The Official LANCE ARMSTRONG Thread 2010-2011

[Big GMaC]

Vacansoleil top of the teams competition in Murcia

Wonder what LA/Radioshack think o that?

 

[thehog]

Armstrong is not just big in America, people all over the world want to find out what he is doing. Eurosport are running Planet Armstrong again this year. Tonight we got short footage of the stage, interview with Lance, him leaving the hotel, an interview with his bodyguard.

The fans are treating him pretty well in Spain.

I hear this a lot and it's just plain stupid.

After his retirement in 2005 cycling became bigger and bigger in the UK. People braced cycling as a sport and a alternate means of transport not one person. When the Tour came to London in 2007 the sport exploded in this country and it had nothing to do with Lance. People often mistake that Lance is the sport when in fact Lance is just Lance & the sport is much much bigger.

In terms of stars the British cyclists in Britan get way more airtime and newspaper space than Armstrong - when the top story on the sports bulletin is the TTT win for SkY at the Tour of Qater you know sport is mainstream. That has nothing to do with Armstrong.

 

[progressor]

Well, you're suspicion is wrong.

Obviously LA is going to get a lot of airtime on US coverage, like Versus. And Liggett & Sherwen have always supported 'the English speaking riders' which is very understandable. I have no problem with post or pre stage analysis - he is the big draw after all and in particular for the US market.

However, Sherwen in particular could not go more than a few sentences with mentioning his name - I found that frustrating and very shortsighted on Vs coverage. When LA retired in 05 Vs viewership plummeted, LA is the current draw but to keep a keen interest in the sport they should have covered more 'English speaking' riders and in particular other races.

We can agree to disagree on the issue, your opinion is no more fact than mine. Other than that you make some good points.

 

[progressor]

I'm not sure if 'progressor' got the same highlights but here is what I have.
Stage 1 highlights. 20 minutes.

And actually there are 10 minutes of highlights from Stage 2 just up.

That first link was the one I watched. Thanks for the second.

What's with the 'progressor' ? Leave it out thanks.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

That first link was the one I watched. Thanks for the second.

What's with the 'progress or' ? Leave it out thanks.

No offense meant - I always '..' peoples usernames, as I assume its not your real name! And the reason I brought up the link was if it was different it could explain our different interpretations.

I re-watched it again - and you were correct, LA does get mentioned quite a lot- but the commentators appeared to be speaking about other races and the Tour as I heard different names mentioned including Contador and Indurain! Maybe on of the Spanish speakers could enlighten us.

Finally - on Phil & Paul, I wonder how they will divide their time this year with the introduction of Team Sky?

 

[progressor]

No offense meant - I always '..' peoples usernames, as I assume its not your real name! And the reason I brought up the link was if it was different it could explain our different interpretations.

I re-watched it again - and you were correct, LA does get mentioned quite a lot- but the commentators appeared to be speaking about other races and the Tour as I heard different names mentioned including Contador and Indurain! Maybe on of the Spanish speakers could enlighten us.

Finally - on Phil & Paul, I wonder how they will divide their time this year with the introduction of Team Sky?

Fair enough.

Personally I'm needing some subtitles on that coverage Better than nothin tho'

 

[luckyboy]

Is it just the US that has to listen to Phil and Paul? Surely no-one in the UK would take that choice over Eurosport?

 

[thehog]

Finally - on Phil & Paul, I wonder how they will divide their time this year with the introduction of Team Sky?

Paul is on Livestrong payroll as denoted by the financial statements. No chance Sky will get more airtime.

 

[progressor]

Paul is on Livestrong payroll as denoted by the financial statements. No chance Sky will get more airtime.

Not that we'll be getting a link on that of course

 

[thehog]

Not that we'll be getting a link on that of course

Edited by mod

 

[Big GMaC]

Edited by mod

There is the Aussie in him!

Hog, do you have a link of that USPS stuff about the team being a waste of money? I would actually quite like to see it because the company I am working at is think of sponsoring a local team. Nothing in the same range obviously, but it would be an interesting read

In advance, no**** (edited by mod)!

 

[thehog]

There is the Aussie in him!

Hog, do you have a link of that USPS stuff about the team being a waste of money? I would actually quite like to see it because the company I am working at is think of sponsoring a local team. Nothing in the same range obviously, but it would be an interesting read

In advance, no**** (edited by mod)!

Can't find the one I wanted but this is one of them.

More to follow: http://www.deseretnews.com/blog/33/10008498/Jay-Evensens-perspectives-on-the-news-Going-postal.html

 

[Epoché]

I hear this a lot and it's just plain stupid.

