Alberto Contador was the first rider to respond when Richie Porte (BMC Racing) attacked the steepest part of the final climb on stage 3 of the Tour de France in Longwy, and the Trek-Segafredo leader latched onto the Australian's wheel before eventually fading back into the main bunch to finish 18th without making up any of the 54 second deficit he has to the yellow jersey of Team Sky's Geraint Thomas.
Bouncing out of the saddle in his own distinctive style it looked for the briefest of moments as though a stage designed for the Peter Sagans and Greg Van Avermaets of this world would be decided by the overall contenders. Porte's intent was clear and as he rose out of the saddle Contador looked to match the Australian as the sprinters and remaining GC men sat a few meters back.
However, when Contador began to drift back it looked as though he was struggling. Porte pressed on and opened a gap before eventually being swallowed up by the rest of the field – his opportunistic move snuffed out in the headwind as the road flattened. There would be no denying Peter Sagan.
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"Today was a hard day with that final," Contador told Cyclingnews as he spun the lactic acid from his legs. "In the last 60 kilometres there was lots of fighting but for me, it was good because the team was incredible with John Degenkolb and Koen de Kort on the flat and then with the climbers who helped me, Pantano and Mollema. That was the most important thing – that the team all worked in the same direction.
"Okay, I lost some positions in the end but in the first tough kilometre I passed to the front. Then when I was there Richie attacked in front of me. At the first moment I decided to go with him, but then in the final the wind was strong and I decided to stay back and be calmer. I think that was the right decision because in the end the guys with more power went for it in the sprint. If I had attacked then maybe I wouldn't have followed, but overall it was a good day because there was no crash, no problem, and that was more important. We didn't want to lose any time to rivals."
Only time will tell whether Contador's decision was based on the fact that he predicted the bunch would come back to him and Porte or because he didn't have the legs to follow the Australian, but the Trek leader was asked if he was on the limit when Porte accelerated.
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