Which came first, did Alberto Contador’s bike break and cause him to crash, or did Contador fall breaking his leg and the frame at the same time?
The above picture of a bike, taken soon after the crash with Contador’s race number 31 on it, shows the top tube separated at the point it joins the seat tube. The down tube is broken mid-way.
Unfortunately, there were no cameras there to film the actual crash as it happened. Speculation as to what actually happened was immediate online and on TV. There followed denials from Contador’s team that the frame break caused the crash. At first saying the broken frame was not even Alberto’s bike but someone else’s, and it had fell off a bike rack earlier.
According to this article in Velo-News, the story was then changed, and yes it was Contador’s bike, but after the crash the bike was laid in the road in front of the team car, and during all the excitement of attending to the fallen rider, the bike was forgotten and they accidentally drove over it.
If this was the case, then the above photo doesn’t make sense. It does not appear to me as a bike run over by a car. The frame tubes appear to be broken not crushed. And why is the front wheel not crushed also, along with the water bottle cages?
“Alberto crashed on a fast and straight part of the descent. He was reaching for his pocket and the bike was swept away under him probably because of a bump or hole in the road.”
I was not there, I only have the information from articles written by people who were there. But piecing together this information, along with the above photograph, then making an educated guess, based on the many crashed frames I have seen over the years. This is the scenario I would put forward.
Descending at a speed of at least 50 km. per hour, Alberto hit a pot hole. The impact would be like a hammer blow up the seatstays, stopping at the seat post with the weight of the rider sitting on the saddle. The seatstays being partially attached to the sides of the top tube, would push the top tube away from the seat tube. Once the top tube had separated, the down tube would break.
Unless a rider hits something solid, usually when he falls, the bike slides out from under him and a rider will come away with road rash. Small bones in the hand are sometimes broken. But to break a leg, one usually hits something solid, like a car, or they are thrown down violently on the road. As for example, when a frame falls apart beneath you.