# Lance. Are you a lover, hater or neutral?



## Panter (23 Jul 2009)

As title really. I suspect the haters are just a lot more vocal than the lovers but wanted to post a poll out of interest.


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## Bigtwin (23 Jul 2009)

Greatly admire what he's achieved. In terms of the TDF, hope he does well, but it's "may the best man win" for me.


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## dan_bo (23 Jul 2009)

User3094 said:


> You don't have to have any feelings towards the man himself to love a come back story.



Yep.


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## ChrisKH (23 Jul 2009)

Neutral until he falls in the mire. I'm sure that makes me a terrible cynic but I'm rarely disappointed.


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## johnnyh (23 Jul 2009)

you have to be a pretty sad individual to hate a man you don't know I'd have thought.

I agree you have to love the comeback story, be it the fight back from cancer or the 37/8 year old returning to ride the TdF.


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## ChrisKH (23 Jul 2009)

> There was an interesting story in C+ this month. Some bloke in the UK was diagnosed with cancer and told that a counsellor would call him in a couple of days. It turned out to be Lance, and he continued to call him on a monthly basis.
> 
> I know that doesn't make him any more special than those who give up their time voluntarily every week, but it's good to hear that celebrity hasn't taken him over.



I think once you have been through something like that you feel obligated to give something back as thanks for still being here. Counselling is personally fulfilling and cathartic and obviously helpful to those who get it. The strangest reaction I have received from counselling of this sort is people's incredulity that you will give up your time to help them. I once got told not counsel one chap as he thought after the first visit that I was being disingenuous and was really after his wife.......


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## CotterPin (23 Jul 2009)

I don't hate the man as I don't actually know him personally. Some of his actions have been inspiring and some of them seemed completely stupid. It will be interesting to see what his legacy to cycling will be long after he has (finally!) retired. Will he be seen as force for good within the sport who helped raise its profile and move it on to newer levels, or will he be seen as a part of an old guard that kept it from progressing/ I don't think there will be an answer to those questions for many years to come.


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## zimzum42 (23 Jul 2009)

With no space for nuance in this poll it's difficult. I don't hate him, but as a cycling personality, I don't much like him....


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## Panter (23 Jul 2009)

> There was an interesting story in C+ this month. Some bloke in the UK was diagnosed with cancer and told that a counsellor would call him in a couple of days. It turned out to be Lance, and he continued to call him on a monthly basis.
> 
> I know that doesn't make him any more special than those who give up their time voluntarily every week, but it's good to hear that celebrity hasn't taken him over.



I thought that was quite a remarkable story when I read it.



Uncle Mort said:


> I don't know him and have never met him, so I can't form an opinion about him really. I don't hate him though. Why would I?



It just seems to me that there are a lot of real haters out there, I'm not sure why either.
I think there is some element of truth to the post above, only real cycling fans hate Armstrong, but from all the reading I've done I don't really understand the hatred.

Anyway, it was never the intention to turn this into another Lance thread, I just wondered what the concensus was


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## RabbitFood (23 Jul 2009)

Hard to hate or dislike LA and I think anyone that gets over cancer should be looked on as a hero famous or not.

For me personally he was the reason I got into cycling and followed the TDF.

but since getting into cycling i find it is the cycling people that dont like him, strange.


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## ianrauk (23 Jul 2009)

I don't love the man, though I do admire him and I certainly do not hate him.


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## Paulus (23 Jul 2009)

As the last post, I really like him and I didn't give him much of a chance in this years TDF, but he is going really well, you have to admire him for that. GO WGGINS.


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## rich p (23 Jul 2009)

I find it quite easy to dislike him.
Many reasons but the EPO results from 98(?), his lack of condemnation of drug use and users, his shabby treatment of Bertie (even a having another go at him last night about attacking on the Colombier), bullying of Simeoni, close friendship with Dr Ferrari ......blah, blah, blah.......


