ITT
OK, I'm impressed. I'm more impressed by Contador's win in the time trial than I am by his winning the whole Tour. He beat Fabian Cancellara by 3 seconds. He beat Wiggins and Kloden by almost a minute. He beat Armstrong, the Schlecks, and the other contenders by 1:30+. I figured Contador to be a fair time trialist, not a great one, but today he served up a massive beat down. The margin is enough to push his overall lead beyond the magical 4 minute barrier I've been saying would be needed to feel safe going onto Mt. Ventoux.
The standings after stage 18.
1 Alberto Contador (Astana) at 73:15:39
2 Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) at 04:11
3 Lance Armstrong (Astana) at 05:25
4 Bradley Wiggins (Garmin - Slipstream) at 05:36
5 Andréas Klöden (Astana) at 05:38
6 Frank Schleck (Saxo Bank) at 05:59
7 Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) at 07:15
The only way Contador doesn't win is if he gets sick, crashes, or fails a drug test. Andy Schleck has a nice advantage for a podium spot, but it's certainly not untouchable. The third podium spot is going to be a massive fight, with 4 guys separated by 34 seconds. The guys on Vs. haven't mentioned that because they are too busy predicting Lance will win every stage and then saying he's riding great when he doesn't win. But, this is really, really a tight race.
Even stage 20 on Friday could be a showdown, as there is a pretty nasty climb just before the finish. I think these guys will be so tired from the last few days that they won't attack. They'll save it for Ventoux on Saturday, where any one (or more) of them can blow up and lose his spot in the rankings.
The standings after stage 18.
1 Alberto Contador (Astana) at 73:15:39
2 Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) at 04:11
3 Lance Armstrong (Astana) at 05:25
4 Bradley Wiggins (Garmin - Slipstream) at 05:36
5 Andréas Klöden (Astana) at 05:38
6 Frank Schleck (Saxo Bank) at 05:59
7 Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) at 07:15
The only way Contador doesn't win is if he gets sick, crashes, or fails a drug test. Andy Schleck has a nice advantage for a podium spot, but it's certainly not untouchable. The third podium spot is going to be a massive fight, with 4 guys separated by 34 seconds. The guys on Vs. haven't mentioned that because they are too busy predicting Lance will win every stage and then saying he's riding great when he doesn't win. But, this is really, really a tight race.
Even stage 20 on Friday could be a showdown, as there is a pretty nasty climb just before the finish. I think these guys will be so tired from the last few days that they won't attack. They'll save it for Ventoux on Saturday, where any one (or more) of them can blow up and lose his spot in the rankings.
posted by uberschuck at 9:18 PM
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