Driving That Train: Beyond the Engine

in this years edition of the VN TdF guide.

sorry for being so lame ;)

But instead of a strong train Riis reach the goal by preventing the competition from using the support car, lure the competition focus on the wrong riders and sets up traps in areas where his riders usually are weakest, taking the competition by surprise.

one of Lemond’s wins was really an Hinault win: I’ve been on sort of an Hinault kick, and re-watched the 86 Alpe stage: Hinault towed Lemond up the ENTIRE climb—and there are points on that climb where I’d swear that Lemond is thinking “Damn I hope he doesn’t drop me here.”

The other two wins are somewhere between Merckx and Menchov, if I’d have to label them. That may be why the 89 tour is SUCH a good race: it was truly a battle. Now imagine what it would have been like had Delgado made it on time for his prologue . . .

rope a dope was the 3rd and last ali-frazier. Ali used the loose ropes (in the thrilla in manilla if i remember correctly) to hang back and curl up and let frazier tire himself out.

With threads like
-I’m an ELPMO
-I’m an ELMMO
-STFU, I’m an ELPMO
-You STFU, I’m an ELMMO

Character assasination? Nope, I didn’t make absurd claims in the least…LA’s crafty strategies were part of his style – it’s not really a debatable issue, it’s a historical fact. It is my opinion that he had the pure ability to win without all of the insurance measures, that is all. I agree with 72andSunny’s added point that he raised the bar to the 21st century, at least when it came to the identifying new variables that he illustrated were “fair game” when it came to winning at all costs. Why would you defend the notion that “faking” is something noble by definition? I’m not trying to make this more philosophical than it should be, but can you deny that race radio’s are a bit of an umbilical cord?? It’s no secret that LA had Johan on the other end of the communiue, how is that an assasination of his character? It’s in the true nature of mature discussion and debate that I make what is honestly a rather conservative assessment of tactics that LA himself openly admits without reservation, were a part of his unorthodox tactical strategy. So….take a deep breath, Lance is going to be ok…

and don’t agree it was just a lame character assassination. plus koppenberg has learned to use paragraphs and i can now read his comments which i now know are worth reading. Yay!

And can be enlightening.

I don’t see that people need to post warnings stating that they love or hate Lance, before they’re allowed to do race analysis. I also bet that Koppenberg-some-number could, if you asked, describe a Lance win that did impress him. Or anyway, you could ask.

There is always improvisation – you have to race the race that is, not the race you wish for. Eh, something like that anyway. It’s too early in the morning to write something pithy and smart and stuff.

But you do see riders who use their specific talents – heh, I mean, how can you be a fan of Di Luca and not see this? ;-) Sastre is best in the third week, and in the high mountains. Di Luca is an attacker. Menchov is all steadylike. Contador is best in the hills.

So, I meant the idea of strategy in a broad sense, not in the specific I’m going to attack right here, right now sense. Indeed, trying to plan that specifically is frequently a recipe for disaster in bike racing. The best riders combine a deep understanding of their talents and limits, flexibility to adapt to circumstances, and the ability to make decisions and commit to them.

but that’s exactly what I meant: if you’re going to rope-a-dope (or hang on in the wheels) the only way you can win is to take time somewhere. For Indurain, that was usually the time trials (same with Menchov—and with Leipheimer in the 01 Vuelta).

I’m not saying it’s easy—but to win this way you’ve got to recognize when the right time to attack is—which is an art in itself AND have the capacity to do so. That’s why I’m becoming more and more impressed with Menchov’s Giro victory: he took everything that DiLuca threw at him—and counter-attacked on occasion.

For whatever reason, neither Evans or Leipheimer can seal the deal on that. I rate Evans mroe highly, because he at least tries to attack. Veering purely into psychological speculation, though, I suspect that he’s hindered by the memory of that huge implosion in the ‘02 Giro. It’s hard to really let loose with everything if you have a visceral experience of total melt-down.