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DAILY RACE COVERAGE: CONTADOR: SCHLECK IS GREATEST RIVAL
Road Bike Action & AFP
July 12, 2010
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(Photo: Roberto Bettini)
Two-time champion Alberto Contador believes Andy Schelck will be his biggest yellow jersey rival in the remaining mountain stages of the Tour de France.
Contador sits third overall at 1:01 behind new race leader Cadel Evans of Australia, who has a 20sec lead on Schleck following the Luxemburger's victory on stage eight in the Alps.
Schleck's attack in the final kilometer of the 14km climb to Avoriaz on Sunday left Contador's group, which also contained Evans and several other contenders, struggling to counter.
They eventually finished 10 seconds behind Schleck, and after the first real mountain stage of the race Contador has seen enough to believe that climbing faster than the Saxo Bank leader will be his biggest challenge this year.
"Last year he (Schleck) gave me a few problems and this year he will be my biggest rival," said the Spaniard, who won the race in 2007 and 2009.
"When the attacks started (on the last climb) it wasn't easy for me to counter, then Schleck attacked. I tried to follow him but when I saw they'd taken a small lead I decided to sit up.
"In the end we lost a few seconds but overall it was a good result."
Contador's Astana team set most of the attacking pace on the race's last two climbs Sunday, a tactic employed to drop rivals and which proved fatal for some.
Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong, who suffered a hip injury in one of his several crashes on the stage, could not close the gap and was left trailing to finish almost 12 minutes adrift, his Tour campaign now virtually over.
Schleck, like Evans and many other favorites, was left with no teammates to help him as Contador's Astana team kept numbers up front until the final few kilometers of the stage.
The Spaniard said Astana had done great work in trying to put time into their rivals, and that as of Tuesday's final day in the Alps they will look for a repeat.
"We took responsibility for the race because we saw that Lance (Armstrong) was behind and that all the rest (of the field) were struggling.
"It seems he (Armstrong) lost a lot of time although there's still a lot of stages for him to attack.
"After the rest day, I hope we can be just as effective."
Armstrong, on his final Tour campaign, is now 39th overall at 13:26 behind Evans.
Armstrong’s shredded back after stage 8(Photo: Roberto Bettini)
Bruyneel Disappointed by Armstrong’s Turn of Luck
Lance Armstrong lost all chance of winning this year's Tour de France because of injuries suffered in a crash and not because of pressure caused by more damning doping allegations, his team said Sunday.
Armstrong endured arguably his worst day of his career on the world's biggest bike race after he crashed several times on the eighth stage to finish over almost 12 minutes adrift at the summit of Avoriaz in the French Alps.
Ahead of the race's first rest day, when his RadioShack team manager Johan Bruyneel is likely to hand the leader's torch to Levi Leipheimer, the seven-time champion is now in 39th place overall at 13:26 behind new race leader Cadel Evans of Australia.
Cancer survivor Armstrong came into his final Tour campaign hoping to challenge reigning champion Alberto Contador for the race's coveted yellow jersey, albeit under a cloud of suspicion following the publication of allegations by former teammate Floyd Landis that Armstrong was involved in systematic doing while at their old team, US Postal.
Instead, the American was left with the also-rans for the final two climbs of the race—and is now uncertain to continue.
"It's sad to see, but that's sport," said Bruyneel, the Belgian who helped spearhead Armstrong's competitive return to the sport after he successfully battled testicular cancer in 1998.
"There's a time for everything. He's been beaten by bad luck more than any physical deficiency. It's certainly the end of his aspirations to win the Tour de France."
Bruyneel played down suggestions that Landis's allegations had put extra pressure on Armstrong.
"That's got nothing to do with it," said Bryneel.
"He had a setback at the start of the stage when he almost crashed trying to avoid a fall in front of him, then 10km before the climb to (the Col de) Ramaz he had quite a heavy crash.
"Once he was on the Ramaz he was in difficulty. On the last climb (to Avoriaz) he told me he'd taken quite a big knock to his hip, and that it was impossible to produce the power he needed to make it back.
"Once he was behind and he had no chance of coming back, he effectively threw in the towel."
In between the Ramaz and Avoriaz, Armstrong fell again when two Euskaltel riders tumbled in front of him as they crested the easy, category three climb at Les Gets.
After the American's setbacks on stage three's ride over the cobbles to Arenberg, where he suffered a puncture and lost time to all his rivals, Bruyneel said it couldn't have been a worst first week.
"Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. It started on the cobblestones, we had some bad luck that day when Lance suffered punctures and lost time," added the Belgian.
