Well, not really a comeback, as I’m still convinced that he has lost his chances to win the Tour, but at least a new stage victory for him.
What is great about that victory is it confirms my feelings in which I think that Vinokourov is an awesome, strong cyclist. He is a fighter. He may know that the Tour is over for him, but as you can see, he still fights and gives his best. This guy rides for pride and trophies and it’s really positive for cycling!
We have also seen a fantastic Alberto Contador today. He's a very strong cyclist and I am now wondering why he hadn't been more offensive earlier on in this Tour, because he surely has all the skills to be in a yellow jersey.
However, I was expecting more fights and échappées today. I thought riders would really attack and go on to get the jersey at the end of the day, but they just did the math and rode quietly so they could stay where they are sitting now. I was kind of surprised by that. There are so many surprises in this Tour that maybe Wednesday will go completely crazy...I just don’t know.
I also feel like Rasmussen can really make it now. He could win in Paris. That was the most important thing I will actually remember from today.
As you all can read in the news, we are still talking a lot about drugs and all that in the Tour, so I’ve been thinking about all this and I thought about a new concept I wanted to share with you so we could help cycling. Feel free to give me your thoughts as they will be very helpful for me and my team.
I’m currently managing a team in Brittany which is called “Bretagne-Armor-Lux.” It’s just a third division team but I’m actually experiencing something new with them.
All the team is living in Rennes (North West of France) and all the riders train, eat, talk and learn together everyday. That’s the concept. We register teams for the Tour so let’s train teams and no longer individuals.
Currently, athletes are pretty much training with their own coaches in their home town and all that. So, if you think about it, they can easily go and meet a “doctor” without anyone noticing it. And they can also be approached more easily.
But if you build a team and get these guys on the road together--riding under the same colors--you create a unit, a block that gets harder to penetrate. Each team member becomes responsible for their choices and you get exposed to questions, criticism and all that if you go the wrong way. The idea is to get the whole benefit that a team can bring.
You support your teammates, you exchange, you learn faster, etc.
I would love to implement something like this at a higher level, but this strategy implies a certain cost. When it costs a million to build a classic high level team for the Tour, my concept would cost maybe three to seven million. It’s a lot of money and a big risk. But when I look at all the team managers in place (some of them have been there for more than 20 years), I think it’s more of a risk to pick these guys. If they haven’t succeeded in 20 years, do you really think they will one day because they have experience?
Honestly, if we want to help cycling, we’d better try new things and concepts. So my question is: What do you think about that?
Let’s manage a cycling team as we manage a baseball team or a football team: One city, one training site and regular meetings to build a real group where leaders could really get a boost!
Ronan
Ronan Pensec participated in 8 Tours, and wore the yellow jersey in the 1990. He now operates Ronan Pensec Events, an official Tour de France operator hosting VIP cycling tours for recreational cycling enthusiasts.
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Jesse@Active
The logistics work in an international sport like soccer. Look at the English Premier League or Spanish La Liga--they're filled with international players willing to live away from home for a season. If Alberto Contador realizes that training in the states with Johan Bruyneel is his best bet for a yellow jersey, I'm sure he'd be willing to give it a go. And besides, living in one European country but training in a neighboring one isn't too different from living in California but playing for the Yankees or Red Sox. The lineups for teams like Lampre-Fondital, Gerolsteiner and Euskaltel-Euskadi are pretty close to being of a singular country already. Perhaps this idea isn't too far off.
Way2Late
Yeah, Vino won the stage, but only because he had lost 30 minutes yesterday. If he had still been a contender he wouldn't have been allowed to get the time advantage that he had. All 25 men in the break were more than 10 minutes behind Rasmussen so they were allowed to get a good gap. If any of the GC contenders had made it to that break Rabobank would have chased them down and it might have been a different outcome at the end.
Not to mention that losing all that time Monday meant he rested the last half of the ride and was much fresher than the guys that really cranked up those mountains.
darthbutter
Your idea is a good one, if you can make it work. Team-building will only make the riders work together better. Team CSC, for instance, did some training together in South Africa. They also went camping, hiking, fishing, and kayaking together. Does that make them stronger riders? No, but it makes for a stronger team and a team whose members might actually get along. (e.g., Cancellara wanted to win that stage where he came in second to Hunter and dedicate it to his TdF roommate, Stuart O'Grady.)
Follow through with your idea; I think it has some legs.
Fleur
Hi,
This has the makings of an excellent solution-especially now- and with further development, could I think,become a reality. You rightly address the 'drugs issue' and provide some well thought out solutions to this extremely menacing and disturbing trend. (I work within the Criminal Justice system and many of my clients are drug using / dependent.-mainly heroin and crack-cocaine etc. So often, I have seen say,18 year olds with long-standing addictions of 4-5 years, so feel more than qualified to speak of drugs and related issues.) I can tell you for certain that ex-users-in having 'done that,been there worn the tshirt'- can provide a valuable resource in warning and steering our younger people away from drugs. These impressionable young people seem to trust ex-users to be truthful and will mostly listen to someone who has the experience,whilst informing of the negative effects of drug use,and of how it has impacted on their lives. The educational value of these talks cannot be underestimated and has often been a significant contributory factor in someone deciding to stop taking drugs, once and for all.
I tell you this Ronan only because I have often wondered as to why the cycling world does not utilise ex-riders who have used drugs in the past and wish to change,in a similar way?
Ronan
I think that is a great idea, but the logistics of it might not work for all riders. In Major League Baseball, most of the players are from the US, or very close to the US and can easily go to wherever they call home in the off-season, but with cycling, you're talking about athletes from around the world with many different family situations on every team (not that there isn't that on a baseball team, but the contrast in home countries varies much more on a cycling team). While I think this is a great idea, I'm not sure the top riders would want to move families to a certain area and when the contract is up completely move the family to another city half way around the world.