Ricco showed himself as a rider for the future on Sunday at the Tour de France Riccardo Ricco put on a climbing clinic on Sunday in the Tour de France, as the fiesty Italian attacked the field on the Col d'Aspin climb, and went solo to the finish line for his second stage victory in this year's Tour. Ricco put in one of his signature accelerations on the Aspin, indicating his potential as a future Tour champion.
Ricco is one of a few riders (Contador, Valderde) that is able to take significant time from his rivals with lightning-fast accelerations on the steepest mountain slopes. Past riders that had similar attacking styles in the high mountains were Roberto Heras, Lance Armstrong, Marco Pantani, and Gilberto Simoni. These climbers, like Ricco, take your breath away as they accelerate. That they can move that fast on steep hills truly is amazing.
Ricco, in taking his second stage win of this year's Tour, is showing his great potential as a future champion of the Tour. He took second overall in this year's Giro, and is still very much in the hunt for the overall title this year at only 2:35 behind in the general classification. If the small climber can learn to limit his losses in the time trial discipline, he'll be a handful in any grand tour.
In the battle for the maillot juane, Columbia's Kim Kirchin held the overall lead, as he kept in contact easily with the main peloton. With exception to a crash for Cadel Evans, things remain status quo heading into tomorrow's 156 kilomtere stage from Pau - Hautacam. A day for the mountain specialists, the battle for the GC will really take shape on the steep slopes of the Hautacam climb. The 15.8 kilometer climb averages 6.8%, with sections steeper than 10%. The winner of the stage could likely be the new yellow jersey, as the Hautacam climb will expose weaker riders early on.
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