If Valverde is allowed to ride the tour it looks like Contador may have secured a strong ally after the job he did in the Dauphine helping Valverde defeat Cadel. In the event of any infighting on Astana, it looks like he just significantly stacked the deck in his favor.
A very clever move by the young rider since you would have to assume that Levi, Johan and and most of the young riders would side with Lance in case of a split. The only rider who might have the clout to stand behind Alberto I would think would be Kloden but who knows what the relationship is there. Can’t wait for July.
I doubt Bruyneel will allow any overt infighting. If there appears to be any infighting during the Tour, I’d give it a 99% chance of being an act, just like when Lance use to feign fatigue, and then smash the last climb. I also think it’d have to be extraordinary circumstances for Contador not to be the team leader. If not for UCI politics, he’d be going for his third consecutive TdF win this year.
i’ll be shocked if the epic Hinault/LeMond-esque battle materializes within Astana. I just don’t see Lance having the fitness to take on a healthy Contador.
Yes, Valverde will be quite the ally in the scenario you present. He could jump out from behind the bushes and tackle LA. Or maybe he’ll sneak back into the race caravan before the race and let the air out of LA’s tires before a hard stage. I suppose he could mess with his brakes somebody did back in 2003 (year?).
I’m sure he can do any of these things between espressos watching the Tour day France on the telly.
The Astana team is this year’s best reality TV. All of us viewers see this drama and intrigue. We are wondering who is going to stab who in the back and when.
Inside the Astana team, they are laughing in disbelief that we are falling for all of it.
Contador is the leader of the team. Everyone will ride in support of him. If Lance was truly looking to win his 8th tour, he wouldn’t be hanging in Aspen with his family, he would be in France, checking out all the key stages. He would be a monk right now, not Mr. Mom.
The Astana team is this year’s best reality TV. All of us viewers see this drama and intrigue. We are wondering who is going to stab who in the back and when.
Inside the Astana team, they are laughing in disbelief that we are falling for all of it.
Contador is the leader of the team. Everyone will ride in support of him. If Lance was truly looking to win his 8th tour, he wouldn’t be hanging in Aspen with his family, he would be in France, checking out all the key stages. He would be a monk right now, not Mr. Mom.
Lance is in Aspen? I thought Lance was training in Austin?
Lance will not ride to win the Tour. He will ride in support of Contador and I suspect will try for a podium. If you ask Astana, I suspect they’ll tell you they’d like to see a triple on the podium with Contador, Levi, and Lance…but that won’t happen.
Great talent, but has a lot to learn about being a leader.
Young and dumb, are you crazy? Contador this season has…
Played super domestique for Levi in Castilla y Leon
Created a possible valuable ally in Valverde in the Dauphine
Showed up in shape and ready and willing to race and win since March
Hasn’t said a word about having Lance rejoin the team all season
Can you imagine another big champion joining Postal after Lance had 3 grand tour victories. No way in the world would he of allowed it. I would say if anything Alberto is showing he is more of a professional than Lance ever was, especially at his young age.
I hate to destroy your grand thesis here but Valverde I believe is not riding in the tour
Contador is more like young and dumb vs crafty.
Great talent, but has a lot to learn about being a leader.
Young and dumb, are you crazy? Contador this season has…
Played super domestique for Levi in Castilla y Leon
Created a possible valuable ally in Valverde in the Dauphine
Showed up in shape and ready and willing to race and win since March
Hasn’t said a word about having Lance rejoin the team all season
Can you imagine another big champion joining Postal after Lance had 3 grand tour victories. No way in the world would he of allowed it. I would say if anything Alberto is showing he is more of a professional than Lance ever was, especially at his young age.
I doubt Bruyneel will allow any overt infighting. If there appears to be any infighting during the Tour, I’d give it a 99% chance of being an act, just like when Lance use to feign fatigue, and then smash the last climb. I also think it’d have to be extraordinary circumstances for Contador not to be the team leader. If not for UCI politics, he’d be going for his third consecutive TdF win this year.
Jordan, I know this is the way it should be but what about the influence of the mighty dollar. Right now times are tough. Astana needs a new sponsor. Lance going for win #8 would generate more publicity (good and bad) than Contador going for win #2. Like you said Contador is the better rider but if either could win then financially speaking which would be more valuable??? Just a thought.
Am I the only one who doesn’t think Lance could win the Tour, even if all of Astana (including Alberto) were riding for him? I am not saying he sucks, but I just don’t think he has enough to win. If things go right I would expect to see him some where between 6th and 12th. I know that is a big gap, but depends on how much he hurts himself for Alberto.
I have little doubt Lance will ride for Contador, but how much is another question.
Contador gave a recent interview to La Gazzetta where he put Levi and Lance alongside Cadel and Sastre as potential rivals to watch out for. I don’t think this counts as crafty; a smart rider would have kept his mouth shut, and gone into the tour with others not knowing who the leader of the team is (like CSC last year; the uncertainty of who they should mark was a big part of Sastre getting away on the key climb).
Even if Valverde does not ride the Tour, what Contador did was to gather allies on Valverde’s team for the race against Lance and Levi. As he said the other day:
"I will have to deal with Menchov, Evans, the Schleck brothers, Sastre and my teammates Armstrong and Leipheimer," he told Italian newspaper. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-considers-armstrong-and-leipheimer-tour-rivals
I think he is quite aware that even though he is most likely the strongest rider on the team, he is not the rider that Astana wants to win the Tour. That would be reserved for Lance since it makes the most sense from an economic standpoint. I don’t think there would be a split in the team, I think if the riders had chose they would side with Lance since he will be hiring next year when he has his own team. Alberto will just be another hired gun (albeit a very good one) on someother team.
Its going to be interesting to see how it all plays out. Especially if Astana does not make it to the Tour as “Astana”. Since they are still having financial problems. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/astanas-hour-cometh
I hate to destroy your grand thesis here but Valverde I believe is not riding in the tour \
From what I have heard, unless the TDF folks change the course and do not ride in Italy, then no ValVerde. The Italians know he is dirty(I dont know it for sure, but it doesnt look good) and they will not allow him on their soil. I guess they feel that the supposed drug enforcers are not doing their jobs, so they are going to dole out their vigilante justice as they see fit…
Lance is in Aspen? I thought Lance was training in Austin?
Yep, Lance is in Aspen. Levi is there, Horner got there 2 days ago or so. Simon Gerrans from Cervelo was there for a few days as well.
I was actually there last weekend and saw Lance and Levi out on a training ride. Snapped a quick picture of them. Interestingly, they were not wearing their Astana kits. They seemed to be wearing their new team jackets which had a retro look about them. Lance was wearing some Whack Oakleys and a new aero road helmet:
