Radioshack / Armstrong find success by clinching the team classification.

[SilentAssassin]

It's been a tough TDF for "The Shack" with the streak of bad luck that Lance had in the tour. But what they have shown is that they have the best team overall, which is why they clinched the TDF team classification. Not only that, but Lance gets to retire on a high note on the team podium.

 

[Oldman]

It's been a tough TDF for "The Shack" with the streak of bad luck that Lance had in the tour. But what they have shown is that they have the best team overall, which is why they clinched the TDF team classification. Not only that, but Lance gets to retire on a high note on the team podium.

yes and we're all quite happy they hit their mark. Thanks, Chris Horner for being the only team rider worth the paycheck.

 

[crispy]

Maybe that'll be their line but with Horner as their highest placed GC guy you know something went seriously wrong.

 

[this_is_edie]

It's been a tough TDF for "The Shack" with the streak of bad luck that Lance had in the tour. But what they have shown is that they have the best team overall, which is why they clinched the TDF team classification. Not only that, but Lance gets to retire on a high note on the team podium.

ha ha ha

oh were you serious?

 

[SilentAssassin]

yes and we're all quite happy they hit their mark. Thanks, Chris Horner for being the only team rider worth the paycheck.

Paulinho did get Stage 10. There were a lot of teams that couldn't even get a stage win...

I don't think it's easy winning the team classification...I guess it is if you are on this forum...

And 23rd can't be that bad considering all that went wrong for Lance in the tour. If he didn't crash surely he could of gotten top 10...

 

[ruamruam]

The team competition is way more sought after than the individual.

When the history of the 2010 Tour is written who will remember Contador or Schleck? Everyone will remember that Radioshack beat Caisse d'Epargne in the team comp. Bruyneel is a tactical genius.

 

[Train in Spain]

It's a moot point, the only teams that take any glory from winning this prize are the ones who had no chance of winning anything else. The Shack would sell their grannies if they could have secured one of the jerseys instead of the "Best Team".

This prize rewards the team who have been consistently ok without being great . Teams that worked their socks off to get their riders on the podium or in a jersey are too burnt out and too strategically involved too worry about getting three riders over the line. Rabobank, Saxo Bank, Astana, Euskatel, Lotto etc. don't give a monkeys about this title, it carrys no kudos ... well perhaps it does back in the US of A where they are desperate to believe LA went out a winner.

 

[LoveShack]

The team competition is way more sought after than the individual.

When the history of the 2010 Tour is written who will remember Contador or Schleck? Everyone will remember that Radioshack beat Caisse d'Epargne in the team comp. Bruyneel is a tactical genius.

So true! I can't remember the individual who won the Tour last year or any of the preceding years. All I can remember is that Astana won last year's Team competition. That is the only competition true cycling fans care about.

Were Lance and Johan on Astana last year? If so, Johan was an utter failure as a team tactician until 2009-2010. He finally learned there is no "I" in "Team". Contador's Astana Team is a disgrace and Saxo-Bank should feel humiliated by The Shack's utter dominance.

You can't win the Team competition riding at the front and setting the pace like kamikazis. They have to go back to square one and study more reels on Levi's wheel sucking techniques.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

The team competition is way more sought after than the individual.

When the history of the 2010 Tour is written who will remember Contador or Schleck? Everyone will remember that Radioshack beat Caisse d'Epargne in the team comp. Bruyneel is a tactical genius.

Just a shame that Caisse d'Epargne didn't even really seem to care, they were stagehunting and after the KOM. Plus attempting (successfully, albeit temporarily) to interject themselves into a GC they had no right being part of. It worked at the Giro after all.

Anyway, there are other Shack riders well worth their paycheck. Seba Rosseler and Tiago Machado for two. Machado has almost as many CQ points for the year as Lance and Levi put together, and he isn't even at the Tour.

 

[ruamruam]

So true! I can't remember the individual who won the Tour last year or any of the preceding years. All I can remember is that Astana won last year's Team competition. That is the only competition true cycling fans care about.

Were Lance and Johan on Astana last year? If so, Johan was an utter failure as a team tactician until 2009-2010. He finally learned there is no "I" in "Team". Contador's Astana Team is a disgrace and Saxo-Bank should feel humiliated by The Shack's utter dominance.

You can't win the Team competition riding at the front and setting the pace like kamikazis. They have to go back to square one and study more reels on Levi's wheel sucking techniques.

Out of curiosity who did win the Tour last year, The lesser individual category? Not that it really matters anyway.

Does anyone remember the great team contests from the 50s and 60s?

 

[LoveShack]

Out of curiosity who did win the Tour last year, The lesser individual category? Not that it really matters anyway.

I'm not sure....Hincapie? Maybe do a search on Wikipedia? They seem to keep track of the obscure details.

Does anyone remember the great team contests from the 50s and 60s?

Ahhhhh...yes....memories are flooding back to me now as I tearfully reminisce. Those Team contests in the 50's and 60's were legendary, although brutal. If I recall correctly, individuals were not even allowed to ride for victories until the late 70's. One couldn't even figure out their overall tour time unless they placed in the Top 3 for their team on every stage and this never happened. It was all about the Team Classification in the good old days.

 

[SilentAssassin]

It's a moot point, the only teams that take any glory from winning this prize are the ones who had no chance of winning anything else. The Shack would sell their grannies if they could have secured one of the jerseys instead of the "Best Team".

