Starting in Monaco this weekend.
Can Sastre win for the second year in a row? Probably not, but probably top five.Can Armstrong win his eighth Tour in his comeback season? Nope, but he'll probably come in the top ten.Can Andy Schleck turn the promise he showed in the mountains last year into a yellow jersey? Probably not this year, but he should be top five too.Can Contador win it again? Yes, and he probably should do, but he might suffer from having Armstrong and Leipheimer dividing loyalties on his team (assuming Astana actually have the finances to last the distance).Can Cavendish finish the Tour and get the green jersey? Hope so.Can Wiggins and/or Millar get a time trial? Hope so.Will there be several high profile doping scandals rendering several stage wins and overall classification positions meaningless and resulting in long drawn-out legal action? Probably. Maybe Menchov this year if the Humanplasma rumours are true.
― Teh Movable Object (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Tuesday, 30 June 2009 20:43 (fourteen years ago) link
lance will be strong. contador will win. he is hungry.
― cutty, Tuesday, 30 June 2009 20:54 (fourteen years ago) link
I just tried to find the thread where we discussed "Rough Ride" by Paul Kimmage, but failed.
― Local Garda, Tuesday, 30 June 2009 20:57 (fourteen years ago) link
thats a good read that book, stoked about le tour though, ventoux should be a good watch
― secondhandnews, Tuesday, 30 June 2009 21:06 (fourteen years ago) link
Ronan - 'Bad Blood' by Jeremy Whittle is another good read.
― Teh Movable Object (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Tuesday, 30 June 2009 21:08 (fourteen years ago) link
a schleck
― iro with the brown bag (Hunt3r), Tuesday, 30 June 2009 22:29 (fourteen years ago) link
andy schleck will podium
― cutty, Tuesday, 30 June 2009 22:47 (fourteen years ago) link
Didn't know this was controversial
http://cyclocosm.com/2009/06/the-four-impossibilities-of-radio-free-racing/
― i want to marry a pizza (gbx), Tuesday, 30 June 2009 22:48 (fourteen years ago) link
"Starring the future wannabee governor of Texas!" should've been included in this thread title, somewhere.
Is it safe to say - though to say boldly - America wants Lance Armstrong to win this again, because Armstrong is a 'true American', and Europe vomits even thinking about another Lance win? I know most mainland European cyclist fans feel the latter. Where do the Brits stand in this?
Although I'm not nauseous, I'd still hate it if Armstrong wins Le Tour again. Why? He's just not a true cyclist. He ducks under the radar all year, nowhere to be seen, just to win one - the one - tour. It has been like that the previous seven times he won. Try giving that training schedule to people like Bettini, Sastre or Menchov. Armstrong's good alright, but he ain't no cyclist. He's an entertainer. That's fine I guess, but it's not what cycling is about. Cycling is about struggling, it's about suffering. It's about being a perfect loser, not a perfect winner.
As for the win: it's a toss-up between Menchov and Contador I think. But I think Contador will take it. Menchov's in great form - having won the Giro - and is a better time trialist, but Contador will win dis thing I think, since he's got the better team backing him up.
All this and I haven't even gotten around mentioning all the incidents of doping that are bound to surface. Good times, good times.
― Gerard (Le Bateau Ivre), Tuesday, 30 June 2009 23:56 (fourteen years ago) link
if Lance does go into politics i take it he'd be a Republican? anyway he looked pretty good in the Giro this year, but i doubt he'll end higher than 5th in the Tour. Menchov was good as well despite nearly bottling it in the last km, god what a weird ending that was. really looking forward to seeing what Contador does, he must be desperate to prove himself after missing last year, battling it out with Schleck in the mountains is gonna be so awesome. also there's a stage ending in Barcelona this year, should be pretty memorable!
― zappi, Wednesday, 1 July 2009 00:12 (fourteen years ago) link
I think he's a Republican yeah. Barcelona is nice, but I'm already wetting my pants over the finish on Mt. Ventoux this year, on the day before Champs Elysee no less! That stage is going to rule so hard. Best planning in fifteen years if you ask me.
