Kings of the Mountain
By JoE Silva

It’s not like the steep gradient wasn’t enough, or that the fight for the GC had been intense and ridden with drama, but as the pro peloton headed out towards the beast of a climb that is Mont Ventoux there were warnings that gale force winds were awaiting. There was talk of neutralizing the stage, but that was hours away and there were so many agendas in play, nothing would stop the race from going forward.

Once again the crosswinds that caused so much controversy around Lance Armstrong in the earlier stages returned as the field approached the base of the climb. This time, however, all the heavy hitters were ready for such developments and no one was caught out. Astana leapt to the front of the chase in order to take control and minimize damage, and suddenly the peloton found itself split once again.

The crowds even at the base of the climb were unbelievable and the three survivors of the break had to have the lead motos part the sea of fans that lined the road. Garmin sent Millar to the front of the group to keep the pace for Wiggins who sat in second wheel, but that didn’t last long at all. Saxo Bank immediately began to turn up the heat, and you could see that as Chris Anker Sorensen’s face became a mask of pain at the front of the group that this was not an effort to be sniffed at. Well-known names started to drop off the back…George Hincapie, Vladamir Karpets, and David Millar…all gone.

And then the deal went down. With 12kms to go it was Frank Schleck, but Lance wasn’t going to let that happen and the move was covered. Then it was Andy Schleck’s turn, but again the move went nowhere. This time it was Contador, who easily managed to keep up with the young man from Luxembourg. Up in front were the remains of the breakaway: Tony Martin, the Columbia-HTC rider who spent a good portion of the Tour in the white jersey of the Best Young Rider, and Juan Manuel Garate still hanging on to just over a two minute lead. But with his jersey completely undone, and mouth agape it was clear that Martin was suffering. The young Italian rider Vincenzo Nibali rode across to Contador and Andy Schleck, but the man from Liquigas would not do much work when he got there, telegraphing a possible attack further up the road.

Unthinkably however, the Armstrong regained the gap that Contador, Nibali and Schleck had established and along with them came the man who was already guaranteed the title of the King of the Mountains, Franco Pellizotti. The polka dot jersey surged away from the heavy hitters, but it would not matter. The Italian’s bid was caught the closer the main contenders go to the top of the bald mountain. Garate, had been letting Martin do most of the work on the climb, and as the tower atop the mountain was now easily within reach, the former Spanish national champion made the move that would give him the victory on the stage. It had been a tough Tour for his Rabobank squad, having lost Robert Gesink earlier on. Now with Garate crossing the line in first place, the Tour had been salvaged.

Behind him the Astana-Saxo Bank battle was over. The Schlecks had done what they could, but Contador and Armstrong would not be broken. They had secured the team competition, they had Lance on the podium, and when Contador crossed the finish line 38 seconds behind Garate, he raised his hand in triumph. Job done…he had just won the Tour de France.