What a disastrous day for Astana. Whatever strategy they had, backfired. And for all of Levi's talk about how he would just as soon finish 10th in Rome than 2nd, he showed zero aggression, and made zero attacks. I'm guessing their strategy, if you could call it that, was to send Popo up the road to get riders to chase, then exhaust everyone and have Levi ride them off his wheel. Something he's pretty much never done on his career on this big of a stage. The strategy also would have made more sense if he didn't ride simply like he was trying to win the stage. And it would have sent more fear had Astana sent Lance instead of Popo. And Lance's pull was at the exact wrong time, basically helping other riders put hurt into Levi, while chasing Popo down. WTF? The flat had almost nothing to do with Levi's faltering. He just doesn't have it, and whatever strategy they had, completely failed.
Also now looks like riding the Gila against a group of regionals, instead of racing Romandie against the pros, was a big mistake.
Mellow Velo said:
Have to say Armstrong looked ominous, today.
Domestique for Contador? never an option.
I agree with that. We knew all along the Tour would be his focus, and Astana his team. This just cemented that. Though I don't think he'll win the Tour, I don't think he has it in him to climb that long or fast. But the team will mostly be at his disposal. Contador will mostly be on his own.
jackhammer111 said:
am i really the only one that thinks this guy is a tiresome fool?
I didn't want to enter this fray, but since you asked, I think the answer to your question is "yes". You both need to let it go, move on, and just stick to the conversations at hand. Just MO.