2009 TDF stage 7: Barcelone - Andorre Arcalis 224 km - Page 3

Interesting stage today, great win for the French kid up the road. AC's move was clearly unscripted and Lance was pretty annoyed. I'm not convinced he couldn't have gone though but it would have meant open warfare between the two if he had. He may have thought it better to play the good team man, get on Evans' wheel and keep the uneasy truce going a bit longer. Contador would be unbeatable with the Astana team behind him but Armstrong isn't going to make it easy.

Or conversely, Armstrong would be unbeatable with the Astana team behind him but Contador isn't going to make it easy.

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Lance Armstrong’s Last Words, August 10, 2007 - “We're proud of our record. We won eight Tours, a Vuelta, a Giro and other races and not one positive test," Armstrong said. “I’m not sure if there are many other teams who can say that right now. Couple that with our ethical record, despite all the gossip and nonsense that goes on.”

Well now they are pretty much even on GC. If I were LA, that means open season if AC attacks again, but he wont. I think LA is just being patient and waiting until the last week. I still dont think anyone can beat AC, but we will see. If AC continues attacking, he could very well burn himself out. AC would be smart to just sit up and wait until the Alps, but he's young and likely wont do that.

What a load of rubbish. It has been clear that Contador has been waiting to do exactly this for quite a few months, and Armstrong, being pretty smart, knew it was going to happen. AC has clearly been a rank above any other rider for a year or two. The only surprise was that that he didn't go a little earlier and get more time.
There's only one Astana captain, and has only been one this year.

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Steve
CyclingForums.com

I am just wondering what would have happend today if the final climb were more difficult. Maybe Contador couldn't handle 5km attack today and therefore went for some 20 seconds without much of risks. Contador accelerated but then went with the same speed as bunch. No big changes in GC after today's stage.

I would say that Verbier and Arcalis are of the same difficulty. Arcalis is at higher altitude (2240m vs 1468m) and is a bit longer (10,6km vs 8,8km) while Verbier is steeper (7,5% vs 7,1%). There aren't any other hard climbs in both stages. I agree that Verbier shouldn't provide serious time gaps.

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Too windy, it seems.

i think Contador was hoping & praying that SOMEONE would attack on the last climb. for some reason (Astana pace??), no one did so he had to wait it out.

finally when Evans attacked, LA answered Evan's move, but Contador apparently was well within his fitness level. He knew he had legs and could probably ride away from the whole group, so he did. I am sure he knew he'd get a butt chewing tonight in the team bus, but why not go for it?

as for LA's response to the attack, LA either a). did the smart thing and didn't race to try to bring the whole group up to Contador, or b). didn't have the legs to stay with Contador's move all the way to the top of the climb.

IMHO, LA should be on his own. In spite of LA being Bruyneel's bro, Contador is NOT be on the team solely to help LA win #8. While LA may have proven in the Giro & so far in the Tour that he is still a great rider, that doesn't mean the team needs to bow down to him.

The big question is whether LA's big ego will let him step aside and ride for Contador, if indeed Contador continues to show signs of domination. But the same goes for Contador if he begins to fade.

Contador was the favorite going in. He showed in the TTT & this stage that he can, at a minimum, hang with LA -- and what we saw today, he can ride away from LA in the mountains. I have always viewed him as the team leader in spite of what we hear from the Versus crew.

but there are more stages to play out, so we'll see how it develops. if there is another individual time trial, perhaps that is what LA can use to regain an advantage over Contador. on the other hand, Contador might prove his is as good of a time trialer as Levi & LA.

Those of us who saw the Dauphine this year, saw how Contador after a great display of superlative climbing, literally blew up on the following days stages.

Contador is the Astana rider to beat.
Without a shadow of a doubt.

If Contador rides the race intelligently, there is nothing stopping him from winning this race.

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it" - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

Lance seems pretty pissed at Contador. Just rewatched his post race interview. Levi didn't seem too impressed either.

I'm glad AC didn't/doesn't give a rip about LA or LL thinks/thought of his move. He's got the nuts! He knows he's probably not going to be on what's left of this team next year so he took this years' race by the horns (Texas Longhorns, that is)and basically took control of his own destiny. You've got to applaud that kind of stuff!

I have no convictions either way, but the man definitely can 'walk the walk'...

You have it spot on, the Dauphine was early season though and his mountain attack there was, I think, much harder than yesterdays. He also recovered well two days later to go on a long solo break.

Too many on here worrying about Lance not being pleased . . . so what? The role of AC is to win the Tour, end of story. If LA had done what he has done in previous Tours he would have stamped his authority on the first day in the Pyrenees to show he was the Boss. That was his style and AC is doing it to him now.

Actually I must confess that whilst I believe the best man should win, I've always believed that road racing at the level of the Tour is a wholly team game. If the team agrees something then they should stick to it unless the DS changes his tune. In a company if some idiot goes his own way there can be disciplinary proceedings. The me me me culture is a disgusting thing. If Astana had agreed a plan then Contador and Armstrong should stick to it regardless of personal ambition - their own silly fight can jeopordise things for the team and for the sponsors (the salary payers). They can argue against it but unless their argument is accepted the agreed plan is the agreed plan.

The question of the best man is of course a huge one. I believe the best man is the right combination of supreme athlete, exciting rider. Tactical genius. strategic genius,relationship manager, business man and so forth. In most of these categories Lance used to have Contador on every level. After 4 years out Lance dwarfs Contador on the Tactical/Stragic, relationship manager, business man but probably lags slightly on the supreme athlete mainly because he hasn't got the miles in his legs and he's slightly older.

Still it gives us something to talk about.

Contador made the right decision last night.
He improved the teams chances of winning.

If he broke the plan then Bruyneel should punish him as he sees fit.

Lnace was working at the front.
Contador was sitting in behind and waiting for his chance to pounce.

Had lance been sitting back and Contador been doing more work would Lance have attacked?
He certainly wouldn't have gone as fast as Contador but if he did get away he would have been in yellow and the team would have been in an even stronger position.
Lance wasn't going to attack though and he probably wouldn't have been able to get away from the pack.

If that was the plan (and I don't think there was a plan) then Contador should be fined by his boss.

Contador says 'the race' will decide who is the winner... so he probably won't follow any orders anyway.

With Lance he's just used to winning... he will find it hard to accept anything less no matter what he says.

Hope there is more drama tonight...

I don't want this tour to get boring as I thought it may have been over after the TTT.

More surprises please...must be time for them to do the doping scandal play. Then cut to a rest day.

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Couldn't agree more. Its one heck of a race. really exciting. I do think you're right and LA didn't have the legs.