Official Lance Armstrong thread

[frizzlefry]

Really, a "Psychologist" writing sarcastic, antagonistic posts on a cycling forum? I always said, you want to see "fucked up," find someone who graduated with a psych degree. However, it is rare to see one so completely inept at maintaining an impartial tone. Dang, you suck at your fake internet job.

Us rabble rousers and miscreants who don't believe in the Armstrong myth are so in need of real help. Maybe you can google and find the answers to our deepest troubles? Maybe Wiki will have an article or two also?

Psychology classes in college bored me to death.

 

[bikeGURU]

No. Simply no. His job, (and he knows this) is to support AC until the bitter end. He may make up a few seconds on AC in Annecy, but he must be 100% prepared (a la Heras a few years back) to subordinate himself to AC. He appears willing to do this. You are right in that if AC completely blows up, that Johan must have a plan B. I think Klodi should be that Plan B, given his superior climbing skill (assuming he doesn't lose minutes in Annecy).

So what is his job on Ventoux?? In my mind his job is to ride up fast ahead of Contador until he attacks and then sit in with the group of people chasing Contador. None of that involves sucking wnd up the hill and soft pedaling to the top 10min down. He is no good if he is down the road so far that he can do nothing for anyone. Read the news about the Astana plans to have 3 in the top 5 by Paris, clearly they are thinking along the same lines as what I've suggested.

If Contador attacks as part of the plan and is gaining time on the field like he did up Verbier, why would Armstrong and Klodin stop riding and just fall ff the pace?? Its a long climb, they aren't going to hammer out a 500m sprint part way up and totally destroy themselves. It is better for Contador to do that himself, its easier to follow a pack if LA/AK/AC are riding at the front that gives everyone else a few more people to draft in behind and follow wheels as they bridge up. If AC goes off the front like he has they have no wheels to follow and no way to bridge up unless they have the climbing strength on that day.

And why is Kloden clearly the better climber?? Overall in the climbs he is behind Armstrong by about 17 sec over the 2 mountain finishes. Looks like LA is ahead of him in the tour so far, so why should he be given the go ahead before Armstrong??

 

[klodifan]

And why is Kloden clearly the better climber?? Overall in the climbs he is behind Armstrong by about 17 sec over the 2 mountain finishes. Looks like LA is ahead of him in the tour so far, so why should he be given the go ahead before Armstrong??

Kloden has done the majority of work pulling LA up the mountain. LA probably wouldnt have that lead without klodi's work.

 

[the_kman]

Kloden has done the majority of work pulling LA up the mountain. LA probably wouldnt have that lead without klodi's work.

u think lance or anyone else won tours by doing 100% of the work 100% of the time?

of course kloden did the work for lance. kloden woulda done if for contador had he not broken away dummy

 

[klodifan]

u think lance or anyone else won tours by doing 100% of the work 100% of the time?

of course kloden did the work for lance. kloden woulda done if for contador had he not broken away dummy

What is funny is calling someone else a dummy when it is clear you cannot write a single coherent sentence. Now that I got that out of the way, my comment was in response to the claim that LA is a better climber in this tour based on time gaps. Don't worry; I understand. Basic reading comprehension skills go hand in hand with writing skills. Bless your heart.

 

[Anonymous]

Psychology classes in college bored me to death.

I slept through mine, so either:
A. They were in fact boring or
B. I just didn't want to know what was wrong with me.

 

[klodifan]

I slept through mine, so either:
A. They were in fact boring or
B. I just didn't want to know what was wrong with me.

or

C. Both A and B

I tuned out after Pavlov.

 

[goober]

Hey, not biggie. I once pretended, on a another cycling forum, to be a gay Nazi from South Dakota who had a love for ferns. Seriously.

are you sure you were pretending

 

[Anonymous]

are you sure you were pretending

If I wasn't, my wife is in for a shock at some point, especially about the South Dakota part...

 

[Dedelou]

somebody mentioned how Lance will help contador untill Paris and the reminded me of an image I saw on TV in the USA during the Giro. As journalist with agenda often do, this one , whose name I Can't remember, was telling the public how lance was helping his teammate Levy.. I was laughing so hard , my wife thought something was really the matter.. because my poor old tired eyes could only see.. amstrong, several hundred meters behind levy , surrounded by domestics who should have really being there for the man in front: Levy.. I guess there are many ways to help a leader and Amstrong, the genius, had found a new one.. helping friends from way behind. who needs enemies in that case.

 

[53 x 11]

Sorry

Really? Someone has tried to hijack my screen name? I'm honored! Actually, to whomever had the amazing foresight to do so, a few things for you to know....

1. Been racing since 1989
2. Been following the sport since 1983
3. Am currently IN France (Chamonix today, looking at Mont Blanc out my hotel room window), looking forward to being on the Petit St. Bernard tomorrow.
4. This would be my 8th TdF seen live since '99
5. First Euro race seen live was Het Volk in '97
6. Favorite cyclist is either Boonen or Van de Velde
7. Been putting in substantially more miles this summer than excursions to local shops
8. Have watched virtually every PT race over the past three years and all the semi-classics on cycling.tv, Universal or Versus.
9. Pre-3 years ago, have an extensive collection of DVD's and VHS's of same PT races.


