When Alberto first started his move today, I figured he's not content with sitting in the peloton day after day for three weeks - he likes to race and win. We all, including Alberto, knew it was a mistake when we saw Kloden couldn't keep up, even though it's possible the Schlecks would have attacked again later. But there's also a lot of propaganda going - if Lance pulled over for a natural break, Versus would be saying he peed like a champion. I don't think Contador would have attacked again if Lance hadn't told the Austin American-Statesman "I’ll just see how it shakes out. Right now, it would take a lot of things to go my way (for yellow)". Everyone thought Lance was great when the press announced he would be a domestique, but then he hasn't had to be one. It was genius when Lance went with Columbia to leapfrog Contador, but "against the plan" when Contador attacked to overtake him. Lance and Johan want Lance to win. I hope Kloden gets his podium spot back in the TT.

What's AC supposed to do, let the Schleks go up the road and gain time on him and maybe threaten his GC position? Shouldn't the best grand tour rider at the moment win the TdF instead of someone that made it a boring spectacle for 7 years?

Totally agree, LA is triying to sleep down this Tour to not show his flaws. If Contador was in a different team probably Lance were below the top 10 and for sure we had a better Tour.

All this is a marketing campaign for Livestong that can´t be as it was scheduled because Contador is the strongest man on race the same if he need to ride against his own coach.

What Contador did today was purely selfishness if he can't play as a decent team mate he needs to be by himself. Selfish! As to Lance he don't need to prove anything He already did 7 times.

What Contador did was to secure his current GC standing. With the upcoming time trial and a punishing Mont Ventoux, there are a lot of variables since these two stages are physically demanding. What's wrong with keeping his lead under this circumstance? What Johan wants to do is totally ridiculous, he wants three riders to be on the top three. I don't see the purpose in this decision. Ok, let his strategy work, but winning the Tdf with one rider is not enough, but have three on the podium to disgrace all the other teams? C'mon Johan, be real, have some respect for other teams.

And Lance had been talking about helping the strongest rider in every TV show and press conference before Tdf. Has he done that? The only thing that I've seen is that he's not content about being number two. He's the one who's selfish and not wanting to be a team player.

To be honest, I think if it is Lance who did what Contador did, many Lance fans won't complain.

Kigonjiro and Ubysie should spend less time reading tabloids in order to understand cycling tactics. Contador had no reason to accelerate, all he had to do was follow wheels. Instead, he makes a jump, sheds his teammate and leaves himself exposed and vulnerable. If he would have had a flat he would have lost minutes, then how smart would he have been? He could have 'secured his standing' with a teammate ,all he really did is cement his reputation in the peloton as a gifted rider with no common sense or appreciation of team tactics, Where is the 'flaw' with Armstrong dropping Wiggins and geting time into him? Are you two bothers, both with the clueless gene?

I do agree that contador does not need to attack at all in order to win, all he has to do is follow the brothers and they will bring him to the finish line. If contador got a flat tire or mechanical problem he will maybe even lost his first position without a teamate pacing him.

The truth is if Lance and Contador were in different team there will be no way Armstrong can keep up with the acceleration that AC put on the Archallis and the Verbier. AC is the best climber in the world right now but sometime he just make bad decision that just might cost him in the future

Quote "The attack from Contador three kilometres from the top was against my advice," added the Belgian. "I told him not to go, he didn't need to attack, because the two Schlecks would go full gas to the finish. I said to him: 'You don't have to attack to win the Tour de France today'. So it was a pity Andreas couldn't hold on because we could have been first, second and third today in general classification, but now we are first, fourth and fifth." Unquote.

Klodden lost 2.27 on this stage - how did he think they were going to get 1,2,3 on the podium with still Ventoux to come and why should AC drop back as Klodden couldn't hold on? Who's the domestique? At the end of the day AC has to cover his butt for he will get attacked on Mt Ventoux and can't count or trust on his team for support.

When Lance was winning the Tour his teammates had to sacrifice their ambitions in order to help Lance win the race. Now Contador must sacrifice his chances of winning to help Lance finish second? What does Johan wants to accomplish, a win or a second place for Lance? Races are won by attacking and this is not a charity ride to make Lance feel good about himself again. My recomendation to Lance if he is having a midlife crisis, grow a ponytail, buy a convertible, and date a 20 year old blond.

Contador was superb. He is young and brilliant but it may seem to him that the team manager is more interested in the aging American. Granted, he is still able to show flashes of brilliance but Contador must be feeling like his best interests are not at the heart of the team strategy. He made a logical move to keep up with the S brothers in order to consolidate his lead and insure against problems in the TT and on MV. It also made for exciting racing which is what we pay our money and their salaries for. I hope to see more sparks tomorrow and the day after!

