2012 Vuelta

[MichaelB]

Contador : Epic win! What a win to take the leaders. How exciting is this tour?

Great ride yes, but having two unrepentant dopers in the top two spots is disappointing.

[RonK]

Hmmm, seems like Contador must have had some more of that "steak" on the rest day. Cooked very very rare, even bloody I guess.

[clackers]

Hmmm, seems like Contador must have had some more of that "steak" on the rest day. Cooked very very rare, even bloody I guess.

[jules21]

Hmmm, seems like Contador must have had some more of that "steak" on the rest day. Cooked very very rare, even bloody I guess.

very cynical Ron. it seems obvious that Contador just handles rest days better than his competitors. what's suspicious about that?

[RICHARDH]

While I understand the suspicion on this attack, I personally dont find it that obvious if Contador was doping it would have been more obvious on the harder stages i think maybe Katusha looked at the stage and thought no danger there. Even though J-Rod has a history of losing time on climbs with less steep climbs. Wish SBS had shown this stage

[jules21]

While I understand the suspicion on this attack, I personally dont find it that obvious if Contador was doping it would have been more obvious on the harder stages i think maybe Katusha looked at the stage and thought no danger there.

my understanding of autologous blood doping is that it tends to upset the body's systems for a period immediately following its infusion. for that reason, it's typically done on rest days and the doper will enjoy a spike in performance the day after. like last night's stage, for instance. one of Dertie's problem samples from the 2010 TdF was also from a rest day test, iirc.

[RICHARDH]

I have just watched the highlights package from SBS, it wasn't anything unbelievable. J-Rod got isolated and had a bad day which can happen after a Rest day. Contador definitely fading at the end.

Like I said I understand the disbelief, that's dopers do they give you a sense that you can't believe anymore. Having said that this reminds me more of Lemond, Fignon Hinault pre-EPO days than say the Armstrong days. Like i said it would have been more use to have doped on one of the harder days than to leave it to the second to last mountain Stage, from a tactical point of view that would have been very chancy

[bosvit]

I am as anti-doping as the next bloke

But watching these guys is amazing! What a tour.

Dertidor did nothing AMAZING physically today, he just used some excellent tactics and took his chances before they presented themselves.

Valdopeme came back at him like a steam train and if he had have backed himself 1km earlier he would have caught him.

The attack, slow down, attack, slow down, attack tactics of the Spaniards is so much better to watch than the super fast grind/uphill time trial of the GB/AUS teams.

[ozdavo]

Simon Clarke now has a massive unbeatable lead for the climbers jersey!
Greenedge's first grand tour jersey!