Poor performance in Rotterdam was far more costly than "chaingate", says race runner-up
Of all the incidents, both controversial and otherwise, in this year’s Tour de France, runner-up Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) sees one specific place where his Tour was lost. Despite all the debate, and his initial anger, over the “chaingate” incident on the Port de Balès, he told Sporza’s Sportweekend show that it was the time that he lost on the very first day in Rotterdam that cost him the race.
Schleck finished 122nd in the Rotterdam prologue, losing 1’09” to teammate Fabian Cancellara, but more importantly losing 42 seconds to eventual race winner Alberto Contador (Astana) in just 8.9km; this was 3 seconds more than he was to lose in “chaingate”.
Schleck’s tour could have ended on only the second stage of the race when he, and almost half the peloton came down on the narrow, wet and oily descent of the Col de Stockeu. Cancellara was in the yellow jersey though, and used his authority to neutralise the peloton; something that Schleck believes should not have been left to the riders to do for themselves.
“Fabian Cancellara made sure that the peloton waited for me,” he said. “Actually, the [race] organisation needed to do it; 80 riders falling, that’s not a normal situation.”
The next day, as the race traversed the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix, was the day that Schleck took the most time out of Alberto Contador and his other big rivals. It was also the day though, that his brother Fränk’s Tour ended as he crashed on the cobblestones and broke his collarbone.
The loss of his strongest climbing teammate, and his best friend, had a huge effect on the race. “That was hard blow to take mentally,” he said. “With him there we would have had a different Tour.”
The first time – and only time as it turned out – that Schleck was able to take time from Contador in the mountains was the stage to Morzine-Avoriaz, where a final kilometre attack got 10 seconds clear of the Astana rider. Many criticised Schleck at the time, saying that he could have gone earlier; even with the benefit of hindsight though, Schleck does not agree.
“I might have taken more time,” he conceded, “but Contador was stronger later and may have cracked us. Looking back, I think I attacked at the right time.”
Contador responded four days later with a late attack on the stage to Mende, taking back those 10 seconds.
The only other time the two riders could be separated in a road stage, was that controversial “chaingate” incident on the Port de Balès. Initially very angry, Schleck is now more philosophical about what happened, seeing a funny side to the time gaps at the end of the stage and in Paris.
“I can laugh about it now,” he said. “I lost 39 seconds then and I lost the Tour by 39 seconds. That’s funny and people will always remember it.”
Despite the symmetry of the 39-second margin though, Schleck is under no illusions as to how it affected the eventual Tour result. That short time trial on the first day, where so many riders struggled to cope with the wet city streets, was far more costly.
“I think I lost the Tour in the prologue,” he said. “I have no excuses; I was just really bad that day. One error in the prologue can be unforgivable, and I made two or three. You have no chances to put things right.”
With the eventual 39-second gap providing one of the closest Tour finishes ever, and with the two riders seemingly so closely matched for so much of the race, Schleck is confident about his chances for next year’s race.
“I have a feeling that I can beat Contador,” he predicted. “I was at his level this year, and perhaps better in the mountains.
“I’m going for yellow in 2011.”