After Voeckler took the jersey, the peloton had a welcome rest day. Cadel and the team did a short training ride. Brent Bookwalter was sore and shaken up from his crash in Stage 9. The younger rider worried his injuries might end up hurting Cadel’s chances of winning.
Cadel assured Bookwalter that wasn’t the case. He just needed to relax and let himself recover. Cadel was feeling upbeat. As he explained at a press conference on the rest day, BMC was very pleased with how the team was going. Still, Cadel decided not to go to the party BMC held on the evening of the rest day. He surely didn’t want to jinx his chances of winning by celebrating early.
The Tour reached the Pyrenees in the second week. Back in 2007, Contador had won his first stage on these mountains then raced away with an overall victory. Cadel had to make sure the middle week was very different this time around. Unlike other years, Cadel was well placed. He trailed Voeckler, but led Andy and Fränk Schleck by a small margin. That meant he was under no pressure to launch attacks himself. He simply had to respond when other teams attacked him.
Stages 12 and 13 didn’t change the GC places much. Fränk Schleck gained 20 seconds on Cadel. This might have spooked him in other years, but this time Cadel was calm. He was confident that he had the fitness and the team he needed to win. Even fellow Australian Stuart O’Grady, riding for the Schlecks’ Leopard Trek team, noticed Cadel’s relaxed mood.
After a tough finish on the Plateau de Beille in Stage 14, Voeckler was still holding yellow. By now everyone saw him as a major contender for overall victory. Voeckler himself played down his chances. He told the media he knew Cadel, Fränk and Andy Schleck were close behind him. The punishing Alps still lay ahead. Voeckler just didn’t see how he could win. Cadel thought Voeckler was bluffing. The Frenchman was more than tough enough to hang on.
By now the Tour was in its third week. For the first time ever at that point, Cadel felt fresh, strong and optimistic. His team was a big part of that. In other years, Cadel had to fight the entire race for his place in the peloton. This year he could rely on the BMC riders to get him to where he needed to be. Voeckler was a threat, so were the Schlecks. But Cadel felt he had the energy to defeat them.
In contrast, the rest of the field seemed tired. The strain of the race showed, especially on the faces of the other GC contenders. Contador was now well down in the GC rankings, but he was determined not to give up. He showed this in Stage 16 with a series of strong attacks against Cadel and the other GC riders. Contador’s attacks were risky and desperate that day. He had nothing to lose, so he’d clearly decided to throw whatever he had at the peloton. BMC positioned Cadel perfectly. He actually gained time against Contador in the end. Cadel refused to relax though. The race had reached the Alps—the highest point in the race and the competition.
Contador continued to attack hard during Stage 17. Andy Schleck was also aggressive. But Cadel answered whatever his rivals threw at him. The stage ended with a high-speed descent on narrow roads. The weather was terrible, but Cadel used his mountain biking skills to help him. Being so experienced at descending meant Cadel could take calculated risks and gain time over the other riders. He moved into second spot by the end of the stage. He was now just one minute and 18 seconds behind Voeckler.
At the end of the stage, Cadel said goodbye to Chiara and Molly, their dog. As much as he loved their support, he needed to concentrate solely on the race. He didn’t speak to the media. Instead he spent the whole night psyching himself up for Stage 18. It looked like one of the biggest days of the race so far.
Stage 18 was more than 200 kilometres long and included three of the Tour’s toughest climbs. The finish on Col du Galibier would be the highest finish in Tour history.
On top of a tough course Cadel expected furious attacks from the other GC riders. Andy Schleck was starting the day in fourth position, more than two minutes down on Cadel. Schleck would have to attack today or give up hoping for a win. And Contador was always a threat, even though he was way down in the placings. More than ever, Cadel needed his BMC teammates to come through for him.
Cadel had ridden the Stage 18 route in training camps so he knew it well. Training is always very different to race conditions though. In a race there are crowds and cars all around. There are nerves to handle. On top of that there are other riders who’ll try anything to win.
