The Cycliste Moderne, July 25, 2005

Well, we are at the end. It has been a long three weeks. Lance Armstrong proved that he is going out as the strongest grand tour rider of his generation. I am honestly surprised, but it is a deserving win. He was under attack at various times, his team looked fallible at times. He was not really ever able to launch the type of explosive attacks in the mountains that he has used in the past. On the road to Courchevel, he did blow the race apart but Valverde, Mancebo and Rasmussen managed to stay with him. During later stages, Basso was able to stay with him. He was stronger than virtually everyone else, but not that much better.

Armstrong did not do anything different this Tour. He used the same playbook as he has in five of his prior six wins. As he has in the past, he tried to blow the race apart on the final climb of the first mountain stage. He would then use his team in the mountains to wear down the other teams and to attack on the final climb of each mountain stage. This year, however, his competitors went on the offensive on the smaller climbs, on the difficult rolling stages of the Tour and on the second day in the mountains. It was not enough.

That said, T-Mobile showed flashes of strength but its three-headed-monster approach with Ullrich, Vinokourov, and Kloden worked for only about a week. Vinokourov will be leaving T-Mobile most likely for a French team. Ullrich maybe has one last chance to win the Tour next year depending on what happens with some of the younger riders coming up. T-Mobile is reloading with the signing of Michael Rogers and Patrik Sinkewitz from Quick.Step.

T-Mobile is also restructuring its management with the retirement of Walter Groodefroot. However, the success of T-Mobile alumni during the year makes you wonder what more the team could have accomplished with better management. Paolo Salvoldelli, Cadel Evans, Santiago Botero, Bobby Julich and Georg Toschnig have all found success only after leaving T-Mobile. Certainly had Jan Ullrich ridden for Discovery or CSC, he would have continued to win Tours. If T-Mobile had signed Bjarne Riis as a directeur sportif, with the team’s resources I am convinced that Armstrong probably would have won five Tours over the last seven years and Ullrich would have won at least two. It is not a lack of skill; it is poor management.

Rasmussen’s Really Bad Day

Michael Rasmussen came to the Tour to win a stage and win the King of the Mountains jersey. However, after spending almost two weeks within minutes of the lead, he had raised his focus to finishing on the podium. Saturday it proved not to be. Had you told Rasmussen at the beginning of the Tour that he would finish seventh, I am sure he would have taken it.

However, Rasmussen could not have reasonably expected to hold his place in the general classification in light of his poor time trialing skills. Rasmussen crashed early and it was clear the race was over for him within the first 20km. He was passed by Ivan Basso, he was passed by Lance Armstrong and ultimately lost more than seven and a half minutes on Armstrong and Ullrich. With crashes, mechanicals and a bad case of the nerves, Rasmussen wilted in the heat of the Massif Central. Maybe it was the polka dot gloves he wore.

I think after his first crash Saturday, self doubt and nerves caused most of his problems. After reviewing the coverage yesterday as well as some of the other accounts of Rasmussen’s mechanical difficulties, I think that they were largely psychological and not technical. I hope this was not the highwatermark of his career. Saturday’s time trial is the type of event that could stick in his mind forever. You really had to feel for him but he has had an excellent Tour and if he works on his time trialing, he can be a force in the future.

Basso Had Nerves Too

I really expected Ivan Basso to have a better day. He finished fifth, losing almost two minutes to Lance Armstrong after starting really strong and leading the stage after 20km. The profile of today’s time trial was similar to the one Basso won during the Giro d’Italia. Basso has really stepped up this year improving his time trialing. He looked tentative, however, on the descents and that cost him.

If Armstrong had not been in the Tour, I think Basso would have blown Ullrich out in the mountains. Basso was stronger than anyone except Armstrong and showed explosiveness. I don’t think that CSC thought Basso would be able to beat Armstrong this year or else they would not have sent him to the Giro d’Italia. Basso went to the Giro with the form and team to be able to win, but his performance at the Tour suffered by doing the Giro earlier this year. Next year, CSC will most likely send Basso only to the Tour. CSC has signed Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland for next year. I expect Cancellara to be the team’s leader in Italy next year.

American Time Trialing Prowess

Americans finished the Tour just like they started. In the first time trial there were six Americans in the first fourteen on the stage. Zabriskie (1st), Armstrong (2nd), Hincapie (4th), Landis (6th), Julich (11th), Leipheimer (14th). They followed that up in the final time trial with Armstrong (1st), Julich (4th), Landis (6th), Hincapie (8th), Leipheimer (14th). The teams that did well were the teams that you would expect: Discovery, T-Mobile, CSC. Those are teams that take the time trial seriously and do well as a result of it. There is no reason why the smaller teams do not make the effort to do better in the individual time trial.

Final Thoughts

France was disappointed yet again. The two best French riders, Moreau (11th) and Brochard (28th), are towards the end of their careers. Moreau showed promise but has never been able to put it together at the Tour since his fourth place finish in 2000. Brochard has never been a real GC threat even though he was a great climber. The French teams seem to spend more time whining about “cycling at two speeds” than actually preparing to win their national tour. The French teams have not shown the ability to adapt to the more professional techniques of CSC, Discovery, and T-Mobile.

The big disappointment in the Pyrenees was the disappearance of Euskaltel Euskadi. I was surprised by the fact that the team did not seem to attack once over their home climbs. Their fans were more aggressive than the team was. Euskaltel Euskadi finished last in the prize money as well. The team took home just over 9,000 euros for three weeks work. Discovery Channel on the other hand took home 545,000 euros. Even Credit Agricole managed to earn more than 100,000 euros. Amazing, 1,000 euros per rider for three weeks work. I hope they do not spend it all in one place.

The Armstrong Era appears to be over. It has been great for American cycling to have such a dominant performance. I fear, however, that with Armstrong’s retirement those people that have jumped on the Armstrong band wagon will not care next year. After listening to ESPN Radio Sunday morning praising Armstrong’s performance, the commentators were opining that no one would care next year if Ivan Basso wins because he is not Lance. They even suggested that Tour management would be begging Armstrong to come out of retirement in a couple of years because “he has made their race what it is today.” Silly Americans.

Next year will be very exciting. We will know that there is no defending champion. It will be a wide open race. You owe it to yourselves and your sport to go find a team to support and find races to follow even though Lance won’t be there. The future of American cycling is brighter than it has ever been. The fact that European teams are signing Americans to lead them is a good thing. And when Ivan Basso wins next year, I for one will be more excited than I have been for several years.