Official Lance Armstrong thread

[Belokki]

If it looks like a troll, acts like a troll, smells like a troll........

no he's a just a Conti hater
he's in the wrong thread

 

[Anonymous]

Exactly. Don't bite the hand that feeds you.

In this case, I think its, don't feed the hand that bites you.

 

[richwagmn]

Nope. it's called inner rage and a need to compensate. you have to be gay or a minority or former cancer patient or something like that to over achieve in a non life threatening peace time contest. You can just look at contador and know that guy has a psychotic need to win. Put contador in the ww1 trenches and he'd be the first to have a nervous breakdown because he is so highstrung.

Huh? All sorts of people achieve great things without being any of the things you listed.

From Eddy Merckx himself (via wikipedia)

I had a beautiful childhood. I had loving, very sensible parents. We weren't rich, but my younger brother and sister... and myself never wanted for anything. My father was a man of great character and my mother very warm and kind. Both of them were wonderful examples to me. Like everyone, I am a mixture of both of them. My determination and willingness to work hard came from my father. He worked tirelessly to build up his grocery business. He was strict on discipline, but he was also a bit of a philosopher. I have kept some of his sayings in my head for the whole of my life. From my mother I get my softer side. An example of that is the fact that I often find it difficult to say no to people. They maybe don't mean to, but people can use you up if you let them.

You do know who he is right?

 

[iceaxe]

LA better start doing something because I am bored of backing him. Wiggins looks like an interesting prospect.

 

[jasonc23]

We want Lance at the Tour de Georgia

Let's bring the Tour de Georgia back and try to get Lance there too!

Visit http://www.bringtheraceback.com/ and show your support!

 

[mr. tibbs]

Looks like the following, who were considered GC contenders, all got dropped out the back: Nibali, Pellizotti, Kloden, LL Sanchez, Monfort, Kirchen, Kreuzinger and Gerdemann.

Hey, hey--ease off the Kloden expectations. The only ones who ever built him up to be an actual contender for yellow were...well...

Actually, no one ever built him up for that. It took him beating Armstrong AND Leipheimer in the opening TT for Phil, Paul, et al to even start mentioning him, and all the pre-prepared graphics and specials on the possible winners are quite Kloden free. He showed his ambitions when he went to the front of the leaders' group yesterday to pull. That's been his job from the beginning and he knows it. Once Contador went, his job was done. He's the ultimate team player.

As for the others in your list, not many surprises. Those guys are good, but I don't think anyone had them picked to win, either. Though I was kinda surprised that Pellizotti popped so fast; guess he spent a bit too much currency at the Giro.

 

[runninboy]

Why would journalists working for an American television company jeopordize their jobs to criticize their golden egg? .

Exactly when i heard that Michael Phelps won despite his ADD I thought
"oh crap probably got a TUE for amphetemines to "treat" the ADD."
No one would dare ask the golden boy the question
"what meds are you taking to treat your ADD?"
i came from a track background, sprinters & hurdlers get ADD and distance runners get Asthma. You just pick the best disease for the best performance enhancing drug for your specialty
But not one journalist points this out
cycling is not so bad the other sports have it hidden
over 200 major league baseball players now have TUE's vs just a couple dozen 5 years ago.

 

[jilbiker]

Stage 20

I think LA, JB and AC have an agreement whether spoken or unspoken that we will do the team thing until stage 20. knock out the opposition so that it is only LA&AC left and perhaps LL and AK and then everyone is on their own. Stage 20, attack at will, Astana can implode then but at the end of the day they feel an Astana rider will wear the yellow because the opposition will be too far back.

Other teams have to pressure Astana to implode earlier than planned. They should attack early before stage 20, but they have to work together, I can't see a single team standing up to Astana. The team is actually 4 teams in one. AC,LA,LL,AK are all team leaders and should have been in different teams. That would have made a very very exciting Tour. Right now, cutting out the post race mouthing, its a bit of a drag.

