<figure ><img title="Cycling: 98th Tour of Italy 2015 / Stage 5" src="http://cdn.velonews.competitor.com/files/2015/05/SPTDW375-320x213.jpg"/><p>Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) fired the opening salvo at the Giro d'Italia on Wednesday. Photo: Tim De Waele | <a href="http://www.tdwsport.com" target="_blank">TDWsport.com</a></p></figure><p>ABETONE, Italy (VN) — Sometimes Alberto Contador just cannot help himself.</p>
<p>Tinkoff-Saxo’s Spanish superstar admitted he wasn’t feeling great deep into the first mountaintop finale of the 2015 Giro d’Italia, but as he’s shown throughout his career, it’s always better to be on the sharp end of the action, rather than reacting to others.</p>
<p>With Astana swarming the front of the peloton for the second day in a row, Contador threw the dice with a searing attack with 5km to go to momentarily knock archrival Fabio Aru (Astana) off balance.</p>
<p>Contador knows nothing comes free in the cutthroat peloton, and his bet paid off by cutting more time into TT danger man Rigoberto Urán (Etixx-Quick-Step), and he snagged the pink jersey to boot.</p>
<p>“I wasn’t thinking about attacking. I was there, looking at the other riders, and to tell the truth, I didn’t feel that great, but sometimes it’s hard for me to just stay in the group, and I went for it,” Contador said. “At the end of the day, it’s a good result. Urán lost a bit more time, as well as some other riders. Aru and Porte are very strong, but I think it’s a good situation after five days.”</p>
<p>Contador is back into pink for the first time since his 2011 Giro victory that was later stripped as part of his controversial clenbuterol case. As Contador fought the case, he raced and won the 2011 Giro, but his official palmares only reveal one Giro victory to his name, in 2008.</p>
<p>“This is like a present. It’s a great honor to have the pink jersey again,” Contador said. “I can’t wait to wear the pink jersey in front of the tifosi tomorrow.”</p>
<p>The Spanish superstar confirmed his pre-race favorite status, but it’s also clear that Aru and Richie Porte (Sky) are not going to make it easy for him.</p>
<p>Porte and Aru patiently marked Contador’s acceleration, and then Astana’s Mikel Landa linked up to drive the trio toward the line. Aru won the sprint for third place to pick up four bonus seconds, but Contador slipped into the pink jersey by just two clicks. Porte is now 20 seconds back in third.</p>
<p>Contador said the obvious, that it’s way too early to have the jersey, and expect to carry it all the way to Milano.</p>
<p>“I didn’t expect to have the pink jersey today, the plan is to have it in Milano. Tomorrow, another rider could take it away, and that’s fine,” Contador said. “The important thing is that the legs feel good. It was a good stage for us, and it was good to distance a few riders, such as Urán.”</p>
<p>The 17.3km climb up the Abetone summit was fast. Jan Polanc (Lampre-Merida), a 23-year-old Slovenian, took his first pro win out of the day’s long breakaway. Astana and Tinkoff-Saxo both stacked the front, setting a high pace up the steeper low flanks of the climb. It hit 10 percent midway up the climb, and Porte was looking very alone. His Sky teammate, Leopold Konig, was still in the quickly reducing front group, but Mikel Nieve (Sky) punctured near the base of the climb, and could never regain contact.</p>
<p>Porte was a few wheels back, and perhaps Contador smelled an opening to try to eliminate one of his top rivals and bolted clear. Aru and Porte both easily countered, and the top-three favorites all confirmed they were up for a fight.</p>
<p>When asked with whom he is most impressed so far, Contador said, “Astana,” before assessing his individual rivals.</p>
<p>“Both are very strong. Aru, being a pure climber, won’t be able to let any opportunity go by to attack in the mountains, especially with the long time trial [in stage 14],” Contador said. “And Porte, who has the time trial to his advantage, is also looking strong. It won’t be easy.”</p>
<p>So far, things couldn’t be better for Contador in the opening days of his <a title="Contador explains motivation for Giro-Tour double" href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/02/news/contador-explains-motivation-for-giro-tour-double_361571"target="_blank">Giro-Tour double</a> attempt.</p>
<p>Tinkoff-Saxo rode well in the opening team time trial to put Contador ahead of his GC rivals, and slot him into pole position for the pink jersey. Orica-GreenEdge’s game of pink jersey hot potato ended as the Giro went vertical for the first of seven summit finales this year. Overnight leader Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge) faltered early in the climb, and then Orica’s Colombian climber, Esteban Chaves, who started second, couldn’t counter the late moves.</p>
<p>“I am a bit surprised that Urán lost more time, but this Giro is just starting,” Contador said of the Etixx-Quick-Step rider who’s been suffering from a slight cold in the opening days of the Giro.</p>
<p>“This is like a ‘tapa,’” Contador said. “The Giro is very long.”</p>
<p>More than a few are impressed with Contador’s ability to measure his opponents. Androni-Giocattoli manager Gianni Savio, who brings a squad loaded with stage-hunters, said he believes the Spaniard will be dress in pink in Milano.</p>
<p>“Contador is looking very good right now. He’s playing the Giro expertly. He has the experience, he knows how to manage the race,” he said. “Contador is in control of the race. Unless something unforeseen happens, I see Contador winning this Giro.”</p>
<p>Contador is also smart enough to not count his chickens before they’re hatched. The hardest mountains are yet to come, and the long time trial could complicate things. Porte and Aru present two very strong, ambitious opponents, and he knows he will have to play it just right to win the Giro again. Whether he would count it as his second or third maglia rosa remains to be seen.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/05/news/el-pistolero-draws-first-to-slip-back-into-pink_370016">‘Elpistolero’ draws first to slip back into pink</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://velonews.competitor.com">VeloNews.com</a>.</p>