― Gerard (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 00:22 (fourteen years ago) link
since he's got the better team backing him up
they are not necessarily backing him up
― cutty, Wednesday, 1 July 2009 00:54 (fourteen years ago) link
True Cutty, but say maybe, Contador (whether he falls or loses minutes in a contre le montre) is out of the race, Armstrong still has Contador, Klöden and Leipheimer behind him. That's a tough act to follow, for any team.
― Gerard (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 01:11 (fourteen years ago) link
but not chris horner!
― wilter, Wednesday, 1 July 2009 01:53 (fourteen years ago) link
Try giving that training schedule to people like Bettini, Sastre or Menchov.
cmon man how many top 5s in the monuments, or even in the non monument classics, do sastre and menchov have?
how many top 5s on gc in grand tours does bettini have?
i dont even like la much but that comment is silly.
dudes who can race to win classics and grand tour gc are few-- and each objective is sufficiently hard nowadays that specialization is common. the seasons are raced MUCH harder now than the good old days. guys actually train to win Paris fucking Nice.
― iro with the brown bag (Hunt3r), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 02:38 (fourteen years ago) link
Er, Lance is a Democrat, guys. He just pretended to be Dubya's friend for cancer research money or something.
Contador is going to be your winner. Denny will try hard but he's won the Giro. Who can win two Grand Tours in the same calendar year these days?
― The New Beautiful South's New Bassist (King Boy Pato), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 08:01 (fourteen years ago) link
Contador can and did. it's such a pity he didn't switch teams, Caisse could've used him. Denny is better than ever, yet i don't see him winning. 2nd place should be possible though.as always rooting for the Schleck bros, but lately i got the feeling Andy will be like Damiano Cunego, a great promising rider for the Big Tours when he was younger, but later on more of a classics rider.also there's 2 Japanese riders. i think those are the first since '96 or something when the Italian Polti team had one.
the Japanse fellow that rider for the Skil team has twitter, mostly Japanese but some great English stuff too.I made break away again for get mauntain point! I fight again I took point! so I kept mauntain jersey!http://twitter.com/Fumybeppu
― Ludo, Wednesday, 1 July 2009 08:08 (fourteen years ago) link
So excited about this, as is Barcelona, I'm here for a conference and all of the bicing rental bike have tour stickers on them.
For the HC heart says Menchov, head says Contador and I hope Lance gets nowhere near it and retires once and for all. As much as I'd like to see Cavendish in Green on the Champs Elysée I'm not sure if he can make it all the way round, can't wait to be wrong on this one. Also can't wait to see him win on Wednesday and pull on the Green Jersey.
Who is Columbia's GC rider, they we're super strong in the tour and I presume Lockvist has a good chance for the white jersey, maybe wearing yellow a bit?
― Mornington Crescent (Ed), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 09:09 (fourteen years ago) link
Haha, Ludo, that's a magnificent twitter:I got mountain jersey @ Route du sud It was hard race but, I'm happy really mountain race this race so! Anyway good for my dream race!!
Hunt3r, I'm not disagreeing with you about specialisation. Ofcourse that's the case. But - and that's exactly what I mean - you ask me if I know riders with multiple top 5 classifications during a season. But Armstrong hardly ever participated in a race he maybe could not win. He never rode a classic or a tour to help a teammate win. Which, to me, is an essential part of cycling: you ride a lot of races, even the ones where maybe you yourself can't win, but say, a teammate can. Armstrong really was, and is, only in it for the Tour. It's an extreme example of specialisation rarely seen even today in this sport. And I don't care much for it.
― Gerard (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 09:10 (fourteen years ago) link
@Ed, I think Columbia's GC rider is Kim Kirchen
― Gerard (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 09:12 (fourteen years ago) link
^pretty much sums up how I feel about Lance, and why I still think LeMond and Merckx were better riders. (My two heroes, LeMond was the king when I first got interested in cycling and I still want a team 'Z' jersey, Merckx because I have one of his bikes)
xpost
― Mornington Crescent (Ed), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 09:14 (fourteen years ago) link
You have one of Merckx' bikes? Whoah! If you mind me asking, how did that come about?
