Alberto Contador’s dream of completing the winning Giro-Tour double failed to come to fruition as he currently sits in fifth place overall at the Tour de France ahead of the celebratory finale in Paris on Sunday. After the Spaniard hauled himself to the top of stage 20’s summit on Alpe d’Huez, however, he said that he was “glad he tried.”
Contador, a seven-time Grand Tour winner; three titles at the Vuelta a España, and two titles each at the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, had planned to take on the task of winning the Giro and Tour at the start of this year.
He completed the first of two goals, winning the Giro d’Italia title in May and came into the Tour de France as one of the so-called 'Fab Four’, along with Chris Froome (Team Sky), Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Vincenzo Nibali (Astana).
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Cycling fans saw glimpses of Contador’s climbing prowess with attacks made on Plateau de Beille, Col de la Colle Saint-Michel and the Col du Glandon, but even he admitted they were made out of more heart than legs. For the most part, he struggled through the Pyrenees and the Alps at the hands of Froome and Team Sky, Quintana and even to Alejandro Valverde and Nibali at times.
As the Tour de France wrapped up in the Alps on the penultimate stage to Alpe d’Huez, Contador sits in fifth place overall, 9:48 down. Chris Froome (Team Sky) will inevitably wear the yellow jersey into Paris and stand on the podium as the Tour de France champion for a second time, while Quintana sits in second place 1:12 back, Vavlerde in third place 5:25 down and Nibali in fourth at 8:36 down.
“It’s true that there are riders that would dream of finishing fifth,” Contador said in a team press release. “For me that was not my objective but I’m glad that I tried. If I hadn’t tried then after my career I might have wondered whether I could have done the Giro-Tour double and now I know.
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