Key Armstrong Lieutenant resting up for a big day
Two-time Tour de France runner-up Andreas Klöden (RadioShack) finished 2 minutes and 13 seconds off the pace of the group containing the race favorites in stage seven today, giving the rider a bit of respite for what is sure to be a future play for the maillot jaune. The German eased off the group containing teammate and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, and will look to the stage finish in Morzine tomorrow for an opportunity to help the American gain back time on his rivals.
Klöden looked to the French television cameras as they were filming him peel off the back and said, “A Demain”, indicating that tomorrow could be a critical day for the RadioShack team. The team’s boss, Johan Bruyneel, is one of the best tactician’s in the business, and he now finds himself in a position where he’ll need a combination of brilliance and luck to put the American in yellow on the podium in Paris.
Armstrong lost critical time on stage three over the cobblestones of northern France, a day he had marked out to gain time on defending champion Alberto Contador (Astana) and last year’s runner-up Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank), both of whom are superior climbers. An ill-timed flat tire saw him fall back on the day which has put him in a position where he is forced to come from behind, a disadvantage that could end up being the undoing of his final bid for an eighth Tour crown. He now sits 1 minute and 21 seconds behind Schleck and a further 30 seconds behind World champion Cadel Evans. Former Astana teammate Contador will go into tomorrow’s stage with a 50 second advantage over the RadioShack captain, with long-time Tour de France rival Ivan Basso (Liquigas) sitting behind Armstrong by that same amount. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) and Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky), who are both dark horses for yellow, lead Armstrong by 41 seconds.
The big question is how Bruyneel will use Klöden and the rest of his team to attempt to regain the upper hand. His former rival from the Telekom days rode in complete service of Armstrong during last year’s Tour, with his loyalty costing him a higher place in the general classification. He eventually finished in sixth place, 2 minutes and 22 seconds behind the American. Team orders could see him as part of the old Bruyneel tactic of burning off their rivals on the final climb, but with the pedigree aiming for yellow, the probability of success for such a move this early in the race is low. With so many critical mountains left in this year’s event, RadioShack’s only upside to that approach would seem to be the element of surprise.
Since Klöden is now more than three and a half minutes behind the top favorites, the RadioShack team could try to send him up the road to help Armstrong in the finale, or possibly fire him off to wear down the Saxo Bank and Astana teams of their main adversaries on the way to the final ascent. The American team isn’t short of firepower, with Levi Leipheimer, Chris Horner and recent Critérium du Dauphiné winner Janez Brajkovic all at the ready to run the competition ragged.
With Frank Schleck now out of the race with a broken collarbone, it leaves Astana, Liquigas and Rabobank, who have Alexandre Vinokourov, Roman Kreuziger and Robert Gesink respectively, who are second in command and present a legitimate threat for the podium in Paris. Both Vinokourov and Kreuziger are in front of their team leaders in the standings, while Gesink remains a little off the pace, but all are solid options to neutralize a Klöden attack. Wildcards Bradley Wiggins and Thomas Löfkvist, who are teammates on Team Sky, could also try to play that game, but the Swede has yet to confirm his Grand Tour potential.
Bruyneel is likely planning several moves ahead and, with a champion like Armstrong on form and surrounded by such depth, the battle for the top spot on the podium will no doubt be fierce. Contador is expected to make a move to stamp his authority on the race as they approach the finish in Morzine tomorrow, and if he has the form his did last year there isn’t much anyone can do to stop him.