TourAnalysis Finally, Contador attacks!

CEBU, Philippines - In a world of should’ve and would’ve, Luis Ocaña should’ve won the 1971 Tour, and Eddy Merckx shouldn’t have won his third Tour. Ocaña had been magnificent in the mountains and was leading Merckx by 7min going into the 14th stage. Merckx, despite his deficit, continued to attack Ocaña on the climb to the Col de Menteinspite of the torrential but the frail-looking Spaniard always matched his speed. There was a torrential downpour making the roads slippery but Merckx continued his attacks on the descent until he made a mistake and crashed. Ocaña couldn’t avoid Merckx and crashed. Merckx was up quickly and sped away. While Ocaña was getting up, a descending rider, JoopZoetemelk, crashed on him hard. Badly injured, he abandoned the Tour.

It was almost déjà vu all over again on stage 16. Alberto Contador had made true of his promise to attack Chris Froome on the last climb but he couldn’t shake off Froome. On the descent, he attacked again but he overcooked it and crashed. Froome, who was behind him, almost crashed and his yellow dreams almost turned to blood red. Both however, were ok and crossed the line together.

After the race, Froome was pissed at the Spaniard, saying, “Alberto was really taking risks on the descent in front of me.” He also said that the attack was “unnecessary.”           

Well, I got news for Froome. As long as he hasn’t crossed the line at the Champs-Élysées wearing yellow, the race is still up for grabs. And ascents, which he excels at, and descents, which he clearly isn’t comfortable, are still part of the race. Froome reminds me of the Schlecks last year when they complained that the descent in one stage was too dangerous after they lost time. Stop whining, Chris! Contador has exposed a chink in Froome’s team Sky armor that it’s not that good when it comes to the argy-bargy of bike racing especially on the downhills. They should take advantage of this.

I don’t wish for Froome to lose the Tour on an accident but he should show that he candle everything that Contador throws at him, kitchen sink and all. (FREEMAN)