He said RadioShack, whose best placed rider is now Leipheimer in eighth overall at 2:14 behind Evans, will now have to readjust their ambitions for the race.
"Let's look and see during the rest day how Lance's injuries are, and how everyone else is and then we can adapt our strategies and objectives for the rest of the race."
Evans pulls on the yellow jersey(Photo: Roberto Bettini)
Evans Avoids Media to Focus on Rest, Recovery
Australia's reigning world champion Cadel Evans has displayed a new determination in his bid to keep the Tour de France yellow jersey this year after shunning media on the race's first rest day.
Evans took the race lead after the first big climbing test on Sunday when he finished in a group of favourites 10 seconds behind Andy Schleck as the Luxemburger soared to the stage win at Morzine-Avoriaz.
The Australian now holds a 20 second lead on Saxo Bank leader Schleck, who along with Astana's reigning champion Alberto Contador, third overall at 1:01, is a hot favorite to win the race.
In 2008 Evans' team Silence-Lotto held a garden party to celebrate him taking the race lead, which he later lost to Frank Schleck before the Luxemburger's Spanish teammate at CSC, Carlos Sastre, beat Evans to overall victory.
This time, there will be no celebrations. Evans, who suffered a forearm injury in a crash early on Sunday's stage, has decided that his day will be filled with training, rest and some physiotherapy.
In a small audio interview issued by his BMC team, Evans admitted to feeling "honored" by being among the few world champions to wear the race's coveted tunic.
"For me personally, of course, getting the yellow jersey at the Tour is alwasy something special," said Evans.
"To swap the (world champion's) rainbow jersey for the yellow jersey is a rare feat that I've had the honour to experience.
"But it's also for the team and all the work we've put in together, not just for the Tour but building the team and everything."
Evans said he made a gift of his yellow jersey to team sports director Jacques Michaud, who was celebrating his birthday.
"It's so nice to walk down the dinner table with the yellow jersey and give it to Jacques Michaud who's birthday it was," he added.
"For everyone who's put in work trying to build this team, it's really a nice reward for everyone."
A final day of racing in the Alps is held Tuesday, when the peloton tackles four mountain passes, including the 25.5km ascension of the Col de la Madeleine whose summit is 30km from the finish in the valley of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
In the third week four days in the Pyrenees, followed by a long time trial on the penultimate stage, will be crucial in deciding the yellow jersey winner.
Although hurting from his tumble near the start of Sunday's stage, Evans said his legs are responding well.
"I've got a very sore left forearm, but the legs are still going which is the important thing, that is what the main concern is right now," he added.
"It's a little bit uncomfortable right now. Hopefully with a good night's sleep I should be alright.
"I'll try to take it as easy as possible, and get as much physiotherapy as possible on my arm."
Hesjedal finishes stage 8(Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)
Hesjedal Joins Yellow Jersey Hunt
Canada's Ryder Hesjedal arguably gave the best indication of how tough life can be on the Tour de France when he had to get off his bike and walk at the end of the eighth stage on Sunday.
But after an epic day of racing in the Alps which prompted the first big selection among the yellow jersey contenders, and brough an end to Lance Armstrong's victory hopes, Hesjedal was rewarded for his efforts.
The Canadian has been named as Garmin-Transitions leader following the retirement of American challenger Christian Vande Velde due to broken ribs he suffered in a crash on stage two.
And on the first real day of climbing, Hesjedal honoured his new role by keeping pace with all the specialist climbers to sit sixth overall at 1:11 behind new leader Cadel Evans.
Given he is not a specialist climber, Hesjedal's team boss Matt White was quick to put his ride into perspective.
"Today was the first real selection of the Tour de France contenders. It's safe to say that Ryder has done some of the rides of his life here, and today was no exception," said the Aussie.
"Losing Christian was obviously a negative for the team, but it provided Ryder with an opportunity to step up into a GC (general classification) role—and he's done it.
"I'm really proud of what he's accomplished here already and for now, we'll keep taking it day by day."
The pain was plain to see as Hesjedal had to be helped by one team official as he walked gingerly past with his bike shortly after arriving 1:14 behind stage winner Andy Schleck, and 1:04 behind a group containing all the other favorites including Spaniard Alberto Contador.
"As much as I wanted to stay with the Contador group, I knew my limits on the last climb," said Hesjedal.
"I lost it a little and after that I decided to ride tempo. Fourteenth on the stage and sixth overall is beyond what I ever expected, so I'm happy.
"I'm looking forward to the rest day and getting at it again next week."
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