Lance's tränares kommentar om gårdagens etapp:
http://www.olntv.com/tdf/article/view/977/?ss=report&tf=DailyReports_read.tpl
There’s a phrase used in aerial combat that comes to mind after watching today’s assault on Courchevel. Fighter planes escorting bombers used to refer to their job as “paving the road” because they would fly ahead of and around the bombers to clear the path of enemies. Lance Armstrong’s Discovery Channel team set a blistering pace in the valley before and lower slopes of Courchevel to pave the road for their leader, and tonight he’s back in yellow with significant time over his main rivals.
Lance’s teammates did such a great job that there was really no need for Lance to attack. By the time Yaroslav Popovych finished his turn setting pace for Armstrong, the most important damage was already done. There were no T-Mobile jerseys left in the group, Floyd Landis and Levi Leipheimer were losing contact, and several other potential challengers were even further behind. Armstrong had the opportunity to ride a fast and steady pace while still extending his advantage over his biggest rivals. He didn’t have to dig deep to unleash an explosive attack, which means he was able to keep some of his reserves intact for later stages.
Explosive attacks exact a huge energy cost on a rider, so it’s always best if you can gain time without having to launch a big move off the front. Lance was definitely riding very hard today, but he didn’t have to dig so deep into his energy reserves that he’ll have to pay a price for his efforts in the days to come. In other words, Lance will be able to repeat today’s efforts, and he still has his explosive attacking power in his back pocket.
The climb to Courchevel isn’t an attacker’s climb to begin with. At 22 kilometers in length, it’s too long for an attack from the bottom. The pitch is reasonably steady at about 6-6.5%, so it’s not really steep enough for anyone to open up a big gap in a matter of seconds either. It’s a climb best suited to a drag race; the man or men who can sustain the highest pace for the longest period of time reach the top first.
The man who rode a great race but hasn’t received much attention is Levi Leipheimer. He was one of the last men dropped out of the lead group, and he rode back up into the Armstrong group once before eventually losing 1:15. Even so, he finished one minute ahead of the group containing Jan Ullrich, Andreas Kloden, and Floyd Landis. With today’s performance, he recovered a lot of the time he lost in the team time trial and he’s now roughly even on time with many of the other podium contenders. If he continues to climb the way he did today, he could make a real run at the final podium in Paris.
With the Discovery Channel looking as strong as ever, it’s likely they will continue to pave the way for Armstrong tomorrow. The Col du Galibier is a big and nasty climb, and after today, we’ll see how many riders come off the back of the lead group before the summit. It’s a long way to the finish line in Briancon, so getting dropped on the Galibier means having to waste a lot of energy chasing back to the lead group.