(Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)
Contador Tames Cobbles, Team Now Looks to Climbs Weighing just 62 kg, Spaniard Alberto Contador wasn't supposed to have enough weight to even stay on his bike during the third stage of the 2010 Tour de France. But on Tuesday the reigning yellow jersey champion showed equal measures of determination and class, while also riding his luck, to steal some time on his rivals during a chaotic, cobblestone-riddled finale to the race.
Ultimately, Contador lost time to rivals Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, last year's runner-up, and Australian Cadel Evans, who has twice finished in that position. But those were losses tempered by the fact the 27-year-old climbing specialist left Lance Armstrong in his wake as the American first struggled to keep pace and then dropped back further when he suffered a puncture.
Contador is now 1min 40sec behind Swiss Fabian Cancellara, who is not a real yellow jersey contender, and is well within sight of Evans and Schleck. But now he has a 50 sec lead on Armstrong. Contador could have done even better had he not suffered a mechanical problem in the final 30 km, during which his wheel, buckled after he lost a spoke, was slowing him down by rubbing off his brake pads.
"I did the last 30 km with the rear wheel absolutely braked so at the end, and despite the fact I crashed earlier, the result is not so bad," said Contador. "I knew that if I changed the bike would be much worse and I preferred to continue with the wheel braking. I could not stand up, but hey, we saved the day."
Contador would make no comment on his time advantages to Armstrong because he didn't know what it was. But Astana team manager Yvon Sanquer put their day into perspective.
"Overall it's a positive outcome for us," said Sanquer. "When you look at the result, he's taken some time except on Andy [Schleck] and Evans. The main thing today was not to lose too much time on his main rivals. And after three days of difficult racing, I think Alberto's come out of it okay."
Heavier riders, like stage winner Thord Hushovd or Cancellara, are comparative heavyweights to Contador and usually fare much better on the cobbles. But on this showing the slight Spaniard showed the world he can battle with the best on terrain which is known for producing cycling's hard men.
"We had a little glimpse of Paris-Roubaix in the sunshine, and we saw that a lot of riders weren't used to the cobbles. That's all part of the game," added Sanquer. "Alberto has shown that he's got talents for all kinds of terrain. He's an all-round champion, especially when he's motivated by the thought of winning the Tour."
He added, "Armstrong had a little bit of bad luck, but that can happen to everybody. After all, when it comes to the cobblestones he's just the same as everybody else."
For many, the hardest stage for Contador is now over. But Sanquer is not getting carried away ahead of the first Alpine stages this weekend.
"There are more complicated stages for us to tackle, but we're very happy to have got to this stage of the race in this position."
Lance Armstrong, center, lost time on stage 3 to GC rivals, including Alberto Contador (Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)
Armstrong Loses Time as Rivals Soar on the Cobbles
Lance Armstrong is already looking towards the Alpine stages of the Tour de France after a frustrating day of chasing wheels on the dreaded cobbles third stage left him tumbling down the standings.
On what proved to be an epic day of bike racing over 213km from Wanze in Belgium to Arenberg in northern France, only 13km of cobbles, spread over seven sections, played the most decisive role.
And Armstrong ultimately emerged as the main loser. He went from fifth place with a five second lead on Spain's reigning champion Alberto Contador to 18th overall at 50secs behind the Astana team leader and 1min 51sec behind Australia's two-time runner-up Cadel Evans.
It was all going so well for the seven-time champion until the peloton arrived in France, where the cobbles are practically double the size as those in Belgium. As Andy Schleck's Saxo Bank team upped the pace in a bid to drop as many rivals as possible on the fourth sector, Armstrong's luck ran out.
Ultimately, it left him crossing the finish line in 32nd place at 2:08 behind stage winner Thor Hushovd as Contador, Schleck and Evans, all of whom are yellow jersey rivals, spent comparatively fruitful days in the saddle.
Armstrong said it was the crash involving Andy Schleck's brother Frank which split their group as Saxo Bank ramped up the pace. From then on, it was dog eat dog just to get to the finish.
"Section four was the major selection," said the American. "Then something happened in front and Frank Schleck came down, and that just kind of opened the group and we hung in there, we were right behind them, and just as we were coming back on to them in section six, I believe, I just got that front flat [tire]."
Armstrong lost precious time waiting for a wheel change, and that left him fighting simply to join a group ahead of him which contained Contador and Britain's Bradley Wiggins, with Evans and Schleck even further up the road.
