found this translation of El Pais article on another forum
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/uomo/solo/comando/elpepidep/20090727elpepidep_2/Tes
“One Man Alone at the Command”
1. Abanicos en la Camarga
"The tactic for not getting the yellow too early was so as not to burn up the team," Bruyneel said.
"If I would've had gotten the yellow, I wouldn't have had to reliquinsh it. I would've defended it," Armstrong said.
Acquiring the yellow jersey in the first week was a priority in Lance's strategy that was happening to paralyze any initiative that Contador might have had to establish his own hierarchy in the team.
After realizing his (Lance’s) limits and the talent of Contador at the time trial in Monaco (22 seconds in favor of the Spaniard’s) the Texan found his opportunity on a roundabout and in a change of the wind on the Camarga (the place this happened) which is open to the Mediterranean.
“I was just behind Alberto at that moment,” said Rojas, the Murcian sprinter from Caisse d’Epargne. “He was on Paulinho’s wheel who in turn was behind Zubeldia. Seeing that, I didn’t worry when I saw that Paulinho moved to the side, and Alberto got separated. I thought that the ones who were in front were not too far and that with a sprint, we could have caught them but as soon as we rounded the curve, I saw that we were really far away, that they had discarded Alberto.”
After the circle of his friends from Columbia, and in spite that in the front group was the leader Cancellara, Armstrong made Zubeldia and Popovich work on the front with Alberto in the back. The difference at the finish line was more than the 41 seconds that allowed Armstrong to recover for the leadership in the team. This gave the Texan the reason to pound Contador in his twitter with the same style that he used during Paris-Nice criticizing Contador’s lack of intelligence, tactics, and lack of respect for “The Boss”.
“A winner of seven Tours know how things are going,” Armstrong reminded Contador two days after the team time trial in which Astana destroyed the Tour in which the Texan ended up fractions of a second from the yellow. An example of a punishment, they left him at the back of the peloton, being beaten up by the wind from the coast on the way to Perpignon without any teammates, not even his loyal Paulinho with him. “I felt sorry to see the way they were treating him,” said the Belgian Champion, Tom Boonen. “They were trying to break him.” But Contador, a “hard-head”, in Armstrong’s own word, had some ideas of his own as he demonstrated in Arcalis.
2. The frustration of Arcalis
Contador, as concentrated as he was in controlling his tongue in order not to get into the provocations of Armstrong, he bit his legs more than what he intended on the first mountain in Andorra where he was planning to attack with 5 km left in order to catch up with the yellow jersey contrary to Bruyneel’s wishes because Bruyneel didn’t want to show Armstrong’s strength too soon. Contador had doubts – the wind was blowing too much from the front which put a brake in the attacks that they were hoping to come from Evans, Sastre, and the Schleck brothers, the losers of the time trial. He didn’t want to be the first to attack, it would’ve looked too ugly. Finally, Evans made a move with only 2 km remaining when the one from Pinto made a move. Little space to catch up to the leader – he ended up 6 seconds from Nocentini and two seconds ahead of Armstrong. “The next day in Arcalis, was psychologically the worst of this Tour,” Contador finally admitted responding to the criticisms from the duo Bruyneel-Armstrong. “I always obey the instructions from the team,” repeated Armstrong. “I have won 7 Tours.” From that moment on, he stopped considering the Spaniard a member of the team, acting as if he, Contador, simply didn’t exist. Contador was left without defense; if at least he would’ve attacked from far away and conquered the leadership…After that, he found refuge more in his little group of support: his mechanic, his masseuse, Paulinho, his brother-manager-comforter, and his press agent. While membersof Armstrong’s side on the team didn’t hold back in showing their sentiments, the rest of the members, the independent guys, impartial ones, the ones that thought of only the good of the team, they found themselves in a balancing act. They couldn’t show any signs of happiness or unhappiness for the actions of one or the other so it wouldn’t be misinterpreted because the pride of the champions are very susceptible; also, they had to calculate the hours that they would wear the different team jerseys: the blue Astana, the black Trek….All in order not to throw more fuel on the fire since the fire couldn’t be extinguished.
3. En ingels, no
From the beginning, Contador decided to offer his press releases in Spanish with translations in French. The English fell outside of his capabilities. Many people understood that as a territorial demarcation like a reply to the power of Armstrong in the English-speaking press. Bruyneel always thought that it was better for him to express himself in his native tongue even though he recognized that “Contador speaks English better than what people think.” The truth is that this decision hid a message to Armstrong in his particular war of nerves. Many in the media were surprised with the absence of the manager Bruyneel in the press room with Contador. Bruyneel, his director, only showed up at the first press conference in Monaco. Later he, Bruyneel, chose to withdraw from sight: “If not all the questions come to me and it’s not about taking away the limelight from the protagonist.”
For others, it looked more that Bruyneel wanted to isolate himself from Contador. The truth is each one of them has his own agenda of communication. It happened the third week, “the week of Contador’s glory”, was tainted with Armstrong’s news: the criticisms in twitter, interviews with a few journalists, and finally the announcement of his new sponsor. Beaten on the road, Armstrong turned to the battle of the images. Always in English.
continues below....
Why are you even posting here? You don't know jack about cycling and it's painfully transparent to everyone here with half a clue. Do you enjoy looking like an idiot or do you smoke crack before you start typing so you can blow smoke up your own as$?
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