One Man Alone at the Command-El Pais Contador Article

[saphblue]

A friend emailed me that he's stopped following Lance's twitters, considers him to be "acting like an annoying 12 year old". I've heard a few people describe themselves as "former" Lance fans who are put off by the whole mess. I don't know how significant any of that is, but on forums I've noticed some people in the last few weeks who no longer seem so enchanted by him. As for me, I'm looking forward to the showdowns next year. I'd rather see this all hashed out on the road than in the media/twitter-verse.

 

[MKirilenko]

Haha sure, Lance was leading Contador all the way up... . This year AC had no team, no1 was protecting him, and look what he achieved! DOnt be worried about next year

 

[cromagnon]

Can someone make a list once and for all of all the example of Contador working the media?

He said there were 2 tours and he thinks LA is a tw@t (more or less). I think he was asked that too so what's he gonna say?

The rest - the stories about getting ditched before the Timtrial and needing a lift and all that stuff has come out from journos were there or got wind from those who were so how it this an AC vs LA media battle? Seems to be a 99% one way street.

 

[Hugh Januss]

I'm sure others will be here shortly to tell us all that the article is an unsourced piece of drivel that is libeling the good name of Lance Armstrong. Love Mr. Armstrong's twit--everybody is always lying but him. I wonder which member of the LiveStrong Twitter Brigade chimes in first? My money is on LL

I hope you didn't have a lot of money riding on that.
Seriously though I'm starting to feel like Bill Murray in "Ground Hogs Day". There are about 12 threads here that could be combined into one and then nuked.

 

[jpmcmahonjr]

Then please explain: Why was it OK for Armstrong to act like that?

Act like what? Do you mean what was described by one side of the equation? Until you get the full story you show no balance. And, btw I would bet you won't get Lance's side because he has no need to go try and get pitty from the local masses like the poor pitiful TDF winner by what almost 5 minutes. And, yes I know you all say he did that by himself, but I promise you he did not.

Isn't it interesting that pretty much the whole Astana team is supposed to be going to TRS next year. That would be a huge indicator that the team did not see things like poor pistolero.

 

[Zoncolan]

I hate to remind you, but I think it was back in April that Alpe, Bro, and several others (myself included) told you it was gonna go down this way.
We kept repeating it in May and June, only for our voices to be drowned in a sea of go Lance chants from LA's chamois sniffers.
Too bad, as Spaniard pointed out already, that this article will probably get unnoticed in the US.
And so many will continue to adore and idolize the man who invented high cadence.

 

[luckyboy]

personally i think they are all as bad as each other.. lance clearly wants control and couldnt get it, AC was a complete **** on several occasions including leaving kloden out to dry..

Can't really compare AC dropping someone who was clinging on for dear life anyway to what Lance did during the Tour

 

[HL2037]

Act like what? Do you mean what was described by one side of the equation? Until you get the full story you show no balance. And, btw I would bet you won't get Lance's side because he has no need to go try and get pitty from the local masses like the poor pitiful TDF winner by what almost 5 minutes. And, yes I know you all say he did that by himself, but I promise you he did not.

Isn't it interesting that pretty much the whole Astana team is supposed to be going to TRS next year. That would be a huge indicator that the team did not see things like poor pistolero.

Act like a bully, as described in the article. And i'm asking you to provide the other side of the equation.

It seems that Armstrong does actually have a great need for petty from the masses - While Contador had the decency to wait til after the Tour was finished before he commented, Armstrong went and backstabbed Contador on twitter and elsewhere both before, during and after.

And the fact that Armstrong announced his new team in the last week of the Tour gave him something to threat his teammates by. Do you think that Klöden would have been invited to ride on Radioshack, had he not sacrificed himself for Armstrong on mount Ventoux?

But please, explain how Armstrong didn't do anything wrong. Untill then my opinion is, that he has no honour, and that he doesn't do cykling any good. He has cynically used TdF 2009 as catapult for his political career, and he needs cykling more than cykling needs him.

 

[williej]

bye bye Astana

Good point made earlier about the fact that most of the Astana team is going to end up with Lance and Radio Shack. AC doesn't appear to be getting much backing or support for his side of the story. Lance sure is. That is very telling, but on a message board, people are not going to be swayed. Also, one Spanish rider booted from the tour for doping, one more to go......

 

[UpTheRoad]

personally i think they are all as bad as each other.. lance clearly wants control and couldnt get it, AC was a complete **** on several occasions including leaving kloden out to dry..

You really are equating someone who is a control freak and was sabotaging his teammate vs. the wearer of the yellow jersey dropping a cracked domestique in a race?

Contador was bike racing. Armstrong was trying to do whatever he could to win without racing.

 

[thehog]

A friend emailed me that he's stopped following Lance's twitters, considers him to be "acting like an annoying 12 year old". I've heard a few people describe themselves as "former" Lance fans who are put off by the whole mess. I don't know how significant any of that is, but on forums I've noticed some people in the last few weeks who no longer seem so enchanted by him. As for me, I'm looking forward to the showdowns next year. I'd rather see this all hashed out on the road than in the media/twitter-verse.

Lance has clarified the situation. Basically the Spanish press are lying. I'm surprised Alberto has stooped this low. I still believe in Armstrong. He is in our hearts.

"Gotta love the Spanish press. I understand their enthusiasm but does it really have to change reality?? C'mon, fellas. We aren't stupid."

http://www.twelebs.com/2009/08/01/3069635033/

 

[mr. tibbs]

Act like what? Do you mean what was described by one side of the equation? Until you get the full story you show no balance. And, btw I would bet you won't get Lance's side because he has no need to go try and get pitty from the local masses like the poor pitiful TDF winner by what almost 5 minutes. And, yes I know you all say he did that by himself, but I promise you he did not.

