Official Lance Armstrong thread

[scribe]

I can't ****ing believe Armstrong. Look at him! Clearly, he managed to change the national anthem at the podium celebration for Contador.

http://www.inquisitr.com/30674/contador-wins-tour-de-france-wrong-natl-hymn-is-played-dbp/

 

[Azdak6]

How is this for starters:
http://www.diariosur.es/20090727/deportes/ciclismo/fiesta-privada-contador-20090727.html

"A Tale of solitude. It happened on Thursday, a few hours before the Annecy ITT. Contador came downstairs to the entrance of the Palace of Menthon, the luxurious Astana hotel. The Tour was on. He looked right, then left. Nobody, nothing. No Astana cars or helpers. Cold sweat. Quick time check. Where are they? The hotel is several kilometers from the start. There he was, the leader of the Tour, in flip-flops, bag in hand and alone. He went to the hall looking for an answer: Armstrong had ordered the helpers to go pick up his wife, kids and friends to the airport.
Contador left his room last because he was the last one starting the ITT. Armstrong had managed to take away his means of transportation. The straw that broke the camel's back. Hot flashes, he was rabid. He called his brother Fran. He came to pick him up by car and took him to Annecy in a private vehicle. He left last and finished first. His best victory. In the ITT. In solitude. The same way he has won his second tour.

Contador's toughest climb was not recorded in images. It was narrated by others. It was fought in the hotel and the bus: during one stage, Armstrong sat his guests at the very back of the bus, right in Contador's usual seat. One more provocation. Armstrong to the luxury suite. Contador to sleep with Paulinho, the only ally. Same deal during the entire tour. Mouth shut, listening to Armstrong's jabs: "It doesn't take a Nobel price to figure out what happens with side winds". Contador didn't reply in the hotel. He did on the road. He attacked in the first mountain finish in Arcalis. Without permission from Bruyneel, Armstrong's DS. That night the Astana hotel was a funeral. Red eyes from the Texan (anger? crying? not sure). The first cyclist that stood up to him. And he did it in silence."

RE: my other tirade about the Times story.

THIS is what I am talking about. It's one side of the story and needs more corroboration, but this is the kind of unique detail that comes from real reporting. All along, it has seemed that the Spanish-language press has had greater access to Contador (no surprise), but this is the kind of stuff the englsh (language) reporters should be following up on. If they are that afraid of Armstrong, then they should be in another business.

 

[Anonymous]

What? Do you just pick words at random and then try to make a sentence?

No, no, it is obvious you consider me to be far superior to you in both intellect and looks, and you therefore are gunning for the man you see as the big dog here. Its what little dogs do. Then they go to their beds and whack it to thoughts of such a far superior specimen of a man. Simple deduction really.

 

[Publicus]

So Contador had his own seat on the bus that no one else was allowed to sit in?

That doesn't seem unusual to me. I always had a usual seat on our team bus or plane.

 

[Hugh Januss]

No, no, it is obvious you consider me to be far superior to you in both intellect and looks, and you therefore are gunning for the man you see as the big dog here. Its what little dogs do. Then they go to their beds and whack it to thoughts of such a far superior specimen of a man. Simple deduction really.

As I have seen no evidence regarding either, I don't know what would cause me to think that you were superior. At the same time I am sure that simple deduction is as good as you get.

 

[mherm79]

RE: my other tirade about the Times story.

THIS is what I am talking about. It's one side of the story and needs more corroboration, but this is the kind of unique detail that comes from real reporting. All along, it has seemed that the Spanish-language press has had greater access to Contador (no surprise), but this is the kind of stuff the englsh (language) reporters should be following up on. If they are that afraid of Armstrong, then they should be in another business.

http://www.diariosur.es/20090727/dep...-20090727.html

I'm not sure if this is 'real' reporting. my spanish is very limited but it doesn't seem to me as if this person has quoted anyone...so where did this information come from?
if they where / had a credible source than this would be main stream news. I also don't see how Lance Armstrong can / should be reponsible for Alberto's transport to the stage. Surely there is someone in the Astana entourage responsible for that.

 

[fulcrum]

I also don't see how Lance Armstrong can / should be reponsible for Alberto's transport to the stage. Surely there is someone in the Astana entourage responsible for that.

Oh, I'm sure there is someone responsible for that, but Lance's need overwrite everything and clearly his family was far more important that taking the leader of the TdF to the ITT.

I think the guy in charge eventually got called to Bruyneel's office. He got a little bonus, a new contract for next year and a pat on the back.