BMC riders Marcus Burghardt and Brent Bookwalter broke away early to make sure they got to the front. From there they could drop back if Cadel needed help. As good a plan as this was, it was tough to maintain. As expected, Andy Schleck attacked hard. He broke away from BMC and the rest of the peloton. Schleck rode like a machine, gaining time on Cadel with every turn of his pedals. Schleck also had two teammates close by who could help out if necessary. If Schleck wasn’t stopped, Cadel’s Tour dream would be over.
Cadel wasn’t going to let that happen, not this year. The other GC contenders were all losing time against Schleck too. Contador was keen to attack Schleck, so when Cadel set off after Schleck Contador did too. The danger was that Contador might gain time on Cadel. But Cadel rode so fast and so aggressively, Contador couldn’t match his pace. As the finish line closed in, Cadel was left chasing Andy Schleck all alone.
The stage finished on the snow-dusted Col du Galibier. The high-altitude ride was a lung-busting slog. Andy Schleck proved impossible to catch. Even his own teammates dropped away, leaving their leader to solo his way to the stage win on top of the Galibier. Fränk Schleck sprinted home behind his brother, just ahead of Cadel. Andy Schleck shot to second place in the GC, while Cadel was fourth.
Cadel’s heroic chase limited the damage against him and probably saved his Tour. The stage also showed that when the pressure is on, Cadel will push himself to his physical limit. Maybe he isn’t as physically powerful as the Schlecks, but Cadel is prepared to suffer pain like no other rider.
In Stage 19, the riders tackled three monstrous mountains. There was a second climb of the Col du Galibier, plus the Col du Télégraphe and the infamous L’Alpe d’Huez. One of the myths of the Tour is that the rider who wins on L’Alpe d’Huez wins the race. Cadel didn’t need to rely on superstition though. He knew from experience that Stage 19 would decide the Tour.
At 109.5 kilometres long, the stage was relatively short. To shake up the GC rankings, the favourites would have to attack hard and do it quickly. With only three days to go, there were still a number of riders who had a serious shot at winning.
First there was Voeckler. He was still holding yellow, but only by a tiny margin. The other GC riders would attack him hard during Stage 19 and many thought he would struggle to hang on to his lead. Then there was Andy Schleck, who started Stage 19 second place in the GC. He had a strong chance of victory, although Cadel guessed he would be exhausted after his dramatic solo assault on the Col du Galibier. In third place was Fränk Schleck, only seconds ahead of Cadel in fourth.
Cadel was certain he would be attacked more than most favourites in Stage 19. Stage 20 was a time trial, which was one of Cadel’s strengths. That meant the other riders would try to make up as much time as possible against Cadel in Stage 19.
The stage began on slopes packed with fans expecting a mammoth day’s racing. Right from the start, the big names were on the attack. The first serious move came from Contador. This was a surprise because Contador was out of the race for yellow. That day Contador showed that he is a natural competitor who loves to race. He attacked just to prove he wasn’t defeated even if he couldn’t win yellow. Cadel and the Schlecks worked hard to keep up, even though all three were completely shattered from the day before. Contador attacked again 4 kilometres from the top of Col du Télégraphe.
Cadel found his pace dropping off. He got up on his feet and rode out of the saddle, jiggling up and down on the pedals to get his momentum back. There was something wrong with his bike. It felt like the rear wheel had moved in the frame.
Cadel stopped. He took the wheel off and tried to put it back on straight. A while later Cadel realised the wheel was loose. He had to stop yet again. A horrible feeling gripped him. Maybe this mechanical problem would cost him the Tour. He still had bitter memories of the wheel change that stole the Vuelta a España from him in 2009.
Cadel had to change bikes. Somehow he stayed calm throughout the whole stressful process. When the BMC team car appeared, Cadel just got on with what had to be done. It helped to have the team around him, especially since no-one was panicking. This business-like attitude helped Cadel get back on his bike quickly.
