Is Contador's Giro performance credible?

He was much better in this race than the others. Why wouldn't this be credible? Especially for someone who his grand tour palmares. If so, why couldn't it look easy for him.

It might be a different story at the tdf if (1) there's stiffer competition -- nothing like this not make a rider appear not only non-dominant but instead struggling at time, (2) he hasn't recovered completely from the giro, and (3) he's just not as "on" for the tour for other reasons. These are not mutually exclusive.

Cyclists are human. Their performance varies. In other sports, dominating teams and individuals are often labeled "machines". Then, all of a sudden they appear vulnerable. There were several instances of this is NBA this season and also at least one in the NFL. Lance, dope or not, was clearly an exception. But, otoh, after 9 or 10 pennants in 11 seasons, losing only 2 world series, the yankees had a mediocre season in 1959. When they lost the pennant to Cleveland in 1954 I believe that yankees still won 103 games. Hardly cheesecake.

Assuming Contador will ride the tour then obviously he would have been wise to conserve energy on the giro. The big thing is winning. Duh.