Discovery Channel team director Johan Bruyneel would certainly have liked to have someone like Yaroslav Popovych at Armstrong's side going into the final climb, but T-Mobile's aggressive tactics on the Port de Pailhères prevented that from happening. But Bruyneel was happy with the way Armstrong rode under pressure, as he told Belgian TV1 post-stage.
"Lance rode very intelligently and was very strong. The aim of T-Mobile was to break our team, and that worked. But Lance was very strong today and rode the perfect race. Rasmussen is perhaps eliminated now, yes."
