What a stupid TT course. The final 200m or so was very technical, on cobbles. What did they expect to happen when it rained? They moved the finish line back by 50m - hardly making any difference to the situation. One rider crashed on the original finish line due to trying to stop while riding over a large Cofidis logo which was very slippery in the wet. Another rider barely managed to stop while avoiding the crashed rider and nearly going into some moron holding a bike across his path in the finish area. They then removed this logo, it was just sat on the cobbles.
The start ramp was also very slippery. Don't they use some sort of anti-slip surface for this?
This.
I can't believe any rider, if asked, would have agreed to this course. Rain, even on a non-technical TT course, makes it a bit of a lottery if it starts raining during the event, but tight turns, cobbles, plastic sheets on the road AND rain? You're asking for serious injuries. I'm just glad it wasn't decided by the rain. Froome came into the last 200 metres at jogging pace.
Much respect to Froome & Contador though. Amazing to watch 2 pedalling styles I simply can't do. Froome's hyper-cadence vs Contador's "honking" all the way up huge climbs. It just goes to prove something or other.
My own style involves stopping for a breather and a cake.