Frankschleck said:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-i-think-froome-can-win-the-tour-and-bernal-the-giro/
"There are a lot of strong riders out there but not one that raced like I did."
He is right. Kruijsweak showed this year he had more balls than contador ever had. And to be honest as much as i hate to say it Froome put in a better attackive preformance than you ever did. Normally like Contador but he lost some points there for me.
Kruijswijk didn't show that. Yes, it was a long range attack, but I would argue, that it was more to help the true captain, Roglic, than to go for personal glory (although he sure would be happy if he'd won!).
Besides, SKY let Kruijswijk go, because he doesn't have nearly the same class as Contador. Kruijswijk got a lot of leeway, because SKY knew that they could catch him with their 3rd best domestique, if they wanted to. I like him, and feel a lot of sympathy for him, especially after
that Giro, but no one would argue, that he is more than a 3rd tier rider at best. Which is another reason for letting him go.
So to say that Kruijswijk has a lot more balls than Contador ever had is like saying that Thomas de Gendt has more balls than Contador, because he always attacks. No offense.
I knew someone would mention Froome, eventually. Yes, it was an attack, a very long range one too, and he succeeded! But he was so ridiculously strong that day, that it wasn't balls either, but raw (i wouldn't say pure because it stinked of
the forbidden word) strength. I know that you didn't mention this, but I feel its implied. For me, I enjoyed Froome's Finestre-Jafferau coup as much as his Ax-3 or his Pierre Saint Martin performances. Which means not at all. Because it was obvious how it would end. Bennett's instinctive reaction after that stage, in which he uttered the 3 famous words, summed it up perfectly.