Here is a two-minute video recap of today's exciting stage of the Tour de France, which I watched live for five hours, beginning at 5:30. There were five categorized climbs on the stage, though none "hors categorie." On the penultimate climb up the Col de Romme, Lance Armstrong covered at least two attacks by Frank Schleck, who was obviously softening up his rivals for his brother Andy. When Andy finally attacked, Alberto Contador went with him. Lance, who must have been fried by this time, couldn't chase, even if he had been able to, physically. For strategic reasons, he had to stay behind with Contador's other rivals, such as Bradley Wiggins. Lance's job at that point was to stay on the wheel of Wiggins. When Frank attacked a moment later, Lance could have gone with him (as far as team strategy is concerned), but didn't, perhaps because he feared that Wiggins would go with him. Frank bridged up to his brother (and Contador) and rode to the finish with them. When Lance sensed that Wiggins was fried, he attacked. He caught his teammate Andreas Klöden just before the finish line, 2:18 behind Contador and the Schleck brothers. So Lance played the good teammate and still got to demonstrate his tactical and athletic skill.
It's clear that Lance lacks the acceleration of the younger men. Whether he can regain his previous form before next year's Tour remains to be seen. If his lack of acceleration is a function of age, then obviously Lance isn't going to be as good next year as he is right now, because he'll be a year older. But it may be a function of insufficient training. Remember: Lance came back from retirement in December (as I recall). That's not enough time to be competitive at the Tour, and wouldn't have been even if Lance hadn't suffered a broken collarbone a couple of months ago. The young guns will be just as tough next year as they are this year, if not more so. One thing is clear: As long as Lance is racing, cycling will be popular in the United States. I'll bet viewership of the Tour on Versus is at an all-time high. I'll be honest with you: I'm more interested in the Tour this year than I was a year ago, without Lance.
Addendum: A strange thing happened today. Near the end of the stage, there were four riders at the front: the Schleck brothers for Saxo Bank and Contador and Klöden for Astana. Contador attacked. The Schleck brothers followed, but Klöden did not. I have no idea what Contador was thinking. First, he's the leader of the Tour. His goal should have been to stay with the Schleck brothers, not attack them. Second, he risked losing the Tour by dropping his teammate. Klöden was riding well at the speed they were traveling, and could have been of assistance to Contador for the remainder of the stage (assuming neither of the Schlecks attacked). As it turned out, Contador was isolated. A flat tire or other mechanical problem would have been disastrous. Klöden rode alone for quite a while before Lance and another rider caught him on the final descent. Contador does strange things. He has great legs, but not, I'm afraid, much of a brain.
Addendum 2: Here is the Cyclingnews story about today's stage. The more I think about it, the more I think Contador has been riding against Lance during this Tour. In other words, he has focused on his teammate instead of his other rivals. I wrote several days ago about how Contador "screwed" Armstrong by attacking without permission. Today's attack on the Schleck brothers can be construed as an attack on Lance and Klöden as well. It's as though Contador is out for himself. He expects his teammates to work for him, but doesn't do anything whatsoever to help them secure podium positions. Today, for example, he screwed Klöden (though he says Klöden told him to attack). Rumor has it that Lance and Johan Bruyneel will form a new team after the Tour. I hope they put together a killer squad (George Hincapie and Levi Leipheimer must be on it) and that Lance beats the living shit out of Contador in next year's Tour. The punk deserves it. By the way, once the Tour is over and Lance leaves Astana, he will be free to talk about Contador's riding. He may choose to remain mum about it, but he might also let the punk have it. A little bad blood before next year's Tour should make it interesting, eh?
Addendum 3: Does everyone see, now, why I thought it was stupid to go into the Tour with Lance and Contador on the same team? I knew there would be tension between these two spirited competitors and that the team's desire to win the Tour would compromise at least one of them. Had Lance and Contador been on different teams during this Tour, it would have played out very differently. Lance may not have won, but at least he would have been the undisputed team leader and would have nobody to blame but himself. Perhaps things would have been different if Contador were an American, such as Levi Leipheimer. Contador is Spanish. There is a language barrier. Lance and Contador barely knew each other when the Tour began three weeks ago. Spanish cyclists have been known to work together even when they are on different teams. As this Cyclingnews story indicates, Lance and Contador never "clicked." This personality conflict was bound to affect their cooperation, and it has. I'm already looking forward to next year's Tour. Sometimes it's best to keep things simple: one team leader, eight domestiques.
Addendum 4: Here is tomorrow's stage, an individual time trial. Lance lies fourth on G.C., 3:55 behind Contador. Here is how Lance wins the Tour. First, he demolishes the Schleck brothers in the time trial. This puts him in second place. Second, he takes a minute out of Contador in the time trial. This puts him 2:55 behind, with three stages to go. On the penultimate stage up Mont Ventoux, Lance attacks early. This forces Contador to play the good teammate, as Lance has done. Lance puts in the ride of his life, taking three minutes out of Contador. Lance rides into Paris Sunday as the Tour champion—for the eighth time. Would I bet the house on this scenario? No. Would I rule it out as preposterous? No. We're not dealing with an ordinary cyclist. We're dealing with Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 
