Armstrong: 2008 Tour "A Joke"

[John the Monkey]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/ar...-joke-of-a-tour/2009/06/26/1245961404480.html

in a new book, Lance Armstrong - The World's Greatest Champion, Armstrong makes it very clear he believes that, had he still been racing, he would have won the Tour again

....

In the book, Armstrong also reveals the strength of his belief that his winning days are far from over.


"I'll kick their asses," he told author John Wilcockson in a conversation soon after last year's Tour while discussing his planned comeback. "The Tour was a bit of a joke this year. I've got nothing against Sastre … or Christian Vande Velde. Christian's a nice guy, but finishing fifth in the Tour de France? Come on!"


Armstrong also reveals his anger for the way in which the US television network Versus covered the Tour, and how it portrayed his sixth and seventh Tours in 2004 and 2005.


"They had this 'Take back the Tour' campaign, as if the past Tours were all won by dopers. And I was pissed they had these references to Triki Beltran and Tyler Hamilton and Roberto Heras and Floyd Landis - all these guys who were once on my team [and have since served doping suspensions]."

(From a HUGE link round up by Cyclingfansanonymous - http://cyclingfansanonymous.blogspot.com/ - the Lemond article is also a good read, btw).

 

[Crackle]

The World's greatest champion: Sorry, not even the Tours.

Logically, I can't see him winning but it's the Tour........oh Damn, and I have to pick my fantasy team soon.

 

[John the Monkey]

If putting him in meant a guaranteed 1,000 points, I still couldn't bring myself to.

Confidence is one thing, being a complete ******* quite another.

 

[yello]

Maybe he will, maybe he wont. I personally think the more interesting story is just how Astana will balance the load.

 

[Losidan]

So with Contador, Leipheimer and the teflon texan in the squad for the tour will it be pistols at dawn to decide who the team are going to work for?

 

[simon_brooke]

"I'll kick their asses," he told author John Wilcockson in a conversation soon after last year's Tour while discussing his planned comeback.

What, like he did in this year's Giro, where Bradley Wiggins beat him up the hills?

Armstrong also reveals his anger for the way in which the US television network Versus covered the Tour, and how it portrayed his sixth and seventh Tours in 2004 and 2005.

"They had this 'Take back the Tour' campaign, as if the past Tours were all won by dopers. And I was pissed they had these references to Triki Beltran and Tyler Hamilton and Roberto Heras and Floyd Landis - all these guys who were once on my team [and have since served doping suspensions]."

Well, precisely... look at all the people who were riding for him in Postal and Discovery. I think George Hincapie is the only one who hasn't been caught doping. So what are we supposed to believe? The whole team was doping but Armstrong wasn't? Pull the other one, it has bells on.

 

[SheilaH]

So were all his adversaries.... look how many of them were done.

Why focus on him so much?

 

[Skip Madness]

Well, precisely... look at all the people who were riding for him in Postal and Discovery. I think George Hincapie is the only one who hasn't been caught doping.

Neither has José Azevedo, Viatcheslav Ekimov, José Luis Rubiera, Victor Hugo Peña, Steffen Kjærgaard or Benjamín Noval. Unless anyone can correct that.

 

[John the Monkey]

Why focus on him so much?

In what sense?

In a lot of ways, he places the focus on himself, with pronouncements on the 2008 tour, on how he's afraid of the crowd on the roads of the tour, on returning dopers like Hamilton et al, on his "essential" (and subsequently cancelled) anti-doping programme with Don Catlin &c &c.

His comments on Landis (equating him with Millar) demanded a response, as did the Don Catlin episode, which was ignored by the bulk of the press.

 

[SheilaH]

Why hound Armstrong with unproven allegations of doping? The contrast with Ullrich is the strongest... nobody ever cast suspicion on him, but as it stands, he was the doper and not Armstrong. Ditto Erik Zabel.


FWIW I'd be stunned if LA hadn't given himself a haemotological advantage over the years. Still a level above all the other dopers though.

 

[Aperitif]

haemotological advantage

as in "he'll needle the help he can get"...

Lance will be popping up in the 'Tea' thread next, asking Arch to knit him a blood test.

 

[Bigtwin]

Yadayadayada.

Come on then - who'd put up a grand against him?

Love him or hate him, when Lance says he's going to win something....he almost always does. With his record in the Tour, I think he's earned the right to be as cocky and pompous as he likes frankly.

 

[Chuffy]

Yadayadayada.

Come on then - who'd put up a grand against him?

Love him or hate him, when Lance says he's going to win something....he almost always does. With his record in the Tour, I think he's earned the right to be as cocky and pompous as he likes frankly.

He was just as much an peanut before he started winning stuff according to pretty much anyone who knew him back then. And you never earn the right to be an peanut. You either are one or you're not.

 

[Bigtwin]

according to pretty much anyone who knew him back then.

Oh right. You've spoken to all those people have you? Or is this just the people who pipe up to diss him in the media etc?

If you read his books he speaks candidly about his attitude and freely admits he's not bothered about much except winning.

Amazing how many people just can't stand someone who excels. He's not running for president of the world, he's doing some cycle races. And has spanked arses for years. Oh and done just a little bit through the Foundation too. But let's not let that get in the way of an armchair assassination.

 

[Chuffy]

Oh right. You've spoken to all those people have you? Or is this just the people who pipe up to diss him in the media etc?

If you read his books he speaks candidly about his attitude and freely admits he's not bothered about much except winning.

Amazing how many people just can't stand someone who excels. He's not running for president of the world, he's doing some cycle races. And has spanked arses for years. Oh and done just a little bit through the Foundation too. But let's not let that get in the way of an armchair assassination.

Whatever.