Recovering from injury – especially broken bones – takes time and care. As the final days of the Vuelta a España approach, the race leader and runner up are not competing just on overall fitness, but on who can recover from injury more quickly.
Much has been made of Alberto Contador’s retirement from the Tour de France due to a broken leg suffered on July 14. Details were sparse, even as Contador announced in August that he was fit enough to try racing at the Vuelta. The void in information was quickly filled by guesses ranging from the return coming too soon, to the injury largely being fabricated in an effort to reduce pressure on the Spanish rider.
The degree of his injury clearly was enough to force his withdrawl from the French race, though not so severe as to hamper his efforts in Spain. The Tinkoff-Saxo rider now leads by a little over a minute. It seems the tale of the tibia is now just a minor plot line compared to Contador’s performance in the mountains.
Second in the hunt for the red jersey is Chris Froome of Team Sky. The Briton fractured both hands in a crash at the Tour de France and left the race on July 9. Though the fractures were small enough to be missed in preliminary scans they were revealed in subsequent tests.
Neither a broken leg or fractured hand and wrist are easily avoided in racing a bike. Steering, shifting and all important braking are the task of the hands and wrists and of course, legs provide the power. Neither is particularly pain free on a long ride when healthy. To compete injured is a measure of willful ignorance of something so many mere mortals consider part of the deal – pain.
So far, it appears that Contador has recovered more quickly than Froome. The Spaniard’s extended leadership of the race has been characterized by a strength and confidence that has appeared lacking in the Briton.
Indeed, until Froome’s performance on Thursday’s stage, racing ahead of his GC rivals and narrowly missing out on a stage win behind Fabio Aru, one could be forgiven for writing him off as good but not good enough.
Wisely, Contador has suggested things might not be so clear cut. Recently, Contador has said that Froome should not be discounted. Even with only three stages left, the Vuelta, he says, is very much an open contest.
Froome’s Thursday finish moved him into second place overall, and isn’t even the stage the Team Sky rider has chosen as a place to push. Froome claims Saturday’s Stage 20 to Puerto de Ancares is the day that best suits him. The stage closely resembles the Pena Cabarga stage heading from the 2011 Vuelta where Froome had a breakout ride up the 19% pitches to the stage victory.
Froome appears to be getting better as the Vuelta continues. Confidence from the move into second place will stoke his competitive fire. Though Froome is strong on a time trial, the final 9.7km solo effort on the last day isn’t long enough to make much of a dent in Contador’s lead, unless the margin is eroded over the next two days.
The final days of the Vuelta will be a contest between Contador’s ability to manage his lead in the face of Froome’s increasing pace. Unlike other Grand Tours where the last week is measured out in smaller position battles, the 2014 Vuelta appears to be a nail biter to the very end.