Did you see Lance destroying Jan Ullrich today? Man, that was impressive. Isn´t he from Austin? Although I respect Armstrong for beating cancer and being a great athlete, his team, US Postal, are a bunch of liars. Today wasn´t the first time they cheated all the other teams. Saying they lost contact to Armstrong when he was suffering his way up to the Col du Madelaine. I think that´s not the way it should be. THey should drive fair and Armstrong could still win the tour. ------------------ What do you expect from someone who beats up his fiancee?
Who is showing coverage of that? I've been checking The Daily Peleton every hour, but they still don't have any updates! How much time has Lance made up? ------------------ This space left intentionally blank...
Not driving fair? It's all tactics my man. Lance played Telekom like they were his teammates and bluffed the peleton into thinking that he was suffering early on. Perfect move by Lance. Lance won the stage by 2 minutes over Ullrich with Joseba Beloki in 3rd another 10" back and Christophe Moreau another 30". He's still 4th overall, though, 20 minutes behind Francois Simon, 8 behind Andrei Kivilev, and 2 behind the leader of the past week in Stuart O'grady (who "only" lost 33' today). Check letour.fr/2001/us/ or cyclingnews.com for more updates....those of you with OLN on cable can watch it live in the mornings from France. ------------------
They obviously had a pretty clever tactic, but what I´m talking about is the fact that US Postal has pissed off several other teams as well. THings like attacking at catering stations or lying to the French TV. ------------------ What do you expect from someone who beats up his fiancee?
They haven't pissed off other teams; there was an article directly from one of the US Postal riders the other day either on Lance Armstrong's own site or CyclingNews that detailed the good relations they have with all of the top teams - ONCE, Kelme, etc. They aren't endeared to the French fans because they left off a Frenchman from their team in Cedric Vasseur (who had several gutty performances in past tours) in favor of a Norweigan named Steffen Kjaagaard. They haven't lied to the press. And they didn't attack at the food zone - that was the ONCE team. They had to move to the front (as the team of the 2 time defending champ) to try and control the tempo. This, also, is detailed in a recent article from a rider on another team - the famed Johan Museeuw...http://www.cyclingnews.com/results/2001/tour01/museeuw1.shtml#9 ------------------
The French just don't like an American coming over and owning their asses again. Heck, they would be speaking German if it weren't for us, and they can't stand it. The French are a weak nation, bunch of wine drinking panzies with hairy women. BAH This message brought to you by the John Rocker fanclub....lol ------------------ How long do I have to endure this ?
Tactics my ass! That was the DEVIL chasing him up the Alp de Huez!!! ------------------ This space left intentionally blank... [This message has been edited by mr_oily (edited July 18, 2001).]
Mfclark - I read an article in a (well German) quality paper that tackled the food zone issue and pointed out several other unfair moves by usps. The article closes with the line: "The next time Armstrong stops to take a pee, the peleton might think of attacking him". ... Eurosport reported that us postal´s director talked with the french tv during the second climb and told them they had lost contact to armstrong and didn´t know what was going on. It´s a good tactic but not the truth. But Armstrong deserved the win. It uses to tick me off to see Armstrong or Pantani pulling away from Ullrich in crunch time. And Ullrich is just sitting there and doing nothing - that´s what it looks like. ------------------ What do you expect from someone who beats up his fiancee?
Well, they did lose contact - Lance's radio wasn't working during the entire race. He dropped back a couple of times to the team car and had a couple of teammates, so he wasn't entirely cut off - but his radio was a source of concern all day. And, the Euro papers will write anything to stir up controversy. If you believe what the Germans and British write duting the tour, then Lance is doped up on drugs and there's no way that he's worthy of anything he accomplishes. Fact is, they cannot prove anything and are resorting to making excuses. And I'll take the word of a neutral party in Museeuw over the German paper anyday. Remember - they've got Ullrich to prop up in the limelight against Lance and will do anything to protect his image in Germany. ------------------
I don't know the details of the accusations, but cycling is a psychological sport as well as a physical sport. I agree with mfclark, I don't think that the feeding zone thing is true... but, for the sake of argument, lets say he was lying about the radio malfunction. It's psychological, not physical. Bluffing isn't cheating! Athletes in every sport do things to gain the mental edge. Basketball players talk trash and baseball pitchers throw at the batters. No one calls that cheating because it is the mental game. Can you imagine how demoralized Ullrich must be? He spent a grueling day thinking he was stronger than Lance and then out of nowhere he was dropped! Lance also attacked today on an exceptionally steep grade that allowed him to gain on the heavier Ullrich. Is that cheating too? Lance is a vicious competitor. This is from the LeTour web site: "As he attacked he turned around into Ullrich's face. What Armstrong said, gestured or stared, we might never know; it was a private moment between two rivals." ------------------ The Rocket Guy "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." -Neil Armstrong
Mr. Oily... check out the US LeTour site: http://www.letour.com/2001/us/index.html During the race they give up to the minute info on attacks, etc. If you select GAPS, there is a little app that shows you the location of all the riders w/ times for the separation gaps. I can't get it to automatically update so I have to keep closing it and reopening it every time I want to see what is going on. Also, Chris Carmichael's commentary is pretty interesting. Lots of detailed stuff for someone like me who doesn't know much.
hi all i know jack about cycling, however i want to learn about tactics and team concept in cycling. and why in the papers i always see about a 1000 people finish with the same time. is there a link someone can give me or explain to me a bit about it. i always thought cycling was an individual thing thanks ------------------
"Can you imagine how demoralized Ullrich must be? " What about me? ------------------ What do you expect from someone who beats up his fiancee?
Most excellent! Thanks very much Doctor Robert! ------------------ This space left intentionally blank...
GO LANCE GO!! http://www.runawayshoes.com rH ------------------ Updated: The Psychedelic Groove House of Rockets Basketball Love! join the club! Rockets Psychedelic Groove House Club on Yahoo! Stop annoying X10 ads!
This letour sight ROCKS! I can't get any work done today! refresh...refresh...refresh...refresh... ------------------ This space left intentionally blank...
