The bastards should be held back from the rider. It's BS that they are allowed right in the biker's face. SPitting on him is just terrible. The people should be fined.
if that's what living in the north looks like, than there's a good reason for it!! my dad spent a year in cleveland as a kid. as he said, "when you wake up in cleveland, that's as good as it gets all day long!"
I was listening to a sports talk radio show and they were discussing the top 25 athletes of our generation. Eventually Lance Armstrong was mentioned and a well known cycling "expert" called in and they had him on for about 30 minutes. I don't remember his name but the way Mike and the Mad Dog described him was the "Chris Mortensen of Cycling" so to speak. I found it interesting that he said that Lance Armstrong isn't even the best cyclist in the world. He said that what Lance does with the Tour De France (which he noted WAS the toughest event cycling has to offer), in terms of winning it year after year, is no different than if a guy like Brad Faxon were to play the same course for 6 months leading up to a tournament and only concentrate on winning that particular event. He said this is sort of what Armstrong does. He went on to say that there are a few guys who, in the cycling world, are seen as better all around cyclists than Lance but they compete in so many events that they cannot financially/logistically put the time in to the Tour de France that Lance does. I don't know the first thing about the sport, but i found the guys take to be pretty interesting.
When I was living just off the strand in Newport Beach, I traveled to Chicago a lot on business. I went to a huge festival at a park there in (what I thought) was the middle of the summer. Everyone looked like they had just come out of hibernation. No one had a tan ... no, make that no one had any tan. White as sheets.
That "expert" is full of of it. If there were a better cyclist, he would have dedicated his life to compete in the Tour de France. It's the Mecca of cycling.Besides other things, if he wins, he can make 10 of millions $ a year. He talked as if there are better BB players than MJ but they don't play in the NBA, they only like to compete in college or Europe and such. Pathetic.
No he actually didn't mention any other sport. Does anyone know whether or not Armstrong does, in fact, compete in other events? Also, he can proably only make the millions each year if he is sponsored by Nike, as is Lance....unless they pay the winner a boatload of money which I have no idea about.
Hmmm. There may be some truth to what he said, but I would be surprised if anyone disagreed with the Tour being classified as the premiere cycling event. So it would be more like Faxon winning the Masters/US Open/British Open/PGA every year. Lance DOES compete in other races. And in golf, the best players do schedule around and try to peak for the majors. His analogy has holes. I think it's a crock to claim that these guys wouldn't do everything in their power to win the Tour. You win it and you're set financially. Companies gladly unerwrite these teams because of the incredible exposure.
Lance's 2002 events (cannot find 2003): 2002 Milan San Remo - 44th Criterium International - 2nd Paris-Camembert - 75th Tour Flanders - 59th Amstel Gold - 4th Midi Libre - 1st Dauphine - 1st Tour De France - 1st ~ 12-14 - LAF Ride for the Roses Weekend - Austin, TX
I actually think he said Faxon preparing for a major when he did his analogy but regardless... Do you know if Armstrong wins those other events? Is he a 4 time winner of the Tour de whatever? Just curious.
