GC favorite or right hand man?

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Levi Leipheimer (Astana) in gold at the Vuelta(Image credit: Sirotti)

Levi Leipheimer is once again leading the Vuelta a España, returning to the maillot oro after two days in the high mountains. However the Astana rider is on the same team as Tour de France and Giro d'Italia winner Alberto Contador, a Spaniard is considered the number one rider on the squad. Cyclingnews' Shane Stokes looks at Leipheimer's strong season and the team's likely intentions for the three week Tour.

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Levi Leipheimer has had an excellent start to the Vuelta a España, winning the stage five time trial, wearing the maillot oro for a stage and then returning to the race lead after two days in the mountains. He will start the ninth stage from Viella to Sabiñánigo 21 seconds clear of Astana team-mate Alberto Contador, and 49 seconds ahead of Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne). Tour de France victor Carlos Sastre (Team CSC - Saxo Bank) is one minute 27 seconds back in fourth place.

"I think that Chavanel and Ballan both earned it," he said, playing down any talk of the team 'gifting' the jersey to them. "We didn't contest Chavanel, but realistically I can't beat him in the sprint. He would get the jersey, no matter what, but to make it easy we collaborated a little bit with him. It was good for us to save the team. On the other hand, Ballan was really very strong yesterday. They earned it."

Two others will rank highly on his list, going by what he told Cyclingnews before the Tour of Spain started. "In terms of highlights…the Tour of California is always important for me, and then winning the Olympic medal was big," he stated. "Those two were definitely on top. They were two of my goals for the year, even before we heard the news about the Tour [ASO's refusal to grant a place to Astana]. Those moments are the ones that stand out for me."

Narrowing it down further, the Olympics was clearly a big, big moment in his career. "Obviously I dreamt about winning the time trial, but I have to say that I am really happy about getting a bronze," he said. "I think just getting an Olympic medal is something else - after the fact, it [the experience] is more than I had ever imagined it would be, really. It was a great experience to be able to stand on the podium, see the flags being raised, and then the next day to do the US media tour that most of the medallists get to do.

"It is only every four years, and the Olympics has grown so much as an event over the last 20 years or so," he said. "It is huge now - if you look at the Chinese they spent billions and billions on the Olympics. Then you see the preparation that the riders are putting into it, like Cancellara - he was obviously very focused on it. And then the winner in the road race, Sanchez, you should see how emotional he was.

The Astana team may have been absent from the Tour de France, but there is one silver lining to that cloud; the riders are fresher than most, and could well benefit from those reserves in Spain. They are also highly motivated; if Contador does pull off the win, he will make history as one of only five riders [along with Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault] to win all three Grand Tours. That has to be an inspiration for any team.

The layout of his racing programme has also helped, in that he feels that his batteries are more highly charged now than in other years. "A Grand Tour definitely takes a lot out of you," he said. "Having done the Giro and the Dauphiné, which is a big load of racing, I was able to take a break. I took eight or 10 days really easy. A lot of time when you take a big break like that you lose fitness, but I immediately came back very fresh, but strong. I have felt that way since then."

Given that the Vuelta was his breakthrough race, heading back there seven years later motivates him a lot. It completes the circle, in ways, and there are also other parallels. "It brings back a lot of memories from 2001," he said, reminiscing. "At that moment I was on US Postal, which is a lot like the team I am with now. It is basically the same management, the same structure - it is Johan's team and there are even some of the same riders. Chechu [Jose Luis Rubiera] helped me in that race to get third place. So I remember a lot about it, and I am hoping to do as well [this time].

While there are two leaders, Leipheimer says straight out that Contador is the chief captain. "I would say that he definitely is the number one on the team," he stated before the Vuelta started. "He has won the Tour, he has won the Giro, and he has proved that he is the best rider in the world when it comes to stage races, especially Grand Tours. I don't think you could argue with that. He is definitely in the pole position."

Despite winning a stage and leading the race, he was echoing these sentiments after stage nine. "I am still riding for Alberto Contador," he said. "He has an acceleration uphill like nobody else. You can see that when he attacks. Maybe only a good Valverde can follow him then. We still have the mountains in Asturias to come and the time trial in Navacerrada. He won the Tour and the Giro and is the best climber in the world."

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