While I agree that you have a point, my personal opinion is that Gerrans tactics that day lacked honor. Now, I've BEEN in races where I saw the same kind of behavior from other riders, so I KNOW it is done. No matter, I still think it lacked honor. If Gerrans had pulled through, not even a fair amount, but once or twice for show, I believe he would have lost. He was that knackered. He had enough in his legs for that one last effort, not more. Personally, my feeling is that when one guy makes such an ending possible, honor means I should respect that effort, and I don't think Gerrans showed any respect for Canc.
That's my opinion. That won't change because I'm told "thats the way cycling is". Sure, and sometimes that IS the way cycling is. But a lot of times it is not the way it is. So now Gerrans is on my poop-list, and he would have to do something big for me to see him as wearing a white hat.
Ooops - sorry - this is supposed to be about JR. Well, I have yet to see Rodriguez do anything nearly as dishonorable as Gerrans' stunt. Amof, seems to me JR is usually a driver of events, not a follower. Sometimes he has ridden defensively, but he follows up when he can with a good attack. I like that.
Oh, and one other thing, is my memory bad, but didn't Nibali actually pull through once or twice?