Isn't it interesting that pretty much the whole Astana team is supposed to be going to TRS next year. That would be a huge indicator that the team did not see things like poor pistolero.

Actually, all we EVER get is Lance's side. His tweets are copypasta'd into the pages of Velo/Cyclingnews AS HEADLINES. The Versus coverage, every newspaper I read, all of it is just mouting along to Armstrong's pr machine. Every argument you make about objectivity is so easy to dispute b/c you have simply accepted Armstrong's side of the story, and the big reason why so many others have, too, is that Contador has only said one (!) thing this entire time--and it was in response to a question--whereas Armstrong has been waging a media war since early spring, just like Zoncolan points out.

 

[WildspokeJoe]

Guys,

The truth is usually somewhere in between. Both Lance and AC are guilty of being d-bags.

They settled it on the road. AC was the strongest rider in the race. Lance did exactly what he said he would during the race. Be a good teammate.

Both riders are phenomenal. Of course both want to be top dog. When you've won 7 and 3 grand tour respectively, you're going to think you should be the leader.

This tit-for-tat is so annoying.

Lance is the King of the sport there is no denying that but currently Contador is THE best rider.

Lance is crazy if he thinks he can compete on the level of Contador. The only shot he's got is if AC picks a team that can't ride for him in the tour.

 

[luckyboy]

Lance is the King of the sport there is no denying that

huh?

 

[grimpeur]

Lance did exactly what he said he would during the race. Be a good teammate.

Uhhh... I guess you came to that conclusion without reading the article?

 

[thehog]

El pais is a tabloid like l'equipe. Gutter paper. l'equipe went after Lance for years because the French couldn't stand him winning Now El Pais is doing the same.

 

[Publicus]

Act like what? Do you mean what was described by one side of the equation? Until you get the full story you show no balance. And, btw I would bet you won't get Lance's side because he has no need to go try and get pitty from the local masses like the poor pitiful TDF winner by what almost 5 minutes. And, yes I know you all say he did that by himself, but I promise you he did not.

Isn't it interesting that pretty much the whole Astana team is supposed to be going to TRS next year. That would be a huge indicator that the team did not see things like poor pistolero.

He was petty enough to skip the team dinner, but not petty enough to defend himself from allegations that make him look like a ****? Is that your defense?

And as for next year, EVERYONE is reportedly going to Radio Shack, including Andy Schleck. And yet no one is as of this date except for Lance Armstrong.

 

[MKirilenko]

Good point made earlier about the fact that most of the Astana team is going to end up with Lance and Radio Shack. AC doesn't appear to be getting much backing or support for his side of the story. Lance sure is. That is very telling, but on a message board, people are not going to be swayed. Also, one Spanish rider booted from the tour for doping, one more to go......

Yes, keep believing in Mr. "Never was, never will". Most of Astana in RadioShack. Right. LA, Levi, Popo, JB, Kloeden (no1 else wants a doper), Horner, Rubiera...any1 else? ONE BIG HAPPY LANCE FAMILY, evry1 wants to be in his spotlight. How surprising they picked LA's side. They barely know him... .
Apparently AC gets a lot of backing by people who arent that naive. A good example right here.

 

[HL2037]

Guys,

The truth is usually somewhere in between. Both Lance and AC are guilty of being d-bags.

They settled it on the road. AC was the strongest rider in the race. Lance did exactly what he said he would during the race. Be a good teammate.

Both riders are phenomenal. Of course both want to be top dog. When you've won 7 and 3 grand tour respectively, you're going to think you should be the leader.

This tit-for-tat is so annoying.

Lance is the King of the sport there is no denying that but currently Contador is THE best rider.

Lance is crazy if he thinks he can compete on the level of Contador. The only shot he's got is if AC picks a team that can't ride for him in the tour.

Again i ask for an example of Contador acting like a "D-bag" I have seen nothing but classy behaviour from him.

As for Armstrong beeing a "good teammate", he obviously has his very own interpretation of this term.

 

[Publicus]

Guys,

The truth is usually somewhere in between. Both Lance and AC are guilty of being d-bags.

They settled it on the road. AC was the strongest rider in the race. Lance did exactly what he said he would during the race. Be a good teammate.

Both riders are phenomenal. Of course both want to be top dog. When you've won 7 and 3 grand tour respectively, you're going to think you should be the leader.

This tit-for-tat is so annoying.

Lance is the King of the sport there is no denying that but currently Contador is THE best rider.

Lance is crazy if he thinks he can compete on the level of Contador. The only shot he's got is if AC picks a team that can't ride for him in the tour.

Lance was only a good teammate when he wasn't strong enough to keep up with the better cyclist. Otherwise he was riding for himself.

 

[grimpeur]

If it wasn't "reality," why the need for LA damage control?

LA's tweet should have been:

"Sorry Alberto, I forgot to tell you how big my entourage is."

 

[thehog]

If it wasn't "reality," why the need for LA damage control?

LA's tweet should have been:

"Sorry Alberto, I forgot to tell you how big my entourage is."

Gotta love the Spanish press. I understand their enthusiasm but does it really have to change reality?? C'mon, fellas. We aren't stupid.

 

[HL2037]

Gotta love the Spanish press. I understand their enthusiasm but does it really have to change reality?? C'mon, fellas. We aren't stupid.

How original, did you make that up yourself?

 

[MKirilenko]

Gotta love the Versus. I understand their enthusiasm, but does it really have to change reality?? C'mon, fellas. We aren't stupid.

Any other unobjective media?

 

[Publicus]

How original, did you make that up yourself?

The Hog just wrote what was on Lance's twitter page.