20 Teams, not 21

June 29, 2009

The 189 riders I referenced in yesterday’s post are actually going to be just 180. There are 20 teams in the Tour this year – while in past years there have been 21 teams.

The snafu between Astana and Alberto Contador seems to have been smoothed over and it looks like Lance and Alberto will be riding on the same team after all. *Yes, there was a danger that Alberto was going to jump ship and ride for another team. Which would have made Lance’s chance of winning Tour title number eight more likely.

This year, Lance will be in a supporting role unless by some happenstance a contending teammate drops out. Another scenario where Lance would be the team leader might happen if Armstrong takes the yellow jersey early in the Tour and keeps it for a couple days.

Coming up, racers to watch and my predictions for the race.

I’ll also be hosting at least one Boston-area Tour Tweet-up. Follow me on Twitter for details.