lukasz

Lance seemed a little disappointed when interviewed after yesterday's stage. He said one thing but he looked down. Yesterday was his last big chance at holding yellow and he of course knew this, IMO. Contador did the right thing, and Lance knows this. He is just personally disappointed, I think. That's really the only story regarding Contador and Armstrong, despite what Lance-tastic Versus coverage may make one think.

Now Cadel Evans, that's like watching a trainwreck. Good to see him attacking but he's not going to get anywhere without a team. He may come off as a dick but I'd like to see him gain a modicum of success.

patentcad

That view is not universally held. Contador will need team mates to win the Tour, he could have thrown Lance a bone yesterday, perhaps his last chance to don Yellow. Alberto's little attack to gain 20 seconds did seem a bit odd under the circumstances. E. Merckx for one said it was a very bush league move. If I were Lance it would have rubbed me the wrong way. It didn't strike me as so bright on Alberto's part. If he's strong enough, he'll emerge regardless. But pissing off Lance wasn't such a good idea, not worth the potential fallout. JB knows this. If he had thought it was time to go, he would have issued that command. He did not. He is correct.

I'll tell you what: I'm completely astonished at how strong Lance looks in the mountains. And he appears to be getting stronger every day. It's a long race weenies. Anything can happen.

That's why they do the race. In the end I do believe they'll come together to support Alberto. But now I can see this developing into an intrasquad duel between Lance and Contador. That would be quite the soap opera. And it will be fun to watch.

FreddyV

I remember him riding alongside Contador. Somehow Contador didn't really seem bothered by the sloping road, but Armstrong actually did seem to have a hard time.

Are we watching a different TdF around here or something?

erader

that's a good one botto. i'm also reminded of the riis/ullrich rivalry .

ed rader

erader

if schleck had taken the initiative he could have caught the draft instead of the headwind. now he sounds like a whiner .

ed rader

erader

the only way that might possibly have the slightest possibility of occuring is if lance were in a position to win when contador cracks.

ed rader

patentcad

You have just illustrated how completely unreliable eyewitness accounts are in trials, since two people can watch the same event and come away with diverging impressions.

However in this case, you are obviously wrong.

patentcad

Well, yeah.

Now, remind us, ed, who are you again? Are you ed rader?

FreddyV

Probably... I remember him 'having a hard time' in the mountains some years ago, just before he slayed Pantani.

Crash716

i didn't think he looked that bad...Contador tore himself apart for 21s...lance is still right there...he's only 2s off his real contender. i would be more worried about wiggins..that guy looked pretty good, he looks anorexic though...he kinda reminds me of the chicken.

oh well...i was rooting for Hincapie today...would be nice to see him get a stage win!

FreddyV

Most of the footage shown on tv was from the front pack, so I haven't seen LA too much. Could have been just one single crappy minute up the mountain for him.

ridethecliche

Maybe he's playing it smart and not riding with his nose in the wind when he can avoid it?

the shark

A comment about AC made sense. Said he was just a bit insecure about his leadership of the team and strength etc., so he did went on the attack. It was not smart tactically but oh well.

My hope is that one climb - maybe Ventoux we see AC vs Lance or whoever else - no hold bars - no rules of cycling but just mano a mano - who can get to the top of the hill first.

UGASkiDawg

Don't worry you will

Skewer

Lance made these comments following Stage 6, but prior to team strategy meeting for Stage 7:

"I know Alberto wants to assert himself in the race. He is ready to go. If he goes and nobody can hang with him, then I will just stay with the other leaders."

Lance's quotes are in the video titled "Armstrong On Scary Day". Fast forward to the 2min 20 sec mark to get the quotes.

https://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/play...hp?cl=14435449

patentcad

Bobke made the observation that Contador opened an initial gap - but never really widened it. Which means had he attacked with 4km to go he might have gotten nailed back. This Tour will be decided in the Alps and on Ventoux. Particularly the latter. Having that stage on the penultimate day is just fantastic. That could be an amazing showdown.

I never expected Lance to be this strong, or that there would be a legitimate debate about who would be the team leader. Fun to watch, that's for sure.

By the way, what Lance says and what he thinks may not coincide. He's far more diplomatic and mature than he was 10 years ago. He has learned how to cope with the media after being in the fishbowl for so long, and I think he's pretty good at it.

RockyMtnMerlin

Best exchange of info on the race that I have seen in a while. Makes nice reading for a change.

Grumpy McTrumpy

linky?

substructure

I think Bob Roll mentioned something about it on VS. Not sure if there is any quote. Maybe.

lotek 

not sure if there is a link to the Merckx quote, but that's what Phil and Paul said in
the pre-race show this morning. Interesting that Axel said that if there is a rift between
Alberto and Lance this could prove to widen it, and it may have gained him 21sec but
he'll need a team to win the tour.
Todays stage was a bit of a yawn excepting the last 4km for the breakaway.

powpow

Kudos to the organizers for having Ventoux so close to the end. That should be awesome if the race is still close.

Some of their other course design decisions make no sense to me. Why they would put the Col du Tourmalet in the middle of a stage with about 60+K left is beyond me.

erader

eddy and lance are friends.

ed rader

rollin

Couldn't agree more. I think the course design has been inspired.

The "not a prologue" 1st stage, the "technical" TT and of course Ventoux. Not sure about having Aspin and Tourmalet mid stage. Can't see and attack heroics being rewarded. Might be a nice way of mixing it up, one thing's for sure, I'll be glued to the screen!

I'm sure I remember a lot more contested descents then we have had in the past 6-7 years.

El Diablo Rojo

Given what Alberto was told to do it was a stupid and he may well pay a very heavy price for it. The one thing about all this that bothers me is, if Lance had freelanced and done exactly what Alberto had done the world would talking about what a great tactician he is and how strong he was and that nobody could respond to his viscous attack. And that would include one E. Merckx. Bottom line AC took some time and put in his pocket. If he were to lose this Tour by 20 seconds it's not like he could get a redo and ask for stage 5 to over again because he had great legs that day.

obie

Exactly.

I think the Spanish & French press will have quite a different view of that attack than the LA fans.

Hummer held up the newspaper this morning with the big headline about AC being "The Boss". Couldn't miss the jab he seemed to be taking at the Phil/Paul/Bob opinions that AC was pushing his luck with the Astana game plan.

Eh.