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Contador eyes Vuelta, rues Le Tour
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Enlarge textThe Astana rider continues to lurk behind the leaders after the first week of racing in the Tour of Spain.
- 4 Comments | Join the discussion
Eight days of racing have passed in this year's Vuelta and with the cream already rising to the top, you don't have to be Einstein to realise who is going to win in Madrid.
Alberto Contador has already got victory in his sights after moving into second place behind Levi Leipheimer - and there are two weeks of racing still to be played out.
How good is Contador, furthermore how good is Astana?
To be denied an opportunity to expose this team of top talent in the Tour de France last July was a travesty.
I'm sure this outfit would have given CSC a run for it's money, but we'll never know.
Either way, the final outcome may have been different for Cadel Evans - whether he would have finished runner-up is questionable.
That's why so many critics believe Evans may have blown any chance of snaring cycling's top race as most of his big-name rivals will be back bigger and better in 2009.
These include the re-appearance of Contador and Leipheimer who would have served their TDF "punishment."
Back to the Vuelta.
My pre-race prediction was for Contador to win the three week race and there's nothing to suggest otherwise.
His performance so far poses one question - would Contador have beaten Sastre in the 2008 Tour de France?
Tell us what you think.
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Comments (4)
Astana deserved to be out of TdF
Astana had riders that were suspect and proven cheats in 2007 TdF, and Contador was under suspicion, so they deserved to be booted from 2008 TdF. If they weren't, what kind of message would that have sent to the cycling world? A team that had cheats can change some personnel and everything's okay? And whether Cadel would have come second, or even won the TdF this year is a bit silly to argue - who knows what would have happened. Contador or others might have crashed out? All hypothetical.
09 Sep 2008 0:50 AEST
From: Wentworthville
More than 10 minutes
More that 10 minutes? I'd like to see that but aint gonna happen.
08 Sep 2008 19:11 AEST
From: Leichhardt
L'Angliru
Astana just may be unstoppable. I'm just hoping to see more than 10 mins of stage 13 which includes the most feared climb in europe. L'Angliru. This is where I want to see Contador strut his stuff. As well as L'Angliru there are 3 other category 1 climbs in this 206km stage
08 Sep 2008 13:59 AEST
From: Launceston
Astana
Astana is by far the best team gong around on the pro-circuit. Full credit to CSC for a solid showing at Le Tour, but I'm sure Contador and co would have whipped the butts in France. Agreed, Astana is unstoppable.
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09 Sep 2008 18:18 AEST
Jason
From: VIC