With the start of the Tour de France just two weeks away, Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) gave himself a boost of confidence when he won the queen stage 3 at the Route du Sud and moved into the overall race lead. After a head-to-head match over the Port de Balès, the Spaniard eventually rode away from his nearest rival Nairo Quintana (Movistar) on the long descent into Bagnères-de-Luchon.
“I'm very happy with this victory. I strive to win in every race, not just for myself and my team, but also for our sponsors,” Contador said in a team press release.
The third stage of the Route du Sud included the challenging climb over the Port de Balès, where Contador and Quintana were expected to battle it out for the stage win. However, the pair matched one another on the ascent in pursuit of solo rider Pierre-Roger Latour (Ag2r-La Mondiale), and the three men eventually crested the climb together.
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Contador instead gained a gap on the tricky descent that followed, winning the stage by 13 seconds over Quintana.
“All my teammates did a very good job today and for that reason I had to round off the effort,” Contador said. “On Port de Balès I was with Quintana and I asked him whether he wanted to collaborate in order to bring Latour back, who was alone at the front.
“Quintana said he didn't want to because he considered I was very strong. There was still a long way to go but I tried to control the race to the top of the climb. At that point I got a few meters from Quintana and I realized it was a question of gritting my teeth and holding on to the finish line. I staged a few attacks, just enough to be able to control the race,” Contador said.
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