Mountains to be moment of truth

‘‘In Courchevel, we’ll know,’’ CSC team chief Bjarne Riis said in the daily Le Figaro on Monday, the Tour’s first rest day.

Riis’s team is leading the race with Germany’s Jens Voigt in the yellow jersey and the Danish outfit has been impressive since the start, but the 1996 Tour champion is still convinced Armstrong remains the favourite.

“Armstrong is still a class above. The repetition of days in which he might be isolated could tire him out but when the real climbs arrive, it will be a different story because few riders will be capable of following him,” said the Dane.

“Everybody is suggesting that his team is weaker. But he will be there, and strong. There is no doubt about it,”

The Texan found himself on his own in Saturday’s tricky eighth stage between Pforzheim and Gerardmer, raising questions about his team’s efficiency this year.

Discovery Channel fared much better the next day, even though they let Voigt, who is not a high mountain specialist, snatch the yellow jersey from Armstrong.

But that did not dent the team’s confidence.

His team’s assistance has been an important aspect of Armstrong’s six Tour victories, but he has always ended up on his own in the decisive moments.

And no rider so far, except the late Marco Pantani, has been able to drop him in the mountains in recent years, even though Italy’s Ivan Basso came close last year.

Unlike his team mates, Basso, third last year, has been extremely quiet since the start of the Tour in Noirmoutier. He will have to show his cards in the first two great mountain passes of Tuesday’s stage.

Second in last week’s team time trial, only two seconds behind Discovery Channel, CSC have four riders in the top 10 and, with Paris-Nice winner Bobby Julich and Spaniard Carlos Sastre, Basso can count on solid support in the climbs. If one rider does not look capable of beating Armstrong on his own, a coalition could have better chances.