LA still has fans at Road Bike Action magazine

[pleyser]

It seems that the puff pieces on Lance aren't over. Perusing the June 2011 issue of Road Bike Action magazine, I thought it was suddenly July 2005 or August 1999. Glowing, messianic reviews of the retirement of LA.

Zapata Espinoza writes: "I pity those who so easily dispense with their hypocrisy of denouncing Lance over accusations still unproven, while celebrating the likes of Pantani and other Euro greats who have acknowledged illicit wins. I can't foretell the future, but it's a proven fact to date, no cyclist has been tested as often as Lance. Clean."

Follow this up with the memories of Bob Roll, Chris Carmichael and other sycophants...er...friends.

This magazine is hardly a leader in cycling journalism, it's more about "look, here's another bike you can't afford!" However, I really expected a bit more of a balanced approach given the tide going against Lance. Even Strickland and Bicycling recently changed their view!

 

[blackcat]

they always use this schema "I am not sure", "he may not be clean", "I think we can all agree on this"... the unctuous faux admissions, to try and create empathy with the reader, who is willing and gullible to be taken in.

PR greenwashing 101.5

 

[tubularglue]

must of been tough writing that piece

 

[DISTRICT 9]

It seems that the puff pieces on Lance aren't over. Perusing the June 2011 issue of Road Bike Action magazine, I thought it was suddenly July 2005 or August 1999. Glowing, messianic reviews of the retirement of LA.

Zapata Espinoza writes: "I pity those who so easily dispense with their hypocrisy of denouncing Lance over accusations still unproven, while celebrating the likes of Pantani and other Euro greats who have acknowledged illicit wins. I can't foretell the future, but it's a proven fact to date, no cyclist has been tested as often as Lance. Clean."

Follow this up with the memories of Bob Roll, Chris Carmichael and other sycophants...er...friends.

This magazine is hardly a leader in cycling journalism, it's more about "look, here's another bike you can't afford!" However, I really expected a bit more of a balanced approach given the tide going against Lance. Even Strickland and Bicycling recently changed their view!

Lance was and is clean, it is just that simple. Hats off to Road Bike Magazine, for telling the truth.

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

Zap works for Trek or he used to. His reputation as a moron goes way way back and is well earned. He has a history of heaping derision on emerging trends, completely missing the changing winds, while portraying himself as "leader of the tribe." Seriously, "leader of the tribe" used to be his byline when he was still suffering under the delusion that he was relevant to mountain biking. If Zap bets on black, bet all your money on red.

It is a sad day when Lance has to rely on a living joke like Zap to defend him.

 

[JA.Tri]

Lance was and is clean, it is just that simple. Hats off to Road Bike Magazine, for telling the truth.

Edited: Have added the emoticons just to emphasize your tongue in cheek post.

 

[hrotha]

I pity those who so easily dispense with their hypocrisy of denouncing Lance over accusations still unproven, while celebrating the likes of Pantani and other Euro greats who have acknowledged illicit wins

You know, if they had stopped there they would kind of have had a point (although Pantani didn't acknowledge anything as far as I know). Of course, it's not the same because the stuff that's got Armstrong in trouble is not the standard things a pro rider in the 90s-00s did, but at least it's an interesting point that could be argued. But nooo, they had to be completely idiotic about it.

 

[Race Radio]

Zap was a brand manager at Trek during the glory years. He now appears to be suffering for too many large holes in his head and bad tattoos.

It is always entertaining to see guys like him pretend that it is only about doping with Lance and ignore all the others stuff. Willful ignorance. Neil Browne was the editor there, you would think they all know that one call from Wonderboy got him fired from NBC/Versus.

 

[StyrbjornSterki]

I can only imagine what the Tour de Lance did for US cycling magazine circulation. And the bottom line at Trek shops. And the attendance at the Tour of California (it eviscerated the Tour de Georgia when Lance switched to the left coast race). Lots of people made an @zz-load of cash off his racing career. And they're all loathe to see man responsible for the fattened state of their Roth accounts being exposed as a common criminal.

Because it also will expose how naïve all of them have been not realizing that their cash cow was really a mule. Or maybe a Nigerian swallower.

 

[Trey Peloton]

Just another reminder of the age old addage: Follow the $$ (or Euros into Swiss banks;-)

 

[veganrob]

Road Bike Action is a terrible rag. Espinoza lost whatever credibility he had years ago.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

It seems that the puff pieces on Lance aren't over. Perusing the June 2011 issue of Road Bike Action magazine, I thought it was suddenly July 2005 or August 1999. Glowing, messianic reviews of the retirement of LA.

Zapata Espinoza writes: "I pity those who so easily dispense with their hypocrisy of denouncing Lance over accusations still unproven, while celebrating the likes of Pantani and other Euro greats who have acknowledged illicit wins. I can't foretell the future, but it's a proven fact to date, no cyclist has been tested as often as Lance. Clean."

Follow this up with the memories of Bob Roll, Chris Carmichael and other sycophants...er...friends.

This magazine is hardly a leader in cycling journalism, it's more about "look, here's another bike you can't afford!" However, I really expected a bit more of a balanced approach given the tide going against Lance. Even Strickland and Bicycling recently changed their view!

Here we go again - someone should send Espinoza an irony award.

Pantani never failed a PED test - yet people do acknowledge that Pantanis wins were 'illicit' even when those accusations weren't proven.

 

[Fausto's Schnauzer]

Circumstances....

Circumstances have greatly influenced Zap's Lance-Love. A couple of weeks ago Zap's wife lost a years long battle with cancer. During her illness Lance reached out to the Espinozas and even rode an event with a Livestrong "I'm riding for..." sticker on his top-tube in honor of Zap's Mrs.

