The 2009 Tour is only 7 days old but the speculation of leadership at Team Astana continues to grow. The war started with the very first Stage 1 time trial. Alberto Contador got the better of the other Astana 4 (Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Klöden) and seemed ready to assert his leadership. But the drama took a sharp turn during what was to a be a routine flat stage when a select few riders that included Lance Armstrong rode away from the rest of the peloton thanks to the echelons formed as a result of the cross winds. On stage 3, Armstrong gained 40 seconds over his rivals including Contador and started to stake his claim as leader of the team.

Armstrong's virtual leadership continued in the following day's Stage 4 team time trial. Team Astana dominated the race and as a result put 5 of its riders in the top 10 of the general classification. Armstrong seemed to have put the most effort by taking longer and stronger pulls compared to Contador and seemed to make another statement as to who's the strongest on the team. The drama then shifted to today's Stage 7 ride into the Pyrenees and the summit of the ski station of Andorre-Arcalis.

Follow up:

Team Astana looked like the US Postal/Discovery teams of the past and set the pace for the majority of the stage. As the last climb started, more and more riders simply got dropped from the pace than from any specific attacks. Astana's strategy seemed to have gone directly as planned as yellow jersey Fabian Cancellara (Team Saxo Bank) was dropped and Armstrong seemed poised to ride into the yellow jersey for the first time since 2005. But then Contador attacked. As stated by the numerous statements from Astana team members, that attack was not planned and each were surprised as much as the other teams. Contador just couldn't control himself. He was riding through his home country and was begging to make the statement everyone had expected regardless of team dynamics. Contador was the rider we all know. He rode away from everyone, even in a head wind. There were numerous attempts to bridge up but all were nullified by Armstrong and Team Astana. Armstrong played the perfect role of teammate in this situation. Could he have gone with Contador? As I watched the race, I thought Armstrong looked comfortable even with the few accelerations by Cadel Evans (Silence-Lott) and Andy Schleck (Team Saxo Bank). I believe he could have.

But was Contador's move the right move? In ancient cycling etiquette, the rules say you don't attack a teammate who's ahead of you in the standings. Of course, this situation with Team Astana is different from any other situation. Contador was the supposed king of the Tour after Armstrong retired. Most experts predicted multiple Tour wins before his rule ended. But then Armstrong announced he was returning to professional cycling and returning to Johan Bruyneel's side. This, of course, put a kink in Contador's plan. Months of built up frustration was unleashed on Arcalis today but it only resulted in a gain of 21 seconds over Armstrong and other rivals. What Contador's attack today showed is that there is indeed a rift within Team Astana and that it will be every man for himself between him and Armstrong. The infighting itself is making this year's Tour the most exciting in recent memory. No only do you get the sporting side of the race, who wins and who doesn't, but you also get the emotional and psychological angle of a couple of humans so talented and so equal in strength going after the same goal that something has to give.

The next few stages in the Pyrenees are tough but do not include any mountain top finishes. Most expect these days to be routine but these are exactly the days that can surprise people. Think back to the 1990 Tour when Greg LeMond recovered nearly 5 minutes from race leader Claudio Chiappucci on Stage 13, a transitional stage between the Alps and the Pyrenees. LeMond went on to win his 3rd Tour but wouldn't have been able to do it if he hadn't attacked before the race went into the Pyrenees.

Will Armstrong make his move? He seems to be the stronger of the two main Astana men when the road is flat or will the race within the race pause until we hit the Alps at the end of next week?

PS. Please vote for your preferred cyclist, either Lance or Alberto with the poll on the top right.