tour de france adalah salah satu event akbar di dunia. jadi, juara yang dominan seperti armstrong, indurain, harus mempunyai tim yang solid dan tangguh. tanpa kerja sama tim, semuanya hanya sia-sia.
tim discovery channel, tim-nya armstrong, tampaknya adalah tim yang paling solid dan paling kompak saat ini. kayaknya armstrong akan meraih gelar ketujuh nih. go armstrong go... =================================================== Tour's cycling stars rely on their teams The Jakarta Post It takes several men for Lance Armstrong to answer nature's call at the Tour de France. As bizarre as that sounds, safely shepherding Armstrong through bathroom stops on French and German roads is just one of the many tasks that befall his teammates as they seek to secure him victory in cycling's showcase race. They also bring him drinks in the saddle to quench his thirst. Most importantly, they pedal all day by his side to shield him from wind and from other riders, and they beat his path up steep mountain climb. In short, they are doing everything possible to try to ensure the six time champion ends his stellar career on a high by retiring with a seventh consecutive crown when a 3 week, 3,607 kilometer trek wraps up in Paris on July 24. Conquering the Tour after defeating cancer has made 33 year old Armstrong a rich superstar. His sixth Tour wins are a record. But how many have heard of teammates such as Pavel Padrnos and Manuel Bertran? Or of Willy Balmat, the squad team's cook? Or Erwin Ballarta, an American state trooper who is one of Armstrong bodyguards? Probaly very few. But all are cogs in the closely knit Discovery Channel team that forms the foundation upon which Armstrong's success is built. The key has been Armstrong's ability over the years to recruit some cycling's best talents, racers such as the powerful and genial New Yorker George Hincapie, who put their own ambitions on hold in July to devote themselves to Armstrong Tour campaigns. In cycling, such a racers are called 'domestiques', - French for servants - because they tirelessly serve their leaders, the Tour top contenders. They work to ensure that race rivals don't surge ahead and build threatening leads. And try by riding at their side, they shield their leaders from wind, allowing them to conserve energy. Armstrong's team likes to keep him in a sweet spot toward the front of the main pack, where the risk of crashes is lower. "I'm glad I'm in the front with a good strong team," Armstrong said last Friday as the Tour veered into neighboring Germany. "I would hate to be swinging in the back." Should a leader stop for the bathroom or because of a puncture, a 'domestique' generally will wait with him until he is finished or until the tire is changed. Then, he'll guide him safely back into the main pack of racers that has ridden on ahead. To coordinate race strategy, Tour riders wear two way radios so they can communicate with their team directors and mechanics who ride behind the peleton in a convoy of cars. 'Domestiques' drop back to the cars to pick up water bottles for the rest of the team. Sometimes, mechanics repair riders' bikes on the fly, hanging out of car windows to tighten a nut or adjust a brake. ===================================================== __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
