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Experts believe Alberto cannot be blamed for not waiting after competitor schleck's chain snapped
Experts believe Alberto cannot be blamed for not waiting after competitor schleck's chain snapped
"There's no gifts in this race," said Johan Bruyneel, the Belgian who helped orchestrate all seven of Lance Armstrong's Tour triumphs.
Schleck, the runner-up to Alberto Contador in 2009, has become the Spaniard's only challenger for overall race victory in Paris next Sunday.
Part of that is down to the fact that several teams, including Contador's Astana, waited for him after he crashed in the rain on stage two.
The Luxemburger went into the second of four days in the Pyrenees yesterday with a 31sec lead on the two-time champion. But moments after attacking Contador in the final kilometres of the 19.3km to the Port de Bales, Schleck came to a halt when his chain came off the gear mechanism.
Contador, who had already begun to counter, quickly closed the gap, passed the irate Luxemburger and went on to complete the 21.5km descent with Russian Denis Menchov and Spaniard Samuel Sanchez to take the race lead with an eight-second advantage on Schleck.
Although Schleck slammed Contador for not waiting, and some of the crowd booed Contador at the finish line, others were quick to put things into perspective.
"It's just bad luck," said Australian Bradley McGee, Schleck's sporting director at Saxo Bank. "We can't criticise anyone. Andy's a little upset, but now we have to come back stronger. Maybe we can turn his anger into positive energy tomorrow."
Even Saxo Bank team owner Bjarne Riis seemed to side with Contador. "We're at a crucial part of the race, and that's just the way it is," said the Dane. "It's not great to lose the yellow jersey in this fashion, it's sad. But there is plenty of racing to do yet."
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| Former yellow jersey holder Luxembourg's Andy Schleck (left) looks over his shoulder at Spain's Alberto Contador (right) in the Port de Bales climb during 15th stage of the 2010 Tour de France yesterday. Moments later Schleck's cycle chain snapped and Contador won the overall leader's yellow jersey. pic/AFP |
Schleck, the runner-up to Alberto Contador in 2009, has become the Spaniard's only challenger for overall race victory in Paris next Sunday.
Part of that is down to the fact that several teams, including Contador's Astana, waited for him after he crashed in the rain on stage two.
The Luxemburger went into the second of four days in the Pyrenees yesterday with a 31sec lead on the two-time champion. But moments after attacking Contador in the final kilometres of the 19.3km to the Port de Bales, Schleck came to a halt when his chain came off the gear mechanism.
Contador, who had already begun to counter, quickly closed the gap, passed the irate Luxemburger and went on to complete the 21.5km descent with Russian Denis Menchov and Spaniard Samuel Sanchez to take the race lead with an eight-second advantage on Schleck.
Although Schleck slammed Contador for not waiting, and some of the crowd booed Contador at the finish line, others were quick to put things into perspective.
"It's just bad luck," said Australian Bradley McGee, Schleck's sporting director at Saxo Bank. "We can't criticise anyone. Andy's a little upset, but now we have to come back stronger. Maybe we can turn his anger into positive energy tomorrow."
Even Saxo Bank team owner Bjarne Riis seemed to side with Contador. "We're at a crucial part of the race, and that's just the way it is," said the Dane. "It's not great to lose the yellow jersey in this fashion, it's sad. But there is plenty of racing to do yet."
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