After his retirement in 2005 cycling became bigger and bigger in the UK. People braced cycling as a sport and a alternate means of transport not one person. When the Tour came to London in 2007 the sport exploded in this country and it had nothing to do with Lance. People often mistake that Lance is the sport when in fact Lance is just Lance & the sport is much much bigger.

In terms of stars the British cyclists in Britan get way more airtime and newspaper space than Armstrong - when the top story on the sports bulletin is the TTT win for SkY at the Tour of Qater you know sport is mainstream. That has nothing to do with Armstrong.

How does this refute anything I have said? I didn't say Armstrong is responsible for the growth in cycling in the UK, or that he receives greater coverage than the top Brits (though it's pretty even). I said Armstrong is not just popular in America, people all over the world want to find out what he is doing. That's why programmes like Planet Armstrong are back on this year following him around with special access. This is true.

But on the issue that you raise, there is obviously a great focus on the British top cyclists but they still don't have the aura and mystic surrounding them that LA does. He is like cycling royalty.

 

[MrContador]

I said Armstrong is not just popular in America, people all over the world want to find out what he is doing.

We all know what he's doing, but that discussion belongs in The Clinic.

 

[thehog]

We all know what he's doing, but that discussion belongs in The Clinic.

France's antidoping agency won't help the International Cycling Union try to catch drug cheats at the Paris-Nice race.

The AFLD said Friday in a statement it will only give its information "to judicial authorities," rather than to the sport's ruling body.

In a letter to AFLD boss Pierre Bordry last month, UCI president Pat McQuaid said there would be no repeat of last year's cooperation during the Tour de France and Paris-Nice, when AFLD testers collected the samples.

McQuaid did leave the door open to limited collaboration.

The two organizations have clashed since Bordry accused UCI drug testers of favoring Lance Armstrong's former team Astana during last year's Tour.

 

[Anonymous]

France's antidoping agency won't help the International Cycling Union try to catch drug cheats at the Paris-Nice race.

The AFLD said Friday in a statement it will only give its information "to judicial authorities," rather than to the sport's ruling body.

In a letter to AFLD boss Pierre Bordry last month, UCI president Pat McQuaid said there would be no repeat of last year's cooperation during the Tour de France and Paris-Nice, when AFLD testers collected the samples.

McQuaid did leave the door open to limited collaboration.

The two organizations have clashed since Bordry accused UCI drug testers of favoring Lance Armstrong's former team Astana during last year's Tour.

Yea, well McQuaid doesn't really like the French "race" anyway. This is just how the French "race" acts.

 

[Big GMaC]

Yea, well McQuaid doesn't really like the French "race" anyway. This is just how the French "race" acts.

Maybe giving the samples to the 5-O could mean someone proper gets popped right? I mean having someone pop from an ADFL test would make the UCI look bad, and the French get revenge on Bigotry McQuaid

 

[thehog]

LAS TORRES DE COTILLAS, Spain (AP) — Team RadioShack boss Johan Bruyneel wants to play down Lance Armstrong's rivalry with Alberto Contador at the Tour de France.

He doesn't want to give Armstrong's other challengers a helping hand.

Their rivalry was well-documented when both raced for Astana last season and Bruyneel was the team director. Contador won the Tour de France last year and Armstrong finished third.

Bruyneel and Armstrong joined the new RadioShack team this year. Bruyneel believes Andy and Frank Schleck and Bradley Wiggins can only gain "an advantage" from a Armstrong-Contador focus.

He says a spotlight on the two high-profile rivals would drain their energy in the grueling July 3-25 race.

 

[pmcg76]

How does this refute anything I have said? I didn't say Armstrong is responsible for the growth in cycling in the UK, or that he receives greater coverage than the top Brits (though it's pretty even). I said Armstrong is not just popular in America, people all over the world want to find out what he is doing. That's why programmes like Planet Armstrong are back on this year following him around with special access. This is true.

But on the issue that you raise, there is obviously a great focus on the British top cyclists but they still don't have the aura and mystic surrounding them that LA does. He is like cycling royalty.

I dont think its a case of Lance being popular, its about brand recognition. If you are a business trying to attract new customers and in particular a business focused on sports, then the most obvious marketing ploy is to focus on the most recognisable person in the sport. That person is Armstrong for cycling, no qualms there. Just like Tiger Woods in Golf or David Beckham, Michael Schumacher in F1. If you want to interest non-fans, you focus on the most recognisable part of a sport and undoubtedly Lance has a great backstory that transcends the sport.

