VeloNews | Contador weathers Mortirolo storm

Alberto Contador (Astana) is 28.5km from winning a Giro d’Italia he never expected to start.

The Spanish climber deflected a flurry of last-gasp attacks from arch-rival Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Scott) over the Gavia and Mortirolo in Saturday’s 232km mountain shootout to retain the maglia rosa and roll into Sunday’s final-day time trial with the narrowest of margins.

But four seconds might as well be four hours for Contador, who is favored to cement his lead in Sunday’s mostly flat race against the clock into Milano.

“I could never have imagined that I would be in the maglia rosa poised to win the Giro a month ago when my team called me,” a relieved Contador said. “To be in the maglia rosa in the last day of the Giro, playing in the time trial to win it all, it’s something unimaginable a month ago.”

Last day time-trials are always exciting, because you truly never know what might happen … just think about Greg LeMond’s performance in the 1989 Tour de France, when he was 50 seconds behind Laurent Fignon on the final day, with just 24.5 km to go until the finish. And yet, he managed to dig in and find 58 seconds, to win the overall by a mere 8 seconds. The closest, and the most exciting finish to the Tour de France ever, as far as I’m concerned.

While I don’t believe (at least at this point) that Alberto Contador or Riccardo Riccò are quite the same calibre of rider as LeMond and Fignon, despite VeloNews’ assertions that 4 seconds are as good as 4 hours, this Giro d’Italia is not yet over.

Contador could have an off-day … Riccò could put in the ride of his life to claw back those 4 seconds and all of a sudden, the accidental maglia rosa changes hands.

And maybe, just maybe, ASO will reconsider their ban of Astana from the Tour de France, which starts in just 5 weeks.

VeloNews | Andy Hampsten and the 1988 Pink Jersey

How do you define an epic? It’s a noun grossly over-used by sportswriters, particularly those who write about cycling. Through the years, European journalists have described heroic deeds by brave athletes on bicycles with gushing prose that was rarely deserved. They even titled road racing’s formative years The Heroic Era.

Admittedly, in the long decades before live radio and television commentary brought reality to the grand tours and classics, cycling fans only learned about races through the written word. And journalists depended on selling newspapers to make a living. The better the story, the higher the sales. It’s no wonder they turned ordinary performances into extraordinary feats.

On reflection, were the daylong slogs through blinding rainstorms on muddy roads any more heroic than what miners did in their everyday jobs at the coalface? How meaningful was, say, Tour de France contender Eugène Christophe’s carrying his heavy steel bike down the Col du Tourmalet and repairing the forks at a blacksmith’s forge? Or did the survivors of “epic” editions in Paris-Roubaix really deserve the lavish praise heaped upon them by an adoring media?

That’s not to say that the riders who excelled in harsh conditions were not deserving of their recognition as exceptional individuals. But a true sports epic is one in which, besides having to battle the elements, the contestants go to the limit of their physical and mental capacities while still competing for the victory in a major competition. All of those ingredients came together on June 5, 1988 on stage 14 of the 1988 Giro d’Italia.

Over the past couple of weeks, there has been an excellent series of articles celebrating the 20th anniversary of Andy Hampsten’s win in the 1988 Giro d’Italia, starting with the grueling stage over the Passo Gavia, in which Hampsten finished second on the day (behind the Netherlands’ Erik Breukink), but with the maglia rosa of the overall leader, which he held until the conclusion of the Giro several days later.

I’m actually surprised the Reverend Big Ring hasn’t posted a sermon about this yet … but he has been busy finishing the new chapel and preparing to move his wisdom from the Hells to the Golden ones, if all goes well … so I find myself in the position of leading the prayer service.

Let us pray:

I believe in Hampsten, the Climber Almighty,
    the Creator of heavenly tours,
    and in the Landshark of steel, on which he rode:

Amen.

Now head on over to Velonews.com to read the entire series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Then go to Cyclingnews.com to read Cold comfort: Hampsten’s day on the Gavia.

Photo: Graham Watson/VeloNews

By virtue of being the first rider across the line in the opening team time trial, Christian Vandevelde of Team Slipstream-Chipotle becomes the first American to wear the maglia rosa (pink jersey) of the Giro d’Italia since Andy Hampsten in 1988.

David Zabriskie is in second place in the GC with the same time as his compatriot.

An excellent start for the American team!