Race log... ______________ • 17h14 - Kloden Lead By 75m Kloden has an impressive lead on Landis, Armstrong, Ullrich and Basso. There are 500m to go and it looks like the German champion will win the 17th stage... . • 17h15 - Lance Wins Again! Lance has chased down Kloden and won the stage! The yellow jersey caught the German champion in the final 25m to win his 4th stage this year. . • 17h17 - Armstrong The Unstoppable... It doesn't matter if it's a climb, a time trial or a sprint, Lance is unstoppable this year. He has just taken the lead away from Kloden in the closing 25 meter of the 204.5km 17th stage. We await confirmation of the minor places but it seems that Ullrich was third, Basso fourth and Landis fifth. . • 17h20 - The Top 10 In Stage 17 The top 10 in the 17th stage of the 2004 Tour is: 1. Lance Armmstrong (USP) 204.5km in 6h11'52" (32.995km/h) 2. Andreas Kloden (TMO) at st 3. Jan Ullrich (TMO) at 01" 4. Ivan Basso (CSC) at 01" 5. Floyd Landis (USP) at 13" 6. Axel Merckx (LOT) at 1'01" 7. Levi Leipheimer (RAB) at 1'01" 8. Carlos Sastre (CSC) at 1'02" 9. Mickael Rasmussen (RAB) at 1'02" 10. Georg Totschnig (GST) at 1'02" . • 17h29 - The Top 10 Overall After Stage 17 After the 17th stage of the 2004 Tour de France, the top of the general classification is: 1. Lance Armstrong (USP) 3,006.6km in 74h04'56" (40.573km/h) 2. Ivan Basso (CSC) at 4'09" 3. Andreas Kloden (TMO) at 5'11" 4. Jan Ullrich (TMO) at 8'08" 5. Jose Azevedo (USP) at 10'41" 6. Francisco Mancebo (IBB) at 11'45" 7. Georg Totschnig (GST) at 12'56" 8. Carlos Sastre (CSC) at 15'14" 9. Leivi Leipheimer (RAB) at 16'25" 10. Pietro Caucchioli (ALB) at 16'33" .
Lets say that next year is Armstrongs last......are either Hincapie or Landis capable of being the main guy after that? Or do they just join another team and support somebody else? Or does Discovery bring on an American like Hamilton, Julich, or Leipheimer?
Armstrong a step closer to record sixth Tour title July 22, 2004 SportsLine.com wire reports LE GRAND-BORNAND, France -- With an amazing final burst of speed, Lance Armstrong won the 17th stage of the Tour de France on Thursday, extending his overall lead as he marches toward a record sixth straight title. The stage win was Armstrong's third in three days and fourth at this Tour -- matching his previous best. The Texan could get a fifth stage win at a time trial on Saturday. Armstrong, distinctive in his overall leader's yellow jersey, launched himself into top gear within sight of the line to sprint past German champion Andreas Kloden, winning by inches. "No gifts this year," the five-time champion said. "I want to win." Even Armstrong seemed to find his victory hard to believe. A wide smile on his face, he jubilantly thrust his fists into the air as he zoomed past Kloden, who had seemed destined to win until Armstrong found the extra burst of speed. The win, coming at the end of one of the hardest mountain stages this year, gave Armstrong bonus seconds that extended his overall lead on Italian Ivan Basso. German Jan Ullrich was third in the sprint, followed by Basso. Both in the mountains and, on Thursday, in a sprint, Armstrong has been in a different class than his rivals. His lead of four minutes and nine seconds over Basso should easily carry him through to the podium in Paris on Sunday. By the end of the final climb Thursday, just Basso, Kloden and Ullrich had managed to stay with Armstrong and his teammate Floyd Landis, who worked tirelessly to steer his leader up the ascent. At the summit, Armstrong reached an arm over to Landis and gave him the green light to try to win. The finish was eight miles away, at the end of a long speedy descent from the climb. "I spoke to Floyd at the summit and asked him, 'How fast are you in the descent?' He said, 'Very, very quick,' and I said, 'Go! go!'" Armstrong said. Landis zoomed away but was quickly caught by Ullrich, which prompted Armstrong to catch up, followed by Basso and Kloden. The five riders jostled for position as they sped through the final corners leading to the finish at Le Grand-Bornand in the Alps. As the line neared, Kloden suddenly spurted ahead and the stage seemed his. But for Armstrong, the chance for another victory at his favorite race was simply too hard to pass up. With one final glance over his shoulder, he rocketed off in pursuit and found just enough speed to edge Kloden at the line. "The Tour de France is so special," Armstrong said. "My form is super." Armstrong dedicated his win to Landis, who rode strongly for his leader Thursday but finished last in the sprint. "I really wanted him to win the stage," the Texan said. Armstrong now has 20 individual stage victories. He also has two collective wins, taking the team time trial with his U.S. Postal Service squad both this year and last. The other years when Armstrong won four stages in a single Tour were 1999, his first victory after a comeback from cancer, and in 2001 and 2002. AP NEWS The Associated Press News Service
