One of the hardest lessons for the designated leader of a professional cycling team is when circumstances conspire to thwart the expectations placed upon them.
Then, as if not being as competitive as hoped isn't bad enough, there come the inevitable doubts and questions from the team and just about everyone with an opinion. The realisation that your place as undisputed leader is as strong as wet cardboard quickly follows.
Movistar expected Nairo Quintana to have won a Tour de France by now, he probably expected that too, and yet since 2013 he's reached a plateau. This year he didn't even make the top ten so alarm bells went off and the team has brought in reinforcements. It's been Landa Mania ever since. Don't get me wrong, Mikel Landa has the potential to win Grand Tours, but not all three-week races are equal and the Tour de France is the most stressful of them all. Strangely he's older than Quintana, normally the story includes a younger model but lets not be ageist, he's up and coming.
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Quintana is already ‘there’ and probably wondering what all the fuss is about. However having to do two Grand Tours for the past four seasons has taken its toll, and all sparkle has been removed from his legs. Sorting that issue would have seemed easier than adding another to Quintana's problems but what do I know of little climbers being worn out.
History tells us that the two team leader scenario rarely works out well: LeMond and Hinault; Roche and Visentini; and Froome and Wiggins are all great examples of how it all goes wrong when egos and ambitions collide. In fact the only time I can think of relative success is Rooks and Theunise at PDM. They were friends, the same age roughly, and shared the same culture and the same ambitions. But they didn't win the Tour. Every other duo has seen the older model replaced by the young upstart and that eventually has seen the subjugation of the senior. It's natural selection.
Maybe Movistar think they the answer to this is in the shape of Alejandro Valverde - a wise head to keep the peace and set up the youngsters. To me that just seems like an added problem because realistically with eight-man teams there won't be enough workers left to do the hard slog miles if there are three leaders.
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