on the trainer this morning watching dvd of 2000 tdf -- stage 11 I think to Hautacam.  I really have to say that the way riders attack has changed and I guess it is  a symptom of less rocket fuel in the blood.  But the throw down comes 10km from the summit when Zulle charges out of the pack then Pantani and Armstrong follow.  Armstrong basically went on a 10 km full on assault with very little respite.  He drops Zulle, then Pantani then bridges up to the Virenque, Jimenez, Beltran, Beloki group.  Promptly dispatches all of them save for poor Jimenez who sticks with LA for a good while.  Finally armstrong finished 40 seconds behind Ochoa who was on a monster solo attack all day and rightfully wins the day.

Point is you never see these whole mountain assaults by a team leader/GC contender anymore. (OK maybe Contador but less and less) Is it no more guts or just the gravitation back to real performance without PED?  It certainly was an impressive beatdown I have to say...especially if you assume that virtually everyone on the mountain that day was juiced.