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Armstrong and Bruyneel almost quit?!

Oct 19, 2009
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yes It´s new i think, I saw that too, but I was more interested in bruyneels comments about Contador.

after all it´s not that surprising.
Cuz when LA made his comeback a fact, he said that he´s coming back to win!
So after that crash, he started to question his chance of winning an 8th TdF.
 
Oct 26, 2009
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Right, he certainly had it easy with respect to luck going into his seven wins... must have been a big mental blow to have your preparation f'ed up the time you needed it most.
 
Sep 25, 2009
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cn's feature article on bruyneel contained this information and it was discussed in several posts. otherwise it's new.

as i pointed out in another post this indicates armstrong's mental fragility since he lost hope thinking he was in superior shape before his accident. it's a way for contador to respond to la/jb mental games - drop him every time the road goes up.
 

Dr. Maserati

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Jun 19, 2009
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red_flanders said:
I would understand almost quitting in that situation. So he didn't. Seems like pretty much a non-story to me.

The comments about Contador are utterly classless.

Having broken a collar-bone myself I do know it is not nice nor good for morale. But comments like JBs again show that LAs return had little to do with Cancer Awareness.
 
Oct 6, 2009
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Dr. Maserati said:
Having broken a collar-bone myself I do know it is not nice nor good for morale. But comments like JBs again show that LAs return had little to do with Cancer Awareness.

Good point. You could still promote Livestrong all day regardless of the injury.
 
"Basso came to my house in Madrid and wanted to annul his contract with Discovery because he could no longer guarantee that the investigation could be closed with an acquittal. I was disappointed."

Bruyneel claimed that Basso had lied about his relationship with Fuentes and the surrounding Operación Puerto investigation. "Without doubt, he did not tell us the truth."

He has been working hard with his colleagues, Armstrong and Stapleton, to find a new sponsor for the team. Discovery Channel announced it would no longer sponsor the team starting with the end of 2007. "I have not talked at length with Lance in the last two weeks but I think that he is upset, like me and Stapleton. We had a project to construct a new team around a new leader, Basso."

"The only thing now is to think of finding someone to take the spot of Discovery at the end of the year," Bruyneel continued after being asked if he would ever re-sign Basso.

"I don't believe that it [Basso's case] will have an influence; we behaved correctly. If something comes to the contrary I am ready to confront it."
 
Jun 9, 2009
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Give me a break.

JB's comments weren't classless. It seems he was being straightforward and honest. It was obvious to anyone paying attention that there were two camps within Astana.

Contador was smart to work with his won Spanish-speaking staff (manager, mechanic, press-manager). The history LA and JB have and they money they have earned together make it logical that there would be favoritism between the two. It all makes sense.

As for LA almost abandoning racing all together, that makes sense as well. Imagine being a multi-millionaire and suffering through a comeback to form, then falling onto a road and busting up your skeleton. The quote that comes to mind is, "I'm getting too old for this s**t."

LA deserves some credit for sticking it out, placing well in the Giro, and finding a spot on the podium in France.

Happily, next year there will not be the unneeded drama within a leading team in the GT's. It appears each GC hopeful will have a united squad with which to work and we will hopefully be treated to an exciting race to watch.

The rest is just pointless gossip.
 
David Suro said:
Give me a break.

JB's comments weren't classless. It seems he was being straightforward and honest. It was obvious to anyone paying attention that there were two camps within Astana.

Contador was smart to work with his won Spanish-speaking staff (manager, mechanic, press-manager). The history LA and JB have and they money they have earned together make it logical that there would be favoritism between the two. It all makes sense.

As for LA almost abandoning racing all together, that makes sense as well. Imagine being a multi-millionaire and suffering through a comeback to form, then falling onto a road and busting up your skeleton. The quote that comes to mind is, "I'm getting too old for this s**t."

LA deserves some credit for sticking it out, placing well in the Giro, and finding a spot on the podium in France.

Happily, next year there will not be the unneeded drama within a leading team in the GT's. It appears each GC hopeful will have a united squad with which to work and we will hopefully be treated to an exciting race to watch.

The rest is just pointless gossip.

I think JB THINKS he is being honest and straightforward in his assessment, but the reality is he is highly biased in his assessment. First, AC never said he won the TdF solo. Never. Not one time. He certainly wasn't the focus of his team, like he should have been, but he never asserted that it was a solo effort.

Second, he lashes out at AC for questioning his tactics, rider selection and strategy. Well he only DS'ed the TdF, so I assume this is the race he is talking about. Given that the strategy and tactics were designed not to take advantage of the talents of Astana's strongest rider (by a wide margin), it's not hard to see why AC questioned him. Could one imagine how Lance would have reacted if JB had employed a strategy that didn't maximize Lance's goals? I can and it wouldn't have been pretty.

Unfortunately, I don't think the next year will be drama free. LA and JB think that AC's weakness is mental. So we'll be treated to a Radio Shack psych-op through July 28, 2010 (or whatever date the TdF ends). AC better get his ear muffs and blinders ready. His focus should be on AS.
 
David Suro said:
Give me a break.

