Contador drinking beers at the beach when Astana got the call

[Archaea]

http://velonews.com/article/76502/la...ador-positions

A day after revealing he had a fractured elbow suffered in a fall Saturday, Contador rode perhaps the best time trial of his young career, matching Bruseghin at the second mid-course time split and then easing off the gas in the final kilometers when rain fell on the spindly Spanish climber.
“I tried to win the stage. That was my first objective. Believe me, without the rain, I would have been the winner. I didn’t dare to take risks in the end. The last 500 meters on the cobblestones were very slippery as well,” Contador said. “I am happy with the time I gained today. My elbow? In the beginning it bothered me a bit, but the further we went in the stage, the better I felt. My second part of the time trial was indeed much better: the elbow, the legs and the performance.”

Despite his injuries, Contador turned in an impressive ride.
Photo: Graham Watson

Contador’s performance demoralized his Italian rivals, who were already questioning the story that the Tour champ was drinking beers at the beach when the team received a last-minute reprieve to race the Giro just a week before the start in Sicily.
Contador climbed to fourth overall at 6:59 back and moved into the “virtual” lead among the GC favorites, moving 55 seconds ahead of teammate Kloden, 1:05 ahead of the surprisingly steady Vicenzo Nibali (Liquigas) and more than one and a half minutes clear of arch-rivals Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Scott) and defending Giro champ Danilo Di Luca (LPR).

[creekster]

COntador riding with a busted elbow is in third place. Hard to believe. Imagine if he had trained.

Levi and Vandevelde are both riding easy in the top 20 and may rise (especially Levi) as the road rises a bit.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by creekster

COntador riding with a busted elbow is in third place. Hard to believe. Imagine if he had trained.

Levi and Vandevelde are both riding easy in the top 20 and may rise (especially Levi) as the road rises a bit.

Isn't Kloeden on the same team as well. Imagine what they would have done had they had notice and time to prepare.

[creekster]

Originally Posted by Archaea

Isn't Kloeden on the same team as well. Imagine what they would have done had they had notice and time to prepare.

Kloeden is, I was just being the jingoistic American that the Eruos know and hate so well.

[Coach McGuirk]

If your ASO conspiracy has any validity, it appears to have blown up in their face. What a crock The Tour will be this year without Astana.

[creekster]

Originally Posted by Coach McGuirk

If your ASO conspiracy has any validity, it appears to have blown up in their face. What a crock The Tour will be this year without Astana.

No kidding. what have they got, 4 of the top 20 right now? Factor in that the eye-talians seem to lose about 20% of their riding prowess when they cross the dolomites and the TdF will look even more silly.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by creekster

No kidding. what have they got, 4 of the top 20 right now? Factor in that the eye-talians seem to lose about 20% of their riding prowess when they cross the dolomites and the TdF will look even more silly.

Here's the team which came in unprepared and dominated our asses. We wimpy French sure as hell don't want anybody beating our boys.