Originally Posted by lotek
Just because it's been discussed in other threads, and Periero lost time before doesn't mean he will again.
This is true. It doesn't mean it's certain that Periero will lose significant time in the mountains again. But it does mean that it's extremely likely that Periero will lose time. And all sports tactics like this are calculated on the basis of likelihoods, not certainties.
Originally Posted by lotek
It's funny what that yellow jersey (or pink or gold) can do to a rider or team. How many times have we see a rider in the jersey put in the TT or ride of a lifetime to hold onto it?
I agree that some people work extremely hard - harder than they would otherwise - to hold onto the M.J. But when riders in yellow put in a TT or climb of a lifetime to hold onto it, it's usually because they're trying to hang onto the Yellow for as long as possible, not trying to win the thing. Voekler a couple of years ago was this sort of case - he killed himself to hang onto yellow, and then had nothing left to even hang onto the white jersey. You rarely see the put-in-a-ride-of-a-lifetime-because-of-wearing-yellow effect on riders who are already overall contendors, because their goal is to be wearing yellow when they arrive in Paris - not to hold onto it for an extra day or two.