It's tough to convince people that bike racing is a team sport. People only hear of the guy that won the race and it's almost impossible to explain how his team helps when it's really up to him to finish the job. Sometimes I wonder how well these domestiques take on their role of laboring tirelessly for one guy. Let's not forget that everybody who rides a bike on a pro team in Europe could come to your local crit and lap the field. These dudes aren't chumps.
Of course you always see them on tv going back and getting bottles, setting the tempo, doing the work that has to be done, that's their job. But I always wondered what it was like on a the team bus. Do they really care what happens to their leader? Are they really that concerned when their actions aren't going to be seen on TV? I think this video does a pretty good job of answering those questions.
In the final TT in Rome Denis Menchov had an 18 second lead over Danilo DiLuca. The TT was not ceremonial for those riders. It absolutely mattered and could determine the winner of the Giro. Menchov crashed in the last kilometer. This video was taken by someone. I think it's pretty clear the guys aren't putting on a show and have completely forgot the camera is even there.