Now get back on your couch with your bag of Cheetos and find another outlet/target for your sophomoric humor.

Most of the tenured posters here know that I'm pretty even-handed. Go ahead, douchies, take your shots....

Sorry, I just picked that name and was pretty socked that it was free, wasnt ment to be and attack on anyone. I was just having a little laugh at some of the fair weather fans, whos population exploded in my home town since the TDU.

I'll see if i can reregister under a different name. But I've got to finish these cheetos first.

 

[reubenr]

Really!

LA Quote:

"You can be the strongest one or you can be the leader because of your experience, because you have the respect of the riders within the team."

and from his twitter:

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” --Mahatma Gandhi

Fear of Contador in the mountains? Just psyching himself up? Hey, I should be team leader because no one likes AC? Puzzled...

I am rather tired of Lance. Leaders are not withholding. They absorb anxiety. He created it. Quite frankly, Kloden could kick his **** and well he may, come tomorrow,the next day, the time trial, or Saturday. In the final analysis, Contador deserves a medal for tolerance and patience. Mr. Armstrong may have more experience, but Mr. Contador has more maturity. Mr. Armstrong's concession today is not very persuasive. The bottom line, however, is what will happen next year? Where will Mr. Contador go? I can't see him staying with Astana, with or without Bruyneel. He has another year with Astana, but I hope he's working on getting out. Who would want to race with a former junkie? Or someone worse, like a real egotist, like Mr. Armstrong, for example.

 

[frizzlefry]

I slept through mine, so either:
A. They were in fact boring or
B. I just didn't want to know what was wrong with me.

Ever take a Philosophy class? Total Effn borefest. Intro to Logic made me feel dumber than a bag of hammers.

 

[Ninety5rpm]

Ever take a Philosophy class? Total Effn borefest. Intro to Logic made me feel dumber than a bag of hammers.

You probably didn't like geometry proofs in high school much either, nor are you a computer programmer. Prefer crossword puzzles to Sudoku? Am I right?

 

[indurain666]

You probably didn't like geometry proofs in high school much either, nor are you a computer programmer. Prefer crossword puzzles to Sudoku? Am I right?

Souldn't you guys be talking about LA's fantastic comeback to the pro peloton?

 

[rhubroma]

Are you sure about that? When you pulled out your calculator and did the math did you remove the TTT for all riders? Try again.

1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 15:17:56
2 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:00:29
3 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:42
4 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream 0:01:28
5 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:01:37
6 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:01:46
7 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 0:01:52
8 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:01:53
9 Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC 0:02:08
10 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo TestTeam 0:02:15

Nope, wrong! Because you also have to remove the 40 seconds he gained on that sly move he made with Team Columbia, because of a crosswind, and others' "sleeping"....which had no bearing on how strong he really is and what he is actually capable of doing in this Tour, as the key stages have demonstrated. Those stages are: Prologue, Arcalis and Sunday's.

So, he's not even top ten. And it will get worse for him now. The festering wounds and blood have attracted the vultures, who are hovering above.

Pretty dismal for a guy who last year so arrogantly thought he could reclaim the throne, because his inflated ego didn't allow him to a.) take his own age seriously b.) consider seriously the time, at his age, he's been away from the sport c.) above all, not take his competition seriously (while even mocking some: Sastre, Vandevelde). On this last point, it was great when he refuted 95rpms, who was living in denial that Lance's comments were actually insulting to Sastre (over which we debated here), by actually offering a public apology to him. And he even had the gall to think it was going to be a proverbial "walk in the park," till he started racing and realized very quickly his original asessments were wrong. Just splendid, that.

 

[euphrades]

Nope, wrong! Because you also have to remove the 40 seconds he gained on that sly move he made with Team Columbia, because of a crosswind, and others' "sleeping"....which had no bearing on how strong he really is and what he is actually capable of doing in this Tour, as the key stages have demonstrated. Those stages are: Prologue, Arcalis and Sunday's.

So, he's not even top ten. And it will get worse for him now. The festering wounds and blood have attracted the vultures, who are hovering above.

Pretty dismal for a guy who last year so arrogantly thought he could reclaim the throne, because his inflated ego didn't allow him to a.) take his own age seriously b.) consider seriously the time, at his age, he's been away from the sport c.) above all, not take his competition seriously (while even mocking some: Sastre, Vandevelde). On this last point, it was great when he refuted 95rpms, who was living in denial that Lance's comments were actually insulting to Sastre (over which we debated here), by actually offering a public apology to him. And he even had the gall to think it was going to be a proverbial "walk in the park," till he started racing and realized very quickly his original asessments were wrong. Just splendid, that.

Maybe, but even with the forty seconds removed, and I think they should be counted even if you think it was a cheeky move. If you add the 40 seconds then that would still put him 2 seconds behind Carlos Sastre.....didn't he win the tour last year.

