Horner always gives a great interview and doesn't fail this time. Check out the nugget below. Gee, I wonder which team he is talking about.
"You can see the differences," he said. "As a rider it is easily perceptible, or as a well-educated fan sitting at home. You get to a climb and everyone has maybe one or two team-mates with him -- that is doable. You can't have a leader's team getting to the final climb with five guys on the front, like every year from three years back all the way back. It is impossible to ride the front with your whole team and get to the final climb with most of your team still on the front -- and be ready to come back and do it day in and day out."
"When I was with Mercury we were the number one team -- the best riders on the best team in the States. We go into a race like Redlands and have seven guys on the road race, the Sunset Loop. I'm finishing there with two team-mates and they have one foot in the grave! I'm riding the front to get them over the last climb so they can help me down the descent.
"That is an 85 mile race, so you are telling me that a 150 mile race over four mountain passes you can finish with 7-8 guys on the last climb? I don't believe it to be possible. Even with Rasmussen's team, and he had a lot of questions about him, he was arriving with only two guys on the front and one would get dropped on the final climb. That's what I mean by a change."
http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2007/interviews/?id=chris_horner_aug07
"You can see the differences," he said. "As a rider it is easily perceptible, or as a well-educated fan sitting at home. You get to a climb and everyone has maybe one or two team-mates with him -- that is doable. You can't have a leader's team getting to the final climb with five guys on the front, like every year from three years back all the way back. It is impossible to ride the front with your whole team and get to the final climb with most of your team still on the front -- and be ready to come back and do it day in and day out."
"When I was with Mercury we were the number one team -- the best riders on the best team in the States. We go into a race like Redlands and have seven guys on the road race, the Sunset Loop. I'm finishing there with two team-mates and they have one foot in the grave! I'm riding the front to get them over the last climb so they can help me down the descent.
"That is an 85 mile race, so you are telling me that a 150 mile race over four mountain passes you can finish with 7-8 guys on the last climb? I don't believe it to be possible. Even with Rasmussen's team, and he had a lot of questions about him, he was arriving with only two guys on the front and one would get dropped on the final climb. That's what I mean by a change."
http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2007/interviews/?id=chris_horner_aug07