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<p>Tinkoff-Saxo’s Spanish superstar admitted he wasn’t feeling great deep into the first mountaintop finale of the 2015 Giro d’Italia, but as he’s shown throughout his career, it’s always better to be on the sharp end of the action, rather than reacting to others.</p>
<p>With Astana swarming the front of the peloton for the second day in a row, Contador threw the dice with a searing attack with 5km to go to momentarily knock archrival Fabio Aru (Astana) off balance.</p>
<p>Contador knows nothing comes free in the cutthroat peloton, and his bet paid off by cutting more time into TT danger man Rigoberto Urán (Etixx-Quick-Step), and he snagged the pink jersey to boot.</p>
<p>“I wasn’t thinking about attacking. I was there, looking at the other riders, and to tell the truth, I didn’t feel that great, but sometimes it’s hard for me to just stay in the group, and I went for it,” Contador said. “At the end of the day, it’s a good result. Urán lost a bit more time, as well as some other riders. Aru and Porte are very strong, but I think it’s a good situation after five days.”</p>
<p>Contador is back into pink for the first time since his 2011 Giro victory that was later stripped as part of his controversial clenbuterol case. As Contador fought the case, he raced and won the 2011 Giro, but his official palmares only reveal one Giro victory to his name, in 2008.</p>
<p>“This is like a present. It’s a great honor to have the pink jersey again,” Contador said. “I can’t wait to wear the pink jersey in front of the tifosi tomorrow.”</p>
<p>The Spanish superstar confirmed his pre-race favorite status, but it’s also clear that Aru and Richie Porte (Sky) are not going to make it easy for him.</p>
<p>Porte and Aru patiently marked Contador’s acceleration, and then Astana’s Mikel Landa linked up to drive the trio toward the line. Aru won the sprint for third place to pick up four bonus seconds, but Contador slipped into the pink jersey by just two clicks. Porte is now 20 seconds back in third.</p>
<p>Contador said the obvious, that it’s way too early to have the jersey, and expect to carry it all the way to Milano.</p>
<p>“I didn’t expect to have the pink jersey today, the plan is to have it in Milano. Tomorrow, another rider could take it away, and that’s fine,” Contador said. “The important thing is that the legs feel good. It was a good stage for us, and it was good to distance a few riders, such as Urán.”</p>
<p>The 17.3km climb up the Abetone summit was fast. Jan Polanc (Lampre-Merida), a 23-year-old Slovenian, took his first pro win out of the day’s long breakaway. Astana and Tinkoff-Saxo both stacked the front, setting a high pace up the steeper low flanks of the climb. It hit 10 percent midway up the climb, and Porte was looking very alone. His Sky teammate, Leopold Konig, was still in the quickly reducing front group, but Mikel Nieve (Sky) punctured near the base of the climb, and could never regain contact.</p>
<p>Porte was a few wheels back, and perhaps Contador smelled an opening to try to eliminate one of his top rivals and bolted clear. Aru and Porte both easily countered, and the top-three favorites all confirmed they were up for a fight.</p>
<p>When asked with whom he is most impressed so far, Contador said, “Astana,” before assessing his individual rivals.</p>
<p>“Both are very strong. Aru, being a pure climber, won’t be able to let any opportunity go by to attack in the mountains, especially with the long time trial [in stage 14],” Contador said. “And Porte, who has the time trial to his advantage, is also looking strong. It won’t be easy.”</p>
<p>So far, things couldn’t be better for Contador in the opening days of his <a title="Contador explains motivation for Giro-Tour double" href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/02/news/contador-explains-motivation-for-giro-tour-double_361571"target="_blank">Giro-Tour double</a> attempt.</p>
<p>Tinkoff-Saxo rode well in the opening team time trial to put Contador ahead of his GC rivals, and slot him into pole position for the pink jersey. Orica-GreenEdge’s game of pink jersey hot potato ended as the Giro went vertical for the first of seven summit finales this year. Overnight leader Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge) faltered early in the climb, and then Orica’s Colombian climber, Esteban Chaves, who started second, couldn’t counter the late moves.</p>
<p>“I am a bit surprised that Urán lost more time, but this Giro is just starting,” Contador said of the Etixx-Quick-Step rider who’s been suffering from a slight cold in the opening days of the Giro.</p>
<p>“This is like a ‘tapa,’” Contador said. “The Giro is very long.”</p>
<p>More than a few are impressed with Contador’s ability to measure his opponents. Androni-Giocattoli manager Gianni Savio, who brings a squad loaded with stage-hunters, said he believes the Spaniard will be dress in pink in Milano.</p>
<p>“Contador is looking very good right now. He’s playing the Giro expertly. He has the experience, he knows how to manage the race,” he said. “Contador is in control of the race. Unless something unforeseen happens, I see Contador winning this Giro.”</p>
<p>Contador is also smart enough to not count his chickens before they’re hatched. The hardest mountains are yet to come, and the long time trial could complicate things. Porte and Aru present two very strong, ambitious opponents, and he knows he will have to play it just right to win the Giro again. Whether he would count it as his second or third maglia rosa remains to be seen.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/05/news/el-pistolero-draws-first-to-slip-back-into-pink_370016">‘Elpistolero’ draws first to slip back into pink</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://velonews.competitor.com">VeloNews.com</a>.</p>
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