Having come so close to the podium in the last Tour de France, Cadel and his team were ready to try again in 2007. His team had the same sponsors but a new name—Predictor–Lotto.
The months leading up to the Tour were busy ones. Cadel entered a French stage race called the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. The Dauphiné has a very mountainous course, featuring many of the same climbs as the Tour. Riders who do well in the Dauphiné often do well in the Tour too.
Cadel and his teammates felt good about their results in the Dauphiné. Cadel came second in the GC and seemed to be finding form at exactly the right point of the season.
There was no real favourite to win the 2007 Tour. Traditionally the defending champion was a favourite and wore the number one on his jersey. Since Landis was disgraced, there was no number one bib. Instead the bib numbers started at eleven.
For Cadel there were still plenty of rivals, like Alexander Vinokourov from Kazakhstan. Vinokourov, riding for a new team called Astana, was by then already a veteran of the sport.
Alberto Contador was another, younger, rival. Lean with dark hair and dark eyes, the Spanish rider was nicknamed ‘Kid’. Despite his youth, Contador attacked hard and climbed brilliantly. He’d already had plenty of success in big races. Contador had even developed a signature victory salute, miming shooting a gun with his fingers. Some people thought this was just a bit of fun, but others found Contador’s salute very cocky.
Another of Cadel’s rivals was Danish rider Michael Rasmussen. Like Cadel, Rasmussen got his start in mountain biking.
As usual, the early stages of the Tour were for the sprinters to shine. Then in the second and third weeks the peloton would tackle the mountain stages. Cadel knew these were the stages where he’d win or lose the race. It was here Cadel’s rival Rasmussen ended up taking control.
Rasmussen grabbed the yellow jersey in Stage 8. He was still wearing it at the start of Stage 13. The stage was an individual time trial through Albi, a historic city in southern France. Rasmussen wasn’t a time trial specialist. His time trial in the Tour two years earlier had gone down as one of the worst in professional cycling. Not surprisingly, a lot of people thought Rasmussen would lose the yellow jersey that day.
By contrast, Cadel was usually strong in time trials. Going into Stage 13 he was fourth in the GC, just over two and a half minutes down on Rasmussen. If Cadel rode well and Rasmussen rode badly, Cadel would quickly rise in the rankings.
It rained heavily on the day of the time trial. That made conditions on the course slippery and dangerous. A lot of riders either overshot corners or crashed out, including the then–time trial world champion Fabian Cancellara. That made Cadel extra cautious when it was his turn to ride. He cornered way slower than usual but still managed to place second.
Vinokourov won the stage. Back in Stage 5, Vinokourov had crashed at high speed and fallen heavily into a ditch. He lost so much time that he seemed to be out of the race. After the Albi time trial though, it looked like Vinokourov was back.
The other big surprise that day was Rasmussen. He managed a very strong time trial too. His time was fast enough to cling to yellow, about a minute ahead of Cadel. Cadel would have liked a smaller gap, but he was still in a good position going into the third week of the Tour.
Cadel was excited about the final–week of the race, but also dreaded it. There were some tough mountain stages ahead. It wasn’t that Cadel couldn’t handle the mountains. His burning desire to win meant he pushed himself harder than most other riders could. Cadel’s problem was his team’s weakness in the mountains.
In mountain stages, strong domestiques are vital for success. The more the domestiques can protect their lead rider, the easier ride the leader has. But to keep up with the leader, domestiques need to be top climbers. Alberto Contador’s team, Discovery Channel, was stacked with great climbers, and so was Vinokourov’s team, Astana. Predictor–Lotto only had one really reliable domestique, American rider Chris Horner.
In Stage 14, Cadel’s aim was simply to keep pace with Rasmussen. Without a strong team supporting him though, Cadel found the pace too hard. So Cadel could only watch as Rasmussen and Contador broke away together. Contador won the stage and Rasmussen held the yellow jersey. Cadel dropped to third in the GC, more than two minutes down from Rasmussen.
Stage 14 was tough, but for Cadel the Tour was really decided in Stage 15. This was a mountain stage, a punishing ride through the central Pyrenees. The stage finished with a climb up the mighty Col de Peyresourde.
Cadel was in the lead group when it reached the Col de Peyresourde. Just over 21 kilometres from the finish line Vinokourov broke away, pushing for a stage win. Back down the mountain, an epic battle for GC placings was going on. Contador attacked Rasmussen repeatedly but couldn’t make up any time against him. Cadel was frustrated. He wanted to attack Rasmussen too. Without a strong team there was nothing Cadel could do to catch Rasmussen. Cadel lost a lot of time and finished the day in third place, four minutes down.
The race then took a few surprising turns. Vinokourov had taken a drug test after Stage 13, the Albi time trial where he’d beaten Cadel. After Stage 15, the test came back positive. Along with the entire Astana team, Vinokourov withdrew from the race. Months later, Cadel would be officially named the winner of the Albi time trial stage.
