In one of the more bizarre duels in recent memory, Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck almost came to a stop on the slopes of Ax-3 Domaines today - and watched the rest of the group of favorites ride off into the distance. The two soft-pedaled and stared at each other, until finally, Schleck took up the reins and the two rode back up to the group of Rodriguez, Gesink, and Van Den Brouck.
Afterwards, Saxo Bank boss and future SunGard manager, Bjarne Riis, admitted that the duel was rather perplexing: "It was a little silly, but it's a tactical game sometimes. Both Contador and Andy seemed strong today. Contado tried a few times, but he realized that Andy was strong."
Andy admitted after the stage that the two are playing a game of poker right now, and the loss of some seconds to 3rd and 4th overall, Sanchez and Menchov, was not terribly worrying: "Menchov took some seconds, but I don't seem him being a threat to the overall. I am satisfied with how the ride has gone and must admit that I played poker with Alberto today. You know how it goes with poker, perhaps I'll go all in tomorrow."
The former winner of Liege-Bastogne-Liege admitted to being a little cautious heading into today's final 8 kilometer, 8% average climb. "I do not really like this climb. It is somewhat short and can be compared with the climb in Mende, where I lost some time. So today I was a little nervous."
The plan for Schleck today was one of defense, while it was painfully obvious that Contador's was one of offense. Contador's Astana team took control of the front of the field early and set the two-time Tour de France winner up for what would normally be an attack that would shatter the hopes of all comers. Unfortunately for Contador, Schleck is riding at a higher level in 2010 than in years past, and he had more than enough to match Contador's repeated accelerations.
“I have a plan and I wanted to follow it. If Alberto had been really bad, then I would have attacked but he wasn’t bad today – he was actually pretty good, but I was good also. When he did attack, like I said on the climb today, I cannot pass him so I had to stay on his wheel. It was a little bit of mind games between him and me but made enough mistakes for him to drop me – I passed him and pulled because I wanted to make it good… but I learned out of my mistakes [from Mende]. "
Considering that the climb was not one where Schleck felt at ease, he committed to following Contador, unlike what he did on the Montee Laurent Jalabert. Even after the two were dispatched from the group during their standoff, Schleck was very hesitant to take up the pace setting, recognizing that would leave him vulnerable to a Contador counter.
“Tomorrow will be totally different but now it was clear that I could not have passed him because he would have attacked and gained seconds on me."
When the two-time Best Young Rider at the Tour de France was asked what he thought Contador would take from today's stage, Schleck couldn't resist throwing a little jab at the rider from the town of Pinto.
“I don’t know how he feels right now. This is just a guess, but don’t think he’d be happy with how the stage went today. He lost time [on Menchov and Sanchez] and he could not gain time on me and, as we saw, his team rode on the front all day. His plan was to take time today. Even Vinokourov announced this yesterday. It didn’t work."
Looking back at the first day in the Pyrenees, Schleck takes confidence in his ride and the prospects for the coming days: “Today was a hard day and Alberto can handle it but the situation he’s in right now is not super. It’s not bad either but again today he could not drop me and that gives me a lot of confidence. I was never on the point of being dropped. I felt really good today...[Alberto] didn’t gain a single second me and I think maybe I was a little better than him today.”
While Schleck can rightfully take confidence from his ride in Stage 14, 1996 Tour de France winner, Bjarne Riis, admits that the waiting game can only work for so long, because: "Everyday that passes without Andy putting more distance into Contador is a small victory for the Spaniard. It is also important for Andy to choose the right moment to attack, when it didn't appear that his chances were good for success, it was quite right for him to not try anything."
Even with his powerful riding so far in the Tour, Contador's noose is gradually being pulled tighter around the 26-year-old's neck. Schleck must take time out of Contador in the Pyrenees if he is to have any hope of success in Paris. Schleck knows it, Contador knows, it everyone knows it, but even with that in mind, it would be uncharacteristic for the Luxembourger to admit to stress. However, Schleck concedes that he's feeling the weight of the jersey at this point, but promises not to let it hold him back: “I am relaxed, of course, but it’s not easy. It’s stressful and I’ve got a lot of pressure on my shoulders. I won’t break down. I can handle it – pressure motivates me – but it’s not easy."
Riis cautions against taking too much from today, however: "It is only the first day in the Pyrenees. Tomorrow is really hard, and it would be a risk to use excessive force too early."
Tomorrow's stage to Bagneres-de-Luchon looks to greatly resemble the Alpine stage that included the Col de la Madeleine. Stage 15 will take in the hors categorie ascent of the Port de Bales, from there, it's 21 technical descending kilometers to the finish. Schleck has promised that the coming stages are far better suited to his characteristics, so it would be foolish not to expect the 2009 champion of Luxembourg to go "all in" in one of the next stages. 31 seconds will not be enough in the penultimate day's time trial in Bourdeaux, so time must be taken from the defending Tour de France champion. Andy Schleck's bid for yellow in Paris should begin in earnest tomorrow.