I'm new to this as well but it seems to me that there is no one in the RS team that can ride with Lance in any of the stages so far. So far with only a few exceptions, he is riding all alone, meaning no RS team members are even close to him except for one or two and then only for a short while (Levi and the guy that rode with him after 3 crash involvments yesterday). I saw the look on his face early last week as he hooked onto AC's wheel like a magnet. The look on AC's face as they climbed said it all. He could not shake him. Lance had the look of confidence and AC the look of shock. Things happen in racing that are often out of anyones control like L flatting with no team member in sight or even close (all were behind him by over 2 minutes) and crashes that break concentration. If this had happened earlier in his career would the nay sayers say he was a flash in the pan. If he were 25 and had the same thing happen as have occurred this tdf, the results would most likely be the same. All I'm saying is none of the riders that were involved or stopped by the same crashes as he was are anywhere near in contention. Just sayin................