Red Rick
Moderator
That's sounds fake to me? IIRC they said the plan was to attack the penultimate climb already. 1 minute faster than that Nibs time is impossible.I think Nibali was great that year, but according to Bjarn
Bertie dropped Nuclear Froome, not once, but twice, in the last week of the La Vuelta that year. Neither of them started in optimal health after the Tour, but both seemed to peak in the last week. Bjarn claimed Contador would’ve put at minimum 1 minute into Nibali at Planche sea Belle Filles alone. For me, it all depends if he still had his kick. It was gone in his last years, but if he was as good as Bjarn stated, then Vince would’ve blown up trying to follow him. Rasmussen and Schleck are the only two I know that could follow him when he accelerated at his best.
The one hilltop finish they had was also insane in that it doesn't really give any indication. If Nibs had not lost time there, I would've said Nibs would simply win. If Contador had easily dropped Nibs there, it goes the other way around.