Greig Leach

Two days ago, Astana attacked Alberto Contador (Tinkoff Saxo) when he had a flat tire on a mountainous descent. It angered the Spaniard and went against the unwritten rule that no one attacks the race leader when they have had a mechanical, nor when they have crashed. Contador felt misused and chased Fabio Aru down and then put several more minutes into his closest rival. Today, when Astana's Aru and Mikel Landa (2nd and 3rd behind Contador) Tinkoff Saxo went to the front of the remaining peloton and really drove the pace. As they started up the final climb, Contador was down to one teammate and only Steve Kruijswijk (LottoNL Jumbo) was able to hold the wheel of the dancing Maglia Rosa. Kruijswijk his now wearing the Azure Blue of the King of the Mountains, the jersey he claimed the same day that Astana pulled its most aggressive move.