The Liquigas duo of Ivan Basso and Roman Kreuziger came to the Tour de France with great ambitions for the overall classification. Young Czech hope, Roman Kreuziger hoped to better his 9th overall in the 2009 Tour de France, while Ivan Basso was aiming for the rarefied air of the Giro/Tour Double.
Nine stages into the 2010 Tour, and the chances of Basso pulling off his goal of Tour de France victory look non-existent. The demonstration of power by Schleck and Contador in Stage 9's massive stage to St. Jean de Maurienne made it very clear who will be occupying the top two positions in Paris, but Basso hasn't given up hope of a solid result along the way or a high overall finish.
"Today, we saw that Schleck, Contador, and Samuel Sanchez are stronger than I am, but I'm happy about the descent that I rode, it was one of the most beautiful of my career. After a day of rest, I found it very difficult, but I consider it a new starting point, and that gives me hope for the rest of the Tour."
The two-time Tour de France podium finisher continues: "It seems that Schleck and Contador will fight for victory, but my own ambitions have not changed after today's stage. I am still motivated to fight to the end. There are still tough stages remaining where I am convinced that I can fight for the front positions."
While Basso has hopes of fighting the good fight, he admits that he had hoped today would go better. The rider from Varese was frank following his 15th place finish, 2:48 behind Schleck and Contador.
"Today, Schleck and Contador proved their superiority, and it was not possible for any of us to hold their wheels. This was an important day where we hoped not to lose too much time, but when you look at the result at the end of the day, it's not positive."
At this point, losing 4 hours to Schleck and Contador does not seem too terribly important, instead, Basso's time differences to the rest of the contenders are much more important. In St. Jean de Maurienne, Basso's losses weren't too severe. Olympic champion, Samuel Sanchez, took the most time from the two-time Giro champion, 1:58, but after that, the losses were even less: 43 seconds to the group of Leipheimer, Gesink, and Menchov.
"I tried to defend myself, and I think I succeeded fairly well, although it would have been better if I stayed with Menchov and his companions. I am sorry that no one in my group had the strength to help me. I tried to be the Samaritan in my group by passing some water to De Weert and a gel to Van Den Broeck."
Following the final critical stage in the Alps, Basso sits 10th overall, 5:09 behind new leader and first time wearer of the yellow jersey, Andy Schleck. The time gap to Schleck and Contador is significant, but only three minutes separate 3rd place from 12th place. If Basso can manage a strong trip through the Pyrenees, anything could be possible.
Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Kreuziger lost a bit more time in Stage 9. The rider who finished 13th in his first Tour de France at 22 years old, took 19th, a further 58 seconds behind the group of teammate, Ivan Basso. Kreuziger's 3:48 loss dropped him from 7th overall to 11th, two seconds behind his elder teammate.
"It was a difficult stage, but it does not destroy my hopes of improving upon last year's overall ninth place. Just like last year, I paid the price after a day of rest, but the outcome could have been much worse. I rode hard on the descent and the flat section to the finish, where I was able to regain some time. We can forget about Schleck and Contador: they are in a completely different league."