I don't for a second believe that all the riders in this Vuelta are clean, but it seems likely that it's cleaner overall than in the past.
Contador was clearly suffering yesterday in a way that he hasn't in the past, but is that because he's now racing clean or is it just the cumulative effect of four days of hard mountain stages, a truly vicious final climb and lack of race fitness?
And Purito... well, he's looking like a true GT contender this year for the first time, but is that down to his good form and the fact that his rivals are clean(er) thus levelling the playing field... or is it because he's decided if you can't beat them, join them? He's always been vocally anti-doping, but that's no guarantee of anything - we've seen other riders show themselves to have feet of clay on that score.
Overall, speeds up the climbs seem to be slower than in past years, and no one has been able to put in the kind of superhuman performances we saw in the 90s/00s, but is that because they're cleaner or is it because the course is tougher?
Talansky and Froome are both not too far off the pace and they're riders on conspicuously clean teams. Froome would probably be contesting for a podium place if he hadn't had such a long, tough season already.
I'm reserving judgment for now, but in the absence of a good reason to disbelieve my eyes, I'm very much enjoying this monumental Contador vs Rodriguez battle.
d.