The sad part in cycling now is that the media, TV stations, magazines etc are so desperate to attract new fans and thus money, they over-focus on Armstrong at the expense of everything and everyone else in the sport. This might be ok for newer fans but sure as hell frustrates real long-time fans. I just have to look at what happened at the Tour of Ireland last year to see where priorities lie. Professional sport, all about the money and in cycling Lance is the cash cow. Sad but true.

 

[UpTheRoad]

LAS TORRES DE COTILLAS, Spain (AP) — Team RadioShack boss Johan Bruyneel wants to play down Lance Armstrong's rivalry with Alberto Contador at the Tour de France.

He doesn't want to give Armstrong's other challengers a helping hand.

Their rivalry was well-documented when both raced for Astana last season and Bruyneel was the team director. Contador won the Tour de France last year and Armstrong finished third.

Bruyneel and Armstrong joined the new RadioShack team this year. Bruyneel believes Andy and Frank Schleck and Bradley Wiggins can only gain "an advantage" from a Armstrong-Contador focus.

He says a spotlight on the two high-profile rivals would drain their energy in the grueling July 3-25 race.

LOL. Bruyneel actually thinks that Contador is as tightly wound as Armstrong is over this "rivalry." There is no need to fan the flames further with this drivel, yet he does it anyway.

The season has started and the off-season trashtalking continues from Team Lance. Yeah, that will help them in July. Have they not figured out that no matter how much they try to instigate, it just rolls off Contador? When they meet on the road, it won't be pretty for Team Lance.

 

[altark123]

Lance really playing down expectations right now...

said he really suffered on the cat 1 today and hopes to be within a minute of Wiggins in tomorrow's TT per twitter.

 

[ravens]

LAS TORRES DE COTILLAS, Spain (AP) — Team RadioShack boss Johan Bruyneel wants to play down Lance Armstrong's rivalry with Alberto Contador at the Tour de France.

He doesn't want to give Armstrong's other challengers a helping hand.

Their rivalry was well-documented when both raced for Astana last season and Bruyneel was the team director. Contador won the Tour de France last year and Armstrong finished third.

Bruyneel and Armstrong joined the new RadioShack team this year. Bruyneel believes Andy and Frank Schleck and Bradley Wiggins can only gain "an advantage" from a Armstrong-Contador focus.

He says a spotlight on the two high-profile rivals would drain their energy in the grueling July 3-25 race.

These guys sound like they are just about ready for the rubber room. I don't think they have gotten 1/100th as far into ac's head with such a concerted effort as AC has gotten into theirs with no effort whatsoever.

Even if AC DOESN'T win in July, there's a bunch of other people between Lance and the top step. Or is that no longer relevant to them so long as AC doesn't win? Bruyneel has laid his cards on the table and really exposed himself as being as despicable as Lance. I have said this countless times, Lance is peeing all over his own legacy while enhancing AC's.

Alberto is really going to owe them a debt of gratitude if/when he wins again in July and the shack dissolves shortly thereafter. They have elevated him.

.

 

[issoisso]

These guys sound like they are just about ready for the rubber room. I don't think they have gotten 1/100th as far into ac's head with such a concerted effort as AC has gotten into theirs with no effort whatsoever.

.

The funny part is that for many years the way Lance got into Ullrich's head was by doing exactly what Contador is doing now (act like it's nothing and never provoking anyone). Lance is falling for his own treatment.

And it's a tried and tested method. A guy who wipes the floor with you isn't nearly as scary as a guy who wipes the floor with you and just acts bored by it.

 

[Publicus]

said he really suffered on the cat 1 today and hopes to be within a minute of Wiggins in tomorrow's TT per twitter.

From this post by a Sky rider, I don't think he's lowering expectations, so much as being truthful (as it relates to the suffering):

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.syklingensverden.com%2Fbaglercms.php%3FarticleID%3D23327%26catID%3D-1&sl=auto&tl=en

Today, I met one of my dreams, I dropped Lance and Klöden in the mountains, "says Lars Petter Nordhaug to Syklingens World.

-We drove up to an 18 km long mountain named after Marco Pantani with three mil again. Wiggins felt "king" and saw that Lance was struggling a bit. Then he commanded Chris Froome and me in front. We went really hard up against the top and Lance and Klöden had to knock out behind us. I admit that it was a bit cool.

I think he will do a decent TT. It's pancake flat.

 

[taiwan]

said he really suffered on the cat 1 today and hopes to be within a minute of Wiggins in tomorrow's TT per twitter.