Some people will complain that the dominance was so great that the race is in the bag, but let's face it. Such dominance is sometimes brilliant to watch, especially when it is the attacking and aggressive sort that we seen today. Regardless of what kind of tone this sets for the rest of the Tour, today's stage had me on the edge of my seat. The action was plenty and it came early and it continued over both climbs all the way to the summit. It was the day that the heavy hitters finally came out to play and the day we finally got a weeks worth of questions answered. The first day in the mountains is always special and tonight we know better than never before what shape the 2013 Tour de France is taking.
Those who complain about the level of dominance and what it might do to the Tour will claim that Froome and Sky have made the Tour boring, but let's take a look at that for a moment. Last year people complained because Bradley Wiggins played the Miguel Indurain game -- taking time in the time-trials, and marking his rivals where required in the mountains. They called the Indurain years dull because of his conservative tactics and they likened it to Wiggins. These people pointed a finger at Andy Schleck and his brother for being too negative and never attacking when the opportunity to seize control of the tour presented itself. They were equal in their criticism of Cadel Evans for being a follower rather than an attacker. They didn't like that Alberto Contador was getting it too easy. Yet there will be complaints with regards to the competitiveness of this Tour because Chris Froome was none of those things and actually seized the moment ... attacked and went for it ... left his rivals behind in a display of climbing brilliance and rode away.
And we can thank the young Colombian sensation, Nairo Quintana. He set the wheels in motion one climb out from the finish went he went on the attack. The young 23-year old who was an outside pick to win the Tour threw down the gauntlet much earlier than anyone anticipated from a favorite. Aren't they supposed to wait until the final five kilometres of the final climb? Yet off he went and by the top of the Hors category Col de Pailhères he had a minutes lead. If he kept this up he could be in Yellow, but there was a long way to go. What it did was force Sky to the front much earlier than we thought they would be. Onto the final climb and on the lower slopes Sky were already setting a torrid pace. Those hoping to ride their way into the mountains and find their legs and the pace slowly ramped up were sorely disappointed. The likes of Tejay van Garderen, Thibaut Pinot, Ryder Hesjedal (albeit with an injury), Cadel Evans, Andy Schleck, and then Joaqium Rodriguez, were badly exposed. The racing was on and with as much as five kilometres to go the group had already shrunk down to a handful of men before suddenly Chris Froome and teammate Richie Porte suddenly found themselves alone. Sky had destroyed them all, they'd caught Quintana and they were riding off up the mountain. Then Froome went alone.
We all hate this 'marginal gains' thing that we believe Team Sky invented, yet feel the Tour is done for because Chris Froome went for mega-gains. I guess it depends on who you you'd prefer to see win the Tour, but if you put that aside for the moment, even should Froome fail to falter in the coming weeks and continue to add to his lead, we should admire the man's ability as a cyclist at the sharp end of his talent. That is so long as he continues to be aggressive and continues to apply pressure to the throats of his rivals that he currently has on their backs after just one day in the big mountains. Who would condemn such skill and entertainment. Did they hate it in 1969 when Eddy Merckx turned an eight minute lead overall into a 16 minute lead in one day in the high mountains? Regardless of whether they did, that Tour is looked back upon as one of the finest exploits in the sports long history.
That isn't to say Froome is going to win this Tour by a margain in the double figures ... this is the first mountain stage and there is still so much to play for. The tour is far from over and I hope those rivals of Froome take that view.Luis Ocaña would have told you that much were he still alive. In 1971 he had a huge lead of eight minutes going into stage 12 of the Tour, but Merckx refused to accept defeat and attacked from the gun on a stage that started at the top of the mountain resulting a days long pursuit to Marseille that seen the Merckx group, containing a handful of team-mates come in two minutes ahead of the peleton, and two full hours ahead of the race schedule. The Mayor of Marseille was so upset at missing the finish that he said the Tour wouldn't be back in his town while he was still alive. He was right, it didn't return until 1989, after his death. Then two stages later Merckx attacked again on a wet descent. He crashed, but following him was a desperate and exhausted Ocaña who crashed also only to have another two riders plough into him. Merckx continued up the road, but Ocaña -- hurt, but not believed to be beyond able to continue -- had the moral sapped out of him and he abandoned. Merckx won the Tour.
The final week of this years Tour is a savage test of mental and physical fortitude and the others need to come together to attack Froome relentlessly every day. One go clear and force a chase, then another. If he collapses then the race opens up again. If it doesn, then what has been lost? Or is a position on the podium so glorious that the rest would now be happy to place rather than risk it all for the win? This aggression however must come before the final climb. None of this hanging onto Froome's wheel hoping to grab back seconds here and there. The attacks must come early and often forcing a relentless pace that puts the Sky team on their limits a long way from the finish. And what if there is a wet day like stage 14 in 1971? Can Froome manage the slippery descents or will he do a Wiggins at the Giro?
Don't take this as some anti-Froome rally. I like the man actually, I think he'd make a fine Tour de France winner and today he looked a class act, but seeing the others really take the race to him would only add to the drama. Should it fail and should Froome continue to attack and dominate this Tour, then I'll have to admire it for the performance that is also.
We're going into stage nine now. There's a long way to Paris. I don't think the Yellow jersey ship has sailed altogether just yet.
Stage 8 results
1. Chris Froome (Sky) in 5h 3'18"
2. Richie Porte (Sky) +51"
3. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +1'8"
4. Bauke Mollema (Belkin) +1'10"
5. Laurens ten Dam (Belkin) +1'16"
6. Mikel Nieve (Euskaltel-Euskadi) +1'34"
More:
8. Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) +1'45"
9. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) s.t.
11. Joaqium Rodriguez (Katusha) +2'06"
21. Andy Schleck (RadioShack Leopard) +3'34"
26. Cadel Evans (BMC) +4'13"
30. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) +6'
35. Daryl Impey (Orica GreenEdge) +7'50"
39. Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) +8'15"
56. Tejay van Garderen (BMC) +12'15"
123. Peter Sagan (Cannondale) +29'12"
173. Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma Quickstep) +31'15"
General classification after stage 8
1. Chris Froome (Sky) in 32h 15'55"
2. Richie Porte (Sky) +51"
3. Aljeandro Valverte (Movistar) +1'25"
4. Bauke Mollema (Belkin) +1'44"
5. Laurens ten Dam (Belkin) +1'50"
6. Roman Kreuziger (Saxo-Tinkoff) +1'51"
7. Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) s.t.
