Bruyneel & Discovery Channel still focused on Tour

Johan Bruyneel, right, and Discovery's Belgian bike brain trust (Image credit: Tim Maloney)

By Tim Maloney, European Editor

"It would all depend on his focus and motivation, and at this point, the Tour de France can't give Lance Armstrong anything anymore," said Bruyneel. "We've also seen that in the Tour de France presentation. It was sad to see [at the Tour de France presentation] that a rider like Lance is not respected by [the Tour de France organisation]. There was very little about him in the film, for example. And what nobody seems to appreciate or doesn't want to see is that the Tour de France would never be at the level internationally, where it was now, without the Armstrong era, from 1999 to 2005. I'm convinced of that and so are a lot of people. Lance's presence and performances has given the Tour a boost [after 1998] and that's sad to see."

But Bruyneel remains focused on the prize he's already won seven times with Armstrong. "The Tour is the race that has given us a lot and we have given a lot back to the Tour," he said. "We've prepared for it 365 days a year; we've gone to bed with the Tour and we've woken up with the Tour. So I see what the Tour can do for a rider and for a team and we want to keep doing that, no matter what's been said or what's been written. In July, we'll ride the Tour as hard as we can."