But not hate - too strong


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## zacklaws (23 Jul 2009)

The sad thing about it all is whether you like or hate the man, one day everyone on the planet may be gratefull to him and his foundation along with all other cancer research projects for beating cancer. May not be our generation, or the next but one day it will happen and our descendents will live in a better world, who will be thankful. And then they will read the history books and try to understand why he could be hated so much, but did so much for the world.


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## rich p (23 Jul 2009)

zacklaws said:


> The sad thing about it all is whether you like or hate the man, one day everyone on the planet may be gratefull to him and his foundation along with all other cancer research projects for beating cancer. May not be our generation, or the next but one day it will happen and our descendents will live in a better world, who will be thankful. And then they will read the history books and try to understand why he could be hated so much, but did so much for the world.



Oh, come on! Cancer Research and many other charities do and have done a trillion times more to beat cancer.
I'm notknocking LA's work but get it in proportion!


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## MacB (23 Jul 2009)

I voted hate because he's a manipulative, scheming, cheating, bottom feeder of the lowest order


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## johnnyh (23 Jul 2009)

a trillion times more... and then you attack someone elses sense of proportion... c'mon


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## Bigtwin (23 Jul 2009)

rich p said:


> Oh, come on! Cancer Research and many other charities do and have done a trillion times more to beat cancer.
> *I'm notknocking LA's work* but get it in proportion!




Really? Sounds awfully like it.


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## johnnyh (23 Jul 2009)

MacBludgeon said:


> I voted hate because he's a manipulative, scheming, cheating, bottom feeder of the lowest order



he speaks very highly of you...


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## rich p (23 Jul 2009)

johnnyh said:


> a trillion times more... and then you attack someone elses sense of proportion... c'mon



Fair cop, Johnny!
In terms of money spent on research it's probably only billions!


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## rich p (23 Jul 2009)

Bigtwin said:


> Really? Sounds awfully like it.



Does it? I merely said one needs to get it in proportion. Future generations will have other people to thank first.


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## johnnyh (23 Jul 2009)

I reckon we should have another poll...

Lance Haters - Do you

a) love 'em
B) enjoy a good argument with 'em 
c) hate 'em (such an ugly word )

d) feel sorry for them and hope they find peace and happiness one day


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## rich p (23 Jul 2009)

johnnyh said:


> I reckon we should have another poll...
> 
> Lance Haters - Do you
> 
> ...



Not (d) I intend to remain bitter and twisted for ever


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## zimzum42 (23 Jul 2009)

When I answer a question like this I only consider him as a cyclist, his cancer work etc doesn't enter into it at all...


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## Chuffy (23 Jul 2009)

I wonder what the people who love him base their judgement on? After all, they don't know him any better than the haters....


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## Hont (23 Jul 2009)

You need more categories in the voting list. I would like to vote "admire/slightly dislike" ;-) 

I admire many aspects of what he has achieved, but as a person (as much as you can know anyone you don't _know_) he appears to me to be arrogant - the "I would have kicked their asses" comment, the constant reminders that he has won 7 tours (really? Have you Lance? I had forgotten that since yesterday, when you last mentioned it).

He is certainly not all bad, but my opinion of him has lowered since he retired. Maybe all that hob-nobbing with the Hollywood set has made him forget who he is. I don't recall him being so arrogant before he retired, but then maybe when he was winning being able to back it up and no-one being able to challenge him made it look less arrogant. Dunno.

Has anyone else gone off him since retirement?


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## Will1985 (23 Jul 2009)

rich p said:


> his shabby treatment of Bertie (even a having another go at him last night about attacking on the Colombier)


That was a retweet of something that Leipheimer posted. Attacking was a stupid move though.


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## GrumpyGregry (23 Jul 2009)

Comeback in the TdF in his late 30's? Got more balls than me.


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## Chuffy (23 Jul 2009)

GrumpyGreg said:


> Comeback in the TdF in his late 30's? Got more balls than me.


