The Tour de France is just three days old, but already the men who are guiding two of the big race favourites are looking to claim advantage for their rider. Lance Armstrong finished two places and five seconds ahead of Alberto Contador in Saturday’s prologue but, depending on the viewpoint, that can be interpreted as a plus or a minus.
Johan Bruyneel uses it as proof that the Texan is in far better form than 2009, and feels that this year’s Tour will be far tighter as a result.
“The prologue of Armstrong was not expected by Contador,” Bruyneel said in his column in Het Nieuwsblad. “This was his first direct loss to Armstrong in a time trial since January 2009 [when he returned to competition].”
"Alberto did not do a bad time trial. He is ready for the Tour, but this result is also a proof for my assertion that he is slightly less than the level of last year. A prologue says a lot about how you are starting the Tour[as regards condition].”
Astana general manager Yvon Sanquer interprets it as a matter of timing, saying that Armstrong needs to get an early advantage before the mountains. He feels that this may have an impact in the third week, with the RadioShack rider fading and Contador showing greater strength.
“We expected Lance to be the man to watch in the first week because it is the time when he can take some time on Alberto,” he told Reuters. “It will be much more difficult in the later parts of the Tour.”
He did complement the 38 year old, saying that he is clearly more psyched than before. “I was impressed by Lance’s performance in the prologue but not surprised,” he continued. “I was close to him at the start and I saw the determined gaze of old in his eyes. He is still a great champion and still one of the best in time trials.
“We knew that Lance would take chances in the first week and attack us if he could. His prologue performance is a warning. This is not psychological warfare but he had a point to make.”
Contador said before the time trial that the course did not suit him particularly well. It was a far flatter profile than last year’s opener in Monaco. He is ten kilos lighter than Armstrong and could argue that finishing so close to him on that course should translate into a big advantage in the mountains.
Today’s stage to Spa is hilly, taking in some of the ascents used in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and should provide an insight of sorts into how both riders are climbing.