Had some time to think about this...

OK, so pretend I'm Ross Brau... er... Johan Bruneeyl. I want to put together a sure-fire TdF winning team. And the cornerstone of that team is Michael Shu... er... Lance Armstrong. Lance's team. Lance is the guy I want to win.

But - as was pointed out - if I can get Super Domestiques, guys who don't just break wind (heh) and shuttle bottles, but guys capable of putting some hurt into the other teams, the team chances go way up. I need a team of guys who might be legit GC contenders in their own right, guys like Reubens Bar... er... Floyd Landis. Strong guys. Winning guys.

Problem - that's a lot of Type A personalities in one place, and all my "domestiques" will secretly be thinking of themselves as possible winners. I need to nip that off, because I need my Super Domestiques to stay on-plan, hurting the other teams, not each other and ESPECIALLY not Lance. How do I solve this problem?

Well... maybe I provide a series of financial incentives. Maybe I make it worth their while to do what they are told; perhaps even more lucritive than if they won themselves. Maybe these are tied to performances on individual stages, maybe it's just a lump sum if Lance win the GC - whatever. No matter how it is actually structured, there is a major pay incentive to play ball and stick to the plan.

Now, pretend that I'm Floyd (or whoever) I'm on the hook to put down a pretty solid performance. There are incentives for me to do so - and maybe even penalties if I fail. I'm surrounded by top-flite riders, and maybe I'm doubting my ability to keep my end up. Or maybe I see it as insurence. Or maybe some of my fellow Super Domestiques see me as a weak link, and lean on me... and the result is that I go looking for a little chemical help. And all without the knowledge of either the team director or Lance. Or maybe with the tacit, but not explicit, knowledge of team management (plausible deniability again)

Oh yeah, tons of speculation here. But this is a plausible scenario in which you have one or more domestiques doping on their own because there is a plausible incentive to do so - and a clean (and ignorant) Lance.

DG