Originally Posted by alanbikehouston
W The bottom line: it appears that were only two days prior to Stage 15 where Lance was clearly stronger than Basso.
right, the race against the clock and the only day in the whole Tour that Lance actually went on the attack. LA has been riding defensively ever since, not because he can't attack, but because it doesn't make any sense to.
I like Basso, but look at what's happening. He and Ullrich have attacked, Lance responds and then ends up taking pulls to help his "friends" get time over Raz who is challenging them for those last two podium spots. The only time they got any kind of gap on LA was when Basso, Vino and Ullrich were all taking turns attacking. Lance let them get away and get into a group and then bridged the gap like they were sitting still leaving everyone else behind him. This neutralized the constant attacks and then put them all into a mano a mano battle to the top.
Maybe Basso really is equally as strong in the mountains, but we'll never know for sure because Lance was never in a position where he needed to flex his muscle. No way to know if he had more to give or not.