Astana: all for one?

[andrew_s]

That's what used to make Indurain so boring, there was no explosive moment.

There were a (very) few explosive moments
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/09/sports/cycling-indurain-stuns-tour-blasting-into-second.html

 

[Crackle]

There were a (very) few explosive moments
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/09/sports/cycling-indurain-stuns-tour-blasting-into-second.html

Actualy I was going to mention that, that is the only moment I remember and it was a damn good breakaway but overall he was impressive but dull.

 

[yenrod]

Lets not forget - he (AC) got pretty much gifted in his 2007 TDF win..so this year is very very different !

He couldn't go it alone totally - he's not built for it he's slight compared to Armstrong etc..

 

[girofan]

Saw the Bruyneel interview on ITV4 this evening. What a kipper! (One-eyed-two-faced-bastard), he is. Nobody dare put a hand on him as he would slip through their fingers like a bar of oiled soap!
If I were Contador I'd quit now before I got f***ed over by Bruyneel, LA and the rest of his posse.

 

[Chuffy]

Saw the Bruyneel interview on ITV4 this evening. What a kipper! (One-eyed-two-faced-bastard), he is. Nobody dare put a hand on him as he would slip through their fingers like a bar of oiled soap!
If I were Contador I'd quit now before I got f***ed over by Bruyneel, LA and the rest of his posse.

You'll be going with the conspiracy theory version of todays events then?

 

[Noodley]

Astana are gonna gouge each others eyes out...leaving the GC wide open for everyone else to take advantage

 

[Chuffy]

Astana are gonna gouge each others eyes out...leaving the GC wide open for everyone else to take advantage

I'm not counting on it. Kloden is a domestique, born and bred, so is Levi. I don't think that Contador needs the team behind him in the same way that Lance did. I reckon he can do it alone if he has to.

 

[Bigtwin]

I don't think that Contador needs the team behind him in the same way that Lance did. I reckon he can do it alone if he has to.

'Course. It's only a couple of thousand miles of racing. No reason at all why anyone would need a team around them to take on all the other teams. Solo breakaways every day have got to be the way ahead.

 

[Skip Madness]

'Course. It's only a couple of thousand miles of racing. No reason at all why anyone would need a team around them to take on all the other teams. Solo breakaways every day have got to be the way ahead.

That's obviously not what he's saying.

 

[Bigtwin]

That's obviously not what he's saying.

Really? So how exactly is Cont - or anyone else for that matter - going to "do it alone" . Unless of course "do it" just refers to finishing?

 

[Skip Madness]

Really? So how exactly is Cont - or anyone else for that matter - going to "do it alone" . Unless of course "do it" just refers to finishing?

Contador handles the changement du rythme excellently, and can sustain huge accelerations for vast distances. He doesn't require Armstrong's old "send everyone to the front and burn everyone off slowly" tactic, and usually copes easily when isolated in the hills.

"Doing it alone" is what Denis Menchov did when he won his two Vueltas. He obviously didn't literally do it all alone, but he was always alone in the mountains and could coast on the work of sprinters' teams and other GC riders' teams on the flatter days.

 

[Bigtwin]

Contador handles the changement du rythme excellently, and can sustain huge accelerations for vast distances.

Except today. And there are at least 1/2 a dozen other riders who are about as good or better who have their teams to assist.

He can kiss his arse goodbye without a team. Aside from anything else, the other teams would think all their birthdays had some at once. A couple of the "interested parties" would box him to the back everyday and he's be toast. In fact, they'd only need to do it on key stages and it's game over.

The Tour is a team event. Simple as.

 

[Crackle]

Except today. And there are at least 1/2 a dozen other riders who are about as good or better who have their teams to assist.

He can kiss his arse goodbye without a team. Aside from anything else, the other teams would think all their birthdays had some at once. A couple of the "interested parties" would box him to the back everyday and he's be toast. In fact, they'd only need to do it on key stages and it's game over.

The Tour is a team event. Simple as.

Pantani, Hinault, Lemond to name but a few in the modern era let alone the past. Not the Tour but Roche's Giro win, even his team rode against him.

 

[Skip Madness]

Except today. And there are at least 1/2 a dozen other riders who are about as good or better who have their teams to assist.

I was talking about the mountains.

A couple of the "interested parties" would box him to the back everyday and he's be toast. In fact, they'd only need to do it on key stages and it's game over.

Quite apart from the logistical difficulties of boxing a rider in for entire mountain stages, it would clearly go against sporting ethic and no right-minded team would ever do it, nor would the fans or organisers stand for it.

The Tour is a team event. Simple as.

As I said before, Chuffy wasn't even suggesting literally doing it without a team. He was talking about the comparative needs of Armstrong and Contador in the mountains. Like the example I gave of Denis Menchov's two Vuelta wins (and in fact, for large parts, Contador's Giro victory).

 

[rich p]

The mountains are the stages that will decide the tour and as Skip says the team is relatively unimportant there.

Nobody minds you having a different opinion, it's what makes this forum fun Bigtwin, but there is a way of putting it over that makes the difference. Know-alls are not respected, rather the reverse.