I wasn't attempting to be prophetic when I wrote about Alberto Contador's excellent early season form a couple of days ago, but he certainly confirmed it today. Being only 6 seconds down on the GC to Davide Rebellin, Contador attacked full out on the final climb of the day and made the finale into a man-on-man ITT down the promenade in Nice.
What makes this Discovery Channel victory even more meaningful (and improbable) is the backlash Johan Bruyneel and the team have taken as a result of their hiring of Ivan Basso. Most of the riders in the peloton have been reluctant, if not down right truculent in their assistance of any Discovery team rider or Discovery team tactics.
With Contador's win, Discovery has thrown down the proverbial gauntlet. Once again, they have built up the strongest team, and may also have the strongest group of Grand Tour GC riders.
Photo: AFP
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