 

[iceaxe]

I can't ****ing believe Armstrong. Look at him! Clearly, he managed to change the national anthem at the podium celebration for Contador.

http://www.inquisitr.com/30674/contador-wins-tour-de-france-wrong-natl-hymn-is-played-dbp/

If Lance is the typical jock, that does not surprise me in the least. I think Europeans hate americans because a high school drop out like Lance thinks he is smarter than a european with a masters degree. You can be a village idiot and succeed in america, at least for the 50 yrs after ww2.

 

[fulcrum]

You can be a village idiot and succeed in america.

That's great news for frizzlefry.

 

[Seth Bullock]

I don't know if this has already been mentioned; I imagine it may have but I can't be bothered trawling through the 1170 posts!! which are all for one man!!!?, but one thing I do find interesting is that before the Tour and even before the Giro there were many on this site espousing as gospel that Armstrong would get put in the grupetto on the first mountain, that he wouldn't be in the top 10 (of the Tour), that he wouldn't even finish the Giro or the Tour, and that he wouldn't be a team player. 12th in the Giro is pretty respectable given the circumstances leading into it. 3rd in the Tour is certainly inside the top 10, and from the footage I watched he certainly didn't get put in the grupetto on the first (or any) mountain, clearly he finished both tours (and strongly as well) and finally and regardless of internal bickering he seemed to play the team man and supportive role pretty well once the leadership issue was resolved, which and as he had made repeatedly clear from day one would be the strongest guy on the team. As to whether he did or didn't go to a dinner party and the reasons why, I mean f@#k me!, talk about an episode of Days of Our Lives! Haven't we got better things to concern ourselves with?

 

[Aguirre]

for those who understand spanish, cheack this, maybe there is an english translation, it's about the "via crucis" of AC in 6 chapters

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/uomo/solo/comando/elpepidep/20090727elpepidep_2/Tes


by the way, came on Lance, your taste in art is so cheeeeesy, Obey the Giant, Damien Hirst????? what kind of mainstream bull**** is that???

 

[Zen Master]

for those who understand spanish, cheack this, maybe there is an english translation, it's about the "via crucis" of AC in 6 chapters

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/uomo/solo/comando/elpepidep/20090727elpepidep_2/Tes

Thanks a lot... Great article !
We all knew that Bertie was practically alone in Astana-Lance-JB circus and because of that fact he won an even greater victory

 

[Parrot23]

Thought of the day by Bruyneel on Twitter:

"One is not only judged by his successes but also by the obstacles he is able to overcome to achieve them."

Now, who's he thinkin' about?

 

[El Imbatido]

for those who understand spanish, cheack this, maybe there is an english translation, it's about the "via crucis" of AC in 6 chapters

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/uomo/solo/comando/elpepidep/20090727elpepidep_2/Tes

Thanks for the link it was a very interesting read. For anyone needing an english version.

Here it is

 

[SpeedWay]

It doesn't "confirm" anything, except that the writer is a dumbass IMO.

As are the fans of his article. Straight out of a soap opera with the women getting all emotional. I was wrong to think the girls would calm down after the race ends. It just goes to show, hell has no fury like the scorn of a woman(unless their are a pack of gashed out haters along for the ride).

 

[ggusta]

That doesn't seem unusual to me. I always had a usual seat on our team bus or plane.

Publicus, please leave Levi alone.

 

[Publicus]

Publicus, please leave Levi alone.

I don't get your intended joke/sarcasm.

 

[scribe]

I don't know if this has already been mentioned; I imagine it may have but I can't be bothered trawling through the 1170 posts!! which are all for one man!!!?, but one thing I do find interesting is that before the Tour and even before the Giro there were many on this site espousing as gospel that Armstrong would get put in the grupetto on the first mountain, that he wouldn't be in the top 10 (of the Tour), that he wouldn't even finish the Giro or the Tour, and that he wouldn't be a team player. 12th in the Giro is pretty respectable given the circumstances leading into it. 3rd in the Tour is certainly inside the top 10, and from the footage I watched he certainly didn't get put in the grupetto on the first (or any) mountain, clearly he finished both tours (and strongly as well) and finally and regardless of internal bickering he seemed to play the team man and supportive role pretty well once the leadership issue was resolved, which and as he had made repeatedly clear from day one would be the strongest guy on the team. As to whether he did or didn't go to a dinner party and the reasons why, I mean f@#k me!, talk about an episode of Days of Our Lives! Haven't we got better things to concern ourselves with?

The guys are making a collection plate to send Contador to the Oprah show. I take it you don't want to contribute?