JB's comments weren't classless. It seems he was being straightforward and honest. It was obvious to anyone paying attention that there were two camps within Astana.

I don't mind most of his comments or begrudge him his feelings about Contador.

However. When you start publicly talking about someone else's alleged attitude toward money (let alone criticizing them for it) you have become classless. Period.
 
red_flanders said:
I don't mind most of his comments or begrudge him his feelings about Contador.

However. When you start publicly talking about someone else's alleged attitude toward money (let alone criticizing them for it) you have become classless. Period.

Very much agree, especially when the person making the statement and his star rider have probably made the most money in the history of cycling. Strikes me as very hypocritical and disingenuous to then be accusing Contador of being greedy and made arrogant by receiving a big contract.
 
BikeCentric said:
Very much agree, especially when the person making the statement and his star rider have probably made the most money in the history of cycling. Strikes me as very hypocritical and disingenuous to then be accusing Contador of being greedy and made arrogant by receiving a big contract.

Hope rides again. Lance rode for free and Contador wanted big bucks. Shocking.
 

Sprocket01

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Oct 5, 2009
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Dr. Maserati said:
Having broken a collar-bone myself I do know it is not nice nor good for morale. But comments like JBs again show that LAs return had little to do with Cancer Awareness.

Why? Obviously as a proud champion he wanted to win and this incident compromised his ability to do that. But people are capable of working on two tracks at the same time. Clearly, with all these meetings with politicians and campaigners all over the world, the cancer awareness and fund raising has been a huge part of his activity this year.

You could just as easily say JB's comments show LA was not concerned about the personal money. But you wouldn't say that.
 
Jul 22, 2009
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There is a fine line in someone's perception when they don't like someone. What is one person's distaste for them in terms of arrogance and spoiled entitlement with a lack of humility can just easily be viewed as confidence and focused on tasks at hand. The bottom line is there is little difference between Contador and Armstrong regarding Bruyneel's comments. He simply likes one rider and clearly doesn't like the other.
 

Sprocket01

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Oct 5, 2009
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scribe said:
There is a fine line in someone's perception when they don't like someone. What is one person's distaste for them in terms of arrogance and spoiled entitlement with a lack of humility can just easily be viewed as confidence and focused on tasks at hand. The bottom line is there is little difference between Contador and Armstrong regarding Bruyneel's comments. He simply likes one rider and clearly doesn't like the other.

To be honest it's hard to get a handle on Contador's personality due to the language barrier and the fact his only facial impression is a goofy grin. He's a bit of a mystery man really.
 
Jun 16, 2009
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Sprocket01 said:
To be honest it's hard to get a handle on Contador's personality due to the language barrier and the fact his only facial impression is a goofy grin. He's a bit of a mystery man really.

True. From what Bruyneel said, who i trust more of what he says compared to LA, Conti doesn't think Bruyneel plays a good tatical game because he continually challenges JB's authority. The guy has DS'd 9 tdf's and many other GT victories. I think he knows his stuff. I don't think Bruyneel even knew who was the leader of Astana or it wasn't decided. All the mixed messages from the riders about the leadership said to me that they weren't decided and there were contradictory messages from the riders which says they were making excuses to cover up the in fighting. Imagine if their was no Radioshack and Bruyneel was locked into his contract at AStana. We'd get some real in fighting. It would also be interesting to see LA ride a tdf without bruyneel or bruyneel being on a different team to LA
 
Sprocket01 said:
To be honest it's hard to get a handle on Contador's personality due to the language barrier and the fact his only facial impression is a goofy grin. He's a bit of a mystery man really.

Language barrier between whom?
*AC & Bruyneel? Johann speaks fluent Spanish. both live in Madrid.
*AC & LA? well- lets say there were no intentions to communicate to each other since the very beginning, regardless the language...
*LA & JB- do I need to comment on it at all?
 
Jul 22, 2009
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auscyclefan94 said:
True. From what Bruyneel said, who i trust more of what he says compared to LA, Conti doesn't think Bruyneel plays a good tatical game because he continually challenges JB's authority. The guy has DS'd 9 tdf's and many other GT victories. I think he knows his stuff. I don't think Bruyneel even knew who was the leader of Astana or it wasn't decided. All the mixed messages from the riders about the leadership said to me that they weren't decided and there were contradictory messages from the riders which says they were making excuses to cover up the in fighting. Imagine if their was no Radioshack and Bruyneel was locked into his contract at AStana. We'd get some real in fighting. It would also be interesting to see LA ride a tdf without bruyneel or bruyneel being on a different team to LA

It's been said here frequently, but I think you also have to consider the movement of much of the team from Astana to Radioshack as further evidence of the real control of the leadership of the team. It became clear who the strongest rider was as the TdF wore on, but it was never clear the strongest rider had the confidence of the team. Who really knows on the outside? Some make a compelling argument that LA and Bruyneel undermined AC's authority. But who really knows.
 
Jul 27, 2009
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Language barrier between whom?

Contador and the monolingual English-speaking pro cycling follower, which is in the category most of us fall in to.

We've all read and seen interviews with Armstrong, Evans, the Schlecks, Liepheimer, Sastre etc. etc. Contador? By comparison, very ilttle.