This could actually happen irl, except for the fact that he admits.
I'm guessing it's because he has become too dominant on the climbs? I like the decision, no matter what. A nice twist to the story as well as getting rid of a rider I don't like.
@ Ian: yes, payback I used the editor, giving him an injury and clicked that he'll retire at the end of the season. Hopefully that's enough.
@ sutty:
@ Pelli: Well, winning the MTT with a margin of over a minute was pretty suspicious. Even because Gesink, Nibali and Contador had fitnesses of over 95....
Ascending the final hill, before the Ventoux, the 13 leaders have a margin of 3'05 to the peloton, when Christophe Kern (GC 20), Jurgen Van den Broeck (17), Richie Porte (22) and Jerome Coppel (26) attack, trying to bridge the gap to the BOTD.
Shortly before entering the forrest, Ivan Basso has dropped his breakaway-buddies and continues solo. The group Van den Broeck follows at 1'10 and the peloton at 2'23.
Gesink doesn't panic and continues riding in his own pace, closing the gap to Contador within 2 kilometres. Halfway the climb, with 10km to go, Basso is still leading the stage, but only '25 behind him follows a group with Contador (1), Gesink (2), Basso (6), Kiserlovski (11), Van den Broeck (17), Kern (20) and Porte (22). A 2nd group with Nibali (3), Antón (5), F. Schleck (7) and Spilak (10) follows at '51. Luckily for Nibali, he has some domestiques left (Roche and De Gendt) to close the gap for him.
9km to go
Basso gets caught by the first group and the pace drops a bit, as no one wants to lead the pace. Of course, the 2nd group closes the gap because of it. Then Kern, Van den Broeck and Basso atack again, and so does Contador! Why does he do that, this far from the finish?
Contador can attack for only a short while, and has to sit down again. And so do the others. But consequently, a group of 8 has created a margin of '36 to a 2nd group.
In the first group: Contador, Gesink, Cobo, F. Schleck, Kiserlovski, Van den Broeck, Kern and Basso. In the second group: Nibali, Antón, Rolland, Spilak, Kiryienka, Kruijswijk, Coppel, Porte and Roche.
Then Fränk Schleck attacks, probably full of rage because his brothers stupid mistake. Robert Gesink decides to counter, as Contador has shown signs of weakness, not to mention Nibali. This might be his chance to win Le Tour!
7km to go
Gesink is starting to bridge the gap to F. Schleck, and sees the group Contador '21 behind him. The group Nibali follows at '49!
6km to go
The people inside Chalet Reynard see Schleck and Gesink passing by, trading the forrest for the moonscape. The group Nibali has joined the group Contador, and they follow at '44! This means, Gesink is the virtual GC-leader at the moment!!
5km to go
Contador keeps losing ground in the next kilometre, now '48 behind the 2 leaders. He even can't follow Nibali and Antón, who have attacked out of the group. What is wrong with him, a bad day, the hunger knock, or...?
4km to go
Contador feels the maillot jaune slipping through his fingers and tries one last counter attack. But his legs have abandoned him, as he's riding 1 minute behind Gesink!
2km to go
The plan was to give the win to Schleck, as he has done a lot of leading work. But when the Luxembourg rider says that he is done, Gesink accelerates once again. 2 kilometres to go, and with Nibali at '43 and Contador at 1'34 (!!), he feels that this Tour is turning into his advantage!
Finish
In the final 2 kilometres, Robert Gesink is able to continue his jump. The fact that he has a great daily form of +5 contributes to it! The Condor of Varsseveld takes his 2nd stage win of this Tour, and more important, the maillot jaune!
Fränk Schleck finishes in 2nd place at '32, Vincenzo Nibali in 3rd at 1'03, Igor Antón in 4th at 1'48 and Alberto Contador heavily dejected in 5th place at 2'15. He declares to the press that he made the mistake of not eating and drinking enough, and got the hunger knock with about 7km to go.
Gesink: I had the best day out of my cycling career, felt I was flying. I realised that Contador had an opposite day when Schleck attacked, so I followed Schleck. I know that 36 time trialling kilometres have to be done tomorrow, but I feel very confident now!
Nibali: Well, the result isn't that bad, as I improved my GC-position to the 2nd place. But at the slopes of the Ventoux, I felt the tough Giro in my legs, what made the difference. Gesink was too strong!
Contador: A beginner's mistake has costed me this Tour. I was too busy in keeping a good position before the foot of the Ventoux, that I simply forgot to eat and drink. I felt strong in the first half of the climb, but when I realized that I mad the mistake, it was too late. WIth less than 8km to go, the man with the hammer hit me, and he hit me hard. Now I need a message and a lot of food and nutritions, so I can start tomorrows ITT with the goal of attacking Gesink. It ain't over yet!
Fantastic win, congratulations man The Champs Elysses beckons, and 3 of the 4 jerseys are in the hands of the Monsters Gesink and Kittel! You've just got to keep this up
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
Btw, don't listen to your brother next time.
Fränk Schleck
Vincenzo Nibali
Igor Antón
Simon Spilak
Robert Kiserlovski
Jurgen Van den Broeck
Vasil Kiryienka
Pierre Rolland
Ryder Hesjedal
Heinrich Haussler
