MORZINE-AVORIAZ, France – Should they have waited, or forged on ahead regardless?

That was the question on the minds of fans and media alike Monday a day after seven-time champion Lance Armstrong virtually lost all hope of winning an eighth yellow jersey.

Armstrong suffered a number of crashes on the 189 km ride from Station des Rousses to Morzine-Avoriaz on Sunday, the most fatal one happening at the foot of the Col de la Ramaz, the penultimate climb of the day.

The American suffered a sore hip and scrapes after crashing when he clipped his pedal at a roundabout. As he dusted himself off, the peloton raced on ahead.

After a frantic chase, Armstrong finally gave up, later admitting — after he finished almost 12 minutes in arrears to all his rivals — he could not produce the power he needed to get back to the peloton.

Some contenders suggested they should have been more fair-play and slowed down to allow Armstrong to rejoin them — which, in certain circumstances, is part of bike racing etiquette.

Luxemburger Andy Schleck said after he won the stage: “I thought we should have waited on him, especially given what Armstrong has achieved in the past.

“You have to have some respect. Plus, it’s his last Tour,” he said.

But others were not convinced.

Despite never having won the Tour, two-time runner-up Cadel Evans has been a major contender for several years.

And he remembers only too well his crash at the start of the race in 2008, to which the peloton responded by racing as hard as possible to drop him.

“To have a crash in a mountain stage of a Tour can be really difficult,” said Evans, who will wear the yellow jersey into Tuesday’s stage when he will start with a 20sec lead on Saxo Bank rival Schleck.

“Two years ago when I crashed in the Tour I had one of hardest days of my career on the stage to Hautacam, with all the bruising and pain.

“That day, I got dropped with (sprinter) Julian Dean on the first climb and was fighting for yellow at the end of day.

“I went from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs. It was a bit different today.”

Britain’s Bradley Wiggins is aiming for a podium place this year having finished fourth overall in 2009.

And he said Armstrong’s crash and subsequent setback prompted little emotion in the peloton as they raced up the Col de la Ramaz.

“I don’t think people (riders) give a monkey’s to be honest, maybe the spectators and the press do, but amongst the riders it’s just a crash. Lance has gone down, and everyone carries on,” he said Monday.

“A few guys maybe get a bit, ‘oh no, Lance has crashed, what do we do?’ But the racing carries on.”

Armstrong has crashed several times on what is his final Tour campaign, and Wiggins believes that after avoiding many catastrophes during his seven-year reign, his luck has perhaps run out.

“It’s just unfortunate. It was pot luck, just one of those things,” he added.

“He’s crashed a couple of times on this race and he had seven years with no crashes virtually, and they just seem to happen now.”

Article: Justin Davis (AFP)