In the Tour de France, there's always something happening, even if you
don't see it. The Tour is more than just a race; it's a complex system
that takes on a life of its own on the roads every July. From the
outside, the entire inner workings are beyond comprehension - to
understand WHY something happens in the Tour, we would need to be part
of the inside, living and experiencing it along with the riders.
That's why, when a team like Iles Balears starts laying down heavy tempo
on two occasions in a stage, most notably on the final climb, we can
explain it, but never truly understand it. That's why, when a team like
T-Mobile puts out enormous effort on a stage and doesn't even come up
with the win, that we know there is something happening, we just don't
know what it is.
What did T-Mobile achieve today? In practical terms, they moved Kloden
into the top 10, got a 2nd place on the stage and picked up some
mountains points. In terms of the overall, nothing really happened.
What did they achieve, in a more subtle sense? They isolated Lance
Armstrong and exposed a weakness in Discovery, making it evident that
there are attacking possibilities where the road goes up and the
Discovery tempo monsters cannot integrate.
Now, eyes are watching and those that are part of the system integrate
the evidence better than we can. Will any team director's ambition
stretch the bounds of etiquette in the final tour of Armstrong?
So although nothing obvious happened, something sinister did. Will it
work to T-Mobile's advantage, to the advantage of others, or will the
realization of a weakness and a "jour de merde" be an awakening and a
focus of effort by Discovery to defend? Has Lance just "got mad"?