The Official LANCE ARMSTRONG Thread 2010-2011

[Potomac]

There's a lot Algarve posts on this thread, good posts about the race and very interesting, but shouldn't they be on a different thread? Lance isn't even in the race.

 

[altark123]

Lance's Tiger moment: http://www.gossipcop.com/police-respond-to-lance-armstrong-911-call-fortunately-just-a-mistake/

Not sure what you're getting at here Boss?

 

[thehog]

Levi talking about Alberto in a Velonews interview. To think Lance tells us Alberto was a khunt.

---

VN: What kind of things did he (Contador) do to thank you?


LL: For example, I have a jersey signed by him from all four grand tours. That’s a nice piece of memorabilia. There are some other personal things that I’d rather not say.

 

[Cuban_Lance]

Lance's Thoughts on Algarve

Did Radio Shack sign up to sponsor stage victories?

I strongly suspect Lance is at the drawing board right about now. Contador's Achilles heel is supposed to be his team, which showed Grand Tour winning form in service of El Jefecito. Ufff...Astana has game.

The deal is that a season without an important victory will be considered a failure for a team with the depth of Radio Shack. It's early in the game, but Sky is stealing their thunder. As much as I admire Lance, this is the moment when real leaders take the vow of legacy.

RS should ride for Levi at the Giro and bet the farm on that. I really don't see a classics victory or any other Grand Tour possibilities.

Still rooting for the boys, though, but who can get LA to check the ego at the door?

 

[thehog]

didn't help with steegmans riding into a parked car and smashing his body up.

Did Radio Shack sign up to sponsor stage victories?

I strongly suspect Lance is at the drawing board right about now. Contador's Achilles heel is supposed to be his team, which showed Grand Tour winning form in service of El Jefecito. Ufff...Astana has game.

The deal is that a season without an important victory will be considered a failure for a team with the depth of Radio Shack. It's early in the game, but Sky is stealing their thunder. As much as I admire Lance, this is the moment when real leaders take the vow of legacy.

RS should ride for Levi at the Giro and bet the farm on that. I really don't see a classics victory or any other Grand Tour possibilities.

Still rooting for the boys, though, but who can get LA to check the ego at the door?

 

[theswordsman]

Did Radio Shack sign up to sponsor stage victories?

I strongly suspect Lance is at the drawing board right about now. Contador's Achilles heel is supposed to be his team, which showed Grand Tour winning form in service of El Jefecito. Ufff...Astana has game.

The deal is that a season without an important victory will be considered a failure for a team with the depth of Radio Shack. It's early in the game, but Sky is stealing their thunder. As much as I admire Lance, this is the moment when real leaders take the vow of legacy.

RS should ride for Levi at the Giro and bet the farm on that. I really don't see a classics victory or any other Grand Tour possibilities.

Still rooting for the boys, though, but who can get LA to check the ego at the door?

I'm late to the conversation, but they plan to stack the deck for Levi at the Tour of California, and skip the Giro, which is why they weren't invited to Tirenno-Adriatico. They claim, and are credited with, having as many leaders as Liquigas, but they think they need all of them to win a race. I still can't wrap my head around a "dream team" that would ignore a grand tour. And LA didn't even bother to go to team camp. I agree that on a comparison basis, it's them against Sky, and they should have the benefits at the beginning of having riders and staff with lots of time together. They could be in for an interesting year. And the TdF gave them the first kick in the stomach by not having a TTT this year.

 

[Cuban_Lance]

That's also a risky bet. Even though Levi owns that race, Garmin has an axe to grind, and sharper every day. Anything but a Levi victory in California will be a failure.

Lance keeps alluding mysteriously to Contador's weakness, which most likely refers to his leadership in the peloton, aside from being a good mind game. But this is kind of a moot point, since LA doesn't carry that currency anymore. Ironically, Astana will be more successful in enlisting help from other teams at the TdF.

Cycling, particularly in the US, will benefit greatly with continued American sponsors that see value in the sport. The RS team needs to spread out the strategy even more and stop being single-threaded into the TdF.

 

[Publicus]

Levi talking about Alberto in a Velonews interview. To think Lance tells us Alberto was a khunt.

---

VN: What kind of things did he (Contador) do to thank you?


LL: For example, I have a jersey signed by him from all four grand tours. That’s a nice piece of memorabilia. There are some other personal things that I’d rather not say.

I think Levi is a good guy overall. He's conducted himself like a professional throughout this unfortunate drama.

 

[Carboncrank]

I'm late to the conversation, but they plan to stack the deck for Levi at the Tour of California, and skip the Giro, which is why they weren't invited to Tirenno-Adriatico.

For the record, they aren't skipping the Giro, the Giro is skipping them.

They could send a team there better than half the teams that will be there.

I'm all set to see the first 3 stages of the Tour of California. Mapped out the spots.

 

[franciep10]

For the record, they aren't skipping the Giro, the Giro is skipping them.

Of all the ridiculous things you have posted this is definitely top 5, as you see from this link they(Radio Shack) are considering skipping the Giro:
http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/2...ss-Giro-dItalia-in-talks-with-organisers.aspx.

They don't even need to send any of their main gc guys, u could send brajkovic, steegmans and machado to win a stage or two.

 

[ravens]

I think Levi is a good guy overall. He's conducted himself like a professional throughout this unfortunate drama.

I think LL was quite an LA suckup/parrot at the '09 tdf and really rather unprofessional. It colored my opinion quite a bit. But whatever.... a cyclists' career is short and all but a few make enough money to live all that well afterward. LL knows who butters his bread.

Still, he could have stayed above it. (Unless a certain someone would view that as disloyalty.)

