Mister Tour de France returns to cycling!!!
benny
Posts: 1,314
in General Chat
How about that. It was all in the news here in Belgium two days ago: Lance Armstrong returns to Tour de France in 2009 to take the infinite EIGHT victory!!!
The man is addicted to structure, fame and victory. Will he be able to pull it off?
Now that would be a full size stunt, wouldn't it! Maybe this will light aspark to the TdF, which was mostly about riding defensive last years.(not all,but mostly).
The man is addicted to structure, fame and victory. Will he be able to pull it off?
Now that would be a full size stunt, wouldn't it! Maybe this will light aspark to the TdF, which was mostly about riding defensive last years.(not all,but mostly).
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another interesting point is that landis is also rumoured to be making a return in 2009...wonder what sort of shape he'll be in...and surely a GC contender (even without "artificial help")??!
How about CSC, where not only the chiefs are able to compete for podium place. Could be that Astana is becoming a team with too much leaders, but that isn't necesarily a bad thing, is it??
And , I believe Armstrong can manage without help in the mountains too.
Defo gonna be worth watching!!!
Maybe his return will force some real action.
Lets hope so
Be great to see him return. I reckon he ought to create his own team.
Also interesting to read of Armstrong's plans to make his dope testing results public. Whatever he maintains in public, it's clear that doping allegations still rankle beneath the surface.
That said, I've never fully trusted the guy. Call me a cynic, but I still have difficulty believing the human body can come back from that sort of medical trauma to win so many TdFs unassisted, when one race would kill most people. I love cycling but given that the likes of Merckxx and Anquetil openly alluded to their drug use decades ago, it's hard to believe that things have changed. The cleverest dopers have always and will always be one step ahead of the authorities, twas ever thus. Why not just legalise the whole thing?
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tjennings - have I just understood what your saying? !!
As an athlete I will always, along with thousands of others, strive for clean sport.
Yes, cycling has had a bad reputation, worse than a lot of other sports, but there are people trying to make sure that cheats are ousted and disqualified from competition.
Having worked in a department that treats problems related to drug addiction, seeing the devestation it can cause to the individual, family and friends I feel that was a very irresponsible comment to make, this is an open forum free for all to read - including the possibility of young, impressionable minds, who may not sense you may be being ironic!
[color=#990000]"Armstrong's plans to make his dope testing results public. Whatever he maintains in public, it's clear that doping allegations still rankle beneath the surface."[/color]
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[color=#990000][color=#000000]And they do because of the on going cycnacism like this - the guy is trying his best to be as open and honest as possible - what more can he do?? What more do people want from him - blood?? Oh, hang on, he's offering that one already....!!![/color][/color]
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[color=#990000][color=#000000]Sorry everyone else, but some of the above comments really hit a nerve.[/color]
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I still don't believe Lance, though.
He got cancer and survived. This experience fortified him, and he went out all guns blazing (excuse the Texan metaphors) to prove to himself and to spite those who turned their backs on him (European pro peleton), and he won le Tour.
He was intelligent enough to see that there is a simple formula to achieveing this (strong team, event focused programme, specific training & absolute control over the team) and ruthless enough to see it through (winners are not nice guys). As long as the athlete in question has the engine (vO2 max) and a bit of luck he will do it. Lance was also intelligent enough to see the inter-nicean strife of all other teams (as they jostle against each other for a new contract) and he nailed it year after year.
CSC learned from him and look what they did this year.
But... I agree he is not charismatic but he is a winner
Lance is a legend.
Some people say he's doing it the pharmaceutical way, some say not.
I think they all do it this way, but HE keeps winning it!!!
Thats an average of 46.22/hour.
here's a link to the article:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/cycling/2008-11-02-armstrong-race_N.htm?csp=34
Now that is so [:@][]. Let the man race, let's see if he can win it again, or who is better. Wouldn't be more than fair I think.
On the other hand,Johan Bruyneelnoted that Armstrong is great under pressure, he needs it to perform at his best. Maybe a clever move, or not....
Anyone heard more about this???
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/27793457/
Its like the big press conference to announce a withdrawal from public life..some what contradictory & almost bound to have the opposite effect.
[:'(]