The Drubbing

Watching Stage 21 from my couch Sunday was rather boring up until the sprint finish and the post race interviews. The peloton was rather relaxed and Alberto Contador went through the customary in race celebrations, e.g. toasting a glass of champagne along the Stage route and joking around with teammates and media crews.

Stage 21 went to team Columbia’s sprint expert Mark Cavendish, but the yellow jersey and 2009 championship were Contador’s (whose first Tour de France championship came in 2007). Versus was quick to interview third place finisher Lance Armstrong and second place finisher Andy Schleck. Schleck took the interview in stride and said his second place victory was nice, but he aspires to win the yellow jersey and beat Contador. The interviewer for Versus egged Schleck on, but Andy did not disappoint with his words. He said that he believes Contador can be beaten and thinks he is a person who can do that.

Armstrong was quick to congratulate Contador, his 2009 Astana teammate, but made it clear he thinks there are chinks in the Spaniards armor and he’d try to exploit them next year when Armstrong rides as numero uno for his RadioShack team.

It was a great tour with a great finish. It’s nice to see the cyclists respect one another and not shy away in interviews. 2010 will be interesting for sure as Schleck and Armstrong have provided the bulletin board material for Contador as he will attempt a third Tour title next July.