When the antepost market was priced up Contador didn't have a 2.45 gap to Froome so obviously the price now wouldn't be the same as then.

Valverde out of the running really hurts Contador's chance now unfortunately.

Saxo's attack yesterday had nothing to do with Valverde. His tour ended when Movistar and Argos couldn't make any inroads into the gap to OPQS and Belkin. When Argos eventually accepted that they couldn't win the stage that was it for Valverde.

Saxo's attack was purely against Froome, had he not been dropped they'd have regrouped and tried again.

It was completely Belkin's doing that Valverde couldn't get back on, they put 7 or 8 on the front when he was off the back and never let up for a second. I think it was bad form to attack a GC rider who has a mechanical issue, especially as it happened in a feed zone and Omega Pharma were already legitimately racing on the front to keep Kittel distanced, they could have sat back for a few minutes to give him the chance to get back in there.

It's a disappointment for the last week of the race I think, the more strong riders with strong teams that were capable of challenging Froome and Sky the better for the race.

MOV will be more dangerous with Quintana in full flight than concentrating on a podium for Valverde, as he is too weak in big mountains

Apologies for non reply lurka but my pal just said he was worth a place bet or a daft e/w at 3001 so had a couple of quid on each. No harm but it has given me several days interest wth minimal risk. He seems just off the pace but stranger things have happened in these events. Gd luck all of you.

roflcopters

He sucked wheels all the way up, first Sky then Nieve (who had attacked near the bottom). Then Nieve got fed up and dropped the leech

looks like he will finish 2nd SP but he is getting better all the time. Losing the Tour to someone who is Tony Martin and Pantani rolled into one is no shame

Clay please be gracious, why can't you accept what was plainly obvious before the tour started?? I and others told you that this year, for whatever reason Contador, Rodriguez, etc weren't riding that well, where as Froome was.
Every time Contador has won the tour he has been dominant all year but this ear he has struggled for top 5 finishes in every race!!

Wise up please mate, Froome is not going to lose this in any stewards room, he is just beating up on a poor field this year. Yes it looked strong on paper but the form told us it wasn't , the facts were there!! And as always the form figures don't lie. The big names can say they are saving themselves for the tour, but we as seasoned followers know that just isn't true. You don't ride yourself in to form on the tour, you come here on form, and then improve on that. Thats what happens year after year, even the years when your Bertie won.

The only rider at the minute in the same form class as Froome is Nibali, we all knew that at the start, and that hasn't changed.

there was no tailwind today. It was a headwind/crosswind if anything. Tailwind is a myth. henderson's tweet saying he had a tailwind all the way up ventoux was sarcastic, probably a dig at the farce we saw today.

Bertie is back And Froome is a big kid!!! "The big bad man nearly fell in front of me and then wouldn't help in the chase back.....booo hoooo booooo hoooooo"

dirty tricks from AC

Ha Ha you are funny Clay i'll give you that!!
But in no way is Contador back! In years gone by he would have had no trouble in dropping the likes of Mollema/porte/kreuziger etc. As a lot of people pointed out at the start of the tour, Contador had to attack on flat and intermediate stages because he just hasn't got the super mountain legs he used to have. Fact is, that is the last easy stage of the tour, from now until sunday they are all hard stages, and Contador knows he has no chance of making any time in any of them. So today was his last hurrah!

I expect Quintana will attack plenty in the alps, and will really push Froome hard, and may well end up finishing second. Just hope Mollema can hold on for 3rd!

Contador pseudo-attacks a few metres up the road -- looks back to see that no one is going with him -- slows down until the group catches up -- job done -- great pseudo-attack.

Cheers,
SP

Bertie's back

The anglo saxon press have given contador such a bad press since the clenbuterol positive ...can i remind everybody that at the scientific investigation (with 3 independent medical and scientific advisors to the court of arbitration and sport) it was concluded that the miniscule amount of clenbuterol found in his urine sample could not of been through self doping for these simple reasons :

A/ he didnt test positive the day before or the day after the test for clenbuterol because the amount of clenbuterol found in Contador’s urine sample was found to contain only a minute amount of clenbuterol – 50 picograms, or 0.00005mcg. This concentration does not have  any effect on performance at all.

B/ it is IMPOSSIBLE to self induce and delf dope that miniscule amount - that amount can only be administered through contamination in food or drink or suplements.

C/ it is IMPOSSIBLE to take any meaningful amount of clenbuterol for improved performance and have it out of your system withing 24 hours ..he tested negative the day before and the day after the positive.

d/ The court of arbitration for sport decided that all the evidence overwhelmingly pointed to a positive result through food contamination and agreed with contadors defence - but banned him anyway becuase they made him responsible for having it in his system ...i.e they punished him on a technicality and administerd the rules harshly even though they came to the conclusion that he didnt dope himself !!!!!

now bearing in mind that all of europe has been eating horse meat instead of cow meat for god knows how long - can anybody be 100 per cent sure what you put in your body when you eat ?? even energy bars and vitamin supplemnens have been found to be contaminated with minute amounts of banned substances.

This is without a doubt the harshest ban ever on a cyclist who gave a positive result - dont take my word for it - read the court of arbitration for sport's own report on the case.