That would make you a eunuch then.


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## Dayvo (23 Jul 2009)

I was living in Oslo in 1993 during the cycling world championships. It was before I had an interest in cycling, but remember him winning.

The next I heard about him was when he was diagnosed with cancer. I casually followed his recovery and rehabilitation, and became more interested in him, and cycling, after his first tour victory.

Obviously I din't know the man, but I admire him and like him for the person I see him to be. 

And he's in my fantasy TdeF team!


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## ComedyPilot (23 Jul 2009)

Don't know him so can't love or hate him. I like bike racing so can't be neutral, so have opted for love in the absence of 'like him'


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## Bigtwin (23 Jul 2009)

ComedyPilot said:


> Don't know him so can't love or hate him. I like bike racing so can't be neutral, so have opted for love in the absence of 'like him'



Yeah yeah yeah - you opted for man-love. Simple as.


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## Flying_Monkey (24 Jul 2009)

Admire him in some ways, not in others; don't like his public persona at all, but I don't know him personally so no idea what he's 'really' like.


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## mickle (24 Jul 2009)

As a bollock cancer survivor myself I find the 'hero' tag more than a little preposterous. One does what one needs to do to survive. I do however think he was a bit of an idiot leaving it until it was the size of a watermelon before he took it to the Dr.

For the record, I think he is a bit of a twat and yet I admire him immensely for his achievements. And I really, really hope he wins the TdF, if only to piss off a whole nation of haters.


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## Chuffy (24 Jul 2009)

mickle said:


> And I really, really hope he wins the TdF, if only to piss off a whole nation of haters.


What, the French? 

Yello, another lamb to the slaughter for you...


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## johnnyh (24 Jul 2009)

they don't hate him chap, it is just they really love him dearly but are not comfortable to be seen as such.


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## peanut (24 Jul 2009)

poor guy can't fart without someone critisising him I don't know how he can cope with such intense media scrutiny every second whilst he is trying to compete competively in the hardest race in the world with a team that clearly isn't supporting him


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## yello (24 Jul 2009)

ah okay ... a team that "isn't supporting him".... right...


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## Chuffy (24 Jul 2009)

yello said:


> ah okay ... a team that "isn't supporting him".... right...


Which channel is this other TdF being shown on then?


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## Kirstie (24 Jul 2009)

He's an amazing person and with the personality and presence that he appears to have he is bound to polarise opinion. To me he's inspired a lot of people and has also done some good work to combat cancer.

My issue with him is that he is working in the pro peloton and using it to promote his charity fundraising agenda. I think he should keep the two seperate, because the individualised, charismatic and ultimately non-cycling agenda is bound to grate with and disrupt team and other individual performance agendas. It can't be an easy thing to manage if you are a DS.

Good luck to him though. He'll always be contraversial IMO.


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## accountantpete (24 Jul 2009)

I'm going down the Steve Davis route with Lance -hated him when he was winning everything but quite like and respect the guy now.


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## Chuffy (24 Jul 2009)

accountantpete said:


> I'm going down the Steve Davis route with Lance -hated him when he was winning everything but quite like and respect the guy now.


Interesting comparison. Steve Davis was one of my bugbears back in the days when I bothered with snooker. I always wanted one of the mavericks, a Jimmy White or an Alex Higgins, to beat him, but it rarely happened. He was so mechanical and precise, almost inhuman. Mind you, he always seemed like a nice chap and, so far as I know, never cheated.


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## asterix (25 Jul 2009)

Yeah, he's ok, I suppose. Prefer Wiggins.


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## mad al (25 Jul 2009)

Well to me he is a true cyclist who takes whatever whenever is thrown in his face


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## mad al (25 Jul 2009)

and as for Wiggs? He will be a force next time as I'm sure* they* are all aware of


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## dan_bo (25 Jul 2009)

peanut said:


> poor guy can't fart without someone critisising him *I don't know how he can cope with such intense media scrutiny every second* whilst he is trying to compete competively in the hardest race in the world with a team that clearly isn't supporting him



He copes because, every farty second his fizzog is on the telly, his value rises.