Why are all anti-lance. He has done TDF 7 times & there nothing that he needs to prove again but after a three and a half year break to be in the first five GC standing is great. I hope the Schleks will be in the Livestrong team next year.

Contador knew he'd made a bad move as soon as he realised he hadn't got the gap he assumed he'd get. His body language after he was caught expressed that he wanted to wait for Kloden, but Kloden was demoralised and slowing by then. I can see why the management was angry.

How odd. I thought Contador did the right thing - leaving Armstrong to keep Wiggo away, to ensure a greater time gap would develop. He was perhaps surprised that the Schlecks manged to keep up with him, and perhaps hoped that Kloeden would hold on, but you can't have everything. Of course this is now bad for Wiggo, but great for Astana and Contador. If Armstrong is a team man then he should be glad of the extra time gap to ensure Astana keeps the yellow jersey. Contador and Armsrong will do great TTs anyway, so I don't think Andy Schleck will keep his standing after the TT.

You have to question team 'orders' when they were to let the Schleks go up the road and put as much time into Contador's overall lead as possible. Byneel obviously wants 3 podium spots for Astana but doesn't necessarily care who they are. Contador obviously wants yellow and is prepared to fight for it. We mustn't forget there is a mountain stage after the time trial in which the attacks go in again.

If Contador had left the Schleks to put time in on him yesterday then he'd have to fight very hard perhaps on the penultimate stage if things didn't go well in the time trial. glos makes a good point about loyalty to the yellow jersey. It seems Astana need to remember the yellow needs protecting first.

Sorry for posting again but, just a thought, if the unrest continues there might be some mistakes over the next couple of days that might just let Wiggo back in with a chance. Here's hoping....

Not sure why people say Lance isn't a team player. When he sat with Wiggins watching Contador (Smug Get) racing away. And it's not the first time he's sat back to watch AC attack when told not to. Oh, and the time he spent on the front in the team TT...I also don't understand why people are complaining about Astana wanting a 1, 2, 3 in GC. Which teams wouldn't want that. Sometimes you need teams to work together and AC doesn't want to work with his team. I'd love to see AC ride in Cadel's team...

Anyway this tour has had Wiggins up the top, even scaring the worlds best climbers. Thats made it for me, nevermind this Astana/LA/AC crap.

Since when a leader of a team must care about his teammates results in the race he is currently leading ???

It is now clear that Johan does not care about Contador yellow jersey but only about whole team result (probably to improve his CV) and Lance results (probably because he believes he is already managing Lance's team).

Lance complaints and points out that he has always followed manager orders... probably because these orders were always in favour with him...

Alberto had a good move: his attack improved his leader position and showed bravery in a soporific race.

Haven't Lance and Alberto been riding for themselves since the race started? Bruyneel's plan to get 1,2,3 didn't work - a little bit like Columbia not getting green and yellow a few stages ago?

To my mind there have been two occasions in the mountains when Lance attacked from the group behind the leaders and could easily have dragged other contenders back up to Contador, as well as going with the Columbia train when the bunch was split in the crosswind. So, why didn't Bruyneel complain about Lance's actions then?

I thought this story was going to get some comments. My tuppence worth, and I will declare interests first:

1) I would have liked to see Lance win, purely and simply because it would be a huge achievement, and I am a fan, though I know he's not the driven snow;

2) I would have liked to see Brad Wiggins on the podium too (I think we're all on the same page there);

3) I am not a fan of Contador, for reasons I will not state here.

Okay, so what was the right thing to do? Well, we know that Andy and Frank Schleck are not great in the TT, so there was no real threat to anyone from Astana, or Brad Wiggins from them. Therefore they were always going to try to shed Wiggo and anyone else that they could. Also we could see that the attack with Kloeden in it, whilst it was gaining time on Wiggins' group, it seemed to be staying together, and AK was doing a good job, hanging on the back, supporting AC. Clearly the aim of Astana is to win the race with AC. The next objective is to get as many other riders up on the podium as possible. With LL gone, LA and AK are the only shot left. LA did the right thing by making sure BW was blown before he went (and didn't he go?). AC should have stayed with his group, UNLESS the Schlecks attacked and looked like sticking serious time into him, and shephered AK to the finish, knowing he could take back time in the TT and if he could stay with them on Col de la Colombiere, it was unlikely the Schlecks could put any time into him on the Ventoux. End of.

