Astana on the attack

The outcome of last Saturday's contre-la-montre fell well short of Vinokourov's expectation, though more due to the strong performance of his Spanish rival, than through any fault of his own. In the end, he made up a mere eight seconds, while team-mate Kashechkin lost 13 seconds.

Having cast the disappointment of the time-trial aside, the two Khazaks appeared to have regained motivation and determination at the traditional rest day press conference on Monday.

"We are in a similar situation, Kash and me. The most important thing is that both of us still harbour hopes of victory." Vinokourov explained. "The differences are still reasonably small and everything could be turned on its head in one stage, in one attack. It's better for us that the route is difficult, with as small a [leading] group as possible ahead of the final climb."

From Tuesday onward then, expect Astana to launch attack after attack as the gradients begin to increase. Two first class climbs and one beyond category climb are on the menu for Tuesday, with the menacing Sierra de la Pandera just a day later.

"It's not difficult to attack. You just need good legs," joked Kashechkin, who seemed a little more tired than his team-mate.

"We're into the third week and everything becomes more complicated for everybody," he reflected. "On the other hand, it's often there that attacking pays off most."