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## dan_bo (25 Jul 2009)

The poor bastard.


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## Crankarm (25 Jul 2009)

I like him. I've seen him racing and talking when interviewed on TV, I've read his books. That's as far as it goes, anything more would be creepy, stalking territory and enough grounds for a restraining order.


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## dan_bo (25 Jul 2009)

I quite like him as well, a bit like I like Richard Feynmann, but he had a better heart.


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## SimonRoberts0204 (26 Jul 2009)

Wow, a Richard Feynmann/Lance Armstrong comparison, what a rarity.

Armstrong would just about win on a bike, but Feynmann would kick Lances arse at Particle physics.....


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## kevin_cambs_uk (26 Jul 2009)

I have been a big fan, maybe because of what he went thru, but in the eighties I was a big fan of LeMond.

Glad he is back in the biking, certainly got me out of retirement and back on 2 wheels.

Does a hell of a lot for the cancer charity, can't think of any other sportsman who has done so much.


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## Noodley (26 Jul 2009)

kevin_cambs_uk said:


> Does a hell of a lot for the cancer charity, can't think of any other sportsman who has done so much.



...neither can he.


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## asterix (26 Jul 2009)

kevin_cambs_uk said:


> I have been a big fan, maybe because of what he went thru, but in the eighties I was a big fan of LeMond.
> 
> Glad he is back in the biking, certainly got me out of retirement and back on 2 wheels.
> 
> Does a hell of a lot for the cancer charity, can't think of any other sportsman who has done so much.



Let's not be forgetting Jane Tomlinson, eh? 



> Though terminally-ill with cancer, Jane Tomlinson raised more than £1.5 million for charity by running in three London Marathons, several triathlons and The Great North Run.
> Together with her brother she also cycled from John O'Groats to Land's End and from Rome to Leeds.





> She was also disappointed that a lack of interest from the US media meant she only raised £100,000, well short of her expectations.


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## yenrod (26 Jul 2009)

Lance Armstrong (and many like him) has been places not many of us have or will face.

...that has to deem respect.


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## Panter (26 Jul 2009)

Did bloody well in the Tour didn't he 

Mind you, he had a face like thunder on that podium 
I suspect that his understanding of race placings goes 1st, not 1st, not 1st, not 1st..........


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## Chuffy (26 Jul 2009)

yenrod said:


> Lance Armstrong (and many like him) has been places not many of us have or will face.
> 
> ...that has to deem respect.


I've been to Ilfracombe. Have you?


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## Noodley (26 Jul 2009)

yenrod said:


> Lance Armstrong (and many like him) has been places not many of us have or will face.
> 
> ...that has to deem respect.



Kristin?
Sharon?
or
Anna?


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## Noodley (26 Jul 2009)

My final word(s) on him:

Ungracious bairny cock


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## Blue (27 Jul 2009)

I think the LA detractors on this forum are much more up their own arses than LA, or anyone else.

Anyone who makes 3rd on the Tour deserves respect. To make 3rd at this stage of his life gives a good two fingers to the critics.


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## mangaman (27 Jul 2009)

Not a real Lance fan myself - but great to to see Contador win.

IMHO the best three week stage racer we've seen since Mercz (Lance only ever one tour - Alberto's won all 3 )

Still a great ride by a 38 year old to finish 3rd though - although I'm still amazed by Brad and Cav's berformenses. The Uk were the top country in the tour !!!!!!


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## Radius (27 Jul 2009)

Panter said:


> I suspect that his understanding of race placings goes 1st, not 1st, not 1st, not 1st..........



I think you're right, and that's one of the reasons I admire him, or at least am slightly in awe of his 'drive'. Think he might be slightly 'mad' though, but still respect him as a cyclist.


