(Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
Ah, what a Tour de France it was...but if you want more on the past, check out the article I wrote a few weeks ago.
This piece is about the future of pro cycling. We are mere moments away from the dawn of a new day in the sport, after all, and the rising sun will reveal a radically new landscape.
Some might say that rays of light are already striking the ground about to be broken. Allow me to illuminate further by prognosticating the future of three key riders and how they will affect those around them:
Lance and Team Radio Shack
Quick recap in case you've been asleep for the past three weeks: Shortly before the end of the Tour, Lance Armstrong announced that he has convinced Radio Shack to sponsor a brand-new U.S.-based Pro Tour team for next year. Big stuff, especially considering the two strong American teams already in place, Columbia-HTC and Garmin-Slipstream.
Obviously, this move will have huge ramifications throughout the cycling world. Armstrong has already stated that the crew is almost entirely composed of former USPS and Discovery team employees, so in many ways the squad will resemble those former powerhouses. The question is: Just how similar will it be?
It has yet to be formally confirmed, but in all likelihood Lance will bring with him to Team Radio Shack current Astana teammates Levi Leipheimer, Chris Horner, and Yaroslav Popovych, and, most importantly, current Astana coach Johan Bruyneel. With that group, the table is already set for a pretty solid group, but...
I'm willing to bet Lance can rope in a young GC contender, perhaps even a Schleck. The money is there, the star power is there, and a strong supporting cast will definitely be in place.
So will it be young Andy, older brother Frank, or both? In my opinion, it's more likely Radio Shack will nab someone who has some experience with Lance, like yet another current Astana teammate, Andreas Kloden.
No matter who the team gets, Radio Shack will be a new force in cycling. Much like adding another celestial body to a solar system, this squad will have a huge impact on all others with its "gravitational" (read: monetary) pull and "orbit" (that'd be its performance in races).
I'll mention one last thing before we move on: There's still a slim chance Bruyneel does not follow Lance to the States. Note that Johan has his own Luxembourg-based team, Olympus SARL, which actually holds the Astana contracts and equipment leases; it's unlikely that Bruyneel would get a license for Olympus and create yet another team, but one never knows.
"El Pistolero" Has Gun, Will Travel
The way in which Alberto Contador attacked and responded to attacks in the mountain stages of this year's Tour has me convinced: He is easily the best climber since the late Marco Pantani.
And though I can't speak with perspective on the entire history of cycling, I think it's safe to say he's up there in the top three of all time.
The way the man "dances on the pedals" is positively inhuman. How can that frame generate so much power? As he's proven, he's not too shabby of a time trialist either. I could go on and on...
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