Comments on: Early Look at Team Radioshack’s Chances in Tour de France

By: Pavo

Pavo — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:15:37 +0000

So looking forward to Lance coming to the Tour Down Under again in January 2010. I’ll be flying over to Adelaide from Perth, with hundreds of others from all over Australia to see the battle between the legendary Lance and our own newly crowned World Champion Cadel Evans. Two guys who bike their guts out and know how to come back after setbacks.

Even been suckered in to do a 160 km (100 mile) leg of the race, as a community challenge event, along with about 7000 other idiots!

This is going to be a fantastic event and to both Lance and Cadel, your efforts in raising the profile of cycling in Australia at all levels is a legacy which will last a long time.

By: Craig

Craig — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:56:40 +0000

Thanks for the article; some very good points there.

SUGGESTION: In a future article I would like you to focus on “RadioShack’s Fountain of Youth.” They have to have some of the oldest-best road cyclists in the world; what are the reasons for this? Great athletes; superb training; nutrition; lifestyles; etc. Does Lance and Co. have an anti-aging secret? Is there a trend over the past decade for older athletes in endurance sports? It appears to me that there is, but I haven’t seen a study on this.

What are the advantages and risks of the Old-Young Team RadioShack riders for the 2010 TdF?

Again, very good article – keep them coming.

By: Wheelsucker

Wheelsucker — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:18:01 +0000

I think for
“He has agreed to resign with the team”
you mean
He has agreed to remain with the team”

And it now appears that Astana will get the Pro license so Contador is staying for 2010.

I agree that the Astana team’s ability to support Contador is questionable.

Alexandre Vinokourov may or may not be welcomed by ASO at the Tour, but if on Astana for the tour, is a strong rider, though not the strongest climber. Astana bringing on Óscar Pereiro is interesting. He has had some bad crashes but if he can regain the form of 2006 would be a very strong super domestique.

With no team time trial it is going to be harder to open gaps on a strong rider on a weak team (like Contador). Somewhere, somehow, on some stage(s), the Shack’s top rider(s) will have to drop or gap Contador for a Shack rider to win the Tour. The pave? Maybe, but I wouldn’t count on Contador not being able to hold a wheel. The time trials? He has gone from an amazing climber to a top TT rider as well. The climbs? If the Shack’s riders can engineer a situation where they still have enough riders to bring bottles and food up to the front of the lead group and Contador does not, and the race situation prevents team cars from supporting their top riders directly, they could make Contador vulnerable. Rotating attacks on the climbs? That might work, but what if he just goes on his own, or jumps in a small break with Andy Shleck in it and they keep going?

How about putting Shack riders in early breaks on a multiple climb day and trying to get a top Shack rider to jump across without towing Contador along?