- Mar 16, 2009
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Now to the part everyone wants to hear. A lot has been written and said about the war between Lance and Alberto. I always knew that the race would decide who would be the leader of the team. That Contador finally was the strongest is not even a surprise. From the beginning of the season he made it clear that the Tour was his main goal. From the start in Monaco, he showed his ambitions. I know that some people thought that since I have a special relationship with Lance, that I would make decisions that influenced the race for Lance, however this is the contrary. My main concern was winning the Tour de France - whether it be with Alberto, Lance, Levi or Andreas.
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I normally don't talk about private discussions I have with riders or staff, but in the train from Avignon to Paris, I spoke with Alberto. He told me that he appreciated the way the race was directed from the team car. I also had many discussions with Lance during the Tour. He recognized that Alberto was better and agreed that we should try to go for a stage win and take the yellow jersey with Alberto in the stage to Verbier.
For me it is logical that Alberto does not want to share the leadership in the team and that he will not be teammates with Lance. When I first discussed the plans with Lance for his comeback, Lance told me that he would understand if I chose Contador over him. "With Contador you are ‘good’ for five, six years." Lance’s comeback could offer me maybe only one interesting year. Immediately I answered that I found his comeback after four years of inactivity so unique and intriguing on so many levels that I wanted to be part of it.
http://www.johanbruyneel.com/blog.html
.
I normally don't talk about private discussions I have with riders or staff, but in the train from Avignon to Paris, I spoke with Alberto. He told me that he appreciated the way the race was directed from the team car. I also had many discussions with Lance during the Tour. He recognized that Alberto was better and agreed that we should try to go for a stage win and take the yellow jersey with Alberto in the stage to Verbier.
For me it is logical that Alberto does not want to share the leadership in the team and that he will not be teammates with Lance. When I first discussed the plans with Lance for his comeback, Lance told me that he would understand if I chose Contador over him. "With Contador you are ‘good’ for five, six years." Lance’s comeback could offer me maybe only one interesting year. Immediately I answered that I found his comeback after four years of inactivity so unique and intriguing on so many levels that I wanted to be part of it.
http://www.johanbruyneel.com/blog.html