Contador won the stage.... but he refused to do any of the work the last 2-3 km. How can he say he won the stage when he played wheelsucker all the way and refused to ride at the front. Could Rasmussen done anything different? WHat would Lance have done?
2007-07-22 16:02:40 · 8 answers · asked by atomicdoug171 3 in Sports ➔ Cycling
Pride for Spain
He made a deal at first, but Rasmussen turned it down, so he played chicken with Rasmussen
After Popavych left, a yong guy of 24 has to do all the hard work if he wants to show respect for the yellow jersey holder
2007-07-23 07:47:32 · answer #1 · answered by L 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What happened was a classic battle to see who would break first. Contador a wheelsucker, no, he was pressing Rasmussen. The two of them seemed to have a deal but it appeared that Rasmussen at the end got greedy for the win.
Lance would of had none of it towards the last several Km's and would of gone out to gain all the time he could get. I"m sure the Discovery plan for today is to see if Rasmussen has any thing left. With Contador looking strong and Levi not far back in time I expect Discovery to push hard.
2007-07-23 01:50:05 · answer #2 · answered by MtBikr 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know about cheap. Apparently Rasmussen and Contador may have made a deal that if they work together Contador could have the stage. Rasmussen gets further time on the GC contenders and Contador gets a win. Seems like Rasmussen put the hammer down in the last few Ks and went back on his word.
That's life in the yellow jersey, too. Always defending, always having to work harder.
2007-07-22 16:31:44 · answer #3 · answered by jamis 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not a cheap shot at all. It's just bike racing. As the wearer of the yellow jersey Rasmussen has a responsibility to pull. He has more to lose than Contador and has to protect his lead over Evans. Why would Contador give him more help than his fair share only to take more time away from his teammates and not win the stage?
2007-07-23 01:54:31 · answer #4 · answered by Jay P 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
not a cheap shot in pro cycling. contador was doing a lot of the work after popovich dropped out. He actually tried several breaks also, so I wouldn't label him a wheelsucker at all.
thats how a lot of the pros are riding these days. an objective view of this in the same race is the way cadel evans has been riding the stages. I'm not saying that he always does it, but it seems glaringly cheap of him to do so in many of the stages thus far.
rasmussen couldve done things differently, but it was probably the smartest move.
2007-07-22 16:38:39 · answer #5 · answered by borracho111 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
no way it wasnt a cheap shot at all... they were working together at first then they started arguing..it seemed like rasmussen wanted or expected contador to lead him through to the end... why would contador want to help him if hes not on his team...that's the life of the yellow jersey anyway....besides contador made moves before that..its not like he was just following the whole time
2007-07-22 19:18:05 · answer #6 · answered by L 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The wearer of the Maillot jaune must work for it. Contador isn't on Ras's team and thus didn't.. nor should have paved the way for him. If they were teammates...it would have been a different story.
Ras should have slowed down. The omipresent peloton would have forced Contador to work because he would not have wanted to get swallowed by the peloton.
Lance...he would have hit the gas, breaking Ras; then turned over his shoulder and stared him down (2001)
2007-07-22 17:03:17 · answer #7 · answered by Melissa R 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Cheap shot....Yes. But that's the way it works out.
The Spaniards always ride that way, they never want to do any of the work and try to pass at the end. But the world always needs someone on the bottom rung.
2007-07-22 16:24:09 · answer #8 · answered by D'Artagnan 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