No Horner?

[buster110]

I'm a little surprised at the snub to Horner in the Tour. Is he just not kissing the right backside?

 

[franciep10]

He's kissing but his form is not right for a three week race + his knee is probably still hampering him.

 

[**Uru**]

Two injuries in the spring were just too much.

 

[Jasper]

I know this is your first post, but a simple glance at the forum index should have taught you that there is already a number of threads where this very subject is already being discussed. No need for yet another Astana/Lance thread imo

 

[Pete Deco]

Don't forget the sponsor had to be placated.

 

[linenoiz]

I know this is your first post, but a simple glance at the forum index should have taught you that there is already a number of threads where this very subject is already being discussed. No need for yet another Astana/Lance thread imo

Horner is probably one of the favorite American riders. I know this was possibly discussed in one of the Astana threads, but I don't think it was out of bounds to start a thread for Horner. Plus you're the only one in this thread who has mentioned LA.

OP, I'm also sad that Horner isn't making it.

 

[buster110]

Sorry Jasper, I didn't realize that a question regarding Horner instantly meant I should read all the douche bag threads to get an answer.

If he's knee still bothering him then thats a different story, but he's proven over and over again that his form is good all the time.

 

[linenoiz]

Can we kick out the Versus crew and bring in Horner to do the commentary? That would ROCK!

 

[EricBikeCO]

can we kick out the versus crew and bring in horner to do the commentary? That would rock!

excellent idea!

 

[Jasper]

Sorry Jasper, I didn't realize that a question regarding Horner instantly meant I should read all the douche bag threads to get an answer.

No need to apologise. It just seems like the thread posting etiquette on this forum is different from what I'm used too on other boards. It's a bit frustrating for me to see lots of potentially great threads being pushed to the second page by the myriad of polarising (or 'douchebag', as you aptly call them) Lance/Astana threads, all pretty much saying the same things over and over again.

 

[buster110]

Horner's one of the few "gamers" in the sport and if could line up, he'd work his *** off. I'm not an overly huge fan, but it seems like he's paid his dues and he's running out of time.

 

[Ibanez]

I would love to hear Horner's commentary actually. Has he done race commentary before?

 

[BigBoat]

Oh crap he;s not coming here and racing then...

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Hopefully he will be flying by the time the Vuelta rolls around. He has been looking real good this year...except when he is on the ground with broken bones.

Does it seem like everyone is crashing hard this year or is it just because a lot of big names have fallen hard?

 

[AlHooKoo]

I think Chris could fill the role Gregory Rast has on the squad.
Rast got dropped in a TTT recently, so I would be concerned about that.
Maybe Chris will get a leadership position in the Tour of Spain.

 

[laurentiu46]

I rather see Kloden as Astana's leader for the Vuelta. If AC won't start,of course.

 

[Azdak6]

FWIW, here is a response from LA's twitter feed:

"@fritzlacey Believe me, I tried. This is not 2004 or 2005. I'm not the leader of the team. Horner is the man and we'll miss him. Period."

I believe the question to Lance was "why didn't you pull some strings to get him on the team".

So far, no response from Horner. I would take that to mean he is (understandably) very unhappy.

 

[ashortcyclist]

"While the injury was a setback, Horner told The Oregonian this morning that "It wasn't the leg" that kept him off the team. He wasn't yet ready to discuss the issue further."

http://bit.ly/q81Gf

 

[egbruce]

I suspect that there are so many political games being played with this non-selection for the Tour that we will never fully understand them all. Horner is in my opinion the number one super domestic in the Protour Peleton. He in all probability would have loyalties towards Lance and Levi, and I am sure AC objected to his selection not realizing that Chris would work for the leader. This weakens my interest in the Tour, because it's guys like Chris Horner that make it work. The selection for this team is more disfunctional than the 2005 Telecom setup.

 

[karlboss]

Just because someone pulls out of a TTT doesn't mean that the guys who stayed in are stronger. They might just be pulling harder. Rast's is really the only position Horner could look at. I really think the call would be who is more useful in a TTT. Rast won the Prologue at tour of luxemburg, Kloeden was there so I think astana has the data as to exactly what shape he's in.

 

[titan_90]

excellent idea!

Versus coverage would still be unbearable with all of those damn commercials. You get maybe 10 minutes of the race with 50 minutes of commercials every hour

 

[Epicycle]

I thought Horner would get picked just because he's close to Armstrong but it didn't really make sense to add another climber to the roster.

The one that really surprised me is Paulinho instead of Noval because Noval has so much Tour experience.

 

[Snake8]

He would have been in if it weren't for the token Kazak.

 

[richwagmn]

I thought Horner would get picked just because he's close to Armstrong but it didn't really make sense to add another climber to the roster.

The one that really surprised me is Paulinho instead of Noval because Noval has so much Tour experience.

Sounds like LA tried but as he said on twitter, he's NOT the team leader. Contador's needs are more important that LA's.

My faith in Bruyneel is slowly returning. Just wonder if LA will bury himself for Contador the way Hincapie did for him for so many years.

Yea right...

 

[BigBoat]

He would have been in if it weren't for the token Kazak.

Yeah Dimitriy Muravyey. Its good that they put him in though. Its a Kazak team after all.

With that whole Astana "program" pretty much everybody can be transformed into a top Tour rider...doesnt matter who ya pick that deeply a since.