@rebbel You know, I really don’t know what to think. I saw a number of replays, and it wasn’t clear to me if Contador did know Schleck was having mechanical difficulties or not. I think he did see it. But he said he started his break before the accident, which I think was not true. On the other hand, I think he could have started his break before he knew what was going on, then passed Schleck, seen what happened, and decided to keep on going, justifying it in his head that he had already gone. Also his teammate was up there, too. I think it was his teammate, anyway.
It’s hard for me to be objective about this because I like Schleck (Andy, not Frank). I think Contador is on iffy grounds. I think this is only a gentlemen’s agreement, and I suspect that the gentlemen may not be so inclined to keep the agreement if Contador should have a problem in the future.
At the end, Contador ended with the peloton, I think. Look at it this way. The race does not stop for every person with mechanical difficulties. Only those in the lead. But the Peloton has to move on. There was the breakaway to catch, or reel in. There was someone up there who could have put some serious time into the leaders with a 10 minute victory. So they had to keep going, even if it was Schleck, I think. So perhaps it is fair that Andy ended up being left behind.