Changing bikes turned out to be the easy part. After he’d done that Cadel had to claw his way back to the front of the peloton, where the Schleck brothers and Contador were getting away. The Schlecks were Cadel’s main worry. From the start of the stage the two brothers had been heaping pressure on him. With every passing second they were gaining more time against him. Cadel knew he only had one day, tomorrow’s time trial, to make up whatever time he lost.
Cadel called on every shred of energy he had. He tore along, sometimes reaching speeds of around 100 kilometres per hour. Chiara was watching the hair-raising chase. She tweeted nervously that she wished Cadel played golf! It was 60 kilometres of hard slog, but Cadel did eventually rejoin the leaders. He was back on the hunt for victory.
The Tour’s spectators
The spectators are a huge part of the Tour de France. The Tour is an unusual sporting event in that it is free to watch. Since the route is more than 3000 kilometres long, there are no spectator stands. Except in big towns, barriers don’t even separate the fans from the riders. Many Tour fans dress up, bring along picnics and deckchairs to make a day of it on the roadside. Others sit inside parked caravans with satellite dishes, glued to the action on television.
The lead riders closed in on the summit of L’Alpe d’Huez. There were fans everywhere, some dressed up, waving signs or blasting loud music. The narrow road with its famous 21 hairpin turns was covered in messages of support for the riders scrawled in chalk.
The lead kept changing the whole way up the mountain. Sometimes Contador led, sometimes Andy Schleck did. Voeckler stubbornly refused to let go either, although it was clear he was almost out of energy.
Another French rider, Pierre Rolland, was also keeping up with the pace and closing in. Rolland ended up winning the stage after Andy Schleck decided just to concentrate on gaining time against Cadel. Like his Australian rival, Andy Schleck’s goal was the overall race not the stage win.
At the end of the stage, Voeckler slipped down the GC rankings, leaving Andy Schleck to snatch yellow. His brother Fränk was just behind.
The Schlecks and the whole Leopard Trek team started celebrating immediately. They seemed to think they’d already won the Tour. Andy Schleck said he was feeling good and still had plenty of energy. He told the media he’d heard the yellow jersey gave a rider wings. Perhaps this gave Andy Schleck the belief he would hang on to yellow in the Stage 20 time trial.
Cadel thought otherwise, of course. Andy Schleck might have taken yellow, but Cadel had kept his time loss to a minimum. Schleck’s lead was only 57 seconds. It would be tough, but Cadel had to believe he could make up that time the following day. He knew Andy Schleck would try everything possible to make sure that didn’t happen. Like Cadel, Schleck had been runner-up twice. Neither rider wanted to repeat the experience a third time.
After the day’s racing Cadel went back to his hotel with the rest of the BMC team. The hotel buzzed with riders and media, and the nightclub pumped dance music. But the BMC riders escaped all that. They shared a pasta dinner prepared by team chef Peter Cambre. Cadel chatted away with the other riders like tomorrow was nothing more than a training ride.
Cadel only looked relaxed though. Deep down he knew tomorrow’s time trial would be the biggest day of his career, if not his life. If he didn’t make up the time he needed tomorrow, he’d lose the Tour. Cadel was 34 years old. This could be his last chance to win.
Cadel’s teammates had done everything possible to put their leader in a great position. But tomorrow was an individual time trial. Cadel would be on his own. Winning the Tour was now completely up to him.
The next morning, Cadel and the BMC team left the hotel early. With so many riders, fans and media around, the traffic was a nightmare. Cadel wanted to get to Grenoble in time for a final ride of the time trial course. He’d ridden the course during the Dauphiné, but one last go at it would refresh his memory. It would also help him switch his brain and body to time trial mode.
When his training ride was over, Cadel went to the BMC bus to wait for his turn to start for real. He listened to music and tried to stay calm. He warmed up on the rollers then went back into the bus to get changed. Cadel reappeared with his black-and-red BMC jersey, pointed helmet and mirrored glasses on. He walked to the start ramp.
Cadel was minutes away from the ride of his life.