As to the team, there would not have been an Astana if LA hadn't joined the team. As to who was the leader, Contador had to earn that spot.
when it becomes apparent that Lance can’t win, will he just give up?
He's announced that this will be his last Tour. He won't give up during the TdF this year, if that's what you mean.
One thing's for sure, the only way he could possibly win it up against these young whippersnappers is by beating them on strategy & saddle sense.
He's still doing pretty damn well for a 38 year old who hasn't gotten into 'the zone' yet, though. Look at all the talented guys in their prime he's leading at the moment! So I'd say he certainly has a right to be there even if he doesn't win.
But my hunch is that he's really riding this year to get the RS team off the ground anyway. He still brings a lot of press & fan attention + sponsorship money wherever he goes, and I was glad to see him take it all over to a new US team instead of a Kazakhstani one & try to build up a 'Lance legacy franchise', if you will, there from scratch.
But ewwwwww, Contador completely lost me on sportsmanship grounds last year when he kept going rogue on team strategy & cavalierly minimized all his teammates' hard work to get him on that podium. It wasn't just his ego clashing with Lance's (that was all quite understandable, really); it was his domestiques & the rest of the team support to whom he gave such inexplicably unmagnanimous short schrift in their group victory.
He just doesn't seem to me to be the kind of guy who deserves much loyalty from anyone, including the fans, but everybody else's mileage will surely vary. Perhaps his current teammates weren't paying too much attention to all that stuff last year & they can give him their full self-abnegating dedication this Tour. He better hope they weren't paying close attention!
No question he's an A M A Z I N G athlete though. It would have indeed been fantastic to see both Alberto & Lance go head to head while they were both in their prime.
I wasn’t following it closely enough to know these details. Why would there have been no Astana 2009 without Lance? Is Wiki all wrong? It says that Johann already had Contador lined up for Astana when Lance announced that he wanted to race, and Johann made room for him. IDK, like I said, not a big fan of Contador, and not really a Lance hater. I do very much dislike these alpha-male athletes that retire, come out of retirement. Retire again, come out of retirement again.
I would like to see Cadel Evans move way up, if I’m being totally honest!