So another Tour de France is in the books, but this year’s tour was more than just another year of “the Tour.” It was a month-long drama of speed, suffering, strategy and most of all teamwork. Watching the tour as a non-cyclist (I get out once a month on my cruiser bike and ride around my neighborhood), the strategy and tactics of the teams’ communications and level of teamwork are easily missed. But without them the whole sport might seem like the razor-thin ultra-light equivalent of a monster truck rally.
Several incredible stories were told this year, but the main one was the return of Lance Armstrong, the highly-experienced, cancer-surviving seven-time winner of the Tour who came back to the event after a four-year hiatus. We also saw the emergence of a new young star, Alberto Contador. Contador won the 2007 Tour but was banned from the race in 2008 because team Astana was involved in the now-infamous blood-doping fiasco during the closing days of the ’07 tour.
The big question a month ago was “how will 37-year old, seven-time winner of the world’s most difficult endurance race Armstrong, fare against this 26-year old upstart from a small town outside of Madrid, Spain?” Unbelievably, Armstrong and Contador both found themselves on the same team (Team Astana) but each with their own goal of winning the tour.
The typical cycling team is made up of one lead rider (the Captain), a sprinter, and seven or so other riders who’s sole purpose is to support the leader. Team Astana had two strong leaders this year, and the tactic seemed to be that Contador and Armstrong would both start out as co-leaders, and somehow “duke it out” until it became clear who was the stronger rider and more likely to win. The stronger rider would then become the de facto lead rider, and the other would support him.
Contador proved to be the stronger rider and the best possibility for beating the ultra-strong Schleck brothers, Andy and Frank, who hail from Luxembourg and have cycling in their blood — their father Johnny rode in the Tour de France in the 60′s and 70′s and their grandfather Gustav raced in the 30′s. As the torch passed from Armstrong to Contador, it became clear that Contador’s victory depended largely on Armstrong’s ability to control the older and more experienced Schleck brother, Frank.
In the end, Contador proved himself as the rightful winner of the Tour, while Andy Schleck placed second, and Lance Armstrong stood on the podium in 3rd place. Contador enters the books as the fifth racer in history and the first Spaniard to win all three Grand Tours of road cycling, the Tour de France, the Vuelta a España and the Giro d’Italia.
At Grouvia, we’re striving to make it easier for teams of all kinds to more effectively communicate with each other. Those of us with a passion for our sport or hobby know that we will always have richer experiences when we share our spirit with our community. The elders teach the youngsters, the king hands over his crown, and the cycle continues.
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Posted by Lisa Pecunia 
