Guess that just all just talk.
For months of the pre-Tour build-up, we’ve been listening to Movistar insist they were going to throw everything at Chris Froome in the Tour de France. Not one, not two, but three lethal weapons would all be turned on the Briton.
There would be multiple attack scenarios, relentless pressure, three cards to play. Look out Team Sky, Movistar coming for your head!
Nairo Quintana, Mikel Landa and Alejandro Valverde were all going to attack Froome from every angle. It was going to be all-out war, no prisoners, an onslaught, a juggernaut of nastiness.
Yet here we are after the second stage in the high Alps, wondering just when this supposed aggression is going to start?
Today’s short, mountain-infested stage from Albertville up to La Rosière Espace San Bernardo was the perfect opportunity for Movistar to show their collective force. Sadly, Nairo Quintana was unable to mount even a single attack and when Froome took off and linked up with Dan Martin (UAE Team Emirates), he was left to chase, ineffectively, losing another 59 seconds on GC.
The same can be said for Mikel Landa, who is obviously still suffering from his crash on the Roubaix stage and then his hard tumble during the neutral start yesterday. He doesn’t look remotely like the rider with often appeared as strong as Froome in last year’s Tour, when he was riding for Sky. He would finish 1:47 off the pace and fell again — down and out of the GC conversation.
It’s possible to give Movistar’s Alejandro Valverde a pat on the back for his attack from 54 kilometers out on the Col du Pré. Yet when Tom Dumoulin joined him and they had a minute and a half, the Spaniard was already so cooked he couldn’t do any more work . In the end it was a useless waste of energy. Valverde was caught and then blew out the back, dumping six minutes. Adios Alejandro.
Here are the standing for this Spanish Armada in this year’s Tour de France. Landa 2:56 behind Thomas and 1:31 behind Froome, Quintana 3:13 behind Thomas and 1:51 behind Froome and finally Valverde, 4:28 behind Thomas and 3:03 behind Froome.
Those time gaps make Movistar’s sueño amarillo an unlikely event. Quintana can dream all he wants and the hope was that by skipping the Giro — unlike Froome — he’s have the fresher set of legs and could return to his status as world’s best grand tour climber. He just doesn’t look the part right now.
“We wanted to ‘play’, but the truth is that we did not meet expectations. It was a very hard pace all day and we lost a few seconds that I hope are not too many to try to keep fighting for the race,” said Quintana.
Ahh, that infernal Team Sky pace, the one that was supposed to decrease when ASO reduced team size. The dominance of Sky hasn’t seemed to diminish as both days in the Alps unfold at high speeds. They still have more riders up front than any other squad.
“It was because of the crazy rhythm laid down on the last climb by Team Sky, they were very strong,” said Vincenzo Nibali. “I went into the red for a moment and I didn’t manage to recover. It was a very high rhythm. There’s not much to say.”
Yes, that’s a refrain we’ve now heard for five Tours — Sky is really, really strong. No surprise there, right?
Chapeau to Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) and Dan Martin for attacking when Nibali, Romain Bardet, Quintana and Landa were simply unable.
Tomorrow is the final opportunity for Movistar in the Alps. There will be three hors categorie mountains to tackle — the Col de La Madeleine, Col de la Croix de for and the mythic Alpe d’Huez. That’s a day that should thrill Nairo Quintana — will he attack or was all that bold talk in May and June just talk?
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