 

[Publicus]

I don't know if this has already been mentioned; I imagine it may have but I can't be bothered trawling through the 1170 posts!! which are all for one man!!!?, but one thing I do find interesting is that before the Tour and even before the Giro there were many on this site espousing as gospel that Armstrong would get put in the grupetto on the first mountain, that he wouldn't be in the top 10 (of the Tour), that he wouldn't even finish the Giro or the Tour, and that he wouldn't be a team player. 12th in the Giro is pretty respectable given the circumstances leading into it. 3rd in the Tour is certainly inside the top 10, and from the footage I watched he certainly didn't get put in the grupetto on the first (or any) mountain, clearly he finished both tours (and strongly as well) and finally and regardless of internal bickering he seemed to play the team man and supportive role pretty well once the leadership issue was resolved, which and as he had made repeatedly clear from day one would be the strongest guy on the team. As to whether he did or didn't go to a dinner party and the reasons why, I mean f@#k me!, talk about an episode of Days of Our Lives! Haven't we got better things to concern ourselves with?

I don't recall anyone saying that he would be in the gruppetto since he never ended up there on the Giro. Folks did say that he would get dropped. And he did. Multiple times. And he wasn't a team player unless it was beneficial to him.

And your post reveals WHY people are talking about his snub of Contador: you give him credit for being a "team man" and "supportive role" but that isn't consistent with the dinner party snub or the other actions that are starting to spill out. Supportive team mates and team men don't snub their fellow team mate who has just won the TdF and helped you hold on to your podium spot. Supportive team mates and team men congratulate and thank their team mates.

After 3 weeks of the visual hagiography on Versus and in the press, it's nice to see the other side of the Armstrong story.

 

[Hugh Januss]

Thanks for the link it was a very interesting read. For anyone needing an english version.

Here it is

Thank you for the translation, I think. As much as I could figure out there was that "other side" that a certain number of posters said was not being heard. If we sift through all the b#ll$hit of he said this and he did that we are left with just 2 points. One, everybody got what they really wanted in the end. Contador won his second TDF and fourth GT all within two years and Armstrong proved he could come back from 3 1/2 years of retirement and still ride with the best. Point two? Simple. If LA wanted to come back and win the tour for an eighth time he should have started his own team.

 

[M Sport]

If LA wanted to come back and win the tour for an eighth time he should have started his own team.

He would have lost by ten minutes then, not five.

 

[Parrot23]

Good Job, Dmitriy Muravyev,,,,,,148 Place and a Stage win...

2010 should be interesting !!!

Chris H. is raising a glass of "vino" to celebrate.

 

[Hugh Januss]

He would have lost by ten minutes then, not five.

Possibly so, but it would have smelled better.

 

[Parrot23]

How is this for starters:
http://www.diariosur.es/20090727/deportes/ciclismo/fiesta-privada-contador-20090727.html

"A Tale of solitude. It happened on Thursday, a few hours before the Annecy ITT. Contador came downstairs to the entrance of the Palace of Menthon, the luxurious Astana hotel. The Tour was on. He looked right, then left. Nobody, nothing. No Astana cars or helpers. Cold sweat. Quick time check. Where are they? The hotel is several kilometers from the start. There he was, the leader of the Tour, in flip-flops, bag in hand and alone. He went to the hall looking for an answer: Armstrong had ordered the helpers to go pick up his wife, kids and friends to the airport.
Contador left his room last because he was the last one starting the ITT. Armstrong had managed to take away his means of transportation. The straw that broke the camel's back. Hot flashes, he was rabid. He called his brother Fran. He came to pick him up by car and took him to Annecy in a private vehicle. He left last and finished first. His best victory. In the ITT. In solitude. The same way he has won his second tour.

Shocking, but maybe exagerated (poetic liberties). As far as I know, Conti is shepherded everywhere he goes by the Astana folks (from the videos I see when he arrives back at hotels, for example, after stages).

Wow, but if Lance didn't go to the Conti/Astana party in Paris, then I believe this....

 

[Hugh Januss]

Shocking, but maybe exagerated (poetic liberties). As far as I know, Conti is shepherded everywhere he goes by the Astana folks (from the videos I see when he arrives back at hotels, for example, after stages).

Wow, but if Lance didn't go to the Conti/Astana party in Paris, then I believe this....

Have we gotten confirmation of this fact, because the story that everyone (ok me too I admit it) was going on about yesterday was that LA didn't go to the "semi-official Alberto Contador we got it won as long as we get to Paris tomorrow bash". Apparently he thought it would be better if he went and drowned his sorrows with the Radio Shack big-wigs. That sure sounds like a party I wouldn't want to miss. Oh to be a fly on the wall while LA cries into his wine and makes plans for his redemption in 2010!