 

[ravens]

Of all the ridiculous things you have posted this is definitely top 5,

You mean top 5 today, right?

 

[franciep10]

You mean top 5 today, right?

well I was thinking this week

 

[Publicus]

I think LL was quite an LA suckup/parrot at the '09 tdf and really rather unprofessional. It colored my opinion quite a bit. But whatever.... a cyclists' career is short and all but a few make enough money to live all that well afterward. LL knows who butters his bread.

Still, he could have stayed above it. (Unless a certain someone would view that as disloyalty.)

yeah I felt the same way about a couple of things he said, but on balance he's been fairly straight up with AC. He probably understands him better than most since they raced together when Levi was supposed to be the designated hitter and AC stepped into the spotlight.

The more I think about it, I think Machado may be the suprise that Bruyneel has up his sleeve. With a year or two with the best equipment/training, he may be able to rival AC. Well maybe rival isn't the right word. But be comptetive with him in a way that Levi and Lance can't be anymore.

 

[ravens]

yeah I felt the same way about a couple of things he said, but on balance he's been fairly straight up with AC. He probably understands him better than most since they raced together when Levi was supposed to be the designated hitter and AC stepped into the spotlight.

The more I think about it, I think Machado may be the suprise that Bruyneel has up his sleeve. With a year or two with the best equipment/training, he may be able to rival AC. Well maybe rival isn't the right word. But be comptetive with him in a way that Levi and Lance can't be anymore.

It's appropriate that AC earn it. I think a lot of us treat him like this year is a fait accompli. I'll be disappointed if he doesn't win the tdf, but it's pretty good when someone has to win it after getting a scare.

Part of the beauty of the sport is 'the next big thing' (or things) is just around the corner. I think one of the insidious parts of the doping is that careers are artificially lengthened. (Not to mention the outcomes of races are artificial!)

 

[Ferminal]

For the record, they aren't skipping the Giro, the Giro is skipping them.

They could send a team there better than half the teams that will be there.

I'm all set to see the first 3 stages of the Tour of California. Mapped out the spots.

Why weren't they invited?

 

[Cerberus]

The more I think about it, I think Machado may be the suprise that Bruyneel has up his sleeve. With a year or two with the best equipment/training, he may be able to rival AC. Well maybe rival isn't the right word. But be comptetive with him in a way that Levi and Lance can't be anymore.

Don't you think that's a bit premature? Coming in second in a third tier race doesn't make him the big shinning future of cycling. It was an impressive field he came in second in, but the top names probably weren't in top shape.

 

[bianchigirl]

Machado was quoted as saying that, when Contador attacked, they decided to sit back and see who else would counter 'when I saw that nothing was happening, Icounter attacked'

So, had RS stuck to the master plan, how much more time would Contador have taken? It was, apparently, only Machado's initiative that rescued anything for them in the stage at all. Bit like Verbier really

 

[thehog]

Don't you think that's a bit premature? Coming in second in a third tier race doesn't make him the big shinning future of cycling. It was an impressive field he came in second in, but the top names probably weren't in top shape.

Heard all this before. Bruyneel turns carthorses into racehorses.
The fanboys did the same with Popo & that whole 'Hincapie can win the Tour' thing was the height of hog dope program mania.

The guy will amount to nothing. He won't even make the Tour team.

 

[Bike Boy]

That's also a risky bet. Even though Levi owns that race, Garmin has an axe to grind, and sharper every day. Anything but a Levi victory in California will be a failure.

Lance keeps alluding mysteriously to Contador's weakness, which most likely refers to his leadership in the peloton, aside from being a good mind game. But this is kind of a moot point, since LA doesn't carry that currency anymore. Ironically, Astana will be more successful in enlisting help from other teams at the TdF.

Cycling, particularly in the US, will benefit greatly with continued American sponsors that see value in the sport. The RS team needs to spread out the strategy even more and stop being single-threaded into the TdF.

I just can't wrap my head around it either. They could easily send a team to do the giro without harming their chances in ToC and the Tour.

 

[thehog]

I just can't wrap my head around it either. They could easily send a team to do the giro without harming their chances in ToC and the Tour.

I think it's more about 2 million dollar man upsetting the Italians last year. They don't want him or his team there polluting the race.

The Giro will be better for not having Radioshack there.

 

[Bike Boy]

I think it's more about 2 million dollar man upsetting the Italians last year. They don't want him or his team there polluting the race.

The Giro will be better for not having Radioshack there.

I think you are right. that definitely had something to do with it, but why the early announcement?

perhaps JB knew beforehand that RS would not be invited....

 

[Publicus]

Don't you think that's a bit premature? Coming in second in a third tier race doesn't make him the big shinning future of cycling. It was an impressive field he came in second in, but the top names probably weren't in top shape.

Maybe. He's 24, he can climb and he can TT. He has a good base from which one could build a real GC contender. Does he have the mentality? I don't know. But he has the potential. Of course there is a long way between here and there, so I definitely accept that I may be a little premature.

 

[franciep10]

Maybe. He's 24, he can climb and he can TT. He has a good base from which one could build a real GC contender. Does he have the mentality? I don't know. But he has the potential. Of course there is a long way between here and there, so I definitely accept that I may be a little premature.

I don't know about that, their is a difference between suffering through a 2.7 km hill and repeating that task on the tourmalet.

 

[thehog]

I don't know about that, their is a difference between suffering through a 2.7 km hill and repeating that task on the tourmalet.

.....and again for 5 more mountain stages and keeping up the front on the flats.

Most of all putting up with "all for me" / "the teams not all about me" Lance bullcrappo will be the true test of the lad.