Alberto Contador will today start last in the Criterium du Dauphiné time trial, clad in the yellow jersey of race leader and having an opportunity to further extend his advantage.
The Team Astana rider won the prologue on Sunday, beating Tejay Van Garderen (HTC Columbia) by two seconds and RadioShack’s Janez Brajkovic by five. He said after the test that he didn’t intend to defend his race lead but, thanks mainly to chasing by other teams, he remains at the helm of the race.
The Spaniard tends to play down his chances before important appointments, then often exceeds those stated expectations. He once again puts a little question mark over what he could achieve today.
“It will be a difficult day because I haven’t trained so much with the new bike and it will be a full-hour’s effort,” he said. “I know that with my current shape and with a little-used bike, I cannot draw conclusions that are too accurate.”
Contador has been consistently strong in time trials for the past two seasons. His prologue victory was his second TT win of this year, following on from his victory in the Ponferrada time trial in the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon. He was also second in such races in Critérium International and the Volta ao Algarve, with his fourth place in the Paris-Nice prologue representing the furthest he has been from the podium.
In 2009 he won time trials in the Volta ao Algarve, Paris-Nice,Vuelta al Pais Vasco, the Tour de France and the Spanish national championships. He was also second in similar tests in the Vuelta a Castilla y León and the Tour de France prologue.
Looking back to last year’s Dauphiné Libéré, he is already ahead of where he was then, at least in terms of results. He finished second to Cadel Evans in the 12.1 kilometre opening time trial. The second race against the clock was a 42.4 kilometre effort, where he netted fifth behind Bert Grabsch, Evans, David Millar and Frantisek Rabon. Providing he places higher than that today, he will send a signal that he is bang on track for a good Tour.
When asked who he saw as favourites, he said that nobody really stood out. “[They will be] the same as those who were ahead in the prologue. This course is very good for Brajkovic and perhaps for others who were not in the first positions on the first day, but I do not see a man above others.”
Contador will tear out of the starting gate at 15.20 European time today. The 49 kilometre test could put him further ahead of his GC rivals, but he continues to play down his chances of the final victory.
“I'm still in yellow by the circumstances of the race but to take it now doesn’t mean that I'll take it at the end,” he explained. “As we can say, this has not yet started”.
The destination of the final yellow jersey will be determined largely by the mountain stages, including Saturday’s leg to the top of Alpe d’Huez.