It is just about the impossible feat in modern day cycling – winning both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in the same season.
While many riders have tried and failed, Alberto Contador is gunning for this rare and incredible achievement in the 2015 season.
If he manages to do it, he would be the first since the legendary Marco Pantani in 1998. But after a dominant Giro performance, can he win the Tour?
The immediate reaction to that question is a distinct verdict of no way. It hasn’t been done in 17 years and many have tried in that time frame. Of course the achievement not being reached is helped along by the fact that disgraced American Lance Armstrong won seven Tours de France in a row, but let’s steer clear of that topic shall we?
At the Giro d’Italia we saw Contador come against a strong, yet beatable field with his main challengers in pre-race discussion being Richie Porte of Australia and Fabio Aru, the young Italian who has finished on the podium at the Giro for two years in a row now.
Meanwhile, when Contador lines up for the Tour de France, he will face a much stronger field, with all the big names of cycling signing on to the start list, including Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana and Vincenzo Nibali who along with Contador form the big four in cycling.
Other riders that will line up at the Tour include Tejay Van Garderen, who came in second in the key lead-up the Criterium du Dauphine, Thibaut Pinot and Rui Costa.
Then there’s AG2r’s Jean-Christophe Peraud and Romain Bardet, and Cannondale-Garmin who have former Giro winner Ryder Hesjedal, last year’s Dauphine winner Andrew Talansky, and Daniel Martin.
All in all the field of competitors for Contador to match it with at the Tour will be a lot harder than the Giro, making his quest to do the double all the more challenging.
Another thing to take into account was the punishing nature of the Giro d’Italia in 2015. Even on the flat days of the race there seemed to be something happening, and none of the general classification riders, Contador included, could take two seconds to rest throughout the race. Spending all that extra effort will hurt Contador’s chances.
Then there was Contador’s crash. A dislocated shoulder would have made life on the bike just that little bit harder, testing his fitness levels, and by the last week of the race the cracks started to show.
With Contador in possession of a massive lead, Aru and Mikel Landa formed a double team for Astana during the final days of the race to try and derail ‘El Pistolero’ and it almost worked. On Stage 20, the final day in the mountains, Contador cracked big time, only holding onto the pink jersey due to some strange tactics from his rivals.
Contador losing contact with his rivals at the end of the first leg of his Giro-Tour double shows that it will be extremely difficult for him to maintain the required level of performance to win the three-week Tour.
Another major factor to take into account is that the Tour de France is the toughest of the Grand Tours. Everyone at the Tour is more keen to perform than usual. There is so much at stake and already having a Grand Tour in the legs is not ideal preparation for such an event.
As preparation for the Tour, Contador is using the four day Route du Sud un the south of France. Quintana is also present at the event and it will be very interesting to see how they shape up against each other when the race hits its final couple of stages in the Pyrenees.
I’m not convinced Contador can win the Tour de France after taking the Giro d’Italia. Everything seems to be against him. However he will give it a mighty crack and I can’t wait to see what he has got to offer in July around France. A part of me even hopes he is going to prove me wrong!
As a side note, don’t forget The Roar will have live coverage of every stage of the 2015 Tour de France!
Scott Pryde
Expert
Yep I am completely in agreement with that Sam, I am willing to be surprised though.
Sam Brown
Roar Guru
The double is something no other rider has even come close to completing in the Armstrong or post-Armstrong era. If Contador can pull it off he will cement his status as the greatest grand tour rider of this generation. He may already hold that position depending who you ask but doing it in this modern era would be right up there with the greatest achievements of anyone in cycling. Having said all that my gut feeling is that, baring accidents, he won't be able to win The Tour. If it was an easier, flatter route, I'd give him a better chance of pulling a rabbit out of his hat but the Giro turned out to be a far harder race than anyone expected and this year's Tour is a brute with climb after climb, cobbles and very few easy stages. In short he won't be able to steal the win on this route. The field is also extremely strong this year; there are the big four of Froome, Nibali, Quintana and Contador himself but I'm putting together a piece on the other GC contenders and there are at least 10 other riders who could all realistically be aiming for the podium none of whom had to race the Giro. I think it is going to be one of the most hotly contested and therefore one of the toughest Tours we have seen in a long time and it just isn't going to be the year someone can pull off such a tough feat.