Brajkovic Should be No1 ?

Gazzetta67

Anyone else think that He should be the team leader ? - He was very impressive at the Dauphine and matched Contador on alpe d huez, Ok i dont know if contador was fully fit but i think its a gamble for radioshack to work for armstrong. There is no way he will be able to match attacks from schleck and contador, Or is it the case its "my ball and i wanna win" with armstrong

Kléber

Gazzetta67 wrote:

Or is it the case its "my ball and i wanna win" with armstrong

Unfortunate choice of phrase

Armstrong will be the leader, it's simply the way he works and the team has been built for this purpose.

RichN95.

I don't think he should. Brajkovic has never done anything over three weeks (best: 17th in the Giro). He led the 2006 Vuelta, but faded badly (finishing 30th). One good Dauphine doesn't make him a contender.

Armstrong on the other hand, did come third last year and has just done well in Switzerland. Plus the sponsors aren't paying for him to be a domestique.

Now I don't think Armstrong will make the podium this year, as age continues to catch up with him, but, to my mind, he's still Radioshack's best bet.

edhornby

probably not, I don't think that he'd be able to do it consistently over 3 weeks, TT and climb etc. but as a classics specialist he'll be very useful in the first days and if he rides intelligently he may get in the top 20 or maybe top 10

but is Armstrong good enough this year? er no, he wasn't strong enough last year and this will be a tour too many. I'd say that Kloden is the strongest rider but normally leipheimer gets the second spot on the team. I think that Radioshacks best tactic would be to talk up LA and let him do his usual thing with Kloden and leipheimer waiting for when he cracks

andyp

In a team containing Armstrong, Leipheimer and Kloden, all of whom have won or finished on the podium in multiple GTs, do you really think they are going to place their trust in Brajkovic?

They'd be mad to.

calvjones

Agree that Armstrong is probably the third best rider at Radioshack over 3 weeks. What I find interesting is that JB uses Kloeden as third man - i.e. he typically pulls over the first big hills for Lance or Bertie, leaving Levi there for the finale - when he's clearly a far better helper than Levi.

cougie

Its only a number. Doesnt mean anything.

That said - LA isnt looking too bad - and who in their team has won it 7 times ? I forget.... .

Kléber

andyp wrote:

In a team containing Armstrong, Leipheimer and Kloden, all of whom have won or finished on the podium in multiple GTs, do you really think they are going to place their trust in Brajkovic?

They'd be mad to.

Quite but Kloeden just seems to prefer playing second man and Leipheimer's not won a great deal. Brajkovic's ride in the Dauphine was a win, something few on the team have managed this year. Certainly gives them yet another card to play. If Contador is the big favourite then tactical play from Radioshack and Saxo is the way to turn the race upside down.

Tom Butcher

I'm with those that think Armstrong is still their best bet - I wouldn't rule him out for the podium. He looked OK in Switzerland and given his preparation this year has been interrupted his form should still be on the up.

I suppose an American sponsor would prefer an American winner so even if Armstrong were to crash out on the first stage Brajkovic wouldn't be the preferred option. I do wonder though if Radioshack couldn't use their strength to send someone like Leipheimer away early on a climb and see if the others would chase or just look at Armstrong - similar to the way Sastre won it.

Cumulonimbus

RichN95 wrote:

I don't think he should. Brajkovic has never done anything over three weeks (best: 17th in the Giro). He led the 2006 Vuelta, but faded badly (finishing 30th). One good Dauphine doesn't make him a contender.

Brajkovic was the fourth Astana rider on GC in the 09 Giro. I cant remember exactly what happened in terms of team dynamics but im guessing he would have been working for the others so his 17th isnt necessarily a true reflection of his ability. He may have faded badly in the 2006 Vuelta but he was only 22 at the time. If Armstrong were to crash out then it could be interesting to see what they do but otherwise i dont see anyone else being the team leader.

FransJacques

What a bone-headed assertion. One 5 day race does not a leader make.
- how many 4-5 day races has lance and leipheimer won between them?
- how many multi week stage races has lance and levi won between them vs. Little JB?
- what experience does he have in multi-week stage races?
Any further questions?

calvjones

FransJacques wrote:

What a bone-headed assertion. One 5 day race does not a leader make.
- how many 4-5 day races has lance and leipheimer won between them?
- how many multi week stage races has lance and levi won between them vs. Little JB?
- what experience does he have in multi-week stage races?
Any further questions?

One further question

On the basis of the above, why don't the Shack hire Merckx as leader with the badger and Big Mig as able domestiques?

RichN95.

calvjones wrote:

One further question

On the basis of the above, why don't the Shack hire Merckx as leader with the badger and Big Mig as able domestiques?

None of those got on the podium last year. And none of them even made the top 20 in the Tour de Suisse.

calvjones

RichN95 wrote:

calvjones wrote:

One further question

On the basis of the above, why don't the Shack hire Merckx as leader with the badger and Big Mig as able domestiques?

None of those got on the podium last year. And none of them even made the top 20 in the Tour de Suisse.

I still think if you persuaded Hinault back into a pair of woolly shorts he'd whup everyone's ass.

FransJacques

you gotta have a modicum of understanding of how pro cycling works. JB's pay packet doesn't justify anything other than what he is.

Defoe might have scored a game-winning goal but that doesn't make him the captian.

rick_chasey

Radioshack are all too old.


Last year's Tour route was pretty easy, and the GC racing wasn't particularly hard.

If it really gets set alight this year, the 'shack will suffer.

Pross

Radio Shack have an extremely strong team available for the Tour. They may be at the wrong end of the age spectrum but they are still all capable of doing what is required i.e. giving Lance the best chance to win. If Brajkovic somehow ends up in a better position than Lance when the serious racing begins then they should look to protect him too but unless that happens you have to go with the proven 3 week racer.

bipedal

Quote for Dirk Demol: "We chose pure slaves," Demol told Het Belang van Limburg, speaking about the likes of Chris Horner, Andreas Klöden and Levi Leipheimer. (from Cyclingnews)

mididoctors

only one way we are going to know for sure..

dave_1

can't help but think this thread is baiting only...but agree it's a shame there isn't a longish TT in first 10 days where Brajkovic could smash his own team and get some freedom. The Dauphine is not always an accurate indicator of who will be good at the TDF though. I reckon Armstrong will not start the TDF if rumours are true re new stuff

ProBiker

bipedal wrote:

Quote for Dirk Demol: "We chose pure slaves," Demol told Het Belang van Limburg, speaking about the likes of Chris Horner, Andreas Klöden and Levi Leipheimer. (from Cyclingnews)

Found the interview thanks.

Interesting read about raadioshacks tactics...

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/demol-e ... -selection

FransJacques

what new stuff?

shinyhelmut

FransJacques wrote:

what new stuff?

Apparently the Wall Street Journal will be publishing chapter 2 of the Landis allegations this weekend, possibly interviews with some of the other names from the original email.

So maybe not new stuff as such but further corroboration of the original allegations.

FransJacques

What a pain that the 2-3 weeks prior to the tour became, about 10 years ago, a skeletons exploding from closet silly season. In 2006, so many people dropped out of the tour (I think due to puerto) I was going to throw my rig in the car and drive overnight to the prologue in hopes of a EOL deal.