Should the 2009 Tour continue like this, it has the potential to become not just one of the greatest Tours there’s ever been, but one of the greatest sporting dramas of all time.
Right up there with The Rumble in the Jungle.
The battle for leadership of Astana has now assumed epic proportions, with the other main contenders languishing minutes down in GC.
Johann Bruyneel is now cast in the role of kingmaker. Like the giant pointy finger which launched the National Lottery, it’s down to him now to reach across the breakfast table and bellow, in whichever language is appropriate, “It’s You!”
My instinct is still that it’s Alberto Contador’s to lose. He still is the best.
He must surely still believe that when the first big mountain finish comes, and the group whittles itself down to the usual suspects, i.e. Cadel Evans, Carlos Sastre, Andy Schleck, Denis Menchov and any number of Astana shirts, then all he need do for the time being is mark Armstrong. That is if Armstrong can hold the pace at all.
But ... A few things cloud the vision. Who really knows how the Texan will fare? Not even he. And what if the genuine sniff of an eighth Tour has wafted down his flared nostrils and started to enrage him? What if he rides the rest of the Tour like Luz-Ardiden in 2003, where he won in fury?
And what if life for Contador in a team so clearly not his simply cracks him? The pressure already must be insane.
Am I wrong though to discount the others? It is still very early. But Astana will take some catching now.
Hope they’re enjoying it in Kazakhstan.
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