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## asterix (27 Jul 2009)

Having read some of the more fawning comments of the admirers, I have changed my mind and voted to hate the guy.


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## Bigtwin (27 Jul 2009)

Well, this thread has certainly been an eye-opener so far as the mean-spiritedness of some people goes.

To find ways of having a pop at him for his charity work takes a really "special" attitude.

I wonder what the sum total of those people's efforts and achievements in that direction is - roughly fick all I would suspect.


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## Chuffy (27 Jul 2009)

Bigtwin said:


> Well, this thread has certainly been an eye-opener so far as the mean-spiritedness of some people goes.


Ah, so the proper options for the poll should have been 'grovelling admirer' or 'sick twisted bastard' then? Obviously questioning His sanctity puts you beyond the pale...


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## dellzeqq (27 Jul 2009)

L'Equipe's headline yesterday was 'Chapeau Le Texan'. Looks like he's won some of them over...


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## Crankarm (27 Jul 2009)

dellzeqq said:


> L'Equipe's headline yesterday was 'Chapeau Le Texan'. Looks like he's won some of them over...



That's because the French have had two Brits ride into their Tour and do very very well, enough for them to pull their baguettes out of Lance and stick them into Cav and Wiggo.


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## Chuffy (27 Jul 2009)

Crankarm said:


> That's because the French have had two Brits ride into their Tour and do very very well, enough for them to pull their baguettes out of Lance and stick them into Cav and Wiggo.


I can hear Yello starting to twitch...

Interestingly, one rider who the French never really liked much (because he was arrogant, aloof and apparently invincible) was a chap called Anquetil. IIRC (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) he wasn't American or British...


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## Noodley (27 Jul 2009)

dellzeqq said:


> L'Equipe's headline yesterday was 'Chapeau Le Texan'. Looks like he's won some of them over...



Is 'chapeau' the new French word for 'stone'?


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## asterix (27 Jul 2009)

Bigtwin said:


> Well, this thread has certainly been an eye-opener so far as the mean-spiritedness of some people goes.
> 
> To find ways of having a pop at him for his charity work takes a really "special" attitude.
> 
> *I wonder what the sum total of those people's efforts and achievements in that direction is - roughly fick all I would suspect*.




Not so my friend: within the year to date I have effectively given a good three-quarters of my pre-tax income to good causes. Not something I can afford to do every year, admittedly, else I would need to swap my small 25 year-old caravan for a cardboard box


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## Chuffy (27 Jul 2009)

Perhaps someone should tell Bertie about all the great charridee work Lance does?


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## Crackle (27 Jul 2009)

Chuffy said:


> Perhaps someone should tell Bertie about all the great charridee work Lance does?



Perhaps Bertie could donate a couple of legs to Lance?


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## Chuffy (27 Jul 2009)

Crackle said:


> Perhaps Bertie could donate a couple of legs to Lance?


I think it might take more than that...
He's a tough b*stard is Bertie! I think he smells a bit, but he did well to cope with the whole situation.*


















* - unless he was smoking _really_ big spliffs in between stages.


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## Flying_Monkey (28 Jul 2009)

Sorry, but Lance is a complete twat.

His last twitter message on Contador was pure corporate bullshit and apparently said with no sense of irony, 'hey, pistolero, there is no 'I' in team'... hmm, well, last time I looked there is no 'I' is 'arrogant self-gratification artist' either.

Oh, and this after Armstrong had not attended the post-TdF Astana team celebration dinner, instead chosing to dine with RadioShack execs. What a team-player! 

I am not surprised Contador says there is 'zero' relationship between them.


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## zimzum42 (28 Jul 2009)

FFS, you seem to be missing the point! It doesn't matter how much of a knobber you are, do a couple of turns for chariddee and you're a good bloke!
Maybe Jim Davidson should try it!


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## nosherduke996 (28 Jul 2009)

Lance is the best rider thats been around for years. No matter what people think of his attitude, you cant knock him for what he has done for cycling.He is a LEGEND thats why everybody wants to see him get beat.
Its the same for the Tiger Woods and co of this world.


