The 5 best stages of this decade

I have a difficult task ahead of me. In recent years, there have been many stages that have kept us in front of the television for hours. Those are the stages that make this sport great and that inspire many fans to become fans. Those are perhaps not easy to digest for the July-September viewer, who spends his time on the couch, taking a nap, and enjoying the air conditioning. But they are the ones that excite us the most, those of us who truly love this sport and never miss a single one of the 63 stages that the Grand Tours offer us each year. That's why it's so difficult to narrow down just five of them.

It's clear that we each have our own tastes, and that sentimentality is very important when it comes to remembering, in greater or lesser detail, those stages that mark us. Sympathy for the featured riders, a taste for certain mountain passes, nostalgia for times past, the appreciation we have for one race or another... Probably if each of the readers of this publication were to make a top five, we wouldn't be able to find two that would agree. So here I go: these are my five favorite Grand Tour stages since 2011.

5. Giro d'Italia 2015: Aprica (Mortirolo)

[caption id="attachment_7172" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] counter-mortirolo Alberto Contador, on the ascent of Mortirolo. Giro d'Italia 2015 | Tinkoff-Saxo. Luca Bettini/BettiniPhoto[/caption]

I'm starting with one of the most fascinating stages of the Giro d'Italia. Perhaps because of my admiration and appreciation for Alberto Contador, whom I saw halfway through the Giro before the start of the Mortirolo. Perhaps because of my admiration for Mikel Landa, who I consider to have exploded onto the scene, despite having already won the stage before this one. Or perhaps because of the touch of madness Ryder Hesjedal brought to it. For whatever reason, this stage will forever remain etched in my memory, and the Mortirolo has been one of my favorite climbs ever since. Alberto Contador's comeback of more than 50 seconds over 4 kilometers on the Mortirolo is, for me, one of the greatest moments of his sporting career. I think Mikel Landa could have won the Giro against him that day. That kid from Álava had legs touched by the God Pantani himself, and it was a shame he didn't enjoy the freedom he deserved. And, why not say it, we like failures. And even more so when they happen to bad guys. Who didn't enjoy that big failure from the bad guy Landis at the Toussuire? Well, Aru's collapse was something similar for me. This whole combination makes the Mortirolo stage of that 2015 Giro one of my all-time favorites. And not just that stage. I think that Giro is the best Grand Tour I've seen since I started following cycling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdpPVKaWT2Q

4. ​​Tour of Spain 2012: Fuente Dé

[caption id="attachment_7173" align="aligncenter" width="800"] counter-source-of-2012 cyclingnews.com[/caption]

We love comebacks. In cycling and in all sports. They're matches, races, that we always remember for the emotions they evoke. The Cavaliers versus the Warriors, Barcelona versus PSG, Phelps versus Cavic... Well, this stage of that 2012 Vuelta is no slouch. Only a little over 30 seconds separated Purito Rodríguez from Alberto Contador, but the feeling was that in each mountain finish, the Catalan was the stronger one and had half a lap in his pocket. Alberto Contador knew this and had to attack the race in a different setting, one less expected and where he could short-circuit the leader. Attacking in a mid-mountain stage, with team tactics and, above all, with courage. That's how the gunslinger took the Vuelta, in what was his longest and most unexpected shot.

One fact that probably won't surprise you is that Alberto Contador has never stood on the podium of a Grand Tour without winning it. Either I win or I'm destroyed. A true champion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys0KdeZHtq0

3. Tour de France 2011: Alpe D'Huez (and Galibier)

[caption id="attachment_7174" align="aligncenter" width="800"] tour-2011-alpe-dúez Photo: Luca Bettini[/caption]
I'm returning to Alberto Contador, at the risk of sounding like a young teenage fanboy, like the ones flooding Twitter these days with Operación Triunfo. Alberto is probably the bravest cyclist of this decade, so it's only fair that he's been in my top 10 on several occasions.
Returning to the previous concept of 'either I win or I burst'. In this case, it was the latter. The challenge was much more difficult. After the uncertainty of the penalty, which forced him to enter the Tour after passing through the Giro (where he swept the stage), he wasn't strong enough to win his fourth Grande Bouclé. Even so, he destroyed everything 90 kilometers from the finish. Andy Schleck saw the potential destruction coming and didn't hesitate for a second to take it. Thomas Voeckler, emboldened, also wanted to further enhance his legend by winning the Tour in style, costing him the yellow jersey and causing his own downfall. After the fracas at the Telegraphe and Galibier, everything calmed down at the base of Alpe d'Huez. Evans had the composure to stay with his team and made a great ascent of Galibier with Frank Schleck. On Alpe d'Huez, Contador tried again and almost succeeded. But like in a good movie, the bad guys won, and the villain that day was Pierre Rolland, who snatched the stage at the last minute from Samuel Sánchez and Contador himself. Probably the most intense 90 kilometers I can remember watching cycling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsAQfZpvhQc

2. Tour de France 2014: Arenberg (Roubaix)

Tour 2014 Roubaix Nibali, rain, cobblestones, Roubaix. These terms, taken separately, already have epic connotations when it comes to cycling. Combine them and you get this amazing stage. I've been in front of the computer for minutes now, and I don't really know what to say about this stage. Words are unnecessary, but I'll try. Seeing the shark with the murderous look, dressed in yellow, in the rain, risking a serious fall, weighing 65 kilos... The emotion I felt during that stage I've probably never experienced again in my life watching cycling. The very image of courage. This man, with no prior experience on the cobblestones, was able to turn the Tour upside down and gain time on the "fat-asses," the ones who year after year occupy the podium places at Paris-Roubaix.
It's always said that you don't win the Tour on the cobblestone stage, but you can lose it. Vincenzo Nibali won the Tour that year on the cobblestone stage. Enjoy this stage from the first section of stones to the finish. And if you can, put on a war movie soundtrack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVWkmNgfWmw

1. Giro d'Italia 2018: Barnodecchia (Finestre)

[caption id="attachment_7176" align="aligncenter" width="800"] finestre-2018-giro Photo: Luca Bettini[/caption] Yes. I know it's an "unpopular opinion," as it's fashionable to say on Twitter. I know I should open my umbrella to what might fall on me. But let's face it, few of us will ever see something like this again. A rider who shows weakness almost every stage of the race, going solo 80 kilometers from the finish and sealing the race. A stage more reminiscent of Coppi or Bartali, in the middle of 2018. Yes, with all the gimmicks in the world. With the power meters, those cool synthetic fabrics (I wish I knew as much about these things as Antonio Alix), the aerodynamic positions... Nothing mattered that day. Froome decided that this was D-Day and put his signature on the most epic stage in the history of modern cycling.

The aftertaste that almost all of us felt, however, was bitter. Awaiting a possible sanction, we were all on tenterhooks, and after going the whole Giro on the wrong foot, his performance that stage left us stunned. No Dumoulin, no Reichembach, no Pinot, no ultra-conservative Carapaz and Miguel Ángel. Highways, flat mountain passes... If the stage lasted 100 kilometers longer, the gap would still widen.

As I say, we'll never see anything like this again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9USGFIF2UWc

Article by Fran Alarcón for Baggicase.