First of all, sorry about the previous doping post in this forum: I didn't know there was a doping forum! Haven't been here for a while....

It was nice to see the little tribute the peloton gave to Viacheslav Ekimov on the Champs, wasn't it? That man is a true professional, and an inspiration to those of us in our 40s. Bravo, Ekie!

...But this that all we get from team Discovery Channel this year? a moment in yellow and a stage victory when the race hadn't yet really started? Wow! What a falloff!

I am watching Popovych in the breakaway on the Champs at this moment! Go Popo, and Go Jens Voigt -- love the guy!

What do you all think went wrong? There was some discussion about the wisdom of beginning the Tour with no clear leader, but I thought that the team was so deep and strong, they could wait and see who looked good going into the Pyranees.

In my opinion, that was never going to be George Hincapie, as he is never going to be able to match the attacks of the climbers in the big mountains. I love Big George, and I was depressed all day when the stupid steerer tube broke in the Paris-Roubaix! He WILL win that race next year! :thumbsup:

Popovych is a good rider, versatile and young -- maybe too young, yet, to be a team leader. He would have been my number two hope this year.

No, the man they should have been riding for from the beginning was Paolo Savoldelli. :D He is a good time-trialer and a good climber, especially last year in service to Lance. He is a two-time winner of a Grand Tour, the Giro d'Italia, and let up a bit this year when he saw Basso was unstoppable -- I really think he was looking forward to being the team leader in this Tour, and he deserved it after George's weak time trial. Ultimately, that freak crash after a stage cost him the chance, but I am not sure the team was ready to work for him anyway.

A bit of bad luck, a disappointing Tour for George, and the years finally catching up to Ekimov....

Do we see success in the future for this team, or are we at the end of the run?

No team stay's on top forever, regardless of the sport.

It was a great run and Discovery was competitive most of the year in other races. When it came to the tour they didn't have anybody really ready to go. Even had they picked a team leader, looking at the finishing results I doubt they could have done any better trying to protect a rider and likely wouldn't have had anybody in the top 10 even if they did. The best rider they had this year was Jose Azevedo in 19th place at 34 minutes back.

Had they focused on Savoldelli that could have been an even worse tour since he dropped out in stage 12.

It really comes down to the fact they didn't have anybody that could win the tour this year, they knew it and tried to bluff early on by saying they had multiple riders that could step up. Their bluff was called early and from then on they were non players.

My guess is they will either continue to groom one of their current riders for the tour next year or they will sign somebody in the off season to come in as their team leader. Also don't discount the power a major sponsor has on a team when it comes to picking their team leader. Discovery may want an american leader regardless of how good the americans are. Wouldn't surprise me at all.

What would you think of Cadel Evans in Discovery blue for 2007?

When is Popo's contract up with Disco? I would love to see Floyd and Popo working together!

What would you think of Cadel Evans in Discovery blue for 2007?

not much

I was a bit surprised and disappointed that Discovery didn't do better. I didn't expect them to win it all but I certainly thought they would have made a better showing.

Perhaps in the Lance years they were so structured, not only internally but also in understanding their opponents, etc., that they didn't have the required flexibility to deal with a very wide-open and unpredictable Tour this time. It seemed as if they never really were able to challenge the correct breaks, or construct any threats of their own.

The Girona connections were severed?

I don't know how riders are recruited, but Disco did a pisz-poor job of putting forth a team this year. Notwithstanding all the delusion about their chances, they added no-one to replace LA to contend for GC - just a crew of leftover domestiques.

They should have put up the bucks to bring in Vinokourov - the only guy I know that could have surely reeled in Landis on 17. Talk about pinache - Vino's my fav (well, next to Floyd now), and I'd love to see him on Disco next year. Just think: an organized, disciplined team that won't chase him down when he goes ... the team is made for him! The Tour would be c-ra-zy@!

I agree. I thought he had a good chance last year if T mobil had backed him a little more. feel sorry for him his team got pulled and he did nothing wrong. If it was me I'd probably visit those guys with a baseball bat.

I wonder how Trek feels going from the bike of the champ to the bike of the chumps?! I don't really think the Disco team are chumps of course, but they need a GC contender now, if not sooner :eek:

I wonder how Trek feels going from the bike of the champ to the bike of the chumps?! I don't really think the Disco team are chumps of course, but they need a GC contender now, if not sooner :eek:

Somehow I don't think Madone sales are going to take a hit from increased BMC sales.

What went wrong with Discovery Channel? A better question is what went wrong with Euskaltel - Euskadi, Francaise Des Jeux, Liquigas, and Team Milram. None of those teams took no prizes that I can remember. Disco at least won a stage and held the yellow jersey. Not bad, considering.

the reason the Milram, E-E, Francais Des Jeux, etc. question is not a better question is that none of them have enjoyed a fraction of the success that the Disco/Postal squad has for years. This is the unspoken element to the original query: Discovery has had tremendous success in Le Tour (and beyond that event) and this year the same squad that was lethal in the mountains, and inspired respect and fear among les roulers, has this year done very little, and showed little of their past verve and fire.


What went wrong with Discovery Channel? A better question is what went wrong with Euskaltel - Euskadi, Francaise Des Jeux, Liquigas, and Team Milram. None of those teams took no prizes that I can remember. Disco at least won a stage and held the yellow jersey. Not bad, considering.

A ship without a captain....

I've heard it called a transitional year for Discovery. Hey, you win seven in a row there is bound to be some fall off. Definitely they failed by not signing a big name to go for GC.

Let's not forget that Danielson is a very good rider waiting in the wings. Can he ultimately be a GC threat? Some sure think so, eventually.

I guess we'll know more of Disco's near term plans tomorrow morning. It ought to be very interesting.

I think that signing Vinokourov is an intriguing idea for the Disco team. He could help groom Danielson for the tour. It will be interesting to see who they sign (see another posting thread).

Vino sounds interesting but didn't he buy into his current team and will run it after next year?

It's not the same squad if, during the first week of the Tour, the most successful rider and <i>raison d'etre</i> is golfing in Lake Tahoe, and during the last week he is riding in the team car. Other than that, you are absolutely right.

They forgot to do any mountain training. Lance wasn't there to take them up each stage in practice.

The Girona connections were severed? I didn't think they had a shot in the first place, but the fact that every rider on the team was sub par makes me very inclined to agree.

I think it is a bit more than the obvious departure of Lance. First off, George just does not have the make up to be a GC contendor in a three week race. Second, the team is getting a bit long in the tooth. Eki is 40, George and Paolo are both over 30 and Jose A does not seem to have the same punch in the mountains that he did a few years ago, nor has he played leader before. I thnk most of this team will need to be turned over, a total rebuilding effort.

They should have put up the bucks to bring in Vinokourov - the only guy I know that could have surely reeled in Landis on 17. Talk about pinache - Vino's my fav (well, next to Floyd now), and I'd love to see him on Disco next year. Just think: an organized, disciplined team that won't chase him down when he goes ... the team is made for him! The Tour would be c-ra-zy@!

Vino has already announced that he will race one more year for his new Astana team (a team built around him by his hand-chosen sponsor), then will (eventually) become Astana's Director Sportif.

As far as Discovery's "letdown" this year - they didn't have a real GC contender, so they finished exactely how they should have finished. Also, after 6 years of being under pressure to defend the title, they finally got a year of no pressure at all - how nice that must have been! So it's not suprising that they would fall off a little. They've been under such high-pressure for so long, it would be almost inhuman of them not to relax at least a little bit.