Originally Posted by europa

I can't believe you lot are praising Armstrong. For what? Being lucky enough to be in front of Contador when he missed the wheel and caused the break! That's all. He got lucky, then sat in the bunch did nothing until the end. Sure, he had to ride hard to do it but so did 29 other riders, many of whom worked a bloody sight harder than Armstrong. He's in third not because he improved anything but because he got lucky and didn't lose anything. The question is, was he arrogant enough to assume 'leadership' credentials and order his team mates to help the breakaway succeed or was he too weak to be able to help, there were quite a few in that bunch where were flat out just keeping up - to claim any credit out of that stage, he needed to be seen doing some work which he didn't.

I'm not writing Armstrong off - having that sort of luck and having the skill to make the most of it is an essential part of winning the TdF and he's certainly given himself a good base from which to put in a bid for the tour, but please, don't go lauding the bloke for a lucky break. Talk instead about the massive effort put in by Colombia (sp?), they are the heros in this stage.

Richard