― Gerard (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 09:19 (fourteen years ago) link
OTOH, Lance in the Giro seemed to have a reputation for being much more chatty in the peleton and handing out advice to younger riders. SO maybe he is just riding for the hell of it and the millions astana are paying him and is going to ride the tour as the peleton granny, in which case he will win my grudging respect.
― Mornington Crescent (Ed), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 09:19 (fourteen years ago) link
Lance as the peleton granny, I like the sound of that :)
― Gerard (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 09:21 (fourteen years ago) link
Not one he rode, just one the company with his name on makes.
It came about because I saw an advert on German ebay for Rennrad, It had a a blurry photo and a bad description, but it was cheap enough to take a punt based on what I thought it was. I got it for 200euros and then had to wrangle over the shipping for about a month which cost 100euros more. When it arrived it turned out to be a turn of the century merckx alu team with all chorus group.
― Mornington Crescent (Ed), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 09:25 (fourteen years ago) link
Ah, thought you'd been given one he actually rode :) Sounds like a good buy though
― Gerard (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 09:37 (fourteen years ago) link
so pumped, and am hoping to watch as much as possible this year
― i want to marry a pizza (gbx), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 13:11 (fourteen years ago) link
first doping case.. (it's sort of old but it finally has an effect) Dutch talent and rider for Silence Lotto has been replaced by Charles Wegelius in their team. Dekker's been suspended for a doping (epo of course) violation that actually happened in 2007. :)
― Ludo, Wednesday, 1 July 2009 13:21 (fourteen years ago) link
it's sort of old but it finally has an effect) Dutch talent and rider Thomas Dekker etc.
Someone's really good at collecting news like this and saving it for the Tour innit? I'm always amazed by that.
― Gerard (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 13:24 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah it seems WADA or UCI are really into retesting stuff with the new methods. there will be a day in cycling when a Tour winner of 6 years back is finally "caught" and is disqualified after all. useless if you ask me. if they can't catch you in a month it doesn't count. ;)
― Ludo, Wednesday, 1 July 2009 13:26 (fourteen years ago) link
:D
So they'll catch Armstrong after his death then?
― Gerard (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 13:28 (fourteen years ago) link
there is an 8 year statute of limitations, ludo
― cutty, Wednesday, 1 July 2009 13:32 (fourteen years ago) link
can someone knowledgeable give a rough sense of the likely....narratives(?) this year? or point me to a good overview ("what to expect from this year's tour" or whatever)?
i don't follow pro cycling at all, but it's mostly because the number of players/teams/etc. is sorta intimidating. i want some real TdF09 for Idiots kinda thing, just so i'm not lost/bored in the opening stages
― i want to marry a pizza (gbx), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 13:34 (fourteen years ago) link
watch the website http://www.velocitynation.com
one of their writers does the best narratives and tour coverage out there
― cutty, Wednesday, 1 July 2009 13:37 (fourteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwTUFNMTP-M
― (*゚ー゚)θ L(。・_・) °~ヾ(・ε・ *) (Steve Shasta), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 13:38 (fourteen years ago) link
also they are one of the only US cycling websites out there that takes a definitively anti-lance stance, the others just suck at his teats
― cutty, Wednesday, 1 July 2009 13:39 (fourteen years ago) link
http://cyclocosm.com/2009/06/astanas-tour-selection-is-a-ticking-bomb/
― i want to marry a pizza (gbx), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 13:41 (fourteen years ago) link
thanx cutty
― i want to marry a pizza (gbx), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 13:46 (fourteen years ago) link
well, we're pretty much past the issue but:
But Armstrong hardly ever participated in a race he maybe could not win. He never rode a classic or a tour to help a teammate win. Which, to me, is an essential part of cycling: you ride a lot of races, even the ones where maybe you yourself can't win, but say, a teammate can.
this is like, waht, i dunno. cycling geir-ism? i am saying that it is not armstrong with whom you are at odds, it is modern pro racing. i am saying that you are factually mistaken that menchov or sastre race programs in which a support role is their primary objective in any particular race.
