2010 Tour de France: Stage 14, Revel - Ax-3 Domaines, 184.5 km

[Ted B]

.. you want to tell me that if he had the legs he wouldn't be ridding harder..

The point is even if he has the legs (he's shown good form this year through the TdF Prologue), he doesn't have the heart, and I mean that in the figurative sense. He's no longer hungry for anything, now that he's crashed his way out of contention. There is no carrot dangling on the other side of suffering. He has to stick this out to keep the sponsors happy, and he's looking forward to being on a beach somewhere (in his own words). There's just no incentive to endure that type of physical and mental torment at this point. He could just pack it in like Lemond did in '94, but at least he's going to finish the race, even if he's decided to actually enjoy it for once.

Perhaps Schleck has improved his time trial and everyone is in for a big surprise. That would explain a lot.

I've wondered the same thing, and it would be very interesting, but I am not quite ready to believe that Schleck has found a way to keep up with Contador in the TT.