MonkeyKnifeFight said:If they were riding as a team and protecting their leader then they would have actually done so. US Postal et al always were near the front with all riders all the time to ensure such did not happen. One has to wonder why the change.
So, how many bike races have you ever watched? When you look at the peloton, do you see groups of nine with the same uniform? Each rider on a team has a role, LA and AC both probably have one or two guys that keep them up front and out of the wind, then there's the Kazak bottle boy and the engine Rast to eat miles if/when they have yellow.
OK, so now in your scenario all nine riders are huddled together and there is a crash?
The scenario you seem to be talking about happens after you get the yellow jersey, then you HAVE to keep all your guys up front. There is no change in tactics, you just don't understand tactics. ;-)
Great race today though. Love Columbia's work. What do you all rate Martin's chances to stay up high in GC? He was my pick to surprise some folks, and I think he's certainly got a strong enough team, if they were to ride for him...