Having teammates, allows them to pick up the pace, while you can sit in on wheels. It also lets you play tactics. You can split up the break by having riders attack and counter attack.


Another thing: Lets say Evans goes on the attaack for 3+ mins. If Astana has 3 riders in the chase, they can all work to bringing back the break. So it helps alot to have a teammate in the break on the late climbs.

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@brooksdoughtie
USAT-L2,Y&J; USAC-L2
http://www.aomultisport.com

Are they going fast enough that drafting another rider really helps that much? I could just be the mental aspect of pacing.

It is extremely important to have as many riders together for as long as possible. In Astana's case keeping the guys close gives them more options and forces guys like Evans, Sastre, Schleck, and Vandevelde to mark or go after each move by Astana'a riders. It also works like in case like yesterday when Contador went and the other riders started to chase the Astana group sat on the wheel which sucks the energy out of you. The team riders can also block to slow the chasers down. In the past Lance had a flock around until the last minute to force tempo to put pressure on the contenders and then with a few k to go he took off. It may be even more important in the mountains than the flats because your weakness will be more exposed.

It is a function of gradient and wind. Some climbs, like say Alpe D'Huez, are so steep that a teammate is not much help unless there is a lot of wind. Some climbs are not as steep and these guys are riding fast enough that drafting will still come into play. I think the climb to Arcalis was a good example of a moderately hard climb with wind blowing. It kept the bunch together. In the end, it is not totally necessary because the strongest guy can still drop all the team workers and make only the very fastest follow his wheel, but it will limit his options.
For example, if a guy wants to attack early he might get away and ride with one or two guys or alone. On the climbs it is not so significant, but say there is a long flat in between--then the solo guy will be at a disadvantage (Again, the Alpe has two approaches and one is very flat for 6-8 miles and the other is downhill almost to the town/bottom of the climb). Lemond won in '89 without a strong team, but other than him I can't think of any others in the last 25 years that did not have a pretty solid group around him. Sometimes the solo guy can ride away and the others just can't follow, like Landis in 2006, but that year had a very weak field overall.
Chad

This may seam a stupid question, but, are you a runner? Have you ever run a race in a pack? Kind of like that. Your question makes complete sense, unless you have bike raced or similar its hard to really understand.

Having teammates let you bring in a break more effectively. You can work together, saving energy throughout the teammates if your having to ride at a great tempo. It lets you save that "last bit" of energy by sucking on your teammates wheel, even if it is for only 0.5 km. Guys with no teammates are always the ones that have to the spend the most energy in the break. THey have to be the ones that cover a attack, worry about the next counter attack from the group. Teammates can play off each other, more than individuals can.

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@brooksdoughtie
USAT-L2,Y&J; USAC-L2
http://www.aomultisport.com

Pacing on a climb is soooo important to a leader. It is a very very special talent that allows the leader to somewhat relax and listen for other things. Like the different sound a bike makes when up shifting or down shifting. Even to the non climbers a pacer is known every year to get the riders in the autobus to the finish, inside the time limit. Sometimes by seconds. One such rider was Gilbert Ducos Laslle.
Steve
SMp

Teammates help bridge the gap to an attack. If someone attacks, and you have 2-3 teammates around, the leader can follow his 2-3 teammates and attach as the caboose to get back up, without as much effort (even without drafting) than he otherwise would acting alone, to the attacker. If noone is around, the leader needs to make up more ground and at a higher effort to get back on the wheel of the attacker.