Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) had no ambition to assume the overall lead on yesterday’s brutally steep climbs in the Tirreno-Adriatico. Instead he simply tried to get to the top without falling off his bike.

Quite according to plan Alberto Contador is still not in peak condition at this time of the year and thus it was no surprise to witness him drop to fourth on general classification prior to the final stage today.

Normally not a rider to be deterred by steep gradients and torrential weather conditions, Contador nevertheless found yesterday’s climb to Porto Sant’Elpidio technically difficult.

“All strategies went down the drain the moment Rodriguez  attacked and I ended up at the back,” Contador explained afterwards. “I went out of the saddle and nearly fell off my bike. I lost a few metres right there and then and after that it was impossible to bridge the gap.”

Despite his setback on GC, Contador had words of praise for yesterday’s rain-soaked stage with vertical gradients of up to 30 %.

“It was really amazing out there. We were almost unable to climb to the summit because the back wheel kept sliding away. Maybe it would have been easier without the rain. Under these conditions the aim was not to crest the summit as the first rider, but simply to get to the top.”

Before the final stage, an individual time trial, Alberto Contador is in fourth place overall 48 seconds behind Vincenzo Nibali (Cannondale).

Highlight from yesterday’s brutal stage: