The Official LANCE ARMSTRONG Thread 2010-2011

[9000ft]

I miss the old days when fanboys were brave enough to post regularly on forums. Dang, good times, good times.

And interrupt the circle jerk when you guys are so close to the "summit" (if you know what I mean )

 

[Runitout]

Relax people, Armstrong's doing fine. Nothing a little Aicar and a trip to Tenerife to visit an old friend can't fix.

I don't doubt that - but I dunno why he would sandbag for the first half of the season instead of getting god racing miles in?

Doesn't he like to win big races? Wasn't his whole aura during his heyday based on the premise that he was an unstoppable force - that nothing his opponents could do would matter - he would crush you in the first ITT and his train would launch him on the first mountain top finish and you would spend the rest of the race playing catch-up.

Now we have an racer giving more excuses than Evans, about why he can't last the distance in a race so minor his team isn't even supposed to race it. Doesn't sound much like the unstoppable force. Without that aura, he's just another bike rider, albeit a good one, who has one excellent result this year and a lot of bad ones. Sounds like Sastre. Or Pellizotti.

 

[Ripper]

Three words for Pharmstrong ...

Suspension of disbelief. Going from the low placings of this week to even finishing the TdF is a joke.

 

[Hugh Januss]

I don't doubt that - but I dunno why he would sandbag for the first half of the season instead of getting god racing miles in?

Doesn't he like to win big races? Wasn't his whole aura during his heyday based on the premise that he was an unstoppable force - that nothing his opponents could do would matter - he would crush you in the first ITT and his train would launch him on the first mountain top finish and you would spend the rest of the race playing catch-up.

Now we have an racer giving more excuses than Evans, about why he can't last the distance in a race so minor his team isn't even supposed to race it. Doesn't sound much like the unstoppable force. Without that aura, he's just another bike rider, albeit a good one, who has one excellent result this year and a lot of bad ones. Sounds like Sastre. Or Pellizotti.

I want to remember but I can not, what was that "excellent result"?

 

[El Imbatido]

Three words for Pharmstrong ...

Suspension of disbelief. Going from the low placings of this week to even finishing the TdF is a joke.

That was the main thesis of my high school Advanced English Paper. IIRC it was about how fairytales required the 'suspension of disbelief' to deliver and convey their story.

I so should have used the Pharmstrong fairytale. In the end i think i used Shakespeare's 'Tempest' and 'Shrek'. The LA myth would have fitted in perfect

 

[Berzin]

I am talking mostly about the people who comment on stories there, not the VN forum, which has very little traffic.

I tried posting a comment on the Gila story but it never made it past the editing process.

As you can well imagine, it wasn't pro-Lance.

 

[BroDeal]

I tried posting a comment on the Gila story but it never made it past the editing process.

As you can well imagine, it wasn't pro-Lance.

Say what? There is an editing process for the comments??? Do tell.

 

[Race Radio]

Sandbagger

 

[Runitout]

I want to remember but I can not, what was that "excellent result"?

I thought Flanders was an excellent result, for GC rider with no race legs.
In the context of the race of course, it can only be described as mediocre. So, YMMV.

As other posters have said, it's getting to the stage when if he even finishes the Tour, you wonder what has brought about the sudden jump in form beyond a trip to Teneriffe and a chat with Uncle Michele.

In any event, the die is cast. He's either doing the preparation required to do well and is sandbagging, or he is making Ullrich look like a well prepared monk with a food weighing fetish and a penchant for anorexia.

 

[Anonymous]

And interrupt the circle jerk when you guys are so close to the "summit" (if you know what I mean )

No, I don't know what you mean, but you seem to be an expert in it, so I will surmise that you have great experience with such things.

I am more familiar with the blumpkin, which is a good metaphor for the whole fanboy/Armstrong dynamic. Armstrong being the one receiving and the fanboy being the eater of the pie.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

And interrupt the circle jerk when you guys are so close to the "summit" (if you know what I mean )

I must admit I am not sure what you mean - but I assume the 'summit' is '9000ft'?

 

[Berzin]

Say what? There is an editing process for the comments??? Do tell.

Well, it turns out the comment was in fact posted. Surprise, surprise.

"Lance isn't on form yet-it's only March, it's only April, it's only May, it's only...woops!!!

