14 DAY TRIAL // When I launch an attack on a climb that not even the organizers have deemed steep enough to categorize, I feel a bit weird because the tactic seems a little cowardly, like an admission that I am unable to cope with the challenge of the high mountains and try to compensate by stealing minutes here and there.
But, whatever the reasoning behind it, the tactic is rather effective at the moment as the fourteenth stage of the race has allowed my leader to take more than a minute on the other favorites and settle into a rather comfortable eight place overall.
There are no huge mountains on the route and the 3rd and 4th category hills spread around the course should have made it easy for Sky, the team of leader Froome, to control the proceedings.
I tried to disrupt their tactics by getting Jens Voigt, the senior rider of the 100th edition, into the break hoping to either use him as a stepping stone for an attack later on or to have him attack out of the group and force a harder chase.
This worked out nicely for about two thirds of the race, but as we approached the finish, Voigt failed to keep up with his companions in the breakaway and seemed useless as a companion.
Sky was grouped at the front of the peloton and they seemed to be ready to give the escapees the stage win as long as no dangerous riders attacked on the final two climbs.
It’s a show of force for a team to be out in numbers so close to the finish, but I decided to use Schleck to launch an attack from Kloden and he managed to solo his way to the finish line.
I am not yet sure whether Sky is simply tired as a team or whether they aren’t ready to react because they do not see me as a threat.