― iro with the brown bag (Hunt3r), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 14:25 (fourteen years ago) link
haha
http://www.bobkestrut.com/2009/03/25/same-as-it-ever-was-2/
― iro with the brown bag (Hunt3r), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 17:03 (fourteen years ago) link
Haha, that's gold!
― Gerard (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 17:20 (fourteen years ago) link
vs schedule for first half
Stage 1: Saturday, July 4, 2009Monaco9:30am to 2:00pm: LIVE Daily Coverage2:30pm to 4:30pm: Race Action Replay5:00pm to 7:00pm: Race Action Replay8:00pm to 11:00pm: Expanded Primetime Coverage12:00am to 3:00am: Race Action Replay
Stage 2: Sunday, July 5, 2009Monaco-Brignoles8:30am to 11:30am: LIVE Daily Coverage12:00pm to 2:00pm: Race Action Replay2:30pm to 4:30pm: Race Action Replay5:00pm to 7:00pm: Race Action Replay8:00pm to 11:00pm: Expanded Primetime Coverage12:00am to 3:00am: Race Action Replay
Stage 3: Monday, July 6 , 2009Marseille - La Grande Motte8:30am to 11:30am: LIVE Daily Coverage12:00pm to 2:00pm: Race Action Replay2:30pm to 4:30pm: Race Action Replay5:00pm to 7:00pm: Race Action Replay8:00pm to 11:00pm: Expanded Primetime Coverage12:00am to 3:00am: Race Action Replay
Stage 4: Tuesday, July 7, 2009Montpellier8:30am to 12:00pm: LIVE Daily Coverage12:00pm to 2:00pm: Race Action Replay2:30pm to 4:30pm: Race Action Replay5:00pm to 7:00pm: Race Action Replay8:00pm to 11:00pm: Expanded Primetime Coverage12:00am to 3:00am: Race Action Replay
Stage 5: Wednesday, July 8, 2009La Cap d'Adge - Perpignan8:30am to 11:30am: LIVE Daily Coverage12:00pm to 2:00pm: Race Action Replay2:30pm to 4:30pm: Race Action Replay5:00pm to 7:00pm: Race Action Replay8:00pm to 11:00pm: Expanded Primetime Coverage12:00am to 3:00am: Race Action Replay
Stage 6: Thursday, July 9, 2009Gerone - Barcelona8:30am to 11:30am: LIVE Daily Coverage12:00pm to 2:00pm: Race Action Replay2:30pm to 4:30pm: Race Action Replay5:00pm to 7:00pm: Race Action Replay8:00pm to 11:00pm: Expanded Primetime Coverage12:00am to 3:00am: Race Action Replay
Stage 7: Friday, July 10, 2009Barcelona - Andorre Arcalis8:00am to 11:30am: LIVE Daily Coverage12:00pm to 2:00pm: Race Action Replay2:30pm to 4:30pm: Race Action Replay5:00pm to 7:00pm: Race Action Replay8:00pm to 11:00pm: Expanded Primetime Coverage12:00am to 3:00am: Race Action Replay
Stage 8: Saturday, July 11, 2009Andorre - La Vielle - Saint Girons7:30am to 11:30am: LIVE Daily Coverage12:00pm to 2:00pm: Race Action Replay2:30pm to 4:30pm: Race Action Replay5:00pm to 7:00pm: Race Action Replay8:00pm to 11:00pm: Expanded Primetime Coverage12:00am to 3:00am: Race Action Replay
Stage 9: Sunday, July 12, 2009Saint Gaudens - Tarbes7:00am to 11:30am: LIVE Daily Coverage12:00pm to 2:00pm: Race Action Replay2:30pm to 4:30pm: Race Action Replay5:00pm to 7:00pm: Race Action Replay8:00pm to 11:00pm: Expanded Primetime Coverage12:00am to 3:00am: Race Action Replay Stage 19: Friday, July 24, 2009Bourgoin Jallieu - Aubenas8:30am to 11:30am: LIVE Daily Coverage12:00pm to 2:00pm: Race Action Replay2:30pm to 4:30pm: Race Action Replay5:00pm to 7:00pm: Race Action Replay8:00pm to 11:00pm: Expanded Primetime Coverage12:00am to 3:00am: Race Action Replay