It's only-let me drop out of the Ardennes Classics so Contador won't make a fool out of me!!!

It's only-let me ride the Tour of Gila for the altitude training!!!

It's only-let me work for Levi at the ToC this year!!!

It's only-but he was world champion in 1993!!!

The time crunched cyclist!!! Yes, you too can win the Tour racing a third rate domestic schedule against those monsters of the Alps-"Roid Floyd and "Eskimo Pie" Danielson. Is'nt Danielson tipped to be top 20 at the Tour in 2016? Isn't that why he received yet another inexplicable contract to race for Garmin?

Rejoice, teabaggers. You're allowed to paint your rooms "Mellow Yellow" in the Twilight Zone you morons inhabit."

 

[9000ft]

I must admit I am not sure what you mean - but I assume the 'summit' is '9000ft'?

LOL!!! Hey, that's good. I like it. Actually, 9000ft is only the elevation of my house, the summit is much higher.

400+ pages devoted to ONE bike racer is pretty impressive. That's more than three times the page count than the next most popular thread which is "babes on bikes" which says a lot.

By all means, carry on.

 

[Ferminal]

LOL!!! Hey, that's good. I like it. Actually, 9000ft is only the elevation of my house, the summit is much higher.

400+ pages devoted to ONE bike racer is pretty impressive. That's more than three times the page count than the next most popular thread which is "babes on bikes" which says a lot.

By all means, carry on.

Lance isn't just a bike racer, haven't you read his twitter?

 

[bridgeman]

I don't know what's worse. Arstrong, or the nonsense that is this thread.

 

[wattage]

Lance will be flying this year, Ferrari has finetuned Vino nicely.

 

[ridley]

Lance will be flying this year, Ferrari has finetuned Vino nicely.

By the way he rides, I think the only Ferrari he is seeing is the red one George was driving for a bit !!

 

[Anonymous]

LOL!!! Hey, that's good. I like it. Actually, 9000ft is only the elevation of my house, the summit is much higher.

400+ pages devoted to ONE bike racer is pretty impressive. That's more than three times the page count than the next most popular thread which is "babes on bikes" which says a lot.

By all means, carry on.

EAANH!!! Wrong answer. The Obama thread has 405 pages. Since this is a cycling site, and not a political one, I would suggest that Obama is way more popular.

And need I point out that you are being snide about the amount of content on a thread regarding Armstrong on which you are posting? I guess your irony button is broken?

However, my house is at 746' of elevation, so you got me there.

 

[kurtinsc]

I don't doubt that - but I dunno why he would sandbag for the first half of the season instead of getting god racing miles in?

Doesn't he like to win big races? Wasn't his whole aura during his heyday based on the premise that he was an unstoppable force - that nothing his opponents could do would matter - he would crush you in the first ITT and his train would launch him on the first mountain top finish and you would spend the rest of the race playing catch-up.

Now we have an racer giving more excuses than Evans, about why he can't last the distance in a race so minor his team isn't even supposed to race it. Doesn't sound much like the unstoppable force. Without that aura, he's just another bike rider, albeit a good one, who has one excellent result this year and a lot of bad ones. Sounds like Sastre. Or Pellizotti.

While I don't know if he's doing what he needs to in order to ride well in France, it's revisionist history to think he routinely did well in races prior to June even in his winning years.

He probably did more then he's done this season... but not a huge amount more.

The site I look at for past race results doesn't go past top 3 for most races, but from 2000 on, here's a list of his top 3 finishes prior to gearing up for the Tour at the Dauphine Libere or Tour de Suisse in June:

2nd: Paris - Camembert , 2000
2nd: Amstel Gold, 2001
2nd: Criterium Internaitonal, 2002
2nd: GP du Midi-Libre, 2002
3rd: Criterium International, 2004
1st: Tour of Georgia, 2004


That's it. Those are his top-3 finishes before June 1st of each year (outside a couple of crits that didn't have dates that I've never heard of).

Now while it doesn't seem like he's in good shape and he may have had some top 10's in larger races I don't know about... it's not like he ever dominated before June before. In fact, other then some focus on Amstel early on in his GC career... it seems more like he pretty much ignored the early part of his season most of the time.

