Schleck, Contador, Armstrong
Well, it is really the day before the final stage, but this is when the winners are determined. And the winners are:
1st place: CONTADOR
2nd place: SCHLECK
3rd place: ARMSTRONG
DON’S COMMENTS ON THE TOUR DE FRANCE
Geralynn writes the commentary and I take the pictures, however, I feel I need to make some comment about the Tour de France, organization, media coverage and fan strategies.
After many years of following local races, the Coors Classic, and the Tour of California, I have to say the Tour de France is the most exciting and the hardest race in the world. I know every year that the Tour of California sponsors proclaim that the Tour of California someday will surpass the TdF in stature. I think that will be a long time coming.
It is hard to describe how difficult the Alps stages of the TdF are. The switchbacks and 
climbs are far more technical than anything we have in California. When we build a road in California it is very wide, with long, sweeping turns. The turns and climbs and descents in Switzerland and Italy are very tight and treacherous and the roads are very narrow. Bike handling skills, as well as endurance, are much more important on a steep, tight descent, coming off of the frigid mountain passes.
climbs are far more technical than anything we have in California. When we build a road in California it is very wide, with long, sweeping turns. The turns and climbs and descents in Switzerland and Italy are very tight and treacherous and the roads are very narrow. Bike handling skills, as well as endurance, are much more important on a steep, tight descent, coming off of the frigid mountain passes.
Team Astana, Lan
ce Armstrong as a team leader, and Johan Bruyneel really controlled this race and managed it very well. In my view there wasn’t any time in the tour that Astana didn’t have things very well in control. The combined experience between Armstrong and Bruyneel far surpasses anything I saw in the other teams. It is my opinion that if Contador had been riding for any other team he would have had a tough time winning the TdF. (OK maybe! he is one the great riders.) He doesn’t seem to understand the team concept. I have to agree with some of the reporters. Had he been able to control his efforts, with the team, Astana could have had one-two-three on the podium on the Champs Elysee. Not to sell Columbia and Garmin teams short; they both did great jobs from the standpoint of team efforts. Especially Columbia with Hincapie’s leadouts for Cavendish for 6 stage sprint wins, although I have never been a sprinter fan.
ce Armstrong as a team leader, and Johan Bruyneel really controlled this race and managed it very well. In my view there wasn’t any time in the tour that Astana didn’t have things very well in control. The combined experience between Armstrong and Bruyneel far surpasses anything I saw in the other teams. It is my opinion that if Contador had been riding for any other team he would have had a tough time winning the TdF. (OK maybe! he is one the great riders.) He doesn’t seem to understand the team concept. I have to agree with some of the reporters. Had he been able to control his efforts, with the team, Astana could have had one-two-three on the podium on the Champs Elysee. Not to sell Columbia and Garmin teams short; they both did great jobs from the standpoint of team efforts. Especially Columbia with Hincapie’s leadouts for Cavendish for 6 stage sprint wins, although I have never been a sprinter fan.
In my limited ability to understand French, I think the French news and television reporters have really come around to appreciate Lance Armstrong. Most everything I heard on the commentary was very enthusiastic and positive about him. Plus, it certainly helped that Lance did some great interviews on French tv, expressing his love for France and the TdF. And, I also think the fact that Team Astana allowed the breakaway riders from other teams to win the stages, as long as they didn’t threaten the overall standings in the race, went a long way to create a very favorable public opinion of Astana.
I don’t think I will ever watch the TdF on Versus again. I will try to go to live feed on the internet. EuroSport did an outstanding job covering the race, start to finish, with only two or three commercials in an hour. I never lost track of what was happening in the race. Before I left California I was watching the Tour on Versus and at a stage finish they cut to commercial in the last kilometer! The finish was being challenged and we never got to see the riders cross the finish line. That is an indication that Versus has no clue about cycling and what the TdF is all about. EuroSport knows what it is doing when it comes to their coverage of the TdF. (DRUGS, I can no longer support pro road racing, 2012)
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