Stage 10 Tuesday, July 14, 2009Limoges - Issoudun8:30am to 11:30am: LIVE Daily Coverage12:00pm to 2:00pm: Race Action Replay2:30pm to 4:30pm: Race Action Replay5:00pm to 7:00pm: Race Action Replay8:00pm to 11:00pm: Expanded Primetime Coverage12:00am to 2:30am: Race Action Replay
Stage 11: Wednesday, July 15, 2009Vatan - Saint Fargeau8:30am to 11:30am: LIVE Daily Coverage12:00pm to 2:00pm: Race Action Replay2:30pm to 4:30pm: Race Action Replay5:00pm to 7:00pm: Race Action Replay8:00pm to 11:00pm: Expanded Primetime Coverage12:00am to 3:00am: Race Action Replay
― i want to marry a pizza (gbx), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 17:41 (fourteen years ago) link
boy sucks having a job now. last summer I could watch the whole dang thing live every day, eat a big bowl of granola/fruit, then go for a ride in the beautiful berkeley hills.
― Chinavision (altair nouveau), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 17:45 (fourteen years ago) link
I don't even have a tv now!
― Chinavision (altair nouveau), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 17:46 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah right now i'm trying to decide between morning motivational viewing and evening drinkin a beer viewing
unemployed yalllllllllll
― i want to marry a pizza (gbx), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 17:49 (fourteen years ago) link
morning motivational! it's great!
― Chinavision (altair nouveau), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 18:04 (fourteen years ago) link
^^^that coverage is lances fault too i think. was vs schedule that aggressive last year?
― iro with the brown bag (Hunt3r), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 18:05 (fourteen years ago) link
no alp d'huez stage for the first time since 1976 :(
― (*゚ー゚)θ L(。・_・) °~ヾ(・ε・ *) (Steve Shasta), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 18:20 (fourteen years ago) link
But there's the Mont Ventoux Steve, on the day before the Champs Elysee!
― Gerard (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 1 July 2009 18:25 (fourteen years ago) link
Sastre: "I've competed in four grand tours in less than a year: Tour, Vuelta, Giro and Tour, plus the Olympic Games, as well as an incredible number of events and activities, and that hasn't left me any time to rest."
damn, dude. i dint realize. you DO need rest, and well done.
― iro with the brown bag (Hunt3r), Monday, 27 July 2009 03:36 (fourteen years ago) link
Hey Carlos, Alberto raced in almost all those same races but WON them all...
― (*゚ー゚)θ L(。・_・) °~ヾ(・ε・ *) (Steve Shasta), Monday, 27 July 2009 16:20 (fourteen years ago) link
giro/off/vuelta/off/tourvs.tour/vuelta/giro/tour
theres an end point problem, but over the period sastre mentions, ac raced 1/2 of the number of gts.
― iro with the brown bag (Hunt3r), Monday, 27 July 2009 16:55 (fourteen years ago) link
OK, so I am watching Ventoux stage from start to finish at work. WTF is Phil's "The one thing that Mont Ventoux is is WRONG"?
― Mornington Crescent (Ed), Monday, 27 July 2009 17:14 (fourteen years ago) link
long?
― (*゚ー゚)θ L(。・_・) °~ヾ(・ε・ *) (Steve Shasta), Monday, 27 July 2009 17:59 (fourteen years ago) link
Contador rules out move to Team RadioShack
― William Bloody Swygart, Monday, 27 July 2009 20:47 (fourteen years ago) link
Also, guess the Twitter:
Hung over and tired today, The Jack Daniels was a bad ideaabout 7 hours ago from mobile web
Clue - not Andy Schleck.
