Is the snubbing of Horner only the tip of the iceberg though? When Astana put together the team they did they assembled one of the most talented teams ever created that includes a combined seven eight tour wins and multiple podium finishes. Having that much talent on one team, especially with multiple tour winners on it, has created a pressure cooker that has potential to explode. Throw in the financial woes of the team during the Giro d’Italia, the potential team takeover by another sponsor and the rumors of Cantador going to Garmin-Slipstream and you have a good ole fashioned soap opera.

Now that Horner has been left off the roster because Cantador wanted one of his “boys”, combined with the events surrounding the team over the last two months, I think we’re going to see some real fireworks during the tour. It reminds me of when Lemond and Fignon were teammates and all the drama surrounding them. I just hope the Astana soap opera doesn’t totally ruin the tour.

What do you think? Will Astana provide us more drama than racing? Did Chris Horner totally get boned?

The sessions are supposed to start at 6 PM but there were a few folks running late and we mainly road warm up for about 45 minutes until everybody was ready. My warm up was about 10 miles. I thought I might as well keep on riding while everyone else was warming up since I need the miles like the Astana riders need a paycheck. Eventually we all got together and talked about quick stops.

The quick stop is exactly what it sounds like. A quick stop to get yourself stopped in as short a distance as possible. The group leader demonstrated the technique a couple of times which included weight evenly distributed on the pedals (basically one foot forward and one back) and a steady pull on both brakes while simultaneously pushing the bike forward and moving your weight back. We didn’t specifically talk about it but I believe the throwing of the weight back helps offset the power of the front brake and keep you from flipping over. Somebody correct me if I’m wrong.

We also talked about the importance of not skidding, if at all possible, because if the pavement is wet you could easily end up with some nice road rash. If you do find yourself skidding ease up on the front brake since it’s causing your back tire to lift off the pavement slightly.

If executed correctly you can come to a stop rather quickly enabling you to avoid whatever caused you to slow or come to a complete stop if you need to.

It’s a pretty simple technique but you need to practice it in order for it to be effective. Practice at slower speeds until you get the hang of it and then try increasing your speed. Be mindful that if you do come to a complete stop, and you’re wearing clipless pedals, that you’ll need to be ready to start pedaling again or quickly unclip lest you suffer the humiliation of the zero mph crash. Those are always classic and are a great way to impress your cycling buddies. Or all the folks at a busy street corner.

Do you have some quick stop stories or more tips related to quick stops? If so, please leave a comment below. And if you have some of those perfectly executed zero mph crashes I’m sure we’d all like a good laugh.

Photo Courtesy of TDWsport.com

Astana Team Manager Johan Bruyneel (former US Postal and Team Discovery Channel manager) is already comparing Contador to Lance Armstrong. “I think we’re seeing a new phenomenon like Lance. I don’t like to compare riders, but from what I’ve seen in him I’ve only seen in Lance, especially in the mountains,” said Bruyneel. “It’s a very unexpected victory. If he can win the Giro at 80 percent, I see a very big future for Alberto.” Personally, I think it’s way too early to make that comparison. Sure, Bruyneel managed Lance for his seven Tour de France victories but to begin comparing another Contador to Lance after one Tour and one Giro victory is a stretch in my book. Especially after his Tour win last year was basically given to him after race leader Michael Rasmussen was booted from the race with only four days to go. Let Contador win a couple more Tours and then I’ll be open to begin drawing comparisons.

Photo Courtesy of TDWsport.com

Aside from Contador coming off vacation to win the Giro, I think the story of this year’s race was the success of Team High Road and Slipstream-Chipotle. In the final stage, Team High Road took first, second, and fourth positions while Slipstream-Chipotle took fifth and sixth. That’s five of the top six positions going to American teams. The first place finish of Marco Pinotti in stage 21 gave Team High Road four stage victories in this years Giro while Slipstream-Chipotle took the opening Team Time Trial victory in stage 1 with Team High Road finishing the Team Time Trial in second place. Team High Road managed to take first and second on stages 17 and 21. Both teams had multiple top ten stage finishes.

I know Contador pulled off the victory but I think the team of the race has to be Team High Road while Mark Cavendish of Team High Road should be considered the rider of the race. Cavendish finished the 2008 Giro with two stage wins, two second place finishes, and two other top tens. Very impressive. As to be expected, though, he struggled on the mountain stages and gave up lots of time there.

Now the big question is, “Will Astana be asked to participate in the Tour de France?” With Contador stating that “This was better than a second tour win” I’m sure this has only added fuel to the already growing fire. Astana was only given about a weeks notice that they could ride the Giro and then pulled off a major upset. That’s proof alone at how strong a team they are. Should they be allowed to ride the Tour? I think yes. This is not the same Astana team as last year that removed itself from the race following Alexander Vinokorouv’s positive drug test. They are under new management and have new riders. They have both the first and third place (Levi Leipheimer) finishers from the 2007 Tour De France and now have the winner of the 2008 Giro de Italia.

Can the Tour afford to not invite them?

I welcome your opinions.

Photo Courtesy of TDWsport.com

Team High Road hammered out another impressive win in the Giro today with Greipel sprinting to the win followed closely by Cavendish. This was Greipel’s first win of the Giro while Cavendish already has two stage wins this year. Alberto Contador of Astana remains in the pink jersey by 41 seconds over Riccardo Ricco’ of Saunier Duval.

Team High Road was in full-force in the final 500 meters with four riders in the mix-Greipel, Cavendish, Brad Wiggins, and Tony Martin. Wiggins and Martin took care of the lead out duties through two 90-degree turns and with 250 meters to go it looked like Greipel was set to lead out Cavendish for another win. But Greipel continued his sprint all the way to the line and took it for himself.

Skeptics are already questioning if Cavendish “let” Greipel have the win. During post-race interviews Greipel seemed taken back by the insinuation and was adamant that there were no such plans.

Regardless what you think, with multiple stage wins already, and now this one-two finish, Team High Road is making a statement to the Pro Peleton.

GC after stage 17:
1. Alberto Contador (ESP), Astana in 72:14:40 at s.t.
2. Riccardo Ricco’ (ITA), Saunier Duval in 72:15:21 at 0:41
3. Gilberto Simoni (ITA), Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni in 72:16:01 at 1:21
4. Marzio Bruseghin (ITA), Lampre in 72:16:40 at 2:00
5. Franco Pellizotti (ITA), Liquigas in 72:16:45 at 2:05
6. Danilo Di Luca (ITA), Team L.P.R. in 72:16:58 at 2:18
7. Denis Menchov (RUS), Rabobank in 72:17:27 at 2:47
8. Emanuele Sella (ITA), CSF Group Navigare in 72:19:05 at 4:25
9. Broeck Jurgen Van Den (BEL), Silence-Lotto in 72:19:06 at 4:26
10. Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA), CSF Group Navigare in 72:20:05 at 5:25

USA Notables:
20. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana in 72:31:21 at 16:41
40. Christian Vandevelde (USA), Slipstream-Chipotle in 72:54:34 at 39:54