Just playing Devils advocate, but wouldn’t it be better if T-Mobile, Gerolsteiner, Phonak, and CSC teamed up as one working together vs Disco in the mountains. Theese next 2 stages are going to hurt a lot of people, and with Beltran out, maybe the combined team can set the pace to put some hurt on Lance. Froma commercial standpoint, the sponsors would do exceptionally well if they pulled it off. Otherwise it’s going to be the same hurt applied by Disco with the rest of them falling off the back. What’s coming 2nd but being 1st loser. That’s how Lance thinks, maybe they could make it pay.
“…maybe the combined team …”
So, what egg-zactly are you smoking? I only ask because it certainly has disconnected you from reality!
T-Mobile can’t even work together on their own.
The point I am trying to make, is Lance and Disco are walking away with the TdF again, completely controlling the race.
If you remember last years anyone but Simeoni, why dont the teams push Disco to the limit. Given Basso is the best placed also ran, perhaps they should support him. Or is it all about GC, and coming second is what all the others are aiming for. These next 2 stages will decide the tour. If lance is stgill wearing Yellow at the end, short of him crashing, he’s got number 7 in the bag.
I am fairly sure (not 100% though) that team can work together to reel in a breakaway when their interest is obvious (say two teams of sprinters working together) but two teams cannot agree to work together against an other rider or other team…
I’ll have to check on the TdF website, but I am fairly sure though
We saw why Disco isn’t pushed to the limit on the first day in the Alps. It’s the strongest team. There isn’t another team that can push it that hard.
I agree that this is a fine approach in principle; it just falls down in practice.
Correct, Francois. Certainly no overt cooperation in that manner would be permitted. Its highly unlikely anyway…there are just too many competing interests between teams…And I’m not sure that would be productive anyway in this instance…in fact, I’m certain Discovery would relish the idea of having CSC and T-Mobile sit 8-10 guys on the front making the pace…Discovery would all sit in and arrive at the climbs fresher and ready to do damage. Discovery is simply stronger than the other teams, even with Beltran gone, they will be stronger…they will still have 4-5 guys when the others are whittled down to 2. And they ALL have the same mission. 100% of each rider’s effort and will is bent toward a singular goal. No other team can claim the same. That is why they cannot beat Discovery and Lance. The problem Bruyneel will face for next year is NOT finding a GC capable rider. They have a couple of those already. It will be in choosing a GC capable rider that he can convince the team to support in the same manner they have supported LA. THAT is the crux of his situation…whether it is Popovych, Savoldelli, Acevedo, or someone they bring on to the team…Vino, perhaps…it doesn’t matter…what matters is bending the other rider’s wills toward a singular goal.
If Riis managed to do the same thing, he could come close. If he could contain someone like Voigt to ride the TdF in the manner that, say, Hincapie rides it…if he could bring Julich to ride ONLY for Basso, with NO thoughts of a stage win…Sastre as well…then they would be on the level with Discovery. But Riis has yet to bend his team’s will toward a singular purpose of the overall race GC. At T-Mobile this is amplified ten-fold. Three riders with distinct goals for the race leads to exactly what is happening. All should be riding for ONE rider, ONE goal, PERIOD. Kloden and Vino should NOT be riding for stage wins, let alone for the overall, regardless of their ability to do so. They and a couple of others should be riding tempo on the front of the pack with Ullrich riding their wave to the front. Instead, Ullrich knows before the action happens that he will be alone in the mountains against LA and Discovery, as well as other riders. Even if Kloden and Vino are there with him at some point, he knows they are not going to sell themselves out for him. That is a both a real and psychological disadvantage for him.
Anyway…the only thing to stop Lance is Lance himself.
, maybe the combined team can set the pace to put some hurt on Lance.
Uhmmm, isnt setting a fast past Disco’s strategy, how would helping them to set a fast past hurt Lance.
The only way they could team up that I can see, would be to send there key guys out on a break, and then prevent Disco from speeding up the peloton. Not sure how they would do that.
Well last night you saw what happens when Landis, Ulrich, Basso, Leipheimer, Vino and Kloden go out and set a fast pace. Disco gets dropped and Lance still beats them. I suppose my post was somewhat prohetic, just the result was still the same