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Andy Drops His Chain And Alberto Pedals Onward
By spokesman | July 19, 2010
Stage 15 of the 2010 Tour De France had some controversy as Alberto Contador took the yellow jersey from Andy Schleck primarily because of mechanical problem with Andy Schleck’s bike. On the last climb of the day, Andy Schleck attacked and opened a gap. Contador reacted and as he caught Schleck, the chain on Schleck’s bike dropped off of the gears. Schleck had to dismount, fix the chain and begin riding again on the steep slope. Contador and several other cyclists had passed Schleck. Schleck worked hard to close the gap and reached the top of the climb about 15 seconds after the Contador group. On the descent to the finish line, the Contador group worked together and expanded their lead to about 39 seconds over Schleck. Contador took the yellow jersey and currently has an 8 second lead over Schleck.
There are many unwritten rules in cycling and not attacking the yellow jersey wearer when he is having a mechanical problem or has crashed is one of them. Should Contador have slowed and waited for Schleck? Did Contador know that Schleck had a problem? Reactions were mixed as can be seen from the quotes below.
Schleck: “What is fair or unfair is not up to me, but I would not have raced like that”
Contador: “Those are the circumstances of the race. I knew there would be a debate after that, but I attacked before I knew he had a problem with his chain, and I was already ahead when I knew it. I understand he’s disappointed”
Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen: The two announcers disagreed on Contador’s behavior. Sherwen thought he unfairly took advantage of the situation. Liggett didn’t think Contador acted unfairly and with the other cyclists pedaling away at full speed, Contador had no choice but to continue onward at full speed.
Lance Armstrong: “It is better to wait but this situation is different because this was the last climb of the race, and the race was really on” Armstrong was referring to two situations - one in 2001 when he slowed and waited for Ullrich after a crash and another in 2003 when several cyclists, at the urging of Tyler Hamilton, slowed for Armstrong after he crashed.
John Wilcockson (via twitter) : “Contador made no friends today, and if Schleck loses this TdF by 39 secs or less the Spaniard will go in the books as an unsporting winner”
If an event this controversial happened in a popular American sport such as football, basketball or baseball, there were be no end to the debate. It would be discussed everywhere. Every sports columnist would write about it, sports radio stations would talk about it for days and the video would be analyzed frame by frame like the Zapruder film. Look at all of the press that Lebron James received recently and all he did was sign a new contract and screw Cleveland (the 43rd largest city in the U.S.). For more on the debate about Stage 15, check out the Velonews website.
Cycling is a tough sport. The difference among the top competitors is very small. In many Tours, a few seconds make the difference between winning and losing. Often the competitors show a measure of respect and support for each other that is far greater than competitors in any other sport. However, there is another unwritten rule in cycling - there are no gifts.
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