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## borsuk (28 Jul 2009)

i think armstrong has more than a streak of arrogance and selfishness, bordering on the obsessive, but that's hardly unique amongst grand tour champions. contador is pretty similar and the list of similar champions is long.

great riders who are also nice guys are rare beasts - indurain, perhaps. merckx, maybe. but you'll find plenty who see those as arrogant and cold. to win a grand tour you have to dominate your rivals and boss the peloton - that requires a certain demeanour.

armstrong certainly has that demeanour but i also think armstrong is capable of acts of great warmth and humanity, and can display an impressive modesty. his comments on contador's win and performance this year were extraordinarily gracious, i thought.

people are complex and confusing, they defy easy categorisation; lumping them into good/bad buckets is just a way to avoid really thinking about them. and those who excel in any particular field often show extreme or exaggerated characteristics. armstrong is very much of that type.


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## Noodley (28 Jul 2009)

borsuk said:


> his comments on contador's win and performance this year were extraordinarily gracious, i thought.


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## Chuffy (28 Jul 2009)

Noodley said:


>


Well, he managed to make us aware of a few facts, such as Bertie being the strongest rider. I'm sure none of us realised that previously. Thanks Lance! 

I think the phrase 'bare minimum' comes to mind in regard to LA's comments on Bertie's performance.


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## borsuk (28 Jul 2009)

Chuffy said:


> Well, he managed to make us aware of a few facts, such as Bertie being the strongest rider. I'm sure none of us realised that previously. Thanks Lance!
> 
> I think the phrase 'bare minimum' comes to mind in regard to LA's comments on Bertie's performance.



oh, i think that's quite churlish. after all, whatever you think of armstrong i think his comments go quite a bit further than 'bare minimum':

_"I think this year's performance would have beaten my performances in 2001, 2004 and 2005," said Armstrong.

"Contador is that good, so I don't see how I would have been higher than that, even in the other years."_


it would have been easy to throw in something about the broken collarbone, something along the lines of 'better... this time' and so on. credit where it's due, what else could armstrong have said?

i suppose there's no satisfying some.


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## Chuffy (28 Jul 2009)

borsuk said:


> oh, i think that's quite churlish. after all, whatever you think of armstrong i think his comments go quite a bit further than 'bare minimum':
> 
> _"I think this year's performance would have beaten my performances in 2001, 2004 and 2005," said Armstrong.
> 
> ...


Fair enough, I hadn't seen those particular comments. However, I still think that the way Bertie was treated, both by Armstrong and Bruyneel, was shabby, to say the least, and displayed a massive lack of respect for a triple GT winner who has won stuff that LA never even came close to. You don't have to dislike the man specifically to see that his attitude to Bertie was...not so great. Interesting also that LA thinks he can come back and win, now that he's got a season's racing under his belt. Does he think that Bertie won't come back or does he think that Bertie will fall foul of the 'post Team LA' curse that seems to have blighted Hamilton, Heras and Landis?


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## Crackle (28 Jul 2009)

I think he thinks if he has a team to limit the damage he's got a chance and on the strength of a 3rd place at 37, I'd have to grudgingly agree. Of course that assumes everyone else stands still but there are some riders who are only going to get better. I thought this year that those few tenths of a second may be the closest Armstrong got to getting yellow again.


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## Chuffy (28 Jul 2009)

Crackle said:


> I think he thinks if he has a team to limit the damage he's got a chance and on the strength of a 3rd place at 37, I'd have to grudgingly agree. Of course that assumes everyone else stands still but there are some riders who are only going to get better. I thought this year that those few tenths of a second may be the closest Armstrong got to getting yellow again.


He's got the Schlecks to contend with as well and as for a team to limit the damage, well I don't think you could argue that Astana weren't busting a gut on his behalf this time round. This was his best chance and it wasn't to be. Pretty much all there is to say really.


