Jayarbie said:
4- He didn't use Kloden at Verbier. After Contador attacked, everyone in the front group just kind of looked at each other like "we've been following Astana for the whole race, NOW what are we supposed to do?!?". Andy Schleck was the ONLY one who realized that following the teammates of the guy who just attacked probably was not the best strategy in the world and he alone took off after Contador. The rest just hopped right back on the wheel of Kloden and Armstrong. So what were they supposed to do? They just soft pedalled the tempo and let Contador fly away. Notice that while they were riding tempo after Contador's attack, LOTS of other guys latched back on? They were not riding a fast tempo at all.
5- I agree with you here. This is a tactical mistake that hasn't gotten much press at all. Armstrong was so busy dicking around with Wiggins riding all over the road and even braking (on a climb!) at one point to make Wiggins come through and lead the chase that Schleck just decided to take off. Schleck did NOT want to drag EITHER Armstrong or Wiggins back to Andy, but if the two of them aren't even going to ride, then why not fly the coop? That was a horrible tactical error that ended up being the winning move in the stage (it got Frank to the front group from which he won the stage...). I think Armstrong wanted Wiggins to chase aggressively to bring him back because there was no way that he could chase and drag Wiggins and Schleck back without alienating his whole team and looking like an a-hole.
In the end, Armstrong has been a faithful teammate on the road, although less so on Twitter. It not disputed that Armstrong has a huge ego and doesn't take losing easily, but that's not different that most other elite athletes.
4- I suggest you turn your TV's dial from the imaginary channel to the actual race. Here is the stage at Verbier:
1 Alberto Contador ESP AST 05:03:58
2 Andy Schleck LUX SAX a 00:00:43
3 Vincenzo Nibali ITA LIQ a 00:01:03
4 Frank Schleck LUX SAX a 00:01:06
5 Bradley Wiggins GBR GRM m.t.
6 Carlos Sastre ESP CTT m.t.
7 Cadel Evans AUS SIL a 00:01:26
8 Andréas Klöden GER AST a 00:01:29
9 Lance Armstrong USA AST a 00:01:35
10 Kim Kirchen LUX THR a 00:01:55
11 Roman Kreuziger CZE LIQ a 00:02:06
12 Tony Martin GER THR a 00:02:13
As you can see, not a lot of people were latching at Kloden and Lance. Kloden waited for Lance and then Kloden rode Lance uphill, doing the classic work of a domestique for a guy that showed he was not the strongest on the road. So Lance used Kloden. Again... a fact.
5- Lance hasn't been a faithfull teammate. Faithfull teammates actively work for the team leaders. The only thing Lance has done is respect cycling rules and don't attack Contador (except the etchelon stage, maybe). Not that he could attack AC anyway, so kind of a moot point. If he were a faithfull teammate, he would sacrifice himself by setting tempo uphill and making Schleck brother attacks less likely. But Lance is much more worried about his podium finish. The one he most likely won't get after Ventoux.