J Jones wrote:

"Roger Zoul" wrote in message
...

....one made one of the other top GC contenders of the TdF teamleader for
Discovery? Would that mean that person would be the next TdF winner, if
nothing else significant changed (apart from rider prep)? Who would be
the best choice?


I think Jan would benefit the most, and could possibly pull off a win under
Johan's brilliant leadership. His committment has been suspect (at times),
but he might be able to be highly motivated by a good mentor. Personally,
I'd like to see it, but I know I won't.

Dunno about a Jan & Johan combination. There's no indication that Johan
ever had to motivate Lance, quite the opposite. Lance is
self-motivating, Johan gives advice, organizes the team, other stuff.
Jan, on the other hand, seems to have motivation problems, and Johan may
have little or no experience working with a team leader who needs
motivational help.

However, I believe Jan has a great chance to win next year even w/T-Mobile
(depending upon team changes that might occur between now and then).

It will be very interesting to see if Jan is more motivated next year or
less. On the plus side, everyone thinks his chances of winning go up
with Lance gone. On the down side, feeling less challenged won't help
his winter training motivation. Armstrong always said that Jan was what
"got him out of bed in the morning." Not sure what gets Jan out of bed.

No doubt, though, next year will be interesting. Never before has a
5-time winner left the sport abruptly; the sudden "vaccum" could have
all sorts of exciting consequences.

Mark