No cyclist wins the Tour de France on his own. On each team, there is an arrangement of cyclists who strategize to bring the team leader to the finish line. At times, the leader will ride behind a teammate, "drafting," and cyclists often flank their leader to protect him from collisions with other riders. "An individual can make a silly mistake, but when he's got a great team around him, it's hard to make a mistake," Armstrong admitted to Bonnie DeSimone of the
Chicago Tribune. The United States Postal Service Pro Cycling Team consists of twenty riders from around the world. Seventeen of the twenty riders, including second-place Tour of Spain winner Roberto Heras, must have Grand Tour experience. Armstrong's 2003 team includes Viatcheslav Ekimov, George Hincapie, Benoit Joachim, Floyd Landis, Pavel Padrnos and Victor Hugo Pena, who raced with him in the 2002 Tour de France. Each must be talented enough to win, but who forfeit their own glory for that of their team and leader.
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