Is Lance pulling a Jordan?

[imported_Champ]

I would rather see him keep going then pull a barry Sanders...if you still have the potential to ahead of the pack, then keep going...when he no longer has it, then get out...but 3rd, he still has it in him

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: RadioHead84
I think it is fine that he is back....let him do what he wants..

I am just confused about what his goals are. He says he wants to just support and is not going for the win, but deep down you know he does want to win. I don't think he can win tho...He was out for too long and didn't train as much as he did before.

Contador is no slouch

pretty sure he said he'll be a team player and help his team if he's too far back towards the end of the race, however, if he is in a position to do something he will actually take a shot at a win...

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: CallMeJoe

Originally posted by: Syringer

Originally posted by: Mo0o
He'd be 2nd if catandor didnt do what he did. I think he's still competitive enough that its reasonable to come back for one more. For someone that competes at such a high level, probably really frustrating to retire if he thinks he still has enough to have a shot at winning.

Can someone explain to me what it is he did? I really don't understand the "rules" or customs of the TDF and all that..

Lance made a good run late in the leg, looking like he was going to move into 2d place. Alberto Contador (real leader of the team) blew right by him and showed up every other rider in the Tour.
So far as the rules, the Tour is a cumulative time competition. They add all your times and the lowest total wins. There are some oddities about "time trials" and the like, but that's the gist of it.

Groups of riders finish with the same time, so if you're at the front of the peloton or the rear it makes no difference as you all get the same time as the guy who crosses the line first. Now there is usually a break away on each stage by a few riders or as many as twenty riders. If you can get in the break and the peloton doesn't catch you it's a good way to make up time on the rest of the riders. Also, depending on who is in the break the peloton may decide to work together to reel the break away back in. Also, certain teams may have an agenda so they may want to reel the break away back in so they'll set the pace of the peloton.

The Tour de France covers 2200 miles over 21 days of riding with 3 rest days. There are mixed disciplines and the organizers vary the route year to year. Last year's tour started in London England, this year it started in Monaco.

The stages cover time trials, which is riding shorter distances (30-40 miles) as fast as possible, there are also team time trials, there are long flat stages (100-140 miles), and then there are the mountain stages with thousands of feet of climbing and anywhere from 90 to 120 miles+ on these stages.

There are a few different competitions within the main competition too so riders will want to get points for crossing the line first at various stages to get those jerseys and there's the stage win of course and the yellow jersey which is the most important.

The Tour de France is the most prestigious bike race in the world. It is the race every professional bike rider dreams of winning.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: herkulease
They are not even half way through yet. Lance usually pulls away from when they start getting into the mountain climbs.

Um, they've been in the Pyrenees for 3 days now. Lance has been right at the front of the field in the climbs so far but he did nothing to answer Contador's break two days ago. I think there is some friction in the team and it may unravel in the coming days.

I'd like to see Lance Armstrong win but I'm not sure that he can answer the challenge of the strong younger climbers like Contador...he hasn't proven it yet anyway.

From everything I've read Lance is a tactician. He won't expend unnecessary energy trying to grab the yellow jersey early, he just hangs in there and beats them as time goes on.

 

[abaez]

I think Contador is better than Lance in the mountains, which is Lance's strong point. Contador seems to have shown his intentions when he won the first big mountain stage, so if it's going to be anyone, it'll be Contador. He won't be deferring to Lance just because he's Lance.

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: herkulease
They are not even half way through yet. Lance usually pulls away from when they start getting into the mountain climbs.

Um, they've been in the Pyrenees for 3 days now. Lance has been right at the front of the field in the climbs so far but he did nothing to answer Contador's break two days ago. I think there is some friction in the team and it may unravel in the coming days.

I'd like to see Lance Armstrong win but I'm not sure that he can answer the challenge of the strong younger climbers like Contador...he hasn't proven it yet anyway.

From everything I've read Lance is a tactician. He won't expend unnecessary energy trying to grab the yellow jersey early, he just hangs in there and beats them as time goes on.

No doubt his effort to win will be on his terms, not an early breakaway by contador to get a few seconds before the grueling mountain climbs. If he does it, great for him, if he doesn't, that's life and I'm sure he won't embarrass himself. He's old and can't go too early tho.

 

[sammyunltd]

Originally posted by: abaez
I think Contador is better than Lance in the mountains, which is Lance's strong point. Contador seems to have shown his intentions when he won the first big mountain stage, so if it's going to be anyone, it'll be Contador. He won't be deferring to Lance just because he's Lance.

Dude. Contador won nothing. The day he attacked on the mountains, he finished 9th (of the stage). He attacked 1.5 mile before the end and only gained 21 seconds on Armstrong (and he did not push at all).

Contador is nowhere near as dominant as Armstrong was in his prime (2001-2005).

 

[iGas]

Originally posted by: zinfamous

Originally posted by: herkulease
They are not even half way through yet. Lance usually pulls away from when they start getting into the mountain climbs.

this

Not this time, there are a few younger kings of the hill in the 2009 tour to be contended with. Astana is a very strong team with Armstrong, Contador, Paulinho, Bruyneel, and Leipheimer are all contenders. Other teams also have their own contenders such as Saxo, Garmin Slipstream, Mondiale, and Columbia.

