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Well who was honestly expecting that unpredictable result from something previewed as a boring flat transition stage for the sprinters? The 2013 Tour de France witnessed the sublime, the awful and the unexpected during a magical Stage 13.
After escaping the Mistral wind of the French Mediterranean coast relatively unscathed, the peloton felt the revenge of Mother Nature as strong crosswinds helped tear the race apart.
While one sprinter, Mark Cavendish, did indeed take the stage honours ahead of another, with Peter Sagan once again second, the rest of the stage would have been quite unpredictable.
As the General Classification underwent an unforeseen monumental alteration en route to the finish in Saint-Amand-Montrond.
With Alberto Contador and Team Saxo-Tinkoff displaying just why some consider them one of, if not the, strongest team present at the Tour de France.
While the parcours and the grand tour of choice were different, there was something oddly reminiscent about ‘El Pistolero’s brave decision to potentially risk it all and attack from the Maillot Jaune (Yellow Jersey) group.
Despite never regaining the immense ability which once graced him prior to his doping ban for clenbuterol, the cunning Spaniard has delivered time and again the type of aggressive racing which cycling fans love to follow.
Just like Stage 17 of the 2012 Vuelta a Espana, ‘El Pistolero’ showcased that instinct and tactical nous can sometimes overcome a seemingly superior foe.
With the peloton torn to shreds by Omega Pharma-Quickstep and Team Belkin earlier in the stage, the plucky Spaniard chose to form a breakaway with his Saxo-Tinkoff team at 32km to go.
Having sheltered for most of the stage within the leading maillot jaune (yellow jersey) group, and with fierce crosswinds still affecting the cyclists, the majority of the Saxo-Tinkoff team formed a new echelon at the front of the group and increased the tempo.
The sudden surge of speed at the head of the Maillot Jaune group saw the leading echelon break free of the rest of the group behind.
Whilst a select number of cyclists managed to join the breakaway established by Team Saxo-Tinkoff, the Maillot Jaune of Chris Froome was gradually being distanced behind.
Along with Froome were several other General Classification contenders and sprinters with something at stake, such as Andre Greipel and Jean-Christophe Péraud.
So the stage soon became a team time trial to the finish between Team Saxo-Tinkoff and those teams behind them willing to chase.
With the situation in the balance, the breakaway eventually shattered the elastic to the maillot jaune group and extended their time gap out to over one minute by the stage’s finish.
As the Malliot Jaune group approached the finishing line in Saint-Amand-Montrond, it was confirmed that current overall race leader Chris Froome would lose the time gains achieved in the Stage 11 individual time trial to Mont-Saint-Michel.
However, the greatest loser would be Alejandro Valverde as he became the very unfortunate victim of a busted wheel whilst the maillot jaune group was being powered along by Omega Pharma-Quickstep and Team Belkin.
Does the unfortunate demise of Valverde now doom the speculated Spanish Armada? That remains to be seen, with the situation able to develop any different number of ways.
However, for all the talk of an alliance with his Spanish compatriots, little attention has been cast upon Contador’s own ability to create unexpected alliances with indebted cyclists.
As seen in the past with former domestique Paolo Tiralongo, of Team Astana, sometimes ‘El Pistolero’ can call in some unsuspected favours.
Which should set a few alarm bells ringing should Daniel Navarro, another former trusted lieutenant of Contador, now riding for Cofidis, get in the breakaway.
Love him or hate him, there is no denying that ‘El Pistolero’ has that special instinct and tactical nous which often defines the greatest cyclists.
Contador is by no means certain to grasp the coveted maillot jaune, with Froome still the obvious favourite with a 2’45” gap to the Saxo-Tinkoff rider.
However, there can be little doubt that the plucky Spaniard from Pinto, located within the province of Madrid, will risk it all to claim the ultimate prize.
In spite of all the despicable and shameful events that have elapsed, somehow cycling would personally feel just that little bit more austere, in an era of power meters and clinical sport science, without someone daring enough to attempt the unexpected and exciting.
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