Stage 13: Total Failure
It's almost been a day and I still can't rationally talk about today's stage. I watched the stage with Jason, and there was a moment when I simply losy the ability to speak. I was completely flabbergasted by the sheer epic stupidity of it all. But before we get to that, let's talk about the good things.
Jens Voigt is a bad man. If cycling were the sort of sport which named awards after athletes, it would call the most aggressive rider the Jens Voigt Award. When there was a break, once you saw Voigt, you knew it was going to work. He's the patron saint of breakaways. He's not a gifted sprinter, he can't climb, and he's not all that loyal of a domestique. What he is, is the guttiest rider on the Tour. Pereiro had him dead to rights on the final sprint, but for some reason he couldn't pass him. There was no logical reason for Voigt to win that final sprint, but he did. Because he is all heart.
OK, back to Landis and Phonak. Stage 13 was a failure on three levels: morally, tactically, and strategically. There's no way to justify giving up 30 minutes to Pereiro. Absolutely none.
First off, there's a certain honor in wearing the maillot jaune. Ordinary riders become great riders, and great riders become transcendent ones. There's a certain obligation to defending the jersey. And while it can be forgivable to give up the yellow jersey in order to win it in the end, that does not mean giving up the jersey to another contender who was dead to rights when the day began. Giving up half an hour to a guy down by 28 minutes when the day began is an inexcusible thing. It's a total betrayal.
It can't even be justified as good tactics. I talked yesterday about Landis letting other contenders up off the map. He did it with Kloden and then Popovych. This wasn't letting Pereiro off the mat, this was rising him from the dead. You can't let contenders back into things. It's one thing to give up 30 minutes to Jens Voigt, it's quite another to give up that time to Pereiro.
What the hell are they conserving their energy for? That big climb in which they will all protect Landis? There's only one rider on the team who can even pretend he could help Landis in the Alps, and that's Merckx. The only time Phonak can conceivably help their leader is during these flat stages. They can at least theoretically control the peloton and, at the very least, keep the other contenders at bay. Allowing a break with a contender on two consecutive days? That's just poor. But allowing a break, any beak, to reach twenty minutes at this stage of the Tour is completely inexcusable. The fact Pereiro was in the break makes it hundred time worse. I don't even know how that happens.
Mostly, this is a failure of strategy. Discovery won Tours for Lance by absolutely asserting their will in the peloton. they were the strongest team and everyone knew it. Any show of weakness was quickly quashed. Phonak's tactics didn't just show weakness, they put an excalmation point on it. At one point today, Rabobank actually started to drive the peloton. Apparently, Menchov didn't want to lose too much time to the leader. Phonak might as well put up a sign asking teams to attack them at will. If they can't protect him on a flat stage, they certainly can't protect him in the mountains. Landis shied away from the bright glare of leading the race. I'm sure there are other riders who wouldn't mind so much.
Which brings us to Rabobank. They were the strongest team in the mountains. They were the strongest team today. Menchov is sitting in fourth place, but he has not displayed the weakness of the three riders ahead of him. He has the most powerful team in this Tour behind him. Right now, they have to be giving high fives over the team dinner. This is Denis Menchov's race to lose. Phonak has demonstrated they can't control this race, Rabobank has.
Phonak has dared Rabobank to take control. Why show this much weakness?
Jens Voigt is a bad man. If cycling were the sort of sport which named awards after athletes, it would call the most aggressive rider the Jens Voigt Award. When there was a break, once you saw Voigt, you knew it was going to work. He's the patron saint of breakaways. He's not a gifted sprinter, he can't climb, and he's not all that loyal of a domestique. What he is, is the guttiest rider on the Tour. Pereiro had him dead to rights on the final sprint, but for some reason he couldn't pass him. There was no logical reason for Voigt to win that final sprint, but he did. Because he is all heart.
OK, back to Landis and Phonak. Stage 13 was a failure on three levels: morally, tactically, and strategically. There's no way to justify giving up 30 minutes to Pereiro. Absolutely none.
First off, there's a certain honor in wearing the maillot jaune. Ordinary riders become great riders, and great riders become transcendent ones. There's a certain obligation to defending the jersey. And while it can be forgivable to give up the yellow jersey in order to win it in the end, that does not mean giving up the jersey to another contender who was dead to rights when the day began. Giving up half an hour to a guy down by 28 minutes when the day began is an inexcusible thing. It's a total betrayal.
It can't even be justified as good tactics. I talked yesterday about Landis letting other contenders up off the map. He did it with Kloden and then Popovych. This wasn't letting Pereiro off the mat, this was rising him from the dead. You can't let contenders back into things. It's one thing to give up 30 minutes to Jens Voigt, it's quite another to give up that time to Pereiro.
What the hell are they conserving their energy for? That big climb in which they will all protect Landis? There's only one rider on the team who can even pretend he could help Landis in the Alps, and that's Merckx. The only time Phonak can conceivably help their leader is during these flat stages. They can at least theoretically control the peloton and, at the very least, keep the other contenders at bay. Allowing a break with a contender on two consecutive days? That's just poor. But allowing a break, any beak, to reach twenty minutes at this stage of the Tour is completely inexcusable. The fact Pereiro was in the break makes it hundred time worse. I don't even know how that happens.
Mostly, this is a failure of strategy. Discovery won Tours for Lance by absolutely asserting their will in the peloton. they were the strongest team and everyone knew it. Any show of weakness was quickly quashed. Phonak's tactics didn't just show weakness, they put an excalmation point on it. At one point today, Rabobank actually started to drive the peloton. Apparently, Menchov didn't want to lose too much time to the leader. Phonak might as well put up a sign asking teams to attack them at will. If they can't protect him on a flat stage, they certainly can't protect him in the mountains. Landis shied away from the bright glare of leading the race. I'm sure there are other riders who wouldn't mind so much.
Which brings us to Rabobank. They were the strongest team in the mountains. They were the strongest team today. Menchov is sitting in fourth place, but he has not displayed the weakness of the three riders ahead of him. He has the most powerful team in this Tour behind him. Right now, they have to be giving high fives over the team dinner. This is Denis Menchov's race to lose. Phonak has demonstrated they can't control this race, Rabobank has.
Phonak has dared Rabobank to take control. Why show this much weakness?
posted by Poseur at 10:04 PM
1 Comments:
On the topic of the moral obligation to respect the yellow jersey, here's what Pererio had to say "This will totally change things ... and I will fight all I can to keep the jersey."
One more point on Phonak buying rest time before re-taking the lead so they can defend it later in the race. The time to give away the jersey is in the 1st week, when you've got 2000 km of racing ahead. We're already 2 weeks into this race; now is the time to be assertive. So, they think they are saving energy for later? Well, Sunday is a day with two big climbs, but probably not a showdown stage (but why not attack given the state of affairs in this Tour?). Monday is a rest day. Then there are 3 days in the Alps, which is where the race will be won--which is where
Phonak might have to end its vacation and work. After that there is one flat stage before the final time trial. They race ends the next day. So, Phonak is disgracing themselves to get out of one day of work.
What a bunch of sissies!
Stage 14 ends with a category 2 climb. Phonak has invited the attack. What say you, Leipheimer, Popovych, Evans, Kloden, Sastre, Menchov?
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