The RadioShack team of seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong announced their Tour de France team last week, and notably absent from the list was Classics specialist Gert Steegmans. Yesterday Armstrong stated that there would be "Carnage" on the third stage of this year's Tour de France during the route's incursion onto 13.2 kilometers of cobblestones from Paris-Roubaix.
Last week VeloNation speculated whether the absence of a rider with Steegmans' experience to guide Armstrong through the the infamous Pavé du Nord may have been an oversight by a team known for its attention to detail. After riding the cobbles yesterday Armstrong confirmed that the stage is sure to be a decisive one.
"Done with the stage three reconnaissance. Going. To. Be. Carnage," Armstrong tweeted after checking out the sections.
The RadioShack team opted to make sure their team had the support needed throughout the Alps and the final Pyrenean stages that are expected to sort out the final podium in Paris.
Following the route announcement Armstrong pointed out the stage saying, “I think you have to take some big guys who can definitely support you in that first week because with the cobble sections you have to be in the front. I remember we did those sections in 2004 and I had great support from [Viatcheslav] Ekimov and [George] Hincapie. We came in the cobble zones first. It makes a big difference.”
Ekimov has since retired and Hincapie will be focused on shepherding BMC Racing teammate Cadel Evans safely to the stage finish. The approach to the sectors of pavé will resemble the leadout of a sprint stage, only the overall contenders will be the protected riders tucked in behind.
Before RadioShack rode the cobbled sections this week, sports director Dirk Demol didn't seem terribly concerned with the stage nor the team's selection of riders. “Gert was the ideal rider to pilot Lance across the cobblestones,” he conceded, “but [Yaroslav] Popovych has the same capabilities; and [Grégory] Rast and [Dmitriy] Muravyev also know their way around the cobblestones.”
Demol said he didn't see his compatriot as a pure domestique, and riding in complete service of Armstrong would not be in his nature, adding: "Gert deserves better." It won't take long to determine whether the tactical decision was a good one and, if it was, Armstrong can be expected to have a stronger ride this time around after dusting off the cobwebs from his previous retirement.
RadioShack isn't the only team that thinks the stage could mean game over for an overall contender. Garmin-Transitions' boss Jonathan Vaughters is certain that a possible podium finisher will lose his chance: "Someone will lose [their chance of winning] the race that day, I just don't know who it's going to be," he told AFP. "It could be Lance, could be [Alberto] Contador, could be [Andy] Schleck." Vaughters' team will be well-equipped for the task by having Martijn Maaskant and Tyler Farrar as their main men to lead overall contender Christian Vande Velde through the stage three chaos.