 

[Publicus]

While I don't know if he's doing what he needs to in order to ride well in France, it's revisionist history to think he routinely did well in races prior to June even in his winning years.

He probably did more then he's done this season... but not a huge amount more.

The site I look at for past race results doesn't go past top 3 for most races, but from 2000 on, here's a list of his top 3 finishes prior to gearing up for the Tour at the Dauphine Libere or Tour de Suisse in June:

2nd: Paris - Camembert , 2000
2nd: Amstel Gold, 2001
2nd: Criterium Internaitonal, 2002
2nd: GP du Midi-Libre, 2002
3rd: Criterium International, 2004
1st: Tour of Georgia, 2004


That's it. Those are his top-3 finishes before June 1st of each year (outside a couple of crits that didn't have dates that I've never heard of).

Now while it doesn't seem like he's in good shape and he may have had some top 10's in larger races I don't know about... it's not like he ever dominated before June before. In fact, other then some focus on Amstel early on in his GC career... it seems more like he pretty much ignored the early part of his season most of the time.

Cycling Quotient has a more complete list.

 

[kurtinsc]

Cycling Quotient has a more complete list.

Kind of an annoying interface though... you have to go to the team each year and search the team results to find results for the rider? Bleh. I prefer this one:

http://www.cyclingwebsite.net/coureurs.php

Anyway, I didn't see anything I left off in the first list. Unless you want stage wins too... then there's a few in the races I listed already, a 2nd in a Murcia TT in 2003, a stage win in Tour du Languedoc-Rousillon in 2004 (never heard of this race), a stage win in Algrave in 2004 and a couple of 3rd places in the 2005 Tour of Georgia.

Again... not saying he's even done that well this year... but saying he "dominated" before June in any of his Tour winning seasons is just false.

 

[Publicus]

Kind of an annoying interface though... you have to go to the team each year and search the team results to find results for the rider? Bleh. I prefer this one:

http://www.cyclingwebsite.net/coureurs.php

Anyway, I didn't see anything I left off in the first list. Unless you want stage wins too... then there's a few in the races I listed already, a 2nd in a Murcia TT in 2003, a stage win in Tour du Languedoc-Rousillon in 2004 (never heard of this race), a stage win in Algrave in 2004 and a couple of 3rd places in the 2005 Tour of Georgia.

Again... not saying he's even done that well this year... but saying he "dominated" before June in any of his Tour winning seasons is just false.

I think the point was that he was more competitive--not domination. He's not won anything (or come close to winning anything) this year. He just got beat by one of the Trek Livestrong (U23) riders in the ITT today.

Take that back. The point you were responding to was domination-esque.

 

[alberto.legstrong]

I think the point was that he was more competitive--not domination. He's not won anything (or come close to winning anything) this year. He just got beat by one of the Trek Livestrong (U23) riders in the ITT today.

Take that back. The point you were responding to was domination-esque.

I haven't been watching him long enough to know how he was in years past, but I don't see a guy who looks terribly motivated. Throw in the fact that the time it takes for just increased general fitness as we get into our late 30's increases and he seems to be putting less effort in, whether it be due to illness or motivation is not terribly relevant. I guess the ToC will be more revealing as it will be our last chance to see his race form.

 

[BikeCentric]

I haven't been watching him long enough to know how he was in years past, but I don't see a guy who looks terribly motivated. Throw in the fact that the time it takes for just increased general fitness as we get into our late 30's increases and he seems to be putting less effort in, whether it be due to illness or motivation is not terribly relevant. I guess the ToC will be more revealing as it will be our last chance to see his race form.

Is fatty Pharmstrong no longer racing the Tour de Suisse?

There is simply no way he's going to be competitive at Le Tour when he's now getting spanking by skinny little climbers (Tommy D.) and U-23 riders in an ITT. Stick a fork in him, he's done. I don't care how many needles Ferrari injects in the old man, he's got nothing left.

 

[Publicus]

I haven't been watching him long enough to know how he was in years past, but I don't see a guy who looks terribly motivated. Throw in the fact that the time it takes for just increased general fitness as we get into our late 30's increases and he seems to be putting less effort in, whether it be due to illness or motivation is not terribly relevant. I guess the ToC will be more revealing as it will be our last chance to see his race form.

Not the last chance. He's going to race the Tour de Suisse.