Lance. Are you a lover, hater or neutral?

[borsuk]

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.

 

[Noodley]

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

 

[Chuffy]

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.

 

[borsuk]

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.

 

[Chuffy]

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.

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?

 

[Crackle]

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.

 

[Chuffy]

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.

 

[borsuk]

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

 

[Hont]

"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.

 

[Hont]

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.

 

[Will1985]

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.

 

[Crankarm]

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

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





.

 

[Hont]

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.

 

[Noodley]

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

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

 

[mattsccm]

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