 

[wiggintona]

This year could have been LA's 11th tour win

If he had not retired on 2005 he would probably won again in 2006 because there was no rider to equal him that year. In 2007 the leader was Rasmussen until he was forced to give the tour win to Contador(after beating him up several Mntns) Lance had beaten Rasmussen soundly in prior years. In 2008 we had the Sastre win and he surely cannot and would not have beaten Lance, that would have gien LA 10 wins, so this could have been 11 wins that he would be shooting for.

I imagine that TFF and Brodeal are having convulsions at the mere thought!!

 

[180mmCrank]

I have said this on another thread but not quite sure where to post some of these things...so here repeated..

The only way I can see Lance winning is for two things to happen...

1. Riding a good ITT and being up their with AC - this will need him to ride a better ITT than we have seen him ride since his return - not sure he has it in him but we'll see. And then...

2. On Ventoux the Astana boys set a high tempo thin out the field and then...it may well be that if it is still close betweem Lance and Contador on the GC - Contador gets impatient and goes (too?) early on the climb - he skips out to 30 seconds or so maybe even a minute but then sticks...and starts to run out of gas. The rest of the contenders (schleck, evans etc) peg him back and Lance like the good team mate he is - just sits in the wheels. When AC gets caught Lance attacks, takes yellow and makes history.

How likely is this... not sure but if it's close in the ITT then I think this is very likely to be the plan for Lance going in to Ventoux.

But we have a week or so to wait - lots can happen between now and then.

 

[Anonymous]

I have said this on another thread but not quite sure where to post some of these things...so here repeated..

The only way I can see Lance winning is for two things to happen...

1. Riding a good ITT and being up their with AC - this will need him to ride a better ITT than we have seen him ride since his return - not sure he has it in him but we'll see. And then...

2. On Ventoux the Astana boys set a high tempo thin out the field and then...it may well be that if it is still close betweem Lance and Contador on the GC - Contador gets impatient and goes (too?) early on the climb - he skips out to 30 seconds or so maybe even a minute but then sticks...and starts to run out of gas. The rest of the contenders (schleck, evans etc) peg him back and Lance like the good team mate he is - just sits in the wheels. When AC gets caught Lance attacks, takes yellow and makes history.

How likely is this... not sure but if it's close in the ITT then I think this is very likely to be the plan for Lance going in to Ventoux.

But we have a week or so to wait - lots can happen between now and then.

Yea, been playing out similar scenarios in my head also. I am starting to wonder if Armstrong might pull a TT out of his a$$ and the hold on just close enough on Ventoux to take the Tour.

 

[Anonymous]

Evidently, in an interview on French TV, Armstrong was asked if this was his last Tour, his answer "Probably not."

I think I'll go to sleep, wake me up when its over.

 

[Smera1]

Evidently, in an interview on French TV, Armstrong was asked if this was his last Tour, his answer "Probably not."

I think I'll go to sleep, wake me up when its over.

Sad to see he could have left the sport as other great sportsmen, but chose to return riding under a bad excuse, risking putting a mar in an otherwise invict career.

 

[richwagmn]

Man, John Wilcockson just can't dis Contador enough. Was a tool.

http://tour-de-france.velonews.com/article/95032/pending-final-week-the-tour-becomes-a-waiting-game

 

[Parrot23]

Man, John Wilcockson just can't dis Contador enough. Was a tool.

http://tour-de-france.velonews.com/article/95032/pending-final-week-the-tour-becomes-a-waiting-game

People like Wilcockson and Graham Watson lose all integrity when they sell themselves out to a corporatized team, body and soul. If you're gonna be a commentator, you gotta be independent. Every single credible journalist I know of, knows this and sticks to it as the central creed of journalism. Otherwise you are a paid and compromised lapdog whose views are distorted, and real journalists have nothing but contempt for this sort of stuff.

Their stuff isn't even journalism. It paid corporate-speak. They should have a disclaimer at the bottom of all of their material: "I am a paid--de facto or otherwise--by Astana/Lance to write or present complimentary material". That's okay, but it's not okay to present their stuff as journalism (real or independent analysis).

