I think that Contandor should show some respect to­ Lance, because lets face it, look at all the media­ attention the sport is getting due to this rivalry.­ Contandor will benefit from this situation, lets see if­ Contandor is still here in ten years time.....

All I­ can say is the number 7.

Everybody is see who is the leader of Astana, and all­ team was there for Contadot even Armstrong, that was­ sure

I'm American, a cycling fan, and not really a Lance­ fan. Not anymore. He said that he was only riding the­ tour to raise awareness for cancer research, and that­ he would support the established team leader, Contador.­ The minute he got on the course, he started talking­ trash about how he should be the leader and the team­ should back him. His time is past, the torch belongs­ to Contador now.

I'm with ric. I think all the anti lance fans are­ mad because he's an American and American's­ don't care a bit about cycling. If he wears the­ yellow for a few stages I think it only helps the sport­ even if Contador takes it back in later stages.

Do you really think Lance is there to help Contador?­ Maybe in the beginning, but not now. The team is behind­ Armstrong, but today will be the test!

Seeing a quote from Riis, whilst not confusing, what­ happened to him being persona non grata at the Tour?­ Cheat.Yeah, he really paid a price for cheating all­ those years.

Is it just me, or are the quotes in this story totally­ confusing to other people too?

Many of us in Mauritius would like to see Lance again­ wears the yellow jersey but I think his age and health­ will play against him. Anyhow, Good Luck, Lance

i'm withe Reid on this one, Hinault constantly­ attacked Lemond in 86. And as for all the anti Lance­ fans out there arrogance(or ultimate self confidence)­ is a pre-requisite of a successful Grand Tour Winner, i­ don't rember much humility coming from the likes of­ Merckx, Hinault et al in there day.
it's all down­ to AC can he put down a marker and force LA to work for­ him if he doesn't then he's finshed for this­ years Tour, he should be looking back at the 86 tour­ and take a leaf out of Lemonds book. It won't all­ go Astana's way though Satre, the Schleck brothers­ and Evans will all have a say in it, but any one of 4­ Astana riders will win it, the only prediciton i will­ give is barring a major disaster Astana will win the­ team prize by a country mile

contador's superior p2w ratio 61kgs? should be­ enough to drop armstrong 75kgs.

I really hope Contador doesn't cross the finish­ line first. He's a great cyclist, but his­ pistol-shot "victory salute" is so dorky I­ always wish someone else had won whenver I see it.

I think the much critical are the next two mountain­ stages. Lets just give the yellow to Lance. Even if­ COntador is the leader, lance will set the pace here­ but still, the two will ride together. No attacks will­ happen on for both riders.

Lets all enjoy the Stage 7.

I think the much critical are the next two mountain­ stages. Lets just give the yellow to Lance. Even if­ COntador is the leader, lance will set the pace here­ but still, the two will ride together. No attacks will­ happen on for both riders.

Lets all enjoy the Stage 7.

What will Kloden be told to do? Not attack at all?­ Support Lance or support Alberto?

The decision is probably not in contador's hands.­ Those riders 2 and 3 minutes down must take every­ opportunity to gain time. If Sastre attacks and gains 2­ minutes he still does not have the jersey to defend. If­ he goes Contador will go with him regardless of what­ else is happening and then it depends on if Armstrong­ has the legs to stay with them. So Contador plays the­ team game by not attacking but still may get the­ rewards. Provided he is actually in better condition­ than Armstrong it is only a matter of time in the race­ that a potential winner leaves Armstrong on a climb and­ Contador can go with them.

What about Evans and Sastre?

I believe Carlos Sastre is not out yet. He is the one­ to be mentioned as well as Evans and Italians.

can anyone tell me in which tour (year) the favourites­ launched all out attacks on each other on the first­ mountain stage. the only shocks today will be if any­ contenders fail to stay with others gc riders

Couple of points. Firstly, if Contador is feeling­ strong and can set a fast tempo up the climb, why not­ do that. So what if he gets yellow as long as he can­ put 2 mins+ into everyone then he is in good­ shape.

Secondly, what is the talk of pressure about­ getting the yellow jersey and keeping it. Having the­ yellow jersey only counts if you have it come end of­ stage 21. Lance on several occasions did have yellow in­ previous tours and he lost it only to make sure he got­ it back in the mountains with good time distance gained­ over rivals. No big deal as long as he had it by end of­ stage 21.

If Contador does attack and gets yellow. So­ what. His whole ambition must be to take time out of­ all his major mountain climbing rivals not about­ keeping yellow from now on in.

you cant say how it works out,it will depends on how­ will lance feel before last climb,if he s ok i think­ they will try to give him yellow jersey,if he feels not­ at 100% contador will go and grab yellow with kloeden­ and levi catching attacks from other favourites