Final point: Contador is a great talent, and an awesome bike rider, but if he doesn't wise up and get himself sorted with respect to teamwork, he'll not be popular in any team he's in.

what Contador did was a stupid move, plain & simple, Bruyneel was correct in his tactics & to drop Kloeden was foolish, the Shleck bros weren't going to let him go & Johan knew this, i'm sick of people slagging off Armstrong, he has settled into the domestique role perfectly & is supporting Contador without issue, if you disagree why do you think he stopped with Wiggins like he did? do you seriously think he could not have kept the 4 man break's wheels to consolidate his GC 2nd place? the way he shot up that mountain once he realised Wiggins was spent illustrates this point, for god sake's the fact that Lance himself won on 7 consecutive TDF's proves what master tacticians both him & Bruyneel are, give him a break. he knows his onions! hee, haw, hee, haw! (couldn't resist that!)

Go AC, Bruidiot wants Lance in Yellow but it was clear that AC is the true leader of the tour. Bru "We might as well win" better wake up to the fact that teams should be run to win things not for personal favours for old friends.

I loved it. I don't want Lance anywhere near this sport, he refuses to state drugs cheats have no place in the sport. Compart and Contrast to Wiggins stance.

Deejay,

Conversely, I'm not a big LA fan but I do like Contador. However, I broadly agree with you. Contador had a good race but was stupid in attacking the Shleks, he just needed to shadow them. However, he is young and stupid, and weren't we all at one time?

I think though that it is suprising that Bruyneel is attacking him in public though. I do think that there are a lot of internal politics in the Astana team and we are seeing some of the alliances in things like this.

I don't agree with Roachbiker. LA stopped BW because it served his own purpose too, not as a selfless action on AC's behalf. Bruyneel's comments on AC's actions show that there is a major push in Astana to gain as many of the podium places as possible. Which means tha Kloden and Lance need to stay ahead of Brad. And no, I don't think he has the legs to keep with AC and the Shlecks, he's pretty much said that himself.

Don't want to seem that I'm Lance bashing, fairly neutral on him. My only downer is that the tour is being used as publicity for his LiveStrong brand. I have noticed though that views are pretty polarised on here. I wonder why that is?

i agree that lance has suffered in the early stages of the climbs but he had the legs yesterday without a doubt, im not portraying him to be a saint but he has realised himself another win is unobtainable so he is looking for contador yellow & team win. & we are digressing the point that Alberto Contador made a selfish move yesterday, no matter how talented or quick a rider he is, he shouldn't have left Kloeden.

Hasn't anyone realized yet that Bruyneel is already in Lance's payroll? Who do you think is going to be Lance's new team manager. Does anyone think that AC does not know where Bruyneel's true loyalties lie. AC would be extremely stupid not to cover his back. The larger his time difference to his followers the easier he can keep the Yellow until Paris. This is the real World not Neverland!

he's always been lance's manager, because he's always run the best team, its simple but the emphasis is T-E-A-M Contador is not going to lose the yellow to anyone & everyone knows this, dont you think the domestique's deserve a bone?

Roachbiker, it was never about a T-E-A-M whe LA was the leader, it was always about him, did he ever gift a stage or slow for a teammate?. AC has just proved who is the strongest rider and destroyed his T-E-A-M in the ITT. He doesn't give a rats if he is not associatted with LA/JB next year, he has had not help from them this year anyway.

lance rode numerous times for TEAM mate george hincapie in the Paris-Roubaix, he also rode the Giro for Leipheimer & to say Contador has rode the Tour de France alone is laughable, u said it yourself, he didnt give a rats ass, no matter what team he's in next year, thats next year this year he wears an Astana jersey, he is the strongest rider & has just proved that i agree. we arent discussing armstrong, with a little help kloeden's GC could be higher

Here is what Contador's recklessness produced:

1. Ignored orders from his team director.

2. Had no effect on the race, except to drop his teammate and make himself as vulnerable as possible.

3. Keeping the team from a 1,2,3 podium finish for the Tour.

He can't win races alone and he won't attract quality riders with that kind of judgement.

Surely Bruyneel's main focus is winning the yellow Jersey for Astana? Trying to get 2nd & 3rd on the podium is just a bonus and if they could do it it would be a great result. To gamble the yellow jersey on that is not worth it. Klodden looked ike he was grovelling anyway near the top of the Gallibier. JB,LA & AC all have been reported that they thought Wiggins was the threat going into the ITT so gaining time on him while also having to cover the Schleks seems logical (well to me anyway). He was certainly looking around to see if Klodden was staying with them on numerous occasions but he had to cover the brothers and as I said it did look like AK was struggling. End of the day, AC is the best stage rider at the moment, LA is still a class act and egos will always clash in the same team regardless of the spin put on it before and during the tour.

AC is doing what LA did lots of times during his tenure in the TdF; it could have been nice to see both riding on different teams.....at the end of the day if you want to win you have to attack...Kloden nod AC before the pseudo-attack...clearly AC stopped when Kloden did not follow...so what's the problem? If Bryneel's dream is to put an astana's 1-2-3 he should first be certain that the yellow yersey is his not someone from Saxo bank