― William Bloody Swygart, Monday, 27 July 2009 20:48 (fourteen years ago) link
well done Bradley
― problem chimp (Porkpie), Monday, 27 July 2009 20:53 (fourteen years ago) link
contador: i hate lance armstrong
― omar little, Monday, 27 July 2009 21:10 (fourteen years ago) link
not quite hate, and really understandable.
setting oneself up to be la's voodoo spite doll guarantees the awez next year.
― iro with the brown bag (Hunt3r), Monday, 27 July 2009 21:26 (fourteen years ago) link
now (Team Livestrong jr development team rider) Taylor Phinney is backing up LA via twitter. Early angling to get onto the Radio Shack team? some serious soap opera business going down.
― sous les paves, Monday, 27 July 2009 22:41 (fourteen years ago) link
not quite hate? because AC can win TdF on his own?
whatever. AC looks like a punk now.
― Where is Stephen Gobie? (Dandy Don Weiner), Monday, 27 July 2009 23:24 (fourteen years ago) link
idk they're both assholes (tm ddb) but LA did AC no favors by questioning AC's:
(a) experience(b) loyalty(c) commitment
almost daily in the press and then instead of celebrating his teammate's victory, he bails on him and parties with his bros kinda shows LA in a sad, graying ex-champion light:http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46117000/jpg/_46117135_cont282.jpg"the preciousssss"
― (*゚ー゚)θ L(。・_・) °~ヾ(・ε・ *) (Steve Shasta), Monday, 27 July 2009 23:30 (fourteen years ago) link
also: versus and american media is 99% pro-LA which i "get" ("ah, noble-cause asshole vs. young, cocky asshole is the epic Disney battle of good vs evil") but AC was seriously understimated by a whole lot of people, getting little to no respect in a TdF most likely to be remembered as "Lance's comeback".
― (*゚ー゚)θ L(。・_・) °~ヾ(・ε・ *) (Steve Shasta), Monday, 27 July 2009 23:33 (fourteen years ago) link
LA is just another entitled dbag imo
― omar little, Monday, 27 July 2009 23:38 (fourteen years ago) link
xpost, and to add insult to injury, the TdF org played the Dutch (Danish?) anthem instead of Spain's when honoring AC... dude gets zero respect~
― (*゚ー゚)θ L(。・_・) °~ヾ(・ε・ *) (Steve Shasta), Monday, 27 July 2009 23:50 (fourteen years ago) link
When AC wins as many in a row as LA he can make shitty comments about how he doesn't respect LA. Until then, LA is the best TDF participant in the history of the Tour. Fuck an egotistical Spaniard. I hope he loses both balls.
― brotherlovesdub, Monday, 27 July 2009 23:53 (fourteen years ago) link
why would he respect LA after what LA said about him?
― omar little, Monday, 27 July 2009 23:55 (fourteen years ago) link
Because LA is a better rider/Tour participant than he will ever be.
― brotherlovesdub, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 00:09 (fourteen years ago) link
AC's statements left out of the American press:
+ "(Armstrong) was a great champion, and is still a great rider..." (ed: but is a dick)+ "(Johan) gave Lance preferential treatment, because everything he has is due to Lance's success. It is normal behavior and I understand that."
― (*゚ー゚)θ L(。・_・) °~ヾ(・ε・ *) (Steve Shasta), Tuesday, 28 July 2009 00:10 (fourteen years ago) link
lance doesn't deserve respect imo if he treats people like that
http://www.sfu.ca/~stscott/pictures/dealwithit.gif
― omar little, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 00:11 (fourteen years ago) link
....aaaaaaaaaand back to reality, AC has 2 TdF victories at age 26. He coulda/shoulda/woulda had 3 but age 26.
LA at age 26 was recovering from cancer and yet to be the rider that we know him as.
anything is possible, amigito.
