I’m running a bit behind the times, so excuse my belated congratulations to Lance Armstrong and the US Postal team for it’s 5th consecutive Tour de France win. I thought Lance was done when he showed weakness on l’Alpe d’Huez. But he proved that he was made of tougher stuff and rallied to a fine win. Lance will return next year in a quest for six, but what happens to US Postal when Lance retires?

Many think that US Postal shouldn’t sponsor a bicycle team. I disagree – I think that it has been an effective advertising tool. But I also think that Lance Armstrong, as both an American and a cancer survivor, is a major part of that effectiveness. How effective will the advertising be without Lance?

USPS desparately needs to find a successor to Lance. I think that he needs to be an American and he needs to be a threat to win the Tour. Unfortunately, I don’t think there are any qualified candidates. And I doubt that they will have more than two years to find one before the budget is dramatically slashed.