Alberto’s Big Day

It’s about a dozen hours now until the 2009 edition of the Tour de France starts the final laps of the Champs-Élysées and about the same since the cyclists rolled across the finish line at Mont Ventoux. The penultimate stage provided quite a bit of tension and excitement on the last climb, but at the same time, it was also a bit anti-climactic.

In previous stages, the Schleck brothers (Andy and Fränk) have tried mightily to put the hurt to Alberto Contador, but they have been unable to do so. Today was no different. Try as they might, Contador held Andy Schleck’s wheel virtually the entire time up Mont Ventoux. Whenever the younger Schleck attacked, Contador would go with him. Fränk seemed like he didn’t quite have the legs today, but still managed to make it up the hill with the other major contenders. And among the top six riders, the only change was that Andreas Klöden slipped down one place in the rankings, to a still very respectable 6th.

When the Tour finishes tomorrow, Alberto Contador will stand atop the final podium for the second time in his still-young career. Two steps down, in third place, will be Lance Armstrong, the man who inspired the young Spaniard’s own comeback after surgery for an aneurysm sidelined him for much of the 2004 season. In between will be the young Luxembourger Andy Schleck, who has a very promising career ahead of him. Schleck, it is safe to say, will be a thorn in Alberto Contador’s side for a number of years to come. The way the two were battling up the mountains — especially in the Alps — it could be a rivalry for the ages.

Another person who will clearly be a contender in future Grand Tours will be Bradley Wiggins, the 29-year-old British cyclist who I never expected to perform at such a high level. But over the last year, he’s transformed himself into a real contender. These three (Contador, Schleck, Wiggins) are going to be exciting to watch over the years to come. And, looking into the future, Brice Feillu, in his first Tour de France, gives glimmers of future performances. Feillu may well be the next Great French Hope, the first cyclist in a quarter century who may actually have what it takes to win the Super Bowl of cycling. In terms of sporting dry spells, the drought that French cycling has had when it comes to Tour victories is one of epic proportions. Frustrating, I suspect, too. It will be a great thing to see the youngster challenging the new big dogs in the Tour in the not too distant future, assuming Feillu lives up to his potential. (Interesting factoid, according to the official TdF website Feillu’s 24th birthday is tomorrow.)

And, of course, no commentary would be complete without noting the amazing performance the soon-to-be 38-year-old Armstrong has put in this year. After missing the last three Tours de France, he’s come back and shown that he’s still capable of competing at the highest level. I wonder just how much Armstrong expected of himself in this Tour. Especially after suffering the setback of a broken collarbone just a few months before.

Armstrong is one tough hombre, and a tough competitor, too. I’m sure that the thought of winning an eighth Tour must have crossed his mind at least once. (Perhaps when pitching the idea of sponsoring a cycling team to Radio Shack?) If he rides the Tour again next year, he, too, may be a serious contender for the crown. So next year’s race promises a whole lot of drama, perhaps even more than this year.

Much of that drama has focused on the supposed internal tensions within Team Astana. No doubt there were some. Exactly how much is hard to say. Johan Bruyneel is a master strategist, and though it was clear that Contador at times freelanced, the whole “who’s the team’s leader” speculation may well have been a bit of disinformation from the sport’s grandmaster of the rolling chess game. On the Colombiere, it even appeared that Contador had pulled a “reverse Hinault.” (For those who aren’t aware, Bernard Hinault — who had promised to help teammate Greg LeMond win his first Tour in 1986 — actually appeared to be riding the race for his own benefit, instead. Later, Hinault said that it was his way of pushing LeMond to greatness.)

So Contador’s move on Stage 17 had a certain element of saying to his idol, “Hey, old man, if you want the Tour crown, you’re gonna have to come and take it away from me.” Then again, he may just have been trying to put the hurt to the Schleck brothers. But in a two-on-one situation, Contador was at a disadvantage. Whatever really happened there, Team Astana has held themselves together to take first and third places on the general classification, and the first among the teams, too. A pretty dominating performance, even after losing Levi Leipheimer to a broken wrist.

Though much could (and has) been written about Armstrong, tomorrow is Contador’s day. And, in a sense, it’s his first real Tour de France win. No disrespect to Alberto, but his 2007 victory will always have an asterisk by it. Were it not for the forced withdrawal (and subsequent firing) of Michael Rasmussen by the Rabobank team, would Contador have won? That’s hard to say. Perhaps it still would have worked out that way, but Rasmussen was in a position where he seemed to have locked up the victory when the scandal over his whereabouts during the run-up to the Tour erupted. It was because of that scandal that Rabobank pulled the Danish rider out of the race, spirited him away late at night, and sacked him not long after.

Alberto showed class by not donning the maillot jaune until after the next day’s stage was complete, thus earning it on the road. But there has to be a part of him that wonders whether he would have won had Rasmussen not been forced out. Last year, he couldn’t race at the Tour, due to a decision taken by the Tour’s organizers to not invite Team Astana. But he certainly proved his mettle by winning both the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España. And he won the Giro after being called up on short notice when Astana received a last minute invitation to compete. It’s not for nothing that some call Contador the greatest living stage racer.

It’s certainly been an interesting three weeks of racing, filled with a number of unexpected twists and turns. The drama, as usual, often came from unexpected places. And some of it came from a very expected place — the internal dynamics of a “team of rivals.” Tomorrow is a big day for a number of riders, but for Alberto Contador it’s the biggest day of all. He came back to the Tour de France two years after his first victory, and with some uncertainty (maybe) as to who the team leader would be, he pulled out the win. Regardless of what you think of his first Tour victory, this time he earned it. No gifts, no surprise firings of other riders, nada.

Congratulations Alberto, enjoy that champagne and the sweet taste of victory. You’ve earned it. And congratulations, too, to Andy and Lance and Bradley and Fränk and Andreas and all the other cyclists who competed at and completed the latest edition of the Tour. It’s been a real pleasure to watch.

Now let’s just keep our fingers crossed that we don’t start hearing any stories like Danilo Di Luca’s (who, according to recent reports, appears to have tested positive at the 2009 Giro in May) in a couple of months time. That would be a huge disappointment, to say the least.