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Why Did Contador Attack In Stage 12
By spokesman | July 16, 2010
In today’s stage of the Tour De France, everything seemed to be unfolding according to a traditional script. A breakaway had formed early in the stage and as is usually the case, the breakaway group lost riders during the stage. At 4 kilometers from the finish, Alexander Vinokourov (a teammate of Contador) was riding alone in the lead. Several other cyclists were riding alone in between Vinokourov and the lead group containing Contador which was about 20 seconds behind. There were still 2 to 3 kilometers of climbing and then a flat stretch to the finish. Vinokourov seemed like he had the strength to maintain his lead over the pack and win the stage. The announcers speculated that Vinokourov would win the stage and the Contador was unlikely to attack because Vinokourov was so well positioned for the win. When another rider in the group attacked, Contador responded and caught onto his back wheel. Andy Schleck could not respond and a small gap opened up. Then, surprisingly, Contador attacked. He eventually passed Vinokourov and worse he brought another rider, Joaquim Rodriguez, with him. Contador and Rodriguez finished 4 seconds ahead of Vinokourov with Rodriguez winning the stage. Contador only gained 10 seconds on Schleck but did gain a psychological victory by demonstrating his superior climbing skills. However, I don’t think that it was worth it. There are many mountain stages left for Contador and Schleck to fight it out for time. Contador is a stronger time trialist, so Schleck needs a much large time margin than the current 31 second lead to win the tour since there is a long time trial remaining.
In the end, Contador’s team did not win the stage and he robbed a teammate of an opportunity that comes along rarely. Biking is a team sport and Contador may need Vinokourov before this tour ends. Vinokourov looked disgusted as he rolled across the finish line. If Contador had been going for a time bonus, it may have been understandable. We have already seen how the Saxo Bank riders have pushed themselves to the limit, sacrificed personal glory and worked together to support Andy Schleck. A prior post described some of the Saxo Bank team tactics on stage 2. Contador may have gained 10 seconds today, but he may have lost Vinokourov. It may not be obvious, but if the situation arises where Contador needs a teammate to push himself beyond the limit, Vinokourov may not be there. I’m sure that he will work hard, but will he push himself to the limit, sacrificing his tour position if necessary? Schleck has both Cancellara and Voigt, extremely strong cyclists who will sacrifice for him. Leipheimer has Kloden and Armstrong who will do the same for him. Contador may find himself alone.
UPDATE: Vinokourov made a solo breakaway and won stage 13. He and Contador celebrated together at the finish line. Vino has satisfied his personal goals for this tour, so now he is more likely to support Contador. On stage 14, Vino had an important role leading team Astana and Contador up some major climbs, but he ran out of power and dropped back. Maybe his efforts on the prior two stages used up too much of his energy.
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Topics: Professional Racing |