Originally Posted by merlinextraligh
Regardless of how good Armstrong was, Bruyneel did a hell of a job managing a team, and holding it together for 7 years. there are so many things that can go wrong, and cost you the TDF, 7 in a row is truely amazing, and nobody, Merckx and Armstrong included, can pull that off without strong team orginization. So Bruyneel can't make a silk purse out of sow's ear, he was still pretty damn good at maximizing what he had with Armstrong. If you think back to 2003, without exactly the right tactics, 7 in a row wouldn't have happened.
Absolutely!
People tend to forget the kind of value managers like Bruyneel and Riis bring to the table. I have a lot of respect for these guys, especially given their own accomplishments. Anyone remember Bruyneel going off the side of the road on a descent a long time ago. All he could think of as he emerged from the bushes was getting back on the bike. They have a calming effect on the team, during times of distress, often during better times also urging their riders not to just attack without a plan. You can have lots of managers, but these 'been there, done that' guys are the real thing.