world’s best young rider, in Schleck.
Climbing these big mountains in the Tour de France, while physically and mentally challenging in the expected way, is also an incredibly risky proposition. The roads are lined with tens of thousands excitable, enthusiastic, and, occasionally, completely mad spectators who have little concept of personal space as they run perilously close to the riders.
It was a tremendous and very personal battle, not only physical but psychological. Schleck seemed to be questioning Contador, trash talking when nearly every other rider in the race was struggling just to breathe.
Contador eventually responded with a vicious acceleration with just under four km to go, however, Schleck was not phased, and he was not dropped. He just moved back to the front and picked up the pace-making yet again.
And that was the way that they crossed the line. The two men were separated by less than a bike length, and with Contador seemingly allowing his friend to cross the line unchallenged, almost as a consolation.
Schleck threw everything that he had at Contador and the Spaniard took it all. Both men can go to Paris satisfied that they had tested each other to the limit. The scenes of them embracing after the stage showed the depth of respect between the two men. Both looked completely knackered.
Barring incident, Contador will go on to win the Tour and he is a worthy winner. Schleck will finish second and again take out the white jersey, while Sanchez and Menchov will fight it out for third.
For now, we should just savour a magnificent battle between two incredibly closely matched riders. It is certainly one to remember.
Standings after Stage 17
1. CONTADOR A. 83h 32' 39"
2. SCHLECK A. 00' 08"
3. SANCHEZ S. 03' 32"
4. MENCHOV D. 03' 53"
5. VAN DEN BROECK J. 05' 27"
6. GESINK R. 06' 41"
7. RODRIGUEZ OLIVER J. 07' 03"
8. HESJEDAL R. 09' 18"
9. KREUZIGER R. 10' 12"
10. HORNER C. 10' 37"
