Contador’s TdF Warm-up is Complete

June 21, 2015 – Alberto Contador completed his expected victory at the four-day Route du Sud as Frenchman Bryan Coquard won Sunday’s 166km final stage in a sprint finish.

AFP/Yuzuru Sunada

Giro d’Italia champion Contador had won the race’s queen stage on Saturday — the only stage in which serious time differences could be expected — ahead of Nairo Quintana.

For both Contador and the man he succeeded as Tour of Italy champion Quintana were completing their final warm-up race before the Tour de France, which begins on July 4 in Utrecht, Netherlands. Both caused a surprise by opting to ride the Route du Sud instead of the traditional week-long Tour warm-up events, the Criterium du Dauphine and Tour of Switzerland.

And Contador, 32, attacked his 25-year-old rival on the descent into the finish at Bagneres-de-Luchon on Saturday after the pair crested the top of the final climb together. The 17sec advantage, which included a time bonus, Contador earned then remained the final winning margin.

Tinkoff-Saxo’s Contador will be looking for a third Tour title in July having also won in 2007 and 2009, while Movistar’s Quintana will be aiming to better his second-placed finish from two years ago. The pair are expected to fight for the Grand Boucle crown alongside the last two Tour winners, champion Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome.

Final 8 Kilometers of Stage 4

Results Stage 4:

Results Stage 4:
1. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar 3:42:10
2. Lorenzo Manzin (Fra) FDJ
3. Leonardo Duque (Col) Colombia
4. Steven Tronet (Fra) Auber 99
5. Angelo Tulik (Fra) Team Europcar
6. Enrique Sanz Unzue (Esp) Movistar
7. Louis Verhelst (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
8. Julien Duval (Fra) Equipe Cycliste De L’Armée De Terre
9. Armindo Fonseca (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
10. Anthony Maldonado (Fra) Auber 96

General Classification:
1. Alberto Contador Velasco (Esp) Tinkoff-Saxo 16:53:22
2. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar 0:00:17
3. Pierre-Roger Latour (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale 0:00:41
4. Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Crédits 0:01:06
5. Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
6. Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Col) Colombia 0:01:31
7. Alberto Gallego (Esp) Radio Popular-Boavista 0:02:08
8. Ricardo Vilela (Por) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:03:05
9. Federico Figueiredo (Por) Radio Popular-Boavista 0:03:06
10. Julien Loubet (Fra) Team Marseille 13 KTM 0:03:14