Funny thing is, the team is paid to do this. They will bleed him dry until there is no life left to suck out of it. Then they leave.
Lance/Livestrong without money is nothing. Just a memory.
What is amazing is the number of medals over the last 10 years...for Valverde. Close many times. He should have had Hamilton. Astarloa was such a non-WC.
After my third year at this race, it is never won by someone expected. I think the course is hard, very hard (average speed 36kmh?).
I watched this year from the climb at Polytechnique, by the feed zone. It was a such a cool vibe.
They will have no problem deciding who is the captain of that team. But the team is strong, I would not discount them if they do not have a lot of superstars. They only need one!