The Astana Battle..

[Anonymous]

I think he has, inside the team. But think of it this way, he has four guys who have finished on the podium. The longer everyone outside the team thinks there is debate about who will be there this year, the harder it is for them to know who to mark, and the easier a ride Contador will have to get there in the end. I think JB is just making it even easier.

Kloden probably has the class to play traditional team tactics, but I don't think Ashley Olsen's ex boyfriend and his accessory dog are on board. I think the accessory dog may have enough humility to do what is obviously the correct thing for the team, but Whitney doesn't share his stage with anyone.

 

[Anonymous]

I think Lance needs some FRS from over there.

 

[boalio]

If I was the DS I would be worried. If the TdF was one big TTT, then Astana would absolutely kick ***. But I think a good team needs a strong leader and a team that believes their sole job is to deliver that leader to victory. Soldiers that are willing to sacrifice themselves for a bigger goal, so to speak. But I think in Astana, you have half the team just waiting for the other riders to crack so they can become the team leader. They may even resort to sabotaging each other.

An army full of generals is never going to win a war.

 

[Anonymous]

If I was the DS I would be worried. If the TdF was one big TTT, then Astana would absolutely kick ***. But I think a good team needs a strong leader and a team that believes their sole job is to deliver that leader to victory. Soldiers that are willing to sacrifice themselves for a bigger goal, so to speak. But I think in Astana, you have half the team just waiting for the other riders to crack so they can become the team leader.

An army full of generals is never going to win a war.

I would agree if I didn't think Contador came in knowing he would have to shoulder the load by himself and was pretty confident he could. Anyone can have a bad day, but Contador is going to be hard to drop and he knows it. The thing is that he will never have to ride on the front until he wants to regardless of what the others on the team do. He is enough of a leader to ride in 8th position. I am not sure whether Zubeldia or Paulinho is closer to his size, but I'd make one of them ride behind and make sure I never left Armstrong's wheel.

I think Contador is holding all of the cards he needs.

 

[boalio]

I think Contador is holding all of the cards he needs.

I hope so.

 

[Anonymous]

cryptic twitter from JB

johanbruyneel-Someone behaved like a bull in a china shop a few days ago, and now doesn't know how he has to pay for the repairs.

anyone care to work out what hes twittering on about...?

 

[BroDeal]

I think Lance needs some FRS from over there.

LOL.

I mentioned this before. With a lot of the traditional recovery "products" now being detectable, the race could be quite different for those who are used to racing with them. Armstrong may very well need a crate of FRS for the last week.

Older guys do not recover as well. It could play a big part in what happens in the last week.

 

[Anonymous]

cryptic twitter from JB

johanbruyneel-Someone behaved like a bull in a china shop a few days ago, and now doesn't know how he has to pay for the repairs.

anyone care to work out what hes twittering on about...?

Interesting twitter. Could JB be breaking from the herd? I don't think he would write something like that about Mr Armstrong, but if he did, the times they are a' changin'

 

[Parrot23]

Interesting twitter. Could JB be breaking from the herd? I don't think he would write something like that about Mr Armstrong, but if he did, the times they are a' changin'

Wow, will have to check that out.

 

[MonkeyKnifeFight]

I would speculate he is talking about Lance as I cannot imagine Alberto behaving that way. It would seem rather idiotic to post that on Twitter though. I really wonder what game they are playing...

 

[Amsterhammer]

Sounds to me like he's talking about Vino.

 

[BroDeal]

I would speculate he is talking about Lance as I cannot imagine Alberto behaving that way. It would seem rather idiotic to post that on Twitter though. I really wonder what game they are playing...

Twitter has turned half the peloton into blittering idiots who tweet their every thought before thinking about the consequences.

My guess is that Contador tried to lay down the law and it did not go down too well. Leech and Armstrong are now talking about how they will not ride for Contador. The TTT should be very interesting.

 

[Parrot23]

Sounds to me like he's talking about Vino.

I thought so too at first, but this post is just after the TT.

 

[pmcg76]

If Astana beat Saxo Bank by the necessary time in the TTT, then Contador will more than likely be in yellow, so there is only one rider they should be riding for unless he unexpectedly cracks. Despite what people think, if Contador is in yellow next Saturday I think the Tour will be over already.

I just dont get how Menchov can go from dominating the Giro TT to todays rubbish performance. Sastres performance wasnt so bad.

I agree that Bruyneel was probably twittering about Vino.

 

[Anonymous]

LOL.

I mentioned this before. With a lot of the traditional recovery "products" now being detectable, the race could be quite different for those who are used to racing with them. Armstrong may very well need a crate of FRS for the last week.

