Originally Posted by
OrionKhan
LA came in demanding respect. Expecting to be in charge. This wasn't a team in disarray before he got there. Quite the contrary. It was a very strong team with the best grand tour rider in the world on it. He came in and wanted to take charge. He interjected himself into a team that had no problems, that had a leader, that was winning, that was the best in the sport. Then LA got upset when AC didn't back down. LA very presence on the team was disrespectful of AC. Especially after it became clear that it wasn't just about being a good teammate, but about winning.
And now he's just starting the think maybe he could have taken a different approach?
True. He should have said up front when joining Astana that AC was the best, but he clearly wasn't convinced of AC's abilities til halfway through the tour. It probably boiled down to this: LA figured AC won the 2007 Tour by fluke.