ajwray

If by deaf, I assum you mean fans wanting AC to grow up and understand what it is to be a good teamate in good and tough times...

AC was awesome and truly the best rider in this tour. I actually applauded his moves to help LA today but that still does not negate his one man act that could have helped a 1,2,3 and not just a 1,3. I think everybody would have liked to have seen how much he could have won by today as he was holding back. Nobody is expecting him to sacrifice himself, just to show what it is to be a teamate on more than one stage.

Okay LA haters...here's your chance

ajwray

Could have fooled me....

ajwray

"Own purposes"..like increased ratings, increased sales of bike supplies, increased exposure to the sport and sponsors, continued live HD coverage of a sport most Americans wouldn't watch...

Seems like some people can't see the forest through their hate

Green Jager

Contador is a low class individual period. If given the chance and he tried he would throw Lance under the bus, he showed that earlier this week. Better ratings etc. sure but when and if they get caught and hopefully there dopping will be caught it may kill the sport in the US. Be carful what you wish for you may get it.

Paco97

If Contador was a class act, then Astana would probably have taken the podium this year, but Contador was about himself and not the team and so they only take 1 & 3

julian

What??? Clue me in on what I missed?

botto 

what a 99er.

julian

Rolls eyes.

botto 

correct.

julian

I don't think Kloden takes third.

daxr

Armstrong raced to win. I don't ever recall a situation where he cared one way or another if he had another teammate on the podium with him. Same goes for Pantani, Ullrich, Indurain, Riis, Merckx...

erader

i don't have the time or the patience. i've got to head to monterey shortly. i'm shooting a wedding for our friend and it's my wife's birthday. she's two years older than lance .... i may have to trade her in for a younger model .

ed rader

julian

So when did he have a teammate close to the podium that he screwed over? Please enlighten me.

daxr

If anything, today showed what a PITA it is to try to get a teammate on the podium who doesn't have the legs for it.

erader

you forgot "love of the sport" and "cancer awareness" .

ed rader

daxr

Its not that he screwed anyone over, just that it doesn't work that way. The team rides for the leader, the leader's only job is to win. The rest of the guys have some slack to do well if they have anything left, but its upside-down to think that's the leader's responsibility.

erader

who did contador "screw over"? champions don't ride for their domestiques and lance in the day would have never tolerated the situation he created on astana this year .... and that is a huge understatement.

ed rader

erader

i call it loser logic. that's how you lose races.

ed rader

daxr

Exactly...like the whole Kloden thing on Verbier. Kloden didn't have the legs to follow, but he was only there to begin with to help Contador if he could. In that case he couldn't, so his getting dropped should have been a non-issue to the leader.

The repetitive commentary on it by guys who should know better has been a little ridiculous.

serpico7

+1

Even from the first attack by Andy, it was clear that Frank didn't have the legs to drop Armstrong. Had Contador taken off after the first couple of failed attempts by the Schlecks to drop LA, he'd have taken another stage win, and a prestigious one at that, and LA would still be comfortably on the podium.

I think that if Lance were in Contador's pedals, he'd have gone for the stage win.

pacificaslim

Next year? How about this year? All the talk of Lance and Johan taking over the team with new sponsors they can secure with a 5 minute phone call and the blurring out of the jerseys at the giro is what finally got the sponsors to get that money in to the UCI and get the riders back pay on the way.

redfooj

haters always want to hate. ac is the best, get over it

cjbruin

OK, but why do you think the team's strategy should have been for AC to dominate the race? The best thing for the team is to have one of your guys on top of the podium when the race is over. With Contador comfortably in yellow, Astana would have had an excellent insurance policy if Lance or Andreas was in 2nd. Look at how quickly Jens Voight's race ended...something like that can happen to anyone. If AC crashed out of the tour, he would have contributed to the race being won by another team.

Armstrong definitely supported Contador in this race. On two stages he did not follow attacks so as not to pull other GC contenders back to Contador. Some will argue that he didn't have the ability to follow the attacks but if you watched the race, it was clear that he had not cracked but was simply being a good teammate. Armstrong knew that Contador was the stronger rider and he supported him like he said he would. Basically the problem was that AC didn't agree with JB's plan so he did his own thing. That is not a good teammate.

yespatterns

I'll be honest. I don't like Contador... or should I say I didn't. He rode as a team player today and went way up on my list in terms of growth and respectability. No matter what team he's on next year, being a good team player this year shows he's realizing what he needs to do to progress as a champion. Hats off to Andy and Lance as well, because those three were riding an exceptional race in today's stage. I thought it was a n entertaining stage, and while most (erader comes to mind---get tivo and sleep in next time if you don't want to see it good or bad but stop being a whining jackass about it) might say it was boring, I thought it showcased the strengths and class of the main contenders. Good tour, though the course could have been better.

julian

Ya I won't badger you anymore. If I pop one more of your blood vessels we will read about you in the morning taking out the whole wedding party. Hopefully you are taking a camera and not a gun!