 

[Anonymous]

People like Wilcockson and Graham Watson lose all integrity when they sell themselves out to a corporatized team, body and soul. If you're gonna be a commentator, you gotta be independent. Every single credible journalist I know of, knows this and sticks to it as the central creed of journalism. Otherwise you are a paid and compromised lapdog whose views are distorted, and real journalists have nothing but contempt for this sort of stuff.

Their stuff isn't even journalism. It paid corporate-speak. They should have a disclaimer at the bottom of all of their material: "I am a paid--de facto or otherwise--by Astana/Lance to write or present complimentary material". That's okay, but it's not okay to present their stuff as journalism (real or independent analysis).

Unfortunately, I believe that is a problem across the board. All of the media I read (or used to read in many cases) has become nothing but Fark. Pharmaceutical companies get press releases presented as news because there is a "study" involved. It is an infection in the system that is killing the patient, and it is only getting worse. That is why people like Mr Armstrong are so affective. He knows that if you just say something long enough in as many places as possible, it becomes "truth." It is a sickness that knows no political or ethical side. Sometimes I want to move to Alaska or somewhere in remote BC and just fall off the map.

 

[180mmCrank]

People like Wilcockson and Graham Watson lose all integrity when they sell themselves out to a corporatized team, body and soul. If you're gonna be a commentator, you gotta be independent. Every single credible journalist I know of, knows this and sticks to it as the central creed of journalism. Otherwise you are a paid and compromised lapdog whose views are distorted, and real journalists have nothing but contempt for this sort of stuff.

Their stuff isn't even journalism. It paid corporate-speak. They should have a disclaimer at the bottom of all of their material: "I am a paid--de facto or otherwise--by Astana/Lance to write or present complimentary material". That's okay, but it's not okay to present their stuff as journalism (real or independent analysis).

I just read this article - and it does seem to present a rather one sided view of events. Lance making the break in the cross wind and putting his guys on the front when Alberto was out the back is considered fair tactic. Contador pulling back the 20 s on the hill loses respect of the team... and the final straw for me at the end of the article something about Lance gaining the initiative from Contador. Is this guy paid by livestrong? Just my view.

 

[Padeiro]

Sad to see he could have left the sport as other great sportsmen, but chose to return riding under a bad excuse, risking putting a mar in an otherwise invict career.

I think some of us who have been touched by cancer and have seen the benefit of Livestrong might beg to differ about the so called "bad excuse". Ram the man as much as you would like but don't smear the cause.

 

[richwagmn]

I just read this article - and it does seem to present a rather one sided view of events. Lance making the break in the cross wind and putting his guys on the front when Alberto was out the back is considered fair tactic. Contador pulling back the 20 s on the hill loses respect of the team... and the final straw for me at the end of the article something about Lance gaining the initiative from Contador. Is this guy paid by livestrong? Just my view.

He is writing a book about Armstrong. I think he calls him the greatest athlete of all time.

 

[Smera1]

I think some of us who have been touched by cancer and have seen the benefit of Livestrong might beg to differ about the so called "bad excuse". Ram the man as much as you would like but don't smear the cause.

Hi Padeiro,

Sorry if my words were bad interpreted. I did not, in any way, tried to smear the Livestrong cause. I simply stated that mr. Armostrong used it as an excuse to return to the sport, when we all know what was the real motif. Armstrong's actions and interviews speak for themselves. He came back to participate and try to win the TdF.

 

[BroDeal]

I have said this on another thread but not quite sure where to post some of these things...so here repeated..

The only way I can see Lance winning is for two things to happen...

1. Riding a good ITT and being up their with AC - this will need him to ride a better ITT than we have seen him ride since his return - not sure he has it in him but we'll see. And then...

