Tour champion expects a hard time against the clock in his stage 19 showdown with Andy Schleck
After 3487.4km of racing, Alberto Contador (Astana) and Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) are separated by just 8 seconds. With Sunday’s stage to the Champs-Elysées in Paris traditionally a ceremonial ride, until the sprinters get going, the last chance the two riders have to move further apart is tomorrow’s 52km time trial from Bordeaux to Pauillac.
The entirely flat parcours through the vineyards on the banks of the Garonne and Gironde rivers has very few obstacles, other than the wind that will be blowing off the nearby Atlantic Ocean. Race leader Contador experienced a taste of that wind in today’s stage, so he knows what to expect in tomorrow’s stage.
“There was wind all day,” he said, “but luckily it was in our faces and from one side. The danger was greater during the last kilometres, but perhaps more because we are already in the last days of racing”
“[Tomorrow will be] a particularly difficult day,” he continued, “because in the last time trial it is more important [to have saved] your strength than to be specialists, and Andy Schelck comes with a lot of confidence after being champion of his country”
Contador has always known that Schleck was the rider likely to be the closest challenger to his Tour crown. He also knew that this stage would be important, having base a lot of his 2009 victory on his prowess against the clock.
“At the start of the Tour I thought this time trial could be me last card if I was equal with Andy or slightly delayed,” he said, “but anyway it’s particularly difficult. It is a flat course set among vineyards, where you can barely stand up on the bike and in which particularly affect the direction of the wind”.
“Tomorrow will be very hard and we will have to suffer”, he continued. “It is your best effort for over an hour.”
While he knows that Schleck is close to him, and could potentially steal his yellow jersey, Contador also knows that he has to ride his own race. “It's not a matter of being vigilant on another rider,” he said, “but to go as fast as you can. I have the advantage in any case that I’ll have references, but nothing more”
The formbook suggests that Contador should come out on top in tomorrow’s time trial, giving him his third Tour victory. His superiority over Schleck is likely to be less this year though, as the 25-year-old has reportedly made improvements in his performance against the clock.
While the end result is unlikely to be as close as the 8 second victory of Greg Lemond over Laurent Fignon in 1989; we could be treated to an end as dramatic as Contador’s first victory in 2007 though, when he beat current World champion Cadel Evans by just 23.