Professional Cycling For the Fans - Stage 9 Radio Shack Question

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metabike
07-15-10, 04:51 AM
Question: if Radio Shack is supposed to be one of the top teams in the Tour, how come no one was with Levi on Stage 9? I contrast this with past Tours when Lance would always have a lieutenant shepherding him up climbs as far as they could.

TechKnowGN
07-15-10, 05:01 AM
Obstensibly, Lance was doing everything he could to hang with Basso, and by himself Levi wasnt going to get in any trouble.
rogwilco
07-15-10, 05:22 AM
Well, they weren't strong enough to keep up obviously, if they could have I'm sure Leipheimer would have had some teammates around him.
Why Radioshack is so weak is subject to speculation, none of can really know (bad training? bad doping? too old?) but yeah, it's a very drastic change from Armstrong's previous TdFs.

USAZorro
07-15-10, 07:28 AM
The other teams rode all the support off the wheels of the leaders. That was a very long climb near the end of a stage that had a lot of climbing prior to that, and Navarro simply seems to be a stronger climber than the Radio Shack domestiques.
Laggard
07-15-10, 08:09 AM
I never thought they were all that strong from the get-go. Any team Armstrong is on though will automatically be seen as strong.
kleinboogie
07-15-10, 03:09 PM
Stats don't lie. TRS is 2nd in time and there's a huge gap to Astana in 3rd. In the end they're always alone just as in the past. Nothing to worry about.
guadzilla
07-16-10, 12:07 AM
The other teams rode all the support off the wheels of the leaders. That was a very long climb near the end of a stage that had a lot of climbing prior to that, and Navarro simply seems to be a stronger climber than the Radio Shack leaders

Fixed.
Keith99
07-16-10, 09:25 AM
Stats don't lie. TRS is 2nd in time and there's a huge gap to Astana in 3rd. In the end they're always alone just as in the past. Nothing to worry about.

Oh my God, you are looking at the team race and thinking it indicates team strength! That is a consolation prize. It is something teams that can not get one of the major jerseys go for. Now sometimes a team is just so good they pick it up along the way to yellow, but all and all it is less than a stage win.