2. On Ventoux the Astana boys set a high tempo thin out the field and then...it may well be that if it is still close betweem Lance and Contador on the GC - Contador gets impatient and goes (too?) early on the climb - he skips out to 30 seconds or so maybe even a minute but then sticks...and starts to run out of gas. The rest of the contenders (schleck, evans etc) peg him back and Lance like the good team mate he is - just sits in the wheels. When AC gets caught Lance attacks, takes yellow and makes history.

How likely is this... not sure but if it's close in the ITT then I think this is very likely to be the plan for Lance going in to Ventoux.

But we have a week or so to wait - lots can happen between now and then.

Armstrong has every chance of winning. Even accepting that Contador is the strongest man in the race, there is nowhere for him to put it to use.

The Alpes look like they will suck just as much as the Pyrenees. The stage to Verbier seems slightly easier than the stage to Arcalis. Armstrong might not lose any time there. He might attack and hope that Cotntador follows the "rules" and does not mark him, gaining a little time. Anyway, he could easily come into the time trial very very close to Contador.

If you accept that Armstrong is probably doing the same thing he did before he retired then his steady state power should not have decreased much, if at all. A flattish course of moderate length is ideal or him. He could very well come out of the ITT close to Contador. There is a decent chance he can come out of it ahead of Contador.

That leaves Ventoux. Leaving everything to one stage is a crap shoot. Contador should have the advantage but anything could happen.

 

[dgodave]

...That leaves Ventoux. Leaving everything to one stage is a crap shoot. Contador should have the advantage but anything could happen.

I dunno. Chance comes into play... but 90% of the time the stronger of 2 climbers should win that one, I think.)
.

 

[BroDeal]

I dunno. Chance comes into play... but 90% of the time the stronger of 2 climbers should win that one, I think.)
.

The odds should favor Contador, but all it takes is one rider having a great day and the other having a more average day.

Contador should be hoping that Evans, Stastre, and the Shreks can doing something to drop Armstrong on the crappy Alpe stages. Otherwise this things becomes a roll of the dice.

 

[zacfly]

This year nno 'joke' just boring thanks to Lance

Lance described the tours without him as a 'joke', well at least they weren't so predictable. With 4 of the best GC riders in the same team cycling will end up like soccer - where only the richest succeed, and teams just buy championships. This makes the TDF so controlled and boring, if it wasn't for the scenery I wouldn't bother watching. I wonder how Lance would go in Silence or Cervello?

 

[UTFan2]

Hi Padeiro,

Sorry if my words were bad interpreted. I did not, in any way, tried to smear the Livestrong cause. I simply stated that mr. Armostrong used it as an excuse to return to the sport, when we all know what was the real motif. Armstrong's actions and interviews speak for themselves. He came back to participate and try to win the TdF.

I think when you state that LA used it as "an excuse", you are still missing the point. A motive of winning the TDF is STILL an inspriation to many who have been affected by cancer. Even if he weren't doing a few things here and there along the way for th Livestrong cause, just him riding again (heck, at ALL) is an inspiration. Her originally stated he wanted to come back to raise awareness. Well most people are "aware" so that aware means money when it comes to fighting cancer. I would be willing to bet Livestrong has raised more money this year than last.

I live in Austin. So the LA story has been around a long, long time here. Not many here would forget what he has accomplished after beating cancer (or during his fight, etc). He may well be an inspiration to people around here even if he never rode again. Even when he was not riding, he was still partcipating in marathons, in mountain biking races, etc. But in other places, other cities, other states, other countires.....I would imagine his story is an inspiring reminder to most that may have forgetten or never had a reason to listen before - maybe they were lucky and their lives had not been affected by cancer until the last 4 years.

I guess I just want to point out the the two reasons (raise awareness/money & winning TDF) are not excuses, nor do they conflict with each other. What the heck does it matter if he came out and said I am coming out of retirement and will try to win AND raise awareness? Which is what he is doing. He'll try to win the TDF (anyone who knows cycling and thought otherwise was dillusional - although I DO think it would have been different had he not broken his collar born and been unable to compete at his best level for the Giro since THAT is what he pegged so early on as a target to win). But even if he loses, the Livestrong cause does not.