“Cycling is one of the sports where many things can happen and if you have a bad day, you can lose everything”
Knowing beforehand that the day was one where he needed to start getting himself back into the frame if he was to win another Tour de France, Alberto Contador instead conceded more time to the yellow jersey, Chris Froome.
The Team Sky rider was by far the best of the general classification contenders, finishing just twelve seconds behind the world time trial champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma Quick Step). He had actually led at earlier checkpoints but appeared to fade slightly at the end.
In contrast, Contador was never in the same league and came home fifteenth, two minutes fifteen seconds behind Martin and two minutes and three seconds off Froome’s time.
That wasn’t what he had planned, and he admitted as such afterwards. “It was a time trial in which the main thing that was seen is that Froome is at a level above the rest. He is very strong, 'chapeau' for him,” said Contador. “He is in a level of form that makes it very difficult to beat him, and we have to take things day by day.”
However, Froome’s performance aside, Contador said that he was relatively happy with how he fared. “Despite not being in the best condition, I think that I have done a time more or less similar to the other general classification riders. I hope that the last week in the Alps will be better for me. Until then, it’s important to be calm.
“I was not bad in the time trial, although I did not have a super day. However it wasn’t the type of parcours that suits my characteristics particularly well. Each day I'm feeling a little better and that's always encouraging.”
Contador now sits fourth overall, three minutes and 54 seconds behind Froome. He is 29 seconds behind Valverde, the current runner-up, and is seventeen seconds behind third-placed Bauke Mollema (Belkin).
While the yellow jersey appears to be relatively secure for Froome at this point, there’s still well over a week of racing to be covered and Contador stresses that nothing can be taken for granted. “Cycling is one of the sports where many things can happen and if you have a bad day, you can lose everything. Of course we still have more of the Tour left to do. We will do what we can to finish as high as possible, and we will also make a nice race.”