While I'm by no degree a Lance-Fan (I passed out of that years ago) my gut feeling is that Lance's actions for Zap and Mrs. were somewhere in between a tactic for gaining goodwill from someone in the bike media and a sincere act of support. In either case, it sure seemed to work on Zap judging by the content on the RBA article, which was written while his wife was still fighting for her life.

How 'bout we give Zap a bit of leeway on this and wish him our condolences and wish him strength in his grief and healing?

 

[Michael Brown]

Circumstances have greatly influenced Zap's Lance-Love. A couple of weeks ago Zap's wife lost a years long battle with cancer. During her illness Lance reached out to the Espinozas and even rode an event with a Livestrong "I'm riding for..." sticker on his top-tube in honor of Zap's Mrs...

...How 'bout we give Zap a bit of leeway on this and wish him our condolences and wish him strength in his grief and healing?

Very well stated.

 

[Astana1]

I really expected a bit more of a balanced approach given the tide going against Lance. Even Strickland and Bicycling recently changed their view!

But did they? At the end of the Strickland article he just reverted back to the same old apologia.

 

[Jonathan]

Very well stated.

Ofcourse, spreading lies about Pantani (who never tested positive for any of his wins) is allowed, because...well, because his relatives don't read english, I suppose.

 

[Granville57]

Circumstances...

How 'bout we give Zap a bit of leeway on this and wish him our condolences and wish him strength in his grief and healing?

Thanks for that. Very sobering.

 

[DirtyWorks]

I can only imagine what the Tour de Lance did for US cycling magazine circulation.

I would be interested in this angle too. I bet there's a minor boost in sales with a Yankee in yellow at the TdF.

And the bottom line at Trek shops.

This is a pet peeve of mine. The industry side did not see a big jump in sales because of wonderboy. In the U.S. road access improved and comfort bikes in various configurations finally made it to market at lower price points. Wonderboy was just another poster on the wall at a consumer's local bike shop. Trek's marketing tactics of flattening the retailer chain contributed to their growth more than their product.

Because it also will expose how naïve all of them have been not realizing that their cash cow was really a mule. Or maybe a Nigerian swallower.

I don't think all the sycophants were naive. The smart ones knew all along. They just didn't turn down the money. They were okay with it. I wouldn't be, but that's me.

Lastly, I read the Strickland content as forgiving Wonderboy's felonies. The mental gymnastics that make maintaining praise for a likely multiple, serious felon are sad.

 

[Autobus]

Lance o' mania has spread beyond bicycling magazines these days. The current issue of Runner's World, another Roadale rag, has the theme "Outrunning Cancer" and has a fawning interview with Lance by Bill Saporito.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-588--13979-0,00.html

You get the idea what to expect when you read quotes like these from the author:

I have worn a yellow LiveStrong wristband nearly every day of my postsurgery life, on every mile I have run in New York City's Central Park... To people like me, its inspirational power is undeniable.

Armstrong's competitive streak, however, is still on display in his ongoing defense against the allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs to achieve some of his victories riding with the U.S. Postal Service team, from 1998 to 2004 (despite never having tested positive). But his Ahab, federal investigator Jeff Novitzky, was dealt a serious blow when his case, tied to PEDs, against former San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds resulted in a single obstruction-of-justice conviction. Most neutral observers see the case as a failure on the government's part.

And there's Lance's reaction to a question on how the investigation is affecting him:

It's the question that's always going to be asked.
Yeah, yeah. I refuse to let it bother me. The press has jumped on it, but have I ever walked down the street and felt it? No. Have I ever stepped in front of an audience of a thousand people and felt it? No. Have I ever walked into a Starbucks and felt it? No. Ever been on a bike ride and felt it? Never. If I didn't pick up and read the paper, I'd never know. It has absolutely zero impact on what we do on a daily basis.

The author even brags how Lance dropped Joan Benoit Samuelson, the winner of the first Olympic women's marathon in 1984, in a recent half marathon.

Granted that the author is a cancer survivor , I still wish people would use their brains when they talk about him. But then, Lance would probably never have sat down for the interview if it was going to be any different.

 

[BotanyBay]

Zapata Espinoza writes: "I pity those who so easily dispense with their hypocrisy of denouncing Lance over accusations still unproven (snip)..."

Face it people, in the eyes of the Lance-o-philes, "proven" requires video-recorded, DNA-backed, confession-secured data. Cancer killers have a kevlar-coated ego.

 

[pmcg76]

This reminds of the movie 'The Matrix' and the question

What is the Matrix?

Just imagine Larry Fishburne telling Keanu:

The matrix is the world created by Lance, his cronies and the media to pull the wool over the eyes of those affected by cancer in order to hide Lance's doping and make mountains of money for themselves, especially Lance.

 

[Granville57]

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-588--13979-0,00.html
You get the idea what to expect when you read quotes like these from the author:

Armstrong's competitive streak, however, is still on display in his ongoing defense against the allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs to achieve some of his victories riding with the U.S. Postal Service team, from 1998 to 2004 (despite never having tested positive).

To the bolded:
Nice try from the author on that one.
Blissfully unaware? Willful ignorance?

 

[greatking88]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cycling/13675045.stm

David Millar is also still a big fan, some serious drooling over Lance

 

[spalco]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cycling/13675045.stm

David Millar is also still a big fan, some serious drooling over Lance

My god, what a piece of ****. Yeah yeah it was all those evil Frenchmen's fault, corrupting the poor innocent Scottish boy.

 

[hrotha]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cycling/13675045.stm

David Millar is also still a big fan, some serious drooling over Lance

Obviously he's taking the pіss, I mean, look at those glasses.