Contador looking for more in Catalunya
The third stage of Volta a Catalunya brought the excitement we were looking for in a high-mountain stage with quality riders at the start.
This stage was a target for all of the General Classification contenders, but more so for Alberto Contador. After finishing second to Geraint Thomas in Paris-Nice, Alberto is certainly looking to improve on that result in Catalunya. However, this was not going to be the day for the Spanish rider from Tinkoff-Saxo. Even though he was the only rider to match the pace of Dan Martin, he was not able to win the stage.
Sport Director of Tinkoff-Saxo, Sean Yates, reflected on the stage: “It was the first mountain stage today, with nice weather and a good test. The early break went and the lead quickly grew to 10 minutes, then behind, Sky took control and rode the whole day. There was a counter attack later on but it was a controlled stage behind until the final kilometers. All the action really came under the one kilometer banner at which point it was every man for himself – Alberto went toe to toe, and came up just short of the win.”
Contador himself reacted to the result of the stage: “At the end, unfortunately, stage victory wasn’t possible. However, I’m happy even if my form wasn’t very good today and I wasn’t riding comfortably. Still, I was present in the attacks, I was alert in the finale and I was able to take second.”
Nevertheless, Contador is only 6 seconds behind Martin in the General Classification, so everything is still uncertain at the top of the standings. Today`s stage will probably be the decisive one as the following days do not have any serious climbs to tackle. The Spaniard will hope to find a better form today and overtake Daniel Martin.