― (*゚ー゚)θ L(。・_・) °~ヾ(・ε・ *) (Steve Shasta), Tuesday, 28 July 2009 00:13 (fourteen years ago) link
lancearmstrong hey pistolero, there is no "i" in "team". what did i say in March? Lots to learn. Restated.about 2 hours ago from web
bradwigginsHey Cav, your a star, remember what we said, fuck Bob, life goes on, dont let sponser politics affect freindships.12:41 AM Jul 27th from mobile web
wegeliusSaw one of those massive Airbus thingy planes in Paris. Wowchie!about 11 hours ago from TwitterBerry
Twitter: it's like Dawson's Creek never ended.
― William Bloody Swygart, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 00:14 (fourteen years ago) link
quote included in the American press:
Even if he is a great champion, I have never had admiration for him and I never will," the 26-year-old Spaniard admitted.
Makes no sense. BTW AC, did you or did you not blow off direct orders during the TdF this year?
― Where is Stephen Gobie? (Dandy Don Weiner), Tuesday, 28 July 2009 00:22 (fourteen years ago) link
maybe he secretly never liked him because he'd heard about what a total dbag LA is and then found out for himself, therefore confirming it and now he feels comfortable saying it in public?
― omar little, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 00:26 (fourteen years ago) link
maybe theyre both preening macho dbags who are only interesting insofar as they provide soap opera theatrics to the aspie biker set?
― max, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 00:27 (fourteen years ago) link
lol, i thought that lance's tweet was fiction but it was sadly not... kinda wish he would have stayed retired (or off twitter).
― (*゚ー゚)θ L(。・_・) °~ヾ(・ε・ *) (Steve Shasta), Tuesday, 28 July 2009 00:32 (fourteen years ago) link
barry bonds: 7 mvpsroger clemens: 7 cy youngsLA: 7 TdF titles
― omar little, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 00:35 (fourteen years ago) link
maybe theyre both preening macho dbags
twitter exists to enable people to achieve this status. however, in this case there's probly much truth.
― iro with the brown bag (Hunt3r), Tuesday, 28 July 2009 02:43 (fourteen years ago) link
which elite cyclist are not preening macho dbags? Oh wait, Greg LeMond isn't. Just ask him.
― Where is Stephen Gobie? (Dandy Don Weiner), Tuesday, 28 July 2009 02:57 (fourteen years ago) link
I assume Lance was "following team orders" when he ordered his guys to the front on Stage 2 and gained 40 seconds on AC/Kloden, but of course AC didn't understand that there was no "i" in "team" when he attacked the Schlecks and dropped Amstrong/Kloden. Since when has protecting your teammates' top 10 GC placings been more important than, uh, trying to WIN the Tour? Ah, I get it now ... during all those years when Armstrong kept Landis/Beltran/Popo/Heras/etc. neutered while he was winning Tours, he was actually trying to protect them! Armstrong is a joke.
― NoTimeBeforeTime, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 05:58 (fourteen years ago) link
When AC wins as many in a row as LA he can make shitty comments about how he doesn't respect LA. Until then, LA is the best TDF participant in the history of the Tour. Fuck an egotistical Spaniard. I hope he loses both balls.― brotherlovesdub, Monday, July 27, 2009 11:53 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark
― brotherlovesdub, Monday, July 27, 2009 11:53 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark
Wow... this really gets to you doesn't it?
Eddy Merckx is still the best TdF participant in the history of the Tour de France, by a long shot. Lance winning a title more only statistically ranks him above Merckx, but looking at the sheer heroism and jaw dropping way Merckx had to fight for his titles, this really is no competition.
― young depardieu looming out of void in hour of profound triumph (Le Bateau Ivre), Tuesday, 28 July 2009 06:53 (fourteen years ago) link
this discussion between AC and LA gets boring now, AC should've acted like a champ and just forget all about it, he won anyway. (complaining and whining afterwards, meh)
meanwhile the doping allegiations* have finally started, it seems be a new TdF guide line to have doping cases AFTER the tour, so while it's going it can appear to be "clean".
*4th generation EPO, and some kind of fatburner, also insuline etc. etc.
― Ludo, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 08:33 (fourteen years ago) link
Ludo, any links on that?
