I’ve reviewed the Velocast podcast and will repeat that it’s a great listen. Now to my surprise, this blog was briefly mentioned on their latest podcast. The guys had read my posting on the Dauphiné prologue and the fact that I saw Millar and Contador warming up on the course whilst the race was on.
I am not seeking to bust Millar and Contador here. They would have heard any approaching rider behind them and moved out of the way, indeed I noted at the time that they both seemed to be moving so fast that none of the mid-markers would have bothered them. But in case you heard the Velocast and want more on this, well here it is…
All the riders were lapping the circuit with a gendarme on a motorbike ahead of them to keep the road clear, plus the team car behind them. Later in the race others had extra following vehicles, for example TV camera crews and VIPs in cars laid on by the race organisers.
So when I saw David Millar lapping it was a surprise. No police outrider, he flew past in leg warmers. The same for Alberto Contador but this time I managed a snap.
(Click to enlarge)
Note it’s him, check out the custom Specialized with the “Pistolero” design on the disc wheel, even if he is in normal Astana clothing and a standard helmet. He’s not dressed for the race yet, with his Spanish time trial champion skinsuit and aero helmet. He’s on the course, note the yellow arrow. As for whether he was on the course at the same time as the race was on, well take my word for it.
Like I say, I’m not trying to get them busted, it’s just surprising that the organisers let them on the ride. You’d hope that anyone in contention for the prologue would have checked out the course earlier in the day. But since it was mentioned, I thought I’d give it some more detail.