The evening chat show should have taken place outdoors at a table, like usual. Instead, they stood at a tiny round table because it was absolutely throwing it down outside. Towards the end of the show all sorts of electrical things started to go wrong - truly live television.
I thought that there might be some interesting stuff coming when I saw JB standing there in a Livestrong t-shirt, so here's what I've been able to decipher from my scrawled notes.
- tomorrow's first hour will be a nightmare of French escape attempts, but he doesn't think a French rider will win
- he's happy for Nocentini to keep the yellow for another week
- he doesn't expect any shifts in the top till Verbier
- he's made his peace with the VRT (Flemish broadcasting) and will speak to them again tomorrow
- he expects some sort of (unspecified) protest gesture tomorrow, but also that riders will ride without ear-pieces because the UCI today threatened the rebellious DS's that any rider wearing an ear-piece tomorrow would be disqualified and sent home on the spot!
- when asked directly why he was wearing the Livestrong shirt rather than official team-wear, he said, "Maybe I didn't feel like wearing Astana colors today"
- he at first tried to maintain that the atmosphere within the team was perfectly normal, then increasingly dropped hints that it wasn't 100% normal, that there was some tension (especially after Arcalis) but nothing like as tense or strained between AC and LA as the media portray
- Tour radio gives less detailed information than in previous years, JB claims that he only knew about AC's attack 500 meters before the finish, and that the attack was not part of the day's plan
- AC and LA regularly sit together at meals and talk racing
- AC's English is better than people think, though JB always explains more 'intricate' plans or instructions in Spanish too
- he tries as far as possible to stay 'neutral' between AC and LA, though AC understood from day 1 that JB and LA have a special relationship going back many years
- he tries to keep his distance from the daily AC vs. LA issues, as he's in an "uncomfortable position"
- he said that LA understands that he (JB) will always take decisions in the best interest of the team, and that he's convinced that LA will work for AC if the circumstances warrant that
- he wasn't surprised by LA's showing in the tt, he didn't really expect more
- he was very pleasantly surprised by how strong LA is riding uphill and said that nobody knows what he's still capable of in the Alps
- he thinks the biggest danger to an Astana win comes from Schleklet, based on what he has seen on the road
- when asked if he thought Evans or Wiggins were serious threats, he smiled and said, 'no'
- when asked, 'who is your no. 1?', he again smiled ruefully and said, 'that's a difficult question', but went on to say that there was no doubt that AC was the strongest rider on the team
- he said that his job was to make sure that whatever went on between AC and LA in the way of rivalry or petty niggles did not cost Astana the win
- he also thought that only AC could beat AC - "Contador is his own biggest enemy because he rides on instinct" - but that he did not expect this to happen
Phew. Selected other highlights from tonight's strange, but informative program -
Excellent interview with Frank Schleck - he told his brother to 'cool it' twice on the final Arcalis climb when he wanted to attack, by pointing out that he'd be riding against four Astanas - says Andy is very strong - said that LA "is way, way smarter than anyone else in the peloton" and that nobody knows what he might still be capable of, but they're all wondering. Frank is an amusing and witty guy!
AC gave a press conference by himself! JB was off talking to ASO and LA was 'resting'. Practically all questions centered on the AC vs. LA thing. AC at first tried to maintain the 'everything is normal' line, but soon conceded that there had been strains, but that these had been discussed and dealt with internally, and he also reiterated that things were nothing like as 'strained' as the media wants us to believe.
Report ends.
I thought that there might be some interesting stuff coming when I saw JB standing there in a Livestrong t-shirt, so here's what I've been able to decipher from my scrawled notes.
- tomorrow's first hour will be a nightmare of French escape attempts, but he doesn't think a French rider will win
- he's happy for Nocentini to keep the yellow for another week
- he doesn't expect any shifts in the top till Verbier
- he's made his peace with the VRT (Flemish broadcasting) and will speak to them again tomorrow
- he expects some sort of (unspecified) protest gesture tomorrow, but also that riders will ride without ear-pieces because the UCI today threatened the rebellious DS's that any rider wearing an ear-piece tomorrow would be disqualified and sent home on the spot!
- when asked directly why he was wearing the Livestrong shirt rather than official team-wear, he said, "Maybe I didn't feel like wearing Astana colors today"
- he at first tried to maintain that the atmosphere within the team was perfectly normal, then increasingly dropped hints that it wasn't 100% normal, that there was some tension (especially after Arcalis) but nothing like as tense or strained between AC and LA as the media portray
- Tour radio gives less detailed information than in previous years, JB claims that he only knew about AC's attack 500 meters before the finish, and that the attack was not part of the day's plan
- AC and LA regularly sit together at meals and talk racing
- AC's English is better than people think, though JB always explains more 'intricate' plans or instructions in Spanish too
- he tries as far as possible to stay 'neutral' between AC and LA, though AC understood from day 1 that JB and LA have a special relationship going back many years
- he tries to keep his distance from the daily AC vs. LA issues, as he's in an "uncomfortable position"
- he said that LA understands that he (JB) will always take decisions in the best interest of the team, and that he's convinced that LA will work for AC if the circumstances warrant that
- he wasn't surprised by LA's showing in the tt, he didn't really expect more
- he was very pleasantly surprised by how strong LA is riding uphill and said that nobody knows what he's still capable of in the Alps
- he thinks the biggest danger to an Astana win comes from Schleklet, based on what he has seen on the road
- when asked if he thought Evans or Wiggins were serious threats, he smiled and said, 'no'
- when asked, 'who is your no. 1?', he again smiled ruefully and said, 'that's a difficult question', but went on to say that there was no doubt that AC was the strongest rider on the team
- he said that his job was to make sure that whatever went on between AC and LA in the way of rivalry or petty niggles did not cost Astana the win
- he also thought that only AC could beat AC - "Contador is his own biggest enemy because he rides on instinct" - but that he did not expect this to happen
Phew. Selected other highlights from tonight's strange, but informative program -
Excellent interview with Frank Schleck - he told his brother to 'cool it' twice on the final Arcalis climb when he wanted to attack, by pointing out that he'd be riding against four Astanas - says Andy is very strong - said that LA "is way, way smarter than anyone else in the peloton" and that nobody knows what he might still be capable of, but they're all wondering. Frank is an amusing and witty guy!
AC gave a press conference by himself! JB was off talking to ASO and LA was 'resting'. Practically all questions centered on the AC vs. LA thing. AC at first tried to maintain the 'everything is normal' line, but soon conceded that there had been strains, but that these had been discussed and dealt with internally, and he also reiterated that things were nothing like as 'strained' as the media wants us to believe.
Report ends.
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