What races were you watching? He was far and away the strongest rider in all of his Tour wins with the possible exception of the one year when Ullrich ran him somewhat close. Most years he could have won by ridiculous margins if he had wanted. After the first mountain stage where he typically established an unbeatable lead, given his domination of the TT's too, he would ride defensively and just keep with the other protagonists rather than attacking them to build his lead even further.