― Mark C, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 10:29 (fourteen years ago) link
ha i'm loving this AC/LA itch tbh
― wilter, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 10:57 (fourteen years ago) link
In Lemonde.fr, Pierre Bordry of the french anti doping agency says it's AICAR (aminoimidazole carboxamide nucleotide, a muscle strengthening and fat burning substance) and Hematide, EPO of the fourth generation that is still in development and will probably be available commercially in 2011.
― StanM, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 11:03 (fourteen years ago) link
Both aicar and hematide have wikipedia articles if you want more info.
― StanM, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 11:04 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah i got that info from the Belgian tv text.. so no link.
still can't believe (even though it's been true for a 100 years) that cyclists are willing to take all these risks with medicine/drugs still in development.
― Ludo, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 11:26 (fourteen years ago) link
Finally watched ventoux, then made E watch it from the tree line. Awesome stuff, contador never looked in trouble. Shame he didn't let the. Win do the talking and shut up about lance. Lance should have kept more gnomic as well. Looking forward to the vuelta now, although I presume Lance won't be there, I'd be surprised if he pulls on an astana jersey again.
Wondering what will happen to wiggins, will he lead for garmin or will they continue with Menchov? I'm really excited to see how Wiggins develops, I'm sure he can get better in another year, I'm also sure that the schlecks will as well and tony martin looked good on the ventoux and earlier in the race as well.
Glad cav and hushovd made up as well, that's going to be a great rivalry. Cav and columbia have either got to shut down hushovd on the breaks or get cav to be able to go out with him when he goes for intermediates.
See you all in a month for the vuelta.
― Mornington Crescent (Ed), Tuesday, 28 July 2009 13:07 (fourteen years ago) link
good thing this risk taking cheating gene is isolated to cycling or wed be in heaps of trouble
― iro with the brown bag (Hunt3r), Tuesday, 28 July 2009 13:10 (fourteen years ago) link
lol.
― Ludo, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 13:13 (fourteen years ago) link
Wondering what will happen to wiggins, will he lead for garmin or will they continue with Menchov?
Aren't you confusing Garmin and Rabobank here? Both orange jersey's though, so it's understandable :)
I think it's over between Menchov and Rabo though, he really blew it this Tour. I can see him heading back to Russia, there's lot's of rumours that Katusja want him.
― young depardieu looming out of void in hour of profound triumph (Le Bateau Ivre), Tuesday, 28 July 2009 13:40 (fourteen years ago) link
If Cavendish put his mind to it, I reckon he could improve his climbing. Not to KotM standard, but good enough to rival Thor on those inter-col sprints.
I can't help feeling a teeny bit sorry for Menchov.
― Madchen, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 18:04 (fourteen years ago) link
I am indeed, I blame it on being up at 3:30 am this morning.
― Mornington Crescent (Ed), Tuesday, 28 July 2009 18:05 (fourteen years ago) link
Ed got me thinking Menchov was making a very unexpected move. (also unexpected from Garmin, don't see what they need him) Katusja would be a wise choice.
― Ludo, Tuesday, 28 July 2009 18:44 (fourteen years ago) link
Astarloza. EPO. 1 week before the start of the Tour.
http://www.watoday.com.au/breaking-news-sport/tour-stage-winner-suspended-over-doping-20090801-e4nz.html
― StanM, Friday, 31 July 2009 15:36 (fourteen years ago) link
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/aug/04/bradley-wiggins-interview-donald-mcrae
― caek, Tuesday, 4 August 2009 00:41 (fourteen years ago) link
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/voigt-can-start-riding-again-in-two-weeks
― Mornington Crescent (Ed), Thursday, 13 August 2009 21:51 (fourteen years ago) link
Matt White has been directing us around southwest France for the last week. Allez allez allez!
― Madchen, Monday, 17 August 2009 21:43 (fourteen years ago) link
Team Sky name six British riders but wait on Bradley Wiggins
― Peinlich Manoeuvre (NickB), Wednesday, 9 September 2009 15:59 (fourteen years ago) link