Cervelo 2009 better then Astana 2009?

[Bike Boy]

Lets review this shall we - Contador won won GT (the TDF, with 1 TT and a TTT win). Contador than did well at some of the smaller week long stage tours, and nothing else (TOC doesn't count for the same reason that TDU doesn't, they were both meaningless, "turn up for a warm up ride in the sun when europe is cold" races), but nothing in any 1 day races, let alone the classics
You take AC out, and the best Astana have is a single TTT, from the TDF, and a 3rd (which was only due to AC helping LA out half the course instead of looking after himself as he had already won)
Compare that with Cervelo, who got a podium in a GT GC, and green jersey in the TDF, multiple stage wins/podiums in the GTs, and multiple wins/podiums in the shorter stage races and one day classics. They had different races take these wins, all of which are younger than LL/AK/LA and have a brighter future. And all this with a fraction of the budget. CTT for me had the better year all things considered, despite AC winning the TDF (which for LA-fanboys is the only race that matters).
And the fact that it was the first year for Cervelo is even more impressive.

Slightly disagree on three counts.

1. Certainly the ToC is not the biggest race of the year, but in terms of publicity, quality of attendance and the toughness of the route, the race has now earned some respect.

2. Your point may be valid but I can't see why it belongs in this discussion... team succes should be measured in results. How Lance ended up on the podium does not take anything away from the overall succes (from a teams point of view)

3. Not that it bothers me, however due to clarity I'm letting you know, that it's utterly untrue. At least in my case anyway.
To be honest, I consider my self to be much more a fan of the sport rather than a Armstrong fanboy.

How do you rate a smaller stage race like Vuelta Castilla y Leon?
I'm curious to find out.

 

[karlboss]

Teams that can win one day races, GT's, and short stage races...got to love them. Prefer to see more teams like cervelo, pro continental so they can choose more of the races they want too. Look forward to seeing what BMC can do.