Alberto Contador: 'Maybe my best defence is to attack Aru'

Astana's strength in depth leaves race leader pondering tactical options after he's left isolated once again

Alberto Contador battles with Fabio Aru on the final climb of stage 15 of the Giro d'Italia (Watson)

(Image credit: Watson)

If fans tuned into the final climb of the Giro d'Italia stage to Madonna di Campiglio today, they would see plenty of blue, but not much yellow. Race leader Alberto Contador ended isolated without a Tinkoff-Saxo team-mate in sight, while rival Fabio Aru had plenty of Astana helpers in blue.

Contador defended his pink leader's jersey well, but he did so without help. At one point on the 15.5-kilometre climb to 1715 metres, Astana out-numbered him four to one. Only his experience and strength seemed to save him.

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Gregor Brown

Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.