Can’t gauge who is going to be fit in the TdF by who is fit now. Levi’s results this year are perhaps the reason he won’t be winning stages or a GC man come July.
I don’t think Levi is even in the same league as Alberto in terms of capability and fitness… I’m kind of doubtful Lance even is at this point
Team Astana is not good enough, or not better enough, to put a weak-ish Levi on top of the podium for the TDF.
Are they invited to ride?
The quality of the team is the most significant factor in putting someone on the podium for GC, and with all of the breakup of the teams of last year, the chances are good for Astana who has a number of strong riders.
One has to hand it to CSC, they went out and said that they’d put someone in GC up there as the winner and they did.
Now that LA has officially become a bike racer, and of course his age, are too huge factors working against him if Astana is invited to ride in the TDF. Although given who he is, he’ll probably quit racing his bike and just go into TDF training mode; but that may be a negative opinion.
It is a team sport, no matter how good 1 climber/rider one is, - if their team is weak, - they will not be in contention for the podium.
There may never have been a team heading into the Tour De France with so many options and so much absolute GC talent all on one team. The challenge and perhaps the problem and the unkown is, will it work?
Ullrich, Kloden, Vinokourov for T-Mobile, TdF 2005. Ullrich and Vinokourov placed 3rd and 5th (and Kloden DNFed due to injury but was a factor early in the race). Pretty good, indeed. But the goal was to win and they looked like they were attacking each others at times… and Armstrong, helped by his teammates, won by a whooping 4+ minute margin.
For those interested, get Overcoming (documentary on the TdF and team CSC) and watch the bonus scenes. Riis (team manager) is struggling to have his superstars, Basso and Sastre, cooperate. (Not mentioning trying to motivate Julich who didn’t seem to have it that year and rein in Voigt who Riis felt was doing too much.) Team dynamics and teamwork are super important and Overcoming does a good job at explaining it all.
Levi just won Castilla y Leon. He beat Alberto on the time trial. But maybe Alberto just let him do it…
Levi just won Castilla y Leon. He beat Alberto on the time trial. But maybe Alberto just let him do it…
a little bit on the subject. I like Contador, but he “won” the Tour only because Rasmussen was kicked out, although he’s probably the best active climber. I’d like to see Contador do the Giro again with Basso racing as well.
Now that the “pre season” is over, will the real riders please stand up.
The pro peloton needs to HTFU. They need to be like the peloton back in the old days… Eddie Merkx et al. would go out to try to win any races they were doing at the time… No excuses about peak blah. That is why we know he was the best.
These guys are going to do what their respective Directors’ Sportif are going to tell them to do. Can you imagine Astana keeping LA out of the TDF? Does Astana have a sprinter? Do they need a sprinter? Would you choose Levi over Contador? Can levi break wind and stink up the front of the pack like some of the other, bigger, Astana folks?
Everyone hates LA, the last thing that they’d want to see is him back racing the TDF; and that is why Astana would probably choose him over Levi if the choice came up. But, I bet that they’d be happy to see him rubbing elbows with the pack fodder of the pro peloton in the Giro, and on the European racing circuit. Since LA has always been training instead of racing, - perhaps other riders are going to punish him a bit. Perhaps not. LA has had his body down on the pavement a bit this year, although I hate to see anyone crash, - it’s a good sign that he’s in there mixing it up.
I hope that you are kidding about HTFU. Do you know what it’s like to road race? Here at NCNCA we have 20% of all registered male USA Cycling riders. We’ve had at least 2 crashes in every category, in all 6 road races this season. Those guys in the pro peloton deal with an average of 4 to 6 crashes every race (day), and they are riding faster than they ever were. (So much of which is due to better, more tech, coaching techniques and tools. It has bred a unique specialization and team strategy that was never there in Merckx’s day. I’m not saying that Merckx wasn’t the greatest racer ever, or that he would not be effective in today’s racing; just that he was not racing with the tools that they have available today; and it wasn’t as much of a TEAM SPORT as it is today).
You cannot win the GC of the TDF without a great team behind you. If Lance rode the 05 TDF with Rabobank he would’ve been nowhere near the GC podium.
You cannot win the GC of the TDF without a great team behind you. If Lance rode the 05 TDF with Rabobank he would’ve been nowhere near the GC podium.
Tell that to Cadel Evans. I feel bad for Cadel because looks like Silence Lotto is even worse this year.
Yep, as much as I’d like to see them uninvited again, it looks like this TDF is Astana’s to lose.
Lance will get dropped in high mountains. No chance he can climb with Alberto. TT, maybe. In the mountains, it’s not even close. The Hinault/Lemond comparison does not apply here. Hinault was 31/32 at the time with continuity in legs. Lance is coming off 3 years of not riding the Tour. Plus, this year he will not have the benefit of Dott. Ferrari and one of his secret potions. I don’t think Bruneel will allow the team to desert Contador. If they do, he’ll leave, and Astana will be done.
I wish cycling was an individual sport… pretty much like running a marathon or doing a triathlon. Every man for himself.