Alberto Contador closes his career with a win on the penultimate stage of the 2017 Vuelta a Espana.
After following teammate Jarlinson Pantano’s acceleration on the slick and dangerous descent ahead of the 12-kilometer climb that ended stage 20, Contador set off at the bottom and by the top of the iconic ascent had added one final, glorious stamp to his amazing passport of palmarès.
Contador’s celebration will be his last, and certainly, it will be one of his most meaningful. It has been a roller coaster ride in his final season, never achieving what he hoped for, but only legends can rise to the occasion in the last opportunity, and Contador did just that with a fantastic and historic win atop the Angliru.
Contador said: “The truth is it has been a very, very special day. I think it’s very difficult to say good bye in a better way than this, in this place, in this event. In the end, it’s a full stop at the end of a career in which I have done everything I wanted. I think it’s been a beautiful Vuelta even though I am not on the podium. But perhaps if I had been in contention for the overall podium I would have ridden in a different way, more conservative, and instead I have ridden the race I have ridden – I look at the photos, and almost every day there are pictures of me alone because I have been on the attack.”
Contador fell short of the final podium by 20 seconds, but it mattered little – he finished his career on top, and he did it in the only way he knows how. It was a thrilling show of panache as he fought his way up the Angliru in front of thousands of home country fans, and when he pointed his famous gesture for the final time as he crossed the line, it gave goosebumps to even the most stoic.
“I knew it was going to be a very special day, the road full of people and everyone watching the stage, and I set the goal for myself of winning on the Angliru,” continued Contador. “This morning I wanted to win, and when I crossed the line, I thought to myself: goal completed.”
“In the end, we couldn’t take the podium, but this is not what’s important,” added Contador. “What’s important is to take the victory of the stage and finish with this result for the rest of my life.”
All this was made possible by the warriors surrounding Contador. His teammates pulled in the first half of the short 117.5-kilometer stage to keep an 18-man breakaway in check, keeping them at roughly one minute.
When the climbing started his trusted lieutenant, Pantano, went to work. Pantano not only paced Contador up the ascents but also led him safely down the other side, crucial on the final slick descent where numerous crashes occurred. It was here that the pair created a gap on the rivals, which opened the door for his last attack.
“I spoke with teammates ahead yesterday and said that tomorrow could be one day for the history. They gave 100% to control the first part of the race. All the riders helped me, and especially Pantano for the descent of the Cordal. We started the Angliru with some seconds to the rivals, and then I knew it was my time and I needed to give the maximum until the top and try to win,” explained Contador.
“Today’s attack was different because it was an attack on the descent. It’s unusual in the history of cycling for this on a dangerous descent, but Jarlinson attacked, and I went with him,” he added.
The gap was all they needed. Pantano threw everything he had left into the first part of the Angliru, emptying himself to a standstill, and Contador finished his work, paying back his team with a victory, and giving the fans a farewell to remember.
“I have been able to enjoy the affection of all the people who say thank you to me. It’s been a remarkable month, unforgettable,” ended Contador. “I think in the future it’ll be remembered that in my last day of competition, I finished it with a win.”
Froome Set for Tour de France / Vuelta double
Team Sky’s Chris Froome is set for an historic victory in the 2017 Vuelta a Espana.
Froome maintained his overall lead by finishing third on Saturday’s Stage 20, which was won by Alberto Contador in his final race. The action-packed stage saw a battle through tough weather conditions up to the finish on L’Angliru, regarded as one of the toughest climbs in the sport.
The 32-year-old leads Vincenzo Nibali by 2 minutes 15 seconds and is now set to complete a Tour de France / Vuelta a Espana ‘double’. His historic achievement will be sealed on Sunday when the peloton completes the largely ceremonial final stage into Madrid.
Froome will become only the third rider ever to win the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana in the same year after Jacques Anquetil (1963) and Bernard Hinault (1978). Froome will become the first rider ever to achieve the ‘double’ since the Vuelta moved in the calendar to become the last of each year’s three Grand Tours in 1995.
Competing in the 2017 Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana, Froome will have completed over 6800km / 4200 miles of racing across 42 stages through Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Andorra and Spain.
After more than 160 hours of racing his combined margin of victory is expected to be just over three minutes.
Froome has previously finished 2nd on three occasions at the Vuelta a Espana, including in the 2011 edition, where he made his breakthrough as a Grand Tour rider. He will be the first British rider to win the Vuelta a Espana.
Froome said:
“It’s an amazing feeling. The team has just been incredible over the last few months. It’s meant so much to me, the way they have supported us. I owe a massive thank you to all my teammates.
“I have to say that is probably the toughest Grand Tour I’ve ever ridden. There was something different happening every day. I’ve had good days and then I’ve been lying on the ground, bleeding, thinking my race might be over. It’s been a rollercoaster – absolutely relentless. It’s a relief now to finish and to be getting to Madrid.
“I think it probably is my greatest achievement, being the first person to win the Tour de France and then go on to win the Vuelta.
On today’s stage, and Alberto Contador’s victory, Froome said:
“L’Angliru is such a brutal climb, so congratulations to Alberto (Contador) for finishing off the way he did. That was an amazing way to end a career. He was just too strong for us today”.
Stage 20 Brief Results:
- Alberto Contador (Spain / Trek-Segafredo) 3:31:33″
- Wout Poels (Netherlands / Team Sky) +17″
- Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky)
- Ilnur Zakarin (Russia / Katusha-Alpecin) +35″
- Franco Pellizotti (Italy / Bahrain-Merida) +51″
- Vincenzo Nibali (Italy / Bahrain-Merida)
- Steven Kruijswijk (Netherlands / LottoNL-Jumbo)
- Wilco Kelderman (Netherlands / Team Sunweb) +1:11″
- Romain Bardet (France / AG2R La Mondiale) +1:25″
- Michael Woods (Canada / Cannondale-Drapac) +1:36″
General Classification After Stage 20:
- Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 79:23:37″
- Vincenzo Nibali (Italy / Bahrain-Merida) +2:15″
- Ilnur Zakarin (Russia / Katusha-Alpecin) +2:51″
- Alberto Contador (Spain / Trek-Segafredo) +3:11″
- Wilco Kelderman (Netherlands / Team Sunweb) +3:15″
- Wout Poels (Netherlands / Team Sky) +6:45″
- Michael Woods (Canada / Cannondale-Drapac) +8:16″
- Miguel Angel Lopez (Colombia / Astana Pro Team) +8:59″
- Steven Kruijswijk (Netherlands / LottoNL-Jumbo) +11:04″
- Tejay van Garderen (U.S. / BMC Racing Team) +15:36″
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