"For a little bit, Popo(vych) came back, gave me a hand and then on the final section I went at it alone, stuck in the cars, dirt, and dodging people. But no complaints. Bad luck was with me today. Look at the results," added the American.
"Everbody thought the climbers were going to lose minutes today, and they're the ones at the front."
Armstrong, like many of the top favourites, had ridden the cobblestone in training. But he said they were hardly recogniseable as Saxo Bank hammered towards the finish.
"You can't simulate the effort it recquires to get to the front," he added. "Saxo Bank is a perfect example. Andy (Schleck) was in the front, but he had a great team and he didn't have to do anything. He went in completely rested and we were just fighting for their wheel. "When we hit the key sections - I can't lie, I was on the limit. So it was a lot different to training."
Armstrong's "very frustrating" day could soon be forgotten. The Tour heads upwards as of this weekend for three stage which, nevertheless, do not offer the best terrain for attacking in the mountains.
But he now knows what he has to do to claw back the lost time. "We lost significant time, so we just have to keep our head up and take our chances on the climbs," he said.
"Our chances took a knock today, but we're not going home. We'll stay in the race. Sometimes you're the hammer and some days you're the nail. Today I was the nail. I've had plenty days when I was the hammer."
Frank Schleck receives medical attention after his crash on the cobblestones of stage 3 (Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)
Frank Schleck Breaks Collarbone - Pulls Out of Tour Luxembourg's Frank Schleck broke his collarbone in three places, his Saxo Bank team said Tuesday after the Tour de France hopeful crashed out of the race on the chaotic third stage.
Schleck hit the ground on the fourth, and one of the most difficult, of seven cobblestone sectors on the finale of the 213km race from Wanze in Brussels to here.
His brother Andy, last year's runner-up to Alberto Contador of Spain, finished among the front group with Australian Cadel Evans and stage winner Thor Hushovd to leave rival Lance Armstrong down the standings.
Andy's superb ride on one of the most treacherous stages of this year's race was tempered by the fact he lost his brother for the rest of his campaign. Saxo Bank later said in a statement:
"After the horrible crash earlier today, Team Saxo Bank's Frank Schleck was examined at a local hospital where x-rays revealed three fractures of his left collarbone which obviously stopped the national champion of Luxembourg from continuing today's stage.
"After having congratulated his teammates tonight after a job well done on the cobblestones, he is undergoing immediate surgery and will be out of competition for a longer period of time."
Frenchman David Le Lay of AG2R was also forced out of the Tour today, suffering collarbone injuries of his own. Le Lay, a climbing specialist like Frank Schleck, crashed on a relatively smooth section of road just after the halfway point of the 213 km ride from Wanze in Belgium to Arenberg in France.
Floyd Landis in 2006 (Photo: Roberto Bettini)
Landis' Allegations Prompt 'Significant' Inquiry - WADA Chief
In other Tour de France news, disgraced non-champion Floyd Landis's allegations about doping in cycling have sparked a "significant" inquiry that could take months to complete, a world anti-doping chief said Tuesday.
David Howman, Director General of the World Anti Doping Agency, told AFP that WADA had helped US investigators establish cooperation with European counterparts through Interpol as the probe broadens.
Landis's claims in May prompted the US authorities to launch a federal investigation led by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) special agent Jeff Novitzky, who dismantled a key doping network in the United States before.
"This investigation has been going on for many weeks and I think it is a significant inquiry," Howman said.
"And it's one that might go on for many more weeks because it essentially started with a US inquiry and is spreading," he explained. "We've been persuading people to cooperate and think that would be helpful."
Landis, a former member of US Postal, won the Tour de France in 2006 while riding for Phonak, only to be stripped of the title after testing positive for testosterone. Having consistently claimed his innocence for years, the American finally confessed to doping last month. But in a bid to "clear his conscience," he took his claims much further and accused seven-times Tour champion Lance Armstrong, and several other former teammates, of using banned doping products or methods at US Postal.
Armstrong, who has consistently rejected such allegations, hit out Saturday only hours before the start of his final Tour de France race at more "false" doping accusations levelled by Landis.
Howman said information from any athlete could not be dismissed. "We have to say we were disappointed at having to spend so much money pursuing Mr Landis, but you can't say that's something which should stop you from listening to him," he added. "That would show a closed mind." Howman reiterated that WADA was ready to listen to any leads that would help fight doping.
Novitzky led a successful probe into the BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative) scandal, which produced and supplied designer drugs for Major League Baseball players and athletes, leading to several convictions including that of American sprint star Marion Jones. |