Rasmussen’s Tour had also been dogged by rumours of doping. Before the race, his Rabobank team ordered him to submit to drug tests. Rasmussen apparently claimed he would be overseas, but it was suggested he was trying to avoid taking the tests. Rasmussen won Stage 16 and was still in yellow when Rabobank sensationally sacked him. Contador moved into first place and Cadel into second. Star American rider Levi Leipheimer, from Contador’s Discovery Channel team, was third.
The GC places remained the same after stages 17 and 18. Crucially though, Cadel managed to gain time against Contador. Going into Stage 19, Contador was one minute 50 seconds ahead of Cadel. Cadel wasn’t kidding himself. He knew it was a big gap so late in the race, but the next stage was a time trial—one of Cadel’s strengths. There was a chance he could close the gap between himself and Contador although he only had one stage left to do it. Stage 20 was the final stage into Paris when the yellow jersey never changes hands. Whoever led the GC after the time trial would take the entire race.
Contador isn’t a bad time trial rider, but his specialty is climbing. He has a smaller build than Cadel. That means Contador can accelerate during climbs but isn’t as powerful or fast on the flat. Stage 19 was totally flat, so in theory it suited Cadel better. On top of that, Cadel had more experience than Contador. Cadel’s maturity and consistency might just be the advantage he needed.
At the same time, Leipheimer still had a chance. Although in third place, it was possible he could move into the lead. Cadel and Contador might have mechanical problems. At the end of a long and exhausting race when riders were near the end of their strength, mistakes could easily be made when the stakes were so high. Either one could have an off day because of bad luck or nerves.
When it was his turn to ride, Leipheimer showed he was going to fight for the win. He set a blistering time, taking the lead in the stage and closing in on the lead overall.
Then Cadel had his shot at the course. Lining up to start, Cadel might have been thinking about the advice a sporting director once gave him: Cadel should ride every time trial like he was riding for yellow because one day he might be. That day had arrived.
Cadel burst down the start ramp. He wore orange glasses, a gleaming black helmet and a look of grim determination on his face. At the first time check though, he was already 14 seconds down on Leipheimer. Cadel had lost even more time by the second check. With every turn of the pedals his dream of winning the Tour was slipping away. Cadel kept on fighting. Heart hammering, lungs burning, he bared his teeth and dug deep. He pushed himself way past his physical limits to gain as much time as he could.
As GC leader, Contador was the last to ride. The Spaniard went out hard, his bike wobbling all over the place. As he rode, the Discovery team car followed him. Inside was a very big name lending moral support. Lance Armstrong was one of Discovery’s owners and came to cheer on Contador. Contador’s time trial was not brilliant, but it was enough. In the end, Contador hung on to the yellow jersey, but with only 23 seconds over Cadel.
After three weeks and thousands of kilometres, losing by 23 seconds must have been shattering. Cadel never let on how he really felt about his loss. In interviews he simply said that the race was over now.
That season Cadel was the underdog who took on mighty teams like Astana and Discovery virtually by himself. But the heartbreak of coming so close to a win didn’t dent his quiet ambition. This incredible grit won Cadel a lot of fans overseas and in Australia.
That season interest in cycling surged in Cadel’s home country, with a record 1,200,000 watching the 2007 Tour coverage on SBS. The idea that an Australian had made the podium was thrilling and inspiring. So was the possibility that Cadel might go one better next year.
The chances of that seemed good as the year ended. Cadel took second place in Good Luck Beijing, a test event for the 2008 Beijing Games. He also took out fifth in the World Championships.
The final prize up for grabs was the ProTour. The ProTour competition awards points for wins and places for races across the season. All the major races are eligible, including the Classics and the three Grand Tours.
Cadel didn’t win any big races in 2007. Still, he’d ridden consistently well in everything he’d entered. That meant he was ranked second overall among all riders competing in the ProTour. Italian rider Danilo Di Luca was at the top of the ProTour points table, having won both Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Giro d’Italia that season, but Di Luca couldn’t contest the final race of the season. Cadel took top spot in the ProTour rankings.
At a gala dinner hosted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), or International Cycling Union, Cadel was awarded the ProTour’s winner’s white jersey. It was a huge honour to be the highest ranked individual all season.
Cadel’s Road Bike Race Highlights, 2007
1st Stage 1, Part b, Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali, Misano Adriatico, Italy
3rd Stage 7, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Annecy, France
2nd General Classification, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, France
3rd Points Classification, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, France
3rd Stage 9, Tour de France, Briançon, France
1st Stage 13, Tour de France, Albi, France
4th Stage 16, Tour de France, Gourette–Col d’Aubisque, France
2nd Stage 19, Tour de France, Angoulême, France
2nd General Classification, Tour de France, France
3rd Wiesbauer Rathauskriterium, Austria
1st Castillon-la-Bataille, France
2nd Marcolès, France
3rd Gouden Pijl Emmen, Netherlands
1st Stage 2, Test Event Beijing 2008, Beijing, China
2nd Stage 10, Vuelta a España, Andorra (Vallnord/sector Arcalís), Spain
2nd Stage 18, Vuelta a España, Avila, Spain
4th General Classification, Vuelta a España, Spain
1st General Classification, UCI ProTour (road)