Older guys do not recover as well. It could play a big part in what happens in the last week.

Hmmm... how can it be... I agree with you...

We shall see how he recovers. Doing the Giro and Tour is no easy feat. Today may be a sign he's not as strong as he thought, but really, he didn't lose that much considering his twitchy decent. Cancellara had a incredible decent, entry speed, line and exit acceleration he nailed it.

 

[BroDeal]

I agree that Bruyneel was probably twittering about Vino.

I am not sure how it could be about Vino. The Kazakhs seem willing to toss Bruyneel and his posse overboard. There would not be much in the way of consequences to deal with since everyone who could cause problems will be gone.

 

[Anonymous]

cryptic twitter from JB

johanbruyneel-Someone behaved like a bull in a china shop a few days ago, and now doesn't know how he has to pay for the repairs.

anyone care to work out what hes twittering on about...?

He's obviously talking about Vino.

 

[Anonymous]

He's obviously talking about Vino.

first thing that i thought that it was about lance, but then that made no sense... then it crossed my mind, menchov saying that he could win the tour and then pretty much chocked today, but then i dont think JB has a gripe on menchov..
Then i came to vino, it could be a you can have astana, but youre gonna have to buy your own cars, support staff etc etc..

but now im not so sure.. some part of me thinks, for all his talk, contador only pulled out 20 seconds over kloden, levi and lance.. But JB surely cant be aiming it at him...

must be vino i guess.. :/ weird one.. hope the next three weeks carries on like this..

 

[Robert Merivel]

Two teams. JB has such talent we may see him try out dividing his team down the middle. Not to create division in the team, but because he can. Once the TTT is over and Astana is clearly in the lead, Maybe 1st , 2nd, 3rd and 4th overall, with 22 seconds dividing them, we may see some unconventional tactics coming out. Maybe Lance and Levi and Klodden taking turns off the front, during climbing stages. Contador hanging back. Then, Contador making a move towards the summit. Who knows. The other five riders will probably work with/for AC, but maybe one of the others if the need arises.

I would be very surprised during the first week, even though AC appears to be in the driver seat, seeing all 8 riders riding support for him. Even though somewhat premature, we might see 2 Astana's on the podium in Paris, if not three. That could be their ultimate plan/goal as the race unfolds. No team has ever done that to my recollection, three that is. I think Lance would put his ego on the back burners if he knew he could at least get on the podium while supporting AC "at times." If AC extended his lead, he might support another, too.

Still hope to see Lance getting stronger as the race matures. Anyone could have a bad day and turn things upside down.

JB's going to have to be at his best to keep the team energy levels balanced.

 

[SpeedWay]

He's obviously talking about Vino.

It's apparently not too obvious if your a hater. In one post JB and LA are attached at the hip trying to undermine AC's leadership. A few posts later JB's surely talking sh$t about LA. The haters are as predictable as the carpet burns on their knees.

 

[Anonymous]

first thing that i thought that it was about lance, but then that made no sense... then it crossed my mind, menchov saying that he could win the tour and then pretty much chocked today, but then i dont think JB has a gripe on menchov..
Then i came to vino, it could be a you can have astana, but youre gonna have to buy your own cars, support staff etc etc..

but now im not so sure.. some part of me thinks, for all his talk, contador only pulled out 20 seconds over kloden, levi and lance.. But JB surely cant be aiming it at him...

must be vino i guess.. :/ weird one.. hope the next three weeks carries on like this..

yea, the reference to a few days ago is right timing and paying to fix what he broke as in he's the one that broke the 07 version of astana.

people think Lance has an ego? sheesh.. vino takes the cake.

 

[Ferminal]

Kloden is the wildcard.

 

[L29205]

I think it will be an interesting issue through the tour. I also think that the pecking order will simply come down to who the riders think is most likely to be able to pay their paycheck at the end of the day.

 

[Anonymous]

The reality is that Lance will likely show no class and string this thing out. He finished 10th in the race of truth, and the truth is that his time for winning is in the past. He said that when it became clear who was the leader, if it wasn't him, he would support that person. I guess that time for him will be when Contador is standing on the top step in 3 weks. $100 says the classless wonder won't attend the final team party and claim he wants to get home to his kids.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........

 

[Clemson Cycling]

I think it will be an interesting issue through the tour. I also think that the pecking order will simply come down to who the riders think is most likely to be able to pay their paycheck at the end of the day.

I guess they will all be working for Muravyev then. Gotta keep those Kazahs happy