Well done Lance!

[drumpriest]

After 4 years of not racing bikes, Armstrong managed 3rd place and a spot on the podium in the 09 tour de France. With a new team (hopefully more dedicated to him as leader) I can't wait to see the '10 tour!

[Pappy]

Even on the toughest climb of the race he matched everything the younger riders could do. Not being in top race condition at the start of the tour, by his own admission, and dealing with the team leader controversy he still placed third. As he said in the post stage interview, not bad for "an old fart to be on the podium with these young riders".

Next year should be interesting to watch. I think we may see a cycling 'dream team' put together.

[crokett]

I am very impressed. Of course this gives the French one more reason to not like him.

[cgallery]

What was the leadershop issue? Was someone else on the team attempting a coup?

[jackellis]

What was the leadershop issue? Was someone else on the team attempting a coup?

Armstrong was on the Astana team, which was supposed to be led by last year's winner, Alberto Contador. About a week ago Contador finally established himself as the team leader by waxing everyone on a mountain stage.

I'm glad Armstrong did well but he had no business being on a team with this year's favorite unless he was willing without question to support that rider first and put his own ambitions second. Of course Armstrong is famous for playing head games and its hard to dell whether this year's head games were an attempt to break Contador or increase his motivation to win.

Most French cycling fans like Armstrong. It's the authorities who hate him as an American dominating a French national sport.

[JR]

Actually, you might say that Lance is the leader of the coup. His team mate, Alberto Contador, won the tours of France, Spain, and Italy, in 2007/2008, and will now win the Tour de France a second time. Contador is clearly the best stage racer in cycling.

Armstrong's return, with unknown form and loads of publicity, caused a lot of cunfusion within the team as to who was the team leader. Given that they also have Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden, who have both finished on the podium in Paris in the past, the team looked like all chiefs and no indians.

The controversy had been building all year. Lance had to modify his plan mid-season in order to enter a "get-to-know-you" race with Contador at the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon. Unfortunately, Armstrong fell on the second day, breaking his collarbone, his training was derailed, and he and Contador didn't learn anything about each other.

When the TdF team was named, American Chris Horner (my favorite racer) was left off in favor of Sergio Paulhino, Contador's choice. It's reasonable for a racer of Contador's stature to be able to make that sort of choice, but it was in indicator of the politics in play.

During the race there were on-the-road controversies, all reported in a frenzy by the press. On the flat stage 3 Lance was riding in a good position when Team Columbia split the peleton in strong side winds. Lance made the split and Contador did not, Lance gaining a time advantage. Was Contador foolishly out of position or was Lance unsuportive by not dropping back to protect him?

Rcing in the Pyrenees on stage 7 Contador made a brilliant attack on the big climb to the ski station at Arclis, putting himself second overall, passing Lance in the standings by two seconds. Was he asserting himself as the greates stage racer or burning energy in a foolish attack on his own team mate?

Finally, on stage 17, the most important day as the riders raced across four first-category climbs in the Alps, Contador attacked. He defended his yellow jersey, but didn't win the stage. His attack dislodged team mate Kloden, but not the battling Schleck brothers of Team Saxo Bank. The Schlecks moved up to second and third in the overall standings, dropping Armstrong and Kloden to fourth and fifth. Astana sporting director Johan Bruyneel says he told Contador not to attack. Contador says he heard that he could go if he felt good. It's arguable whether Astana could have finished the race in first, second, and third because Kloden rode strongly, but was dropped by the elite riders on the big climbs, including Saturday's ride up Mont Ventoux.

In the end Contador finishes first, Armstrong third, sandwiching Andy Schleck on the podium. Kloden finished in a credible sixth place. Contador will probably not be asked to joing Armstrong's new Team Radio Shack next year.

JR

[jussi]

I don't follow cycling so forgive the ignorance. Is it a team sport or an individual sport? It other team sports there are stars as well but when he wins so does everyone else on the team. They all share the trophy. How does it work in cycling?

[JR]

I don't follow cycling so forgive the ignorance. Is it a team sport or an individual sport? It other team sports there are stars as well but when he wins so does everyone else on the team. They all share the trophy. How does it work in cycling?

It is very much a team sport. There are loads of complicated tactics that can be deployed, based mainly on the prinicipal that drafting is very beneficial to the draftee.

On the financial side, the team pools their winnings and divide it all up among themselves. The winner of the TdF gets 400,000 euros. I think third place is worth about 100,000 euros. Astana also won the team competition. There would be awards for stage wins and other "preemees" (prime'es en francais). All that goes in the pool.

All this is in addition to salaries paid by the team. A top rider like Contador probably gets 2 million euros per year. The "pack fodder" at the other end of the spectrum would get about 30,000 euros per year. There are something like 27 or 28 riders on a ProTour team, from which nine are invited to the Tour de France.

JR

[drumpriest]

Last year's winner was Carlos Sastre, btw, the 2007 winner was Contador, but he was not allowed to race the 08 tour.

As to the team nature of cycling, it is interesting. Without a strong team, you cannot win the tour, because of the team time trial, and all of the work a team does to allow their leader to be rested for the important stages.

In the tour de France there are several competitions.

Individual competitions:
Overall winner (yellow jersey)
Best young rider (white jersey)
Most consistent rider (green jersey) usually a sprinter, as flat stages get more points.
King of the mountains (polka dot jersey)

And then there is the team competition, as JR points out, which is done with the top 3 finishers of each team. Whichever team has the fastest time for 3 of their guys wins. With Astana having Contador, Armstrong and Kloden in 1, 3, and 6, they won it.

I think with the crash earlier in the season and Lance racing the Giro (not usually done by tour de France contenders), I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a much more fit Lance in next year's tour, if it is his priority. He is also likely to have a stronger team than Contador, if indeed they are on separate teams, which seems likely. It'll be an interesting race.

[LarryG]

(Coming in a little late on this thread after being offline since Friday.)

This was a great Tour, although not as dramatic as the organizers probably hoped. Saturday's stage to the top of Mont Ventoux was supposed to be pivotal but was in fact rather anti-climactic. Overall, it was a case of another well-oiled Johan Bruyneel team and another, almost inevitable, grand tour win. Still, it was good to see Armstrong back in the peloton and incredible to see him standing on the podium yesterday after 3-1/2 years away from the sport.

Perhaps best of all: if there were any doping busts this year, I missed them completely.

Last Friday's edition of The Big Picture featured an excellent set of 40 images.

[headhunter636]

I had the opportunity while stationed in Germany to watch the start of one of the stages. Once the race started, Lance passed by like a blur but it was worth the trip to see it. I think he can do it again, hopefully next year. But third place is still awesome considering how long he has been out of the game.