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This sort of thing reminds me of the arguments in racing about who is at fault after a wreck. Both sides are so entrenched in their vested interests, its virtually impossible to be objective.
But I'll try. I think Contador is a bit of weasel, but I don't think he is the nasty guy that many think he is. Likewise about Andy. I'm sure Contador knew there was some problem when he went past, but probably not the details or the reason - was it due to a fault of Andy's or not?
Likewise, I don't think you can be black/white about when you stop and and when you don't. It's a judgment call and Contador knows that there are others in the race who would move up to be threats if he hangs back everytime a close competitor punctures, takes a "nature break", or has a crash. There are times when you probably should hang back and there are times when you need to press forward and try and win the damn race. Anybody who thinks that there are hard/fast rules about this is mistaken.
I'll take Contador at this face when he says that at the time he was in "race mode", but if he had to do it over, he admits that perhaps he should have hung back a bit. So I don't fault either rider. They've forgotten it and are looking forward - so should we as fans. Stuff happens.
- Mark
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