TDF Discussion - here be spoilers

[arielmoon]

You'd have to follow Schmalz for a while to get all of his in-jokes but, yes, Thor SMASH is a reference to not only the Norse god of thunder but also the comic book character.

And yet another blog that I think nails the Contador situation right on the head: http://unholyrouleur-jim.blogspot.co...-notes-ii.html. Lance was certainly more than a bit cocky in his early days and still makes questionable decisions in his non-cycling life, but I really don't think Contador has anywhere near Lance's smarts on the bike.

Yup, nail on head.

Bruyneel, who is trying to stay cool about Contador's move, is obviously upset that Contador has probably destroyed Astana's (formerly very good) chances for an all-Astana podium in Paris. Because Contador is almost certainly going to win anyhow, and because going away and dragging the Schlecks with him didn't help Contador in the G.C. standings, his move was either stupid or malicious. Either way it shows he isn't a team player, and could not care less about how the team fares.

[pll]

Stupid? I don't think so. Contador would have been stupid indeed if he believed that Armstrong would not try to defeat him in the time trial. And then Contador would been accused of not having the guts to win, lacking panache, etc. On the contrary, I think it was a smart move on his side, within a team that includes a self centered, righteous, shark (aka Armstrong). Why should anyone ask him to be less self centered than Armstrong? He put distance in the GC relative Armstrong and Wiggins, his main threats in the time trial. Did Armstrong pull Kloeden with him at the end of stage 17? No, he went right past him, not even a pat on the shoulder. Suggesting that Armstrong is playing self-less team mate, that is malicious.

Yup, nail on head.

Bruyneel, who is trying to stay cool about Contador's move, is obviously upset that Contador has probably destroyed Astana's (formerly very good) chances for an all-Astana podium in Paris. Because Contador is almost certainly going to win anyhow, and because going away and dragging the Schlecks with him didn't help Contador in the G.C. standings, his move was either stupid or malicious. Either way it shows he isn't a team player, and could not care less about how the team fares.

[Zen]

Yup, nail on head.

Either way it shows he isn't a team player, and could not care less about how the team fares.

What team? Why should he care? This is a (barely)team for one race only. Lance (aka Mr. Burns) and Bruyneel (aka Smithers) are already talking about next year. It's every man for himself at this point.

... if his move had worked, if the Schleck brothers had caved rather than Klöden, he'd have been a team hero.

[Kalidurga]

It's every man for himself at this point.

Which makes for very entertaining drama. Regardless of what anyone thinks of any of the racers individual personalities, it's hard to deny that this has been one of the more interesting elements of this year's Tour.

[papaver]

Contador knows all too well that Bruyneel wants Lance to win. He was singled out from the start. So why should he care? He only has to think about himself. And you could clearly see that Contador signaled Klöden that he was ready to attack and Klöden knotted yes. So what's the problem?

[jobob]

Contador knows all too well that Bruyneel wants Lance to win. He was singled out from the start. So why should he care? He only has to think about himself. And you could clearly see that Contador signaled Klöden that he was ready to attack and Klöden knotted yes. So what's the problem?

Bingo.

The uproar over this has been really entertaining.

And we know damn well that if it were Lance up there with Klöden, and if Lance wanted to "take charge" and "show his superiority", he would have done the same thing, and it would have become another chapter of The Legend That Is LanceTM - remember The Look? If Klöden couldn't have followed, well too bad, Klöden was just a helper, after all.

Well, Klöden would have been just a helper were it Lance, but since it was Contador, and Johan had visions of an All Astana Podium (read: including Lance, of course ), then Contador's attach was suddenly "foolish" since the Schlecks were able to follow and Klöden couldn't. And Klöden suddenly became a "protected" rider. Right.

Such a hoot.

[jobob]

And did anyone else notice on the Versus coverage this morning that Phil and Paul would read off the placement of each of the major contenders as they went through a checkpoint ... er, except for Lance?

I suppose their producers warned them not to say anything that would make Lance look less than, well, awesome. Lance was in 12th place through that first checkpoint, although Phil and Paul made no mention of that little factoid. They also didn't mention at the finish that he was currently in 14th. Wow wasn't this where Lance was supposed to dominate? Obviously the announcers were under orders to not stray from the talking point.

Of course when Frank Schleck passed through that checkpoint a few minutes later, we were even given a countdown of his placement ...

Ah, gotta love Versus.

[Zen]

True to all that but with TV coverage of cycling I'll take what I can get.
While waiting for TT to start this morning they were showing hillbillies shooting bow and arrow at frisbees

[SadieKate]

And did anyone else notice on the Versus coverage this morning that Phil and Paul would read off the placement of each of the major contenders as they went through a checkpoint ... er, except for Lance?

Doesn't Versus have to take the video feed as it comes? I know they have in other races. I know I whizzed through the recording, but don't recall that a video was available for all the time checks.

[Cataboo]

What team? Why should he care? This is a (barely)team for one race only. Lance (aka Mr. Burns) and Bruyneel (aka Smithers) are already talking about next year. It's every man for himself at this point.

Not that I've been following this all along, but based on the hour or so that I saw last night...

Contador was sort of a moron for sprinting off, pulling the Shleks and dropping his own teammate... which would have given him someone to work with, hence why he kept looking over his shoulder for about 10 mins.

Lance might still be trying to win, but he was making sure not to pull the Garmin team members (nebayu and wiggins?) up closer to the Shleks or Contador - which is still team behavior...

Lance definitely seems to have the strategy part of the ride down and probably a better judge of what his teammates are capable of... Contador seems rash... but it's more interesting watching, I think and more like a "race"

[papaver]

Contador was never supported by his team, so why should he bother? Really?

Lance's TT was not so good. Cancellara... oh boy. Looks like Contador will win this stage too.