Originally Posted by
USAZorro
Your response was considerably less than clear. Could take the comment on second-guessing at least two different ways.
Today, we saw what many of us were quite frankly a bit surprised didn't happen sooner. I don't know how this will be viewed years from now, but I suspect it will be remembered as the day it became obvious Lance was no longer at the top of his game. I can imagine him reacting in several different ways. I suppose what he chooses to do next will tell us as much about him as anything he's done up to this point. For the past year, I've thought that Lance was in denial about having a legitimate shot at winning a race like this. For his sake, I hope he can find a way to wind things down and maintain his dignity - possibly even do something to gain partial redemption. It's been one heck of a ride for him, but now, even he has to acknowledge, it's time to move on to whatever is next.
Probably what's made the situation worse was LA making the podium last year. He hung in there and rode well. But his time gains were due Columbia splitting the peloton and the TTT. He never attacked and gained on his own. This gave LA and the legions of fanboys reason to believe he was serious threat to win. Sure it was an amazing effort by him. But in the end, LA was dropped climbs last year. He just had breaks going his way. Breaks are against him this year. No TTT. Now he's falling down the standing like a paralyzed falcon. Last year, he came back and said he would be more than willing to ride for someone else if another rider proved to be stronger. We saw how that turned out. Now, there is no doubt about his chances. Problem with TRS is that there really isn't a GC threat. Levi will ride well, but he's not a serious challenger. Kloden isn't looking great. What do they have left?