Team Astana controlled both days in the mountains (Saturday and Sunday), with Alberto Contador winning both. After Alejandro Valverde's boneheaded blunder on Thursday (he went back to his team car to get a jacket, but before he could get back up with the leaders, the peleton split -- and Valverde was caught in the wrong half, losing 3.5 minutes), everyone thought that he'd be fired up to show something before the race was over. On the first day, which ended with an ascent of the famed Angliru, with its 20-degree-plus climb at the top, Astana showed that its focus was victory for Contador (which would make him the fifth person and first Spaniard to win all 3 Grand Tours), because Astana sent the following roster of climbers to the front to lead the way up the Angliru:
First, Andreas Kloeden from Germany, 2004 & '06 runner-up in the Tour. When he tired,
Second, Sergio Paulinho from Portugal, 2004 silver medalist in the Olympic road race. When he tired,
Third, José Luis ("Chechu") Rubiera from Spain, climbing domestique extraordinaire since 2000. When he tired,
Fourth, Levi Leipheimer from the U.S., who was sitting in second place, 1 minute behind Egoi Martinez at the time.
No dispute as to the team leader between Leipheimer and Contador!
As it happened, the pace set by Astana (and especially Rubiera and Leipheimer) shook everyone except for Leipheimer, Contador, Valverde and his domestique Joaquin Rodriguez. Valverde and Rodriguez attacked with about 5 km (3 miles) of climb left -- but they couldn't beat Contador, who won the stage by 42 seconds over Valverde, 58 seconds over Rodriguez and 1:05 over Leipheimer, with Carlos Sastre 1:32 back in 5th.
The next day, Valverde's team, Caisse d'Epargne, drove the pace up the last climb -- but then, Ezequiel Mosquera from Xacobeo-Galicia took off, dragging Contador and Leipheimer with him and bonking Valverde. End result: Contador first by 2 seconds over Leipheimer and 4 seconds over Mosquera. Among the others: Sastre 20 seconds down; Valverde and Rodriguez 1 minute down.
After time bonuses, Contador has a 1:17 lead on Leipheimer. No more "real" action is expected until the time trial on Saturday, which is an unusual 17 km uphill time trial up a first-category climb ... which would probably favor Contador anyway. But it appears that Astana has its eyes on two places once again, the second time in three Grand Tour races that Contador and Leipheimer will have pulled such a double.
Check back Saturday.
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