Alberto Contador ended as one of the big losers in today's stage of the Tour de France as he lost more than 2.30 to Vincenzo Nibali. Admitting that he has some time to make up, the Spaniard remains confident and says that he preferred not to take any risks in the dangerous conditions.

 

It was an all-time dramatic and highly unpredictable Tour de France stage in Northern France today and while Team Sky’s Chris Froome was forced out of the race after two crashes even before reaching the first cobblestones, Tinkoff-Saxo’s Alberto Contador was dropped by the Astana riders, Vincenzo Nibali, Jakob Fuglsang and Lieuwe Westra.

“It was a very difficult day and I lost a lot of time to Nibali who was in the right spot in the second section where everything fell apart. However, I made it through the day without crashing, which is perhaps the most important thing. My terrain is yet to come”, said the leader of Tinkoff-Saxo after crossing the finish line.

With the amount of rain, dust and mud, Contador also suffered a mechanical problem in the finale:

 

“With so much mud blocking the small sprockets, I could not keep up. It has been a difficult stage from the start with constant danger but my team supported me through the day and Benna took me across the finish line”.

 

Sadly, the Tour de France champion, Chris Froome abandoned the stage but Contadorwasn’t that surprised:

 

“This is what could be expected from a stage like this with the cobblestones. And it could have been me. It’s a nice show for the home viewers but it’s a pretty big risk for the riders. Froome was the number one favorite to get the victory and is now out of the race. Of course I will feel sorry for him because preparing for the Tour needs months of physical and psychological work and a series of sacrifices on the home front. I’m sorry for him and for the race because it would have been a great spectacle in the mountains.”

 

Finally he comments the advantage obtained by Nibali:

 

“Of course I wish I were in front of him but seeing how the situation was on the cobbles today, I didn’t want to take more risk than necessary. I’d rather lose a minute more than have a crash and the Tour has only closed its first of many chapters.”

 

“Well, we lost about 2 and a half minutes to a very strong riding Nibali but we’re still confident," sports director Steven De Jongh said. "Alberto lost touch with the back wheel of Vincenzo and we simply couldn’t close the gap.

 

"Fortunately, Alberto didn’t crash at any point and he didn’t have any punctures and not having any crashes is very important concerning the rest of the race. We’re five days into the race. Alberto is in peak shape and better than he was in Dauphine and we’re going to do some hard mountain stages. So, we’re still absolutely confident but aware that there’s some hard work to be done in order to make it back to the top of the rankings."