Alberto Contador made a point to Lance Armstrong and the rest of the Astana team with a thrilling break at the end of the seventh stage of the Tour de France on Friday.
it wasn’t quite enough to give him the yellow jersey — that honour went to Italy’s Rinaldo Nocentini – but it took him up to second place, three seconds ahead of Armstrong in the General Classification.
Was it enough to show that he deserves to be team leader? Is he now the race favourite? It was certainly a brutal attack and it raised real questions about the American’s ability to compete with Contador in the mountains.
PHOTO: Supporters cheer Astana rider Lance Armstrong of the U.S. (C) and his team mate Alberto Contador of Spain (L) during the sixth stage of the 96th Tour de France cycling race between Gerona and Barcelona, July 9, 2009. REUTERS/Charles Platiau
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Thought there was only one team leader and that was Johan Bruyneel.. and he is there to get the overall best results for the entire team- TEAM not just one rider. Contador may have taken points and made the headlines but he cost himself dearly. He showboated at the cost of Astana- and when he looks around in a time of need, and there will be one- it will be interesting to see the response. Leadership is not an assigned position- many components to include respect. Bruyneel has it and I think Armstrong has it but maybe Contador is too young, inexperienced and selfish to assume it.. at least not yet.
- Posted by BrisanceContador did prove one thing: he doesen’t care about the team. And according to all reports, the team got that message loud and clear and are now flocking to the guy who executed the team plan to perfection. The thought that lance could not have responed is rediculous. If he jumped on Contadors wheel, than any other GC threat could have jumped on his, which could have ended in disaster. Right after the Contador attack, wiggins attacked, and Lance nailed it down immediately, proving his strength. Contador sucker punched Lance for only 2 seconds… Yet another stupid mistake by a rookie rider. Lets also not forget that the Contador 2007 victory was by default. 2007 was a joke and a fluke. Contador is strong, but has no tactical awareness, and now no team that will support him. Contador=spanish armada, a paper tiger.
- Posted by ChrisAs Charlie Mottet said, going for the yellow jersey by Contador at this point would be hari kari. Contador was lucky he just missed the yellow. Defending the yellow at this point would put the team in strategic bind.
Contador has some real power in his legs and climbs well. It will be interesting to see how Contador’s legs compete with Lance’s and Levi’s experience. Lance is the MASTER with head games. He also has some loyal buddies on other teams who would be more likely to help Lance than Contador (if their team isn’t in position). He’s in it to win.
- Posted by Chuck StaplesContador will NOT be riding for a Bruyneel-led team next year. He learned of Lance\’s return through the press rather than from Bruyneel and the team is stacked with riders loyal to Lance, a decision made by Bruyneel. Why shouldn\’t he look out for his own interests? He\’s without question the strongest rider on Astana as demonstrated in the 1st stage time trial and in the first mountain stage. Lance is not the \”team\” player he portrays himself to be. He chose to position himself so as to take advantage of the split generated by Columbia-HTC in stage 3 without sharing his insight with Contador, Leipheimer, or Kloden who are his teammates. Even without the full support of Astana, Contador will likely find support from other Spanish riders, like Sastre whose win last year in the TdF was called a joke by Armstrong. Sastre’s Spanish team would gladly help Conatador win the tour this year if it might pursuade him to join their team after he leaves Astana. He’s the real deal and will likely dominate the tour for the next several years the way Lance did before he retired.
- Posted by Old schoolContador attacked the only member of the bunch who was obliged not to chase him. Hardly impressive.
- Posted by Paul and Becky StewartD.Bell said: \”It is my understanding that when Lance came out of retirement, he was joining a team that “already” had a team leader.\”
Contador would never be a \”team leader\” for Bruyneel if Lance kept on riding and not retired - Lance was bored and retired as there was no competition. Coming back 4 years later finally gives him a challenge.
As for suggesting Armstrong didn\’t want competition, that\’s nonsense. Levi and Kloden are great riders but they aren\’t in Lance\’s class. If Lance had never retired, Contador would be on a second string team with a second string team manager and would never had the opportunity of winning if Lance was still riding - Contador would be just one more in a long line of poseurs.
Today\’s attack was an attack on the team, (Lance and Bruyneel in particular), not the rest of the peloton (nobody else has a chance to win - not Evans, not Schleck, not Sastre).
Bruyneel, Lance et al are professionals and will keep peace in front of the cameras, but they\’ll be furious at the little prick\’s attempt to steal the yellow jersey today - it was total disrespect for the team - just another lame stunt like the crap effort Contador put in the TTT.
- Posted by TdF