Contador shows who’s boss

By Andrew Hood

Five kilometers of Swiss asphalt was all the Alberto Contador needed to show the Tour de France peloton who’s the new boss.

The Spanish climber spun his spindly legs to drop Lance Armstrong, the Schleck brothers and all the other doubters and second-guessers who have been needling him for months about whether he could win the Tour.

Contador pulled out his imaginary pistol and shot those doubters right between the eyes.

He crossed the line in a dramatic double high in the Swiss Alps, taking a 43-second stage victory over Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) and pulled on the yellow jersey with a comfortable 1:37 lead over Armstrong.

“The climb wasn’t very long but I am very content with the time I could take on my rivals,” Contador said. “It’s true that Armstrong was an idol of mine, but when I attacked, I was only thinking about taking as much time as possible on my adversaries.”

With less than one week to go in the 96th Tour, Contador stakes his claim as the legitimate leader of both the Tour as well as the splintered Astana team.

With Armstrong unable to maintain the rhythm on the 8.8km Verbier climb, Contador earned the right to be declared the unquestioned Astana team capo.

Contador’s dominance earned props from the seven-time Tour winner.

“When Alberto went, he showed he was the best in the race, and clearly the best climber. That’s how you win the Tour de France,” Armstrong said. “A day like this showed who was best.”

The Verbier summit was what everyone was waiting for.

All eyes were on Armstrong to see whether or not the 37-year-old could maintain the same uphill speed he used to win seven Tours in a row.

Armstrong once again stayed back when Contador shot free and teammate Andreas Kloden helped pace him up the twisting climb. At half the distance of Alpe d’Huez, the Verbier climb proved too much for Armstrong’s comeback legs.

He stayed with a group chasing behind Contador, but lost the wheel when the late-stage surges came for the leftovers, crossing the line ninth at 1:35 back.

Armstrong said any reported tension between him and Contador is overblown and he promises to ride as a “domestique” if that helps Contador and Astana win the Tour.

“Today I was definitely missing that required high-end. It would be hard for me to win at this point,” Armstrong said. “There’s been a lot of drama between Alberto and me, especially in the media, but at the end of the day, we sit around the dinner table and say the last thing we can do is lose this Tour. If we ride into Paris with the yellow jersey in the team, I’m cool with that. I’ve got seven of them at home.”

Contador was at his best and revealed the same strength of character that delivered him victories in all three grand tours by the ripe age of 26.

After weeks of mounting tension, Contador was strong enough to fend off a full-on assault by Saxo Bank.

Bjarne’s Army set a lethal pace at the bottom, putting Jens Voigt and the two Sorensens on the front to quickly trim the lead bunch down to two-dozen riders. Fabian Cancellara, away in the day’s main break, took pulls at the front when the pack came roaring up.

Saxo Bank eased Contador into the virtual yellow jersey when overnight leader Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r) and second-place rider George Hincapie (Columbia-HTC) popped even before Contador surged away with 5.6km to go.

Andy Schleck immediately gave chase, but there was no bringing back Contador. With 4km to go, Schleck was 23 seconds off the pace and the gap only grew – or worsened – depending on the point of view.

Saxo Bank director Bjarne Riis, however, refuses to throw in the towel. The Schleck brothers finished second and fourth on the stage and both moved up into the top 10.

“We still haven’t even arrived to the truly difficult climbs yet,” Riis said. “Contador proved he was strongest today, but there are other mountains to come when we can attack. Then there’s Ventoux, when someone with bad legs can lose minutes. Nothing will be decided until we’re all on the top of Ventoux.”

If Saxo Bank’s aggressive served as Contador’s trampoline, others struggled under the pace.

Defending champion Carlos Sastre (Cervélo) said he lacked the “explosiveness” to go with Contador and struggled to keep up, though he rebounded late to finish sixth at 1:06 back.

Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) lost contact with about 4km to go, but to the surprise of many, teammate Bradley Wiggins rode to fifth at 1:06 back and slotted into third at 1:46 back.

Vande Velde, who overcame a serious crash at the Giro d’Italia, crossed the line 22nd at 2:41 back and slipped to 12th at 3:59, he all but gave up hope of equally his fifth-place from last year’s Tour.

“I never expected to be here and now that Wiggo is the only one that my team is relying on, it’s a perfect situation. I can be the best lieutenant that he’s ever asked for,” Vande Velde said. “The last week is going to be brutal, anything can happen. I think anyone within five minutes can do something – long breakaways, crashes, bad weather. That’s why the Tour is such a cool event. That’s why you’ve got to keep pushing and trying.”

Contador will have Monday’s rest day to come to terms with his new status. The breather will also allow some of the air to be released from the pressure-cooker environment at Astana.

Ever humble, Contador isn’t one to gloat – not yet.

“The Tour is still a long way to go to Paris, with many obstacles and against strong rivals,” Contador said. “But it’s true now that the situation is clearer.”

FILED UNDER: News / Road / Tour de France TAGS: Tour de France

Andrew Hood

Hood cut his journalistic teeth at Colorado dailies before the web boom opened the door to European cycling in the mid-1990s. Hood's covered every Tour since 1996 and has been VeloNews' European correspondent since 2002. He lives in Leon, Spain, when he's not chasing bike races.

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