Video: Andreu on the Alpe d'Huez

Former road captain on US Postal, Frankie Andreu was as surprised as any the way the cards fell for general classification rivals Chris Froome (Sky) and Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) over two ascents of Alpe d'Huez.

In this exclusive video, the American casts his eye over the edge-of-your-seat action that took place on stage 18.

"I think [Contador] expected to get a little bit more time on the downhill and that didn't happen," says Andreu. "I think it took a lot of energy out of him. But when you don't have the legs you've got to search for desperate tactics and I think that's where Alberto is. He doesn't want to be second, he's not satisfied with second or third."

Andreu was also surprised to see Froome suffering as much as he did on the second ascent.

"I hadn't seen Froome bonking with the sugar low. I hadn't seen that before."

Watch the complete video below.