Mcquaid and co wanted to show off their muscle in the post armstrong era and prove that they are hunting down dopers left right and centre by pursuing contador till the end ...including banning people for obvious cases of non doping which their own evidence concluded was the case in this positive...absolute madness.

you have been reading too many science fiction stories lurka - stick to the evidence and the conclusions the INDEPENDENT ARBITRATION HEARING and its experts came too - i'l paste and copy some of it for you so that you STOP making up stupid things :

Taking into consideration the fair balance and the documentation which dismiss the
possibility that the presence of the prohibited substance is due to voluntary doping
and to the use of vitamin supplements, micro doses or blood transfusions, it is
considered that the ingestion of contaminated meat is the most probable cause for the
adverse analytical finding. In fact, the CNCDD relies on the following elements: few
controls carried out on animals in relation with the total cattle of the European
Union, rendering the European Union’s reports inconclusive; all the tests run on Mr
Contador prior to 21 July 2011 were negative; the very low concentration of
clenbuterol found in Mr Contador’s Sample which prevents the effect of enhancing
ones sports performance.
d) It is obvious that the diet of an athlete contains meat products on a regular basis and
its ingestion within the European Union has to be considered safe. Therefore, it is
possible to think that Mr Contador did not know or suspect, even exercising the
maximum prudence, that he ate meat contaminated with a prohibited substance.
Also, one cannot prevent an athlete to eat meat. The CNCDD relied on the award in CAS 2011/A/2384 UCI v. Alberto Contador Velasco & RFEC - Page 8
CAS 2011/A/2386 WADA v. Alberto Contador Velasco & RFEC
the CAS cases CAS 2009/A/1926 ITF v. Richard Gasquet and CAS 2009/A/1930
WADA v. ITF & Richard Gasquet.
e) Furthermore, the CNCDD insists that the extremely small amount found has not
enhanced the sporting performance, that on previous days the findings in the samples
were negative, that no blood transfusion was traced on the Athlete’s biological
passport and that he underwent dozens of analyses during the season, all of them
with negative findings.
f) All this led the CNCDD of the RFEC to the conclusion that, with a great probability,
the positive test was a consequence of eating contaminated food, and this fact cannot
be considered as a negligent behaviour, due to the facts already explained. Another plausible scenario is that the adverse analytical finding results from a
contamination through a food supplement. Clenbuterol is precisely one of the
substances which can be found in food supplements. Mr Contador admitted that he
used the food supplements of the team. WADA considers that it is not verifiable
whether Mr Contador took other food supplements or that his team’s food
supplements were not proven to be not contaminated. WADA therefore submits that
it is more likely to test positive as the consequence of use of a food supplement
rather than as a consequence of the consumption of ingestion of contaminated meat
in Europe.WADA concludes by stating that Mr Contador did not establish, on a balance of
probability, how the prohibited substance entered his system. Therefore, a two-year
period of ineligibility shall apply to Mr Contador, with all the consequences attached
to such sanction.
In order to corroborate his assertion that he did not undergo a blood transfusion of any kind
at the relevant time, the Athlete voluntarily underwent a polygraph examination on 3 May
2011. In doing so, Mr Contador was asked and answered two series of question as follows:
- “Did you undergo a transfusion on July 20 or July 21, 2010? (No)
- On July 20 or July 21, 2010 did you receive a transfusion? (No)
- Did you submit to a transfusion on July 20 or July 21, 2010? (No)”
and;
- “Did you knowingly ingest clenbuterol on July 20 or July 21, 2010? (No)
- Between July 20 and July 21, 2010 did you deliberately ingest clenbuterol? (No)
- Were you aware that clenbuterol was entering your body, in any way, on July 20 or
July 21, 2010? (No)”
386. Dr Louis Rovner concluded in his expert report, and confirmed during the hearing, that “it
is my professional opinion that Alberto Contador was telling the truth when he answered
the relevant questions above, and, as such, that he did not undergo a transfusion of blood,
plasma, or any other substance on either July 20, 2010 or July 21, 2010”.
387. The polygraph results and video of the polygraph were sent for independent review to Dr
Palmatier, polygraph credibility consultant, who concluded in his expert report, and
confirmed during the hearing by videoconference, that: “After a complete review of all of
the materials supplied, and both a semi-objective and objective assessment of the recorded
physiological data, I concur with Dr Rovner’s findings that Alberto Contador was truthful
when he responded to the relevant questions asked in each of his […] examinations”

LV WTF are you on about? I'm not talking about Clen and I'd agree with you there.

I am talking about 8 times the minimum of plasticisers found which was completely ignored and not dealt with, altho I accept that the test hadn't been validated for use. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/plasticisers-in-contadors-urine-could-indicate-blood-transfusion

But what about his chase up peyresoude in 2007 (sorry i thought this was verbier earlier) with chicken and his ascent of verbier in 2009. They are not normal.

So what part of my post is science fiction? I am not making any of it up, so don't say I have been.

Why can't he reproduce these superhuman performances anymore if he wasn't doping?

here's the list for you http://twitpic.com/bxkxiz

ClayDavis embarrassing himself HTEHB

sorry you're right I misread the title of this thread. I know notice it says ***CONTADOR TO COME SECOND IN THE TOUR DE FRANCE 2013***