Lights up the Arrate but can’t shake Valverde, Rodriguez, or Froome
Having won on the climb before in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) animated the final climb on stage three of the Vuelta a España, using no less than five accelerations on the summit finish of Alto de Arrate in Eibar.
But unlike in previous years and on previous climbs, Contador was unable to shed several riders who could prove to be main rivals for overall victory. The Spaniard’s attacks pulled a group of four clear from the rest of the selection on the 6km climb, but Contador hit the line fourth in Eibar, behind stage winner and new leader Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), and Chris Froome (Sky Procycling).
Finishing fourth meant that Contador lost out on the available bonus seconds to the three that he pulled to the finish. The quartet gained six seconds on the road on a group of ten men behind, led home by Dani Moreno (Katusha) in fifth.
Once they had every member of the original breakaway pulled back, and moves from Sergey Lagutin (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) were unsuccessful, Valverde made the first attempt as the Arrate got steeper.
Contador bridged across easily, as did most of the elite group except for defending champion Juan Jose Cobo (Movistar), who would lose 50 seconds by the end of the stage. Contador would soon put his fresh legs on display.
‘El Pistolero’ would fire ahead at least five times in an attempt to get away on the final climb, but was covered by Rodriguez and Valverde each time. Froome closed everything down as well, helping most of the main group to reattach several different times.
Contador’s inability to get away, as he has so often in the past, could indicate that the Spaniard is still missing a bit of spark, but he said in comments after the stage that he had some freshness that he wanted to utilize.
“I felt excessively strong, so of course I would test the legs, but there was only a minimal chance to get time due to the short climb and the lack of attacks before that, so many of the favourites were fresh,” Contador explained.
“However I am still quite happy with the test, although of course I would have preferred to win, but the goal is still Madrid, and before the stage start today I would have been absolutely satisfied with the result.”
The Spaniard was pleased with his ability to ignite the racing time and again, but admitted that he still would need to ride into the form needed to keep the pressure on longer.
“I might still be missing a little race pace, but I have the right punch, so it’s a sign that I’m ready,” he continued. “Now I look forward to the next stages with optimism.”
Stage four brings another early mountain test, with 160 kilometres culminating with a summit finish to Estación de Valdezcaray.
“I don’t think we can draw any conclusions from [Monday’s] stage,” team director Bradley McGee added. “But it seems that there are at least three riders we must keep a close eye on. [Tuesday] will be another nervous stage, but with a longer climb at the end, where we again have to stay aggressive.”