IMHO, it is not going to be an easy win for Armstrong this time round because he is clearly not the leader of Astana, and he also have to deal with players from other teams as well.

 

[jinduy]

lance is attempting a 1st comeback jordan

 

[Safeway]

He is going to win, this is just team dynamics.

(If he doesn't win, it will be because he gave the win to Catandor.)

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: oogabooga

Originally posted by: Locut0s
What's the evidence via a vi him doping? I'm not saying he is just curious what the general opinion is? I know there were accusations before though most were probably fuelled by jealousy. The thing is that doping is so prevalent in the cycling world from what I've read that one begins to feel that almost everyone is juicing especially if they manage to win over and over.

If i remember correctly (and I might not since I don't really follow cycling) - there isn't any solid evidence that he doped. There were announcements of questionable (even positive) test results for steroids or steroid related/hiding materials - but I don't think any of that panned out.

Regardless - Like most hitters in the major leagues - everyone assumes because he was so dominant at a time when it seems like everyone was doping up he must have been doping up to. He's fighting (or at least some are arguing that he is) that perception you just mentioned having - he was the best by far when people were doping, he must have been doping to.

The whole sport was doping. It was much worse than even baseball. I honestly don't think there's any way he could have been competitive, much less winning without doping. He had teammates who doped (and one even said Lance did too). Testing was such a joke that it was easy to get around. Its not just the French being assholes and jealous that he kept winning, it was known to be so prevalent that for people who were in the sport find it impossible to believe he didn't. They're pissed because he never got caught and most Americans act like that means he's innocent and turned a blind eye (much like they continue to do in baseball where people don't want to admit that even some very nice people cheated).

That being said, I don't feel it really ruins his accomplishments, he did it so he would be on a level field. Some people refuse to even consider it a possibility because it turns him from a miracle (cancer to king of the Tour de France) into a normal, flawed person.

 

[SirStev0]

why does everyone get like this with aging athletes. These sports are their lives. Why do we feel the need to judge their decisions. The fact is that even with their age taking a toll on their performance they are still some of the best in their respective fields. Stop being armchair coaches.

 

[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17

Originally posted by: oogabooga

Originally posted by: Locut0s
What's the evidence via a vi him doping? I'm not saying he is just curious what the general opinion is? I know there were accusations before though most were probably fuelled by jealousy. The thing is that doping is so prevalent in the cycling world from what I've read that one begins to feel that almost everyone is juicing especially if they manage to win over and over.

If i remember correctly (and I might not since I don't really follow cycling) - there isn't any solid evidence that he doped. There were announcements of questionable (even positive) test results for steroids or steroid related/hiding materials - but I don't think any of that panned out.

Regardless - Like most hitters in the major leagues - everyone assumes because he was so dominant at a time when it seems like everyone was doping up he must have been doping up to. He's fighting (or at least some are arguing that he is) that perception you just mentioned having - he was the best by far when people were doping, he must have been doping to.

The whole sport was doping. It was much worse than even baseball. I honestly don't think there's any way he could have been competitive, much less winning without doping. He had teammates who doped (and one even said Lance did too). Testing was such a joke that it was easy to get around. Its not just the French being assholes and jealous that he kept winning, it was known to be so prevalent that for people who were in the sport find it impossible to believe he didn't. They're pissed because he never got caught and most Americans act like that means he's innocent and turned a blind eye (much like they continue to do in baseball where people don't want to admit that even some very nice people cheated).

That being said, I don't feel it really ruins his accomplishments, he did it so he would be on a level field. Some people refuse to even consider it a possibility because it turns him from a miracle (cancer to king of the Tour de France) into a normal, flawed person.

This is what I thought the story was.

 

[iGas]

Originally posted by: Safeway
He is going to win, this is just team dynamics.

(If he doesn't win, it will be because he gave the win to Catandor.)

If Armstrong doesn't win it is because he is old and weak. Not because he gave the win to Contador.

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: Safeway
He is going to win, this is just team dynamics.

(If he doesn't win, it will be because he gave the win to Catandor.)

I'm pretty sure Armstrong will never give anything to anyone else while in France.

 

[abaez]

Originally posted by: sammyunltd

Originally posted by: abaez
I think Contador is better than Lance in the mountains, which is Lance's strong point. Contador seems to have shown his intentions when he won the first big mountain stage, so if it's going to be anyone, it'll be Contador. He won't be deferring to Lance just because he's Lance.

Dude. Contador won nothing. The day he attacked on the mountains, he finished 9th (of the stage). He attacked 1.5 mile before the end and only gained 21 seconds on Armstrong (and he did not push at all).

Contador is nowhere near as dominant as Armstrong was in his prime (2001-2005).

Of course he isn't as dominant in his Armstrong prime, because Contador is only 26 and needs to be compared to Armstrong around '98 at this point.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Originally posted by: Locut0s
What's the evidence via a vi him doping? I'm not saying he is just curious what the general opinion is? I know there were accusations before though most were probably fuelled by jealousy. The thing is that doping is so prevalent in the cycling world from what I've read that one begins to feel that almost everyone is juicing especially if they manage to win over and over.

To prove everyone wrong Lance adheres to a strict testing program, stricter than what Cycling asks of riders. I can't recall where I read about it but I think it was during one of his biography type shows on TV..