thehog said:Cancellara does this. It's a show of strength. Andy Schleck does it also. What are you talking about? About to bonk? What every time somebody in a race drops back they're gonna bonk? You know nothing about bike racing.
Repeatedly dropping back and catching back up wastes energy. Doing this too much can lead to a bonk. Not everytime, but it's a sign. I've watched it happen in mountain bike races, crits, amatuer road races, and pro road races. Hell, I've dropped others and had it happen to me.
Maybe AC wasn't anywhere near a bonk when he dropped back, but it's something I noticed, especially since he spent much of the prior climb controlling the pace.
Publicus said:I wouldn't read too much into what happened at Paris-Nice. Astana's squad was not the one they originally expected to field. They were scheduled to bring two more climbers: De la Fuente and Hernandez, both of which were scratched because of knee injuries. Grivko (sp) and Gurov were tipped to start in their place. Grivko did a decent job, but I think the squad would have been better served with another climber (unfortunately the only other climbing domestiques were at Murcia (Jufre, Tiralongo)).
In light of the less than desirable mix of climbers and engines, Astana did pretty well. I think we got a small sample of what they may do if he gets yellow early--though I would expect them to give up the jersey if it's too early. No way they can defend for two weeks. And that's not a slight on Astana. I don't think ANY team can realistically defend for two weeks.
True. I'm sure they wouldn't field that weak a team in the Tour.