This prize rewards the team who have been consistently ok without being great . Teams that worked their socks off to get their riders on the podium or in a jersey are too burnt out and too strategically involved too worry about getting three riders over the line. Rabobank, Saxo Bank, Astana, Euskatel, Lotto etc. don't give a monkeys about this title, it carrys no kudos ... well perhaps it does back in the US of A where they are desperate to believe LA went out a winner.

I don't think anyone would argue LA went out a winner especially in the TDF. USA already knows Lance won this race 7X. Anything else he gets is just a bonus at this point. His stated main objective was for his livestrong foundation and they have raised over 200 million correct me if I'm wrong...quite a feat for a good cause, which really should make him a winner in everyone's eyes. Overall Lance's comeback was indeed a success.

 

[El Pistolero]

yes and we're all quite happy they hit their mark. Thanks, Chris Horner for being the only team rider worth the paycheck.

Don't forget Paulinho.

 

[hrotha]

Winning the team GC is nice but the way RadioShack went at it was simply sad.

Hopefully next year without Bruyneel and Armstrong the real talent these riders have (and they do have talent) will be allowed to shine again.

 

[ruamruam]

Winning the team GC is nice but the way RadioShack went at it was simply sad.

Hopefully next year without Bruyneel and Armstrong the real talent these riders have (and they do have talent) will be allowed to shine again.

You really don't get it. Bruyneel is such a good DS he fooled everybody into thinking they were after the individual category, why anyone would go after this is mind boggling. When the crafty devil was all the time going after the team classification. Best DS ever.

 

[Deagol]

there is a very good chance that this is just a troll thread and the original poster is BPC

 

[hrotha]

You really don't get it. Bruyneel is such a good DS he fooled everybody into thinking they were after the individual category, why anyone would go after this is mind boggling. When the crafty devil was all the time going after the team classification. Best DS ever.

Wow, I hadn't looked at it that way. Would you say all those Tours Lance won were just a set-up for this year's team GC? Pretty clever. Other DSs have a lot to learn.

 

[ruamruam]

Wow, I hadn't looked at it that way. Would you say all those Tours Lance won were just a set-up for this year's team GC? Pretty clever. Other DSs have a lot to learn.

I think it is all becoming clear now those seven tours were just trial runs for this great achievement.

to answer your question yes all other DS s have a lot to learn.

 

[LoveShack]

Wow, I hadn't looked at it that way. Would you say all those Tours Lance won were just a set-up for this year's team GC? Pretty clever. Other DSs have a lot to learn.

Lance won the TdF?

Wait a sec...according to Wikipedia, the T-Mobile Team won it from 2004-2007 as well as in 1997 when they were Team Telecom:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_classification

One of the most dominant Team Classification eras in the Modern Times. Remember, they were Team Telekom from 91-03, Team Columbia-High Road in 2008 and now they are Team HTC-Columbia (Team Columbia-HTC in 2009). Only CSC/CSC-Saxo Bank can claim to rival HTC-Columbia (aka Telecom aka T-Mobile) in the Corporate Team Classification results. And the Schlecks scewed things up for them this year!

Ruamruam is right. Johan has humiliated all the other Corporate Sponsers this year. He has flowered into a genius DS this year.

 

[hrotha]

Lance won the TdF?

Yeah, sorry, I'm a bit of a nerd and sometimes I forget not everybody knows that. He won it 3 or 4 times, if memory serves.

 

[LoveShack]

Yeah, sorry, I'm a bit of a nerd and sometimes I forget not everybody knows that. He won it 3 or 4 times, if memory serves.

It's ok. I'm learning a lot on this Forum. I only followed the Team Classification race in the TdF up until discovering this Forum. Thanks for info.

3 or 4 times!!! What kind of PEDS was he using?

For the record, El Pistelero rocks! Wish I could say the same about the rest of the Astana Team in the Team Classification results this year.

 

[RedsharkO]

Teams Classification??? Well mmmmhhh... I don´t know how valuable is to win that classification, since just one team fight for it.

 

[Colm.Murphy]

Paulinho did get Stage 10. There were a lot of teams that couldn't even get a stage win...

I don't think it's easy winning the team classification...I guess it is if you are on this forum...

And 23rd can't be that bad considering all that went wrong for Lance in the tour. If he didn't crash surely he could of gotten top 10...

Beg pardon?

Top 10? Not the Lance I watched the last 2.5 weeks. That lance cannot climb with the front group, and cannot match several of his teammates.

It was not crashing.

 

[ansimi]

I know the team classification isn't highly contested but it should be useful to the sponsors. They all get up on the podium and that's a great image to use in marketing materials.

In Radioshack's case, they'll even have Armstrong in that picture and they should be able to come up with some decent slogans...if they don't then surely our 'Caption This' thread will.

 

[scribe]

Beg pardon?

Top 10? Not the Lance I watched the last 2.5 weeks. That lance cannot climb with the front group, and cannot match several of his teammates.

It was not crashing.

I gotta agree. He is not close to the form he had last year. A very strange drop off to say the least. You might see a slight drop from the previous year or a slight improvement, but this is different. Seems like he took some 'chances' last year that he did not dare to do this year.... I am guessing it is micro or no-no, this year.