 

[frizzlefry]

Nope, wrong! Because you also have to remove the 40 seconds he gained on that sly move he made with Team Columbia, because of a crosswind, and others' "sleeping"....which had no bearing on how strong he really is and what he is actually capable of doing in this Tour, as the key stages have demonstrated. Those stages are: Prologue, Arcalis and Sunday's.

So, he's not even top ten. And it will get worse for him now. The festering wounds and blood have attracted the vultures, who are hovering above.

Pretty dismal for a guy who last year so arrogantly thought he could reclaim the throne, because his inflated ego didn't allow him to a.) take his own age seriously b.) consider seriously the time, at his age, he's been away from the sport c.) above all, not take his competition seriously (while even mocking some: Sastre, Vandevelde). On this last point, it was great when he refuted 95rpms, who was living in denial that Lance's comments were actually insulting to Sastre (over which we debated here), by actually offering a public apology to him. And he even had the gall to think it was going to be a proverbial "walk in the park," till he started racing and realized very quickly his original asessments were wrong. Just splendid, that.

Since we are doing multiple choice, you forgot d.) broken collarbone

 

[frizzlefry]

You probably didn't like geometry proofs in high school much either, nor are you a computer programmer. Prefer crossword puzzles to Sudoku? Am I right?

No geometry wasnt my thing although I did get an A in College Algebra.
Crossword puzzles and Sudoku I dont have time for. I have a Management degree. Give me an organization to run and I'll take care of it.

 

[rhubroma]

Maybe, but even with the forty seconds removed, and I think they should be counted even if you think it was a cheeky move. If you add the 40 seconds then that would still put him 2 seconds behind Carlos Sastre.....didn't he win the tour last year.

Sure he won, but according to Lance last year's the race was a "joke." On that note, what does it say about AC's performance till now, being only 2 seconds ahead of a "joke?"

My point was on actual strenght, not oportunistic riding. Considering this, you have to remove those 40 seconds to get a real gauge on how strong (not cheeky) Armstrong's actually is in this year's race.

 

[rhubroma]

Since we are doing multiple choice, you forgot d.) broken collarbone

The broken collarbone affected the Giro. Having ridden the Giro, it has no bearing on his riding in this year's Tour. If anything, it gauranteed he would not come into form too early at the Giro, and so may have actually helped his form timing at the Tour. Either way, the injury has not affected how he's riding today. Years ago Ugrimov, who finished 2nd in the 95 Tour behind Indurain and Pantani, broke his collarbone just 2 weeks! prior to the start of the race. So no, broken collarbone not one of the multiple choices.

 

[elapid]

And Hamilton finished 4th in the TdF with a broken collarbone. No drugs are going to take away that pain.

 

[bikeGURU]

Nope, wrong! Because you also have to remove the 40 seconds he gained on that sly move he made with Team Columbia, because of a crosswind, and others' "sleeping"....which had no bearing on how strong he really is and what he is actually capable of doing in this Tour, as the key stages have demonstrated. Those stages are: Prologue, Arcalis and Sunday's.

So, he's not even top ten. And it will get worse for him now. The festering wounds and blood have attracted the vultures, who are hovering above.

Pretty dismal for a guy who last year so arrogantly thought he could reclaim the throne, because his inflated ego didn't allow him to a.) take his own age seriously b.) consider seriously the time, at his age, he's been away from the sport c.) above all, not take his competition seriously (while even mocking some: Sastre, Vandevelde). On this last point, it was great when he refuted 95rpms, who was living in denial that Lance's comments were actually insulting to Sastre (over which we debated here), by actually offering a public apology to him. And he even had the gall to think it was going to be a proverbial "walk in the park," till he started racing and realized very quickly his original asessments were wrong. Just splendid, that.

Convienent how you can add the 40sec on for Armstrongs 'cheeky' move but you still include Le Mevel and Nocentini when they gained the time as part of breakaways that clearly had nothing to do with their superior strength. Le Mevel gained 5:30 in stage 14.

Once you take out those 2 riders, Armstrong moves up to 8th. Not that dismal. 2 sec behind Sastre, ahead of Vande Velde and only 30 sec down on the superstar A Schleck.

 

[LaBici]

who junkie

"Who would want to race with a former junkie?"

hard to surmise who this might be.

In any event it is time for Astana to stop playing games, and release Kloden to race for the podium. LA has tried but failed to keep up with the others.

 

[LaBici]

This years tour

This year;s tour has been very unorthodox in the way that there are so few mountain top finishes. Tomorrows again is a downhill finish. Provides time for riders to recoup losses.

A theory floating among some local riders is that LA is in this tour only for publicity ...for his foundation and to help increase exposure of the TdF in the USA. The latter has been accomplished in spades.

In order to keep North Americans interested in the TdF they had to find a way to keep LA high in the standings during the main part of the event. Hence no big mountain top finishes, an early TTT which got LA up in teh GC, then he was able to keep it due to the weird mountain stages through the pyrenees with downhill finishes. It does seem plausible ... and i also found this whole AC/LA "feud" a bit unbelievable. A PR stunt.