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## borsuk (28 Jul 2009)

i think crackle is right. if astana goes under, as seems pretty certain, then it's unlikely contador will have the kind of train he had this year next time around. and we all know armstrong is the biggest name in terms of pulling in sponsors. contador is the better rider, no doubt about it, but i think armstrong's preparation must have been hampered by his fall and injury. properly prepared and with a better team behind him than contador is likely to be able to get, i think armstrong will have a real chance next year


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## Hont (28 Jul 2009)

borsuk said:


> _"I think this year's performance would have beaten my performances in 2001, 2004 and 2005," said Armstrong._



I saw that quote and something has got mis-quoted there or Armstrong was confused. He pissed all over everyone in 2001, and I've seen another quote from a while ago where he declared that year was his physical peak. 2003 on the other hand he nearly lost.


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## Hont (28 Jul 2009)

borsuk said:


> i think crackle is right. if astana goes under, as seems pretty certain, then it's unlikely contador will have the kind of train he had this year next time around. and we all know armstrong is the biggest name in terms of pulling in sponsors. contador is the better rider, no doubt about it, but i think armstrong's preparation must have been hampered by his fall and injury. properly prepared and with a better team behind him than contador is likely to be able to get, i think armstrong will have a real chance next year



Not too sure I agree there. Astana with Vino back will have fewer problems retaining their Kasakh sponsors. Armstrong's team will have to start from scratch, so there will be certain riders they want but won't be able to get because of contracts. They will also have to have a high proportion of US riders as Radio Shack is very much a US company. Contador, on the other hand, will make sure that whatever team he is on they are all behind him, unlike this year.


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## Will1985 (28 Jul 2009)

Hont said:


> They will also have to have a high proportion of US riders as Radio Shack is very much a US company.


Not necessarily. That is only going to apply to the American continental teams from next season. A team like Radio Shack with the kind of draw that they have will be as international as many others (assuming their ProTour application is approved). Garmin has 13/28 Americans but only 5/28 don't have English as a mother tongue.

It is likely to draw from a wide range of nationalities and all chosen for specific attributes. No doubt some of the Trek-Livestrong riders will be brought across.


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## Crankarm (28 Jul 2009)

Will Team Radioshack be immune to any interference..........

Maybe they'll be too busy jammin' to notice.....





.


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## Hont (28 Jul 2009)

Will1985 said:


> A team like Radio Shack with the kind of draw that they have will be as international as many others



I was referring to the sponsor. Radio Shack the company (not the new cycling team) has no outlets in Europe, so it's likely it will want to hire as many Americans as possible to generate interest in the team in the US. I know Lance will generate a lot of it, but he can't participate in every race.


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## Noodley (28 Jul 2009)

Hont said:


> ...but he can't participate in every race.




If he's hankering after the good ole days, he'll only be participating in one


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## mattsccm (28 Jul 2009)

Must admit I find him irritating . I don't like the mass media's labels of him being the greatest cyclist of all time when it's based on purely tour victories. Don't disagree that his is good but I reckon that many of the tour wins were a result of a great team, not just ability. the later the win the more I think this. No if he had won all those tours having done a full season of racing like Merckx had done? I think that this means that he has a profile that does not reflect his real ability. n
Must admit he also come across as a stereotypical american in his mannerisms which to me is annoying. I a


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## harryhead (1 Aug 2009)

absolutely a lover..


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## dellzeqq (1 Aug 2009)

Crankarm said:


> Will Team Radioshack be immune to any interference..........
> 
> Maybe they'll be too busy jammin' to notice.....
> 
> ...


hang your head in shame Mr. Crankarm!


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## Skip Madness (1 Aug 2009)

dellzeqq said:


> hang your head in shame Mr. Crankarm!


I thought it was a good joke - but then I'm much more tuned-in to his sense of humour.


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## kennykool (4 Aug 2009)

I think I love him!!!!!!


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