Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

The Discovery Channel team put in a classic performance by crushing the field of contenders and launching Lance and a few select contenders up the climb of Courchevel. It was a move we have seen several times in the past when Discovery was known as USPS, but the change of jersey does not mean change in tactics.

photo from VeloNews.com

There were several surpries today, the biggest has to be the cracking of Vinokourov. Vino simply popped off of the back of the select group of riders and finished 5 minutes back. Ullrich and Kloden lost about 2 minutes. Heras and Mayo were nowhere to be seen. Ivan Basso could not keep the pace of the top 4 riders and lost a minute to Lance.

The revelation of this year is Alejandro Valverde. Riding in his first Tour and doing it mostly to learn, he was able to use his sprinting ability to beat a determined Armstrong to claim victory.

Michael Rasmussen showed that he is not just a points grabbing Polka-Dot jersey man, but also a contender for a podium spot. The wirey Dane looked comfortable in the lead group and could not beat sprinters such as Armstrong and Valverde for the win. He did try to shake everyone, but the move was a bit early.

All of the major contenders must have felt like they were watching a tape of any one of Lance’s previous Tour victories. In the first real mountain stage, Lance’s team simply sets a high pace that gradually drops all major competitors. The first major surprise came when Vinokourov looked like he was going to pop. Cameras switched back between Vino looking red in the face and Lance talking on his radio presumably to Bruyneel in the team car who must have been watching coverage and relaying Vino’s condition to Lance.

Overall, it is a textbook play from the Discovery Team plan book. The jersey has changed and a few riders are different, but the result is the same. Lance in yellow with a pretty comfortable margin.

Although there are two weeks to go, Lance is already in control. Can Valverde, Rasmussen or even Basso still mount a challenge? Possibly, but today’s stage does strike a mental blow to all contenders except Rasmussen and Valverde.

Judging by Lance’s form, will Lance consider not retiring?