**official** Tour de France 2004 Thread

[boyRacer]

Well Simeoni's allegation that there is rampant doping in the whole peloton made him a snitch... By making a blanket statement like that... I don't think any rider would appreciate his comments whether they dope or not.

 

[dmcowen674]

Congrats Lance!!!

Armstrong Guarantees Record Sixth Tour Win

BESANCON, France - Lance Armstrong capped his most dominant Tour de France with another impressive win in the final time trial Saturday, guaranteeing that he will ride into history as the first six-time champion in the race's 101-year history.

Pedaling furiously toward a stage victory that he didn't even need, Armstrong overpowered his rivals yet again, quickly building a gaping lead which he carried past cheering crowds to the finish line of the individual race against the clock.

Armstrong's overall lead of 6:38 over Kloden is one of his biggest.

Armstrong's single-minded focus on the Tour, his attention to detail, his use of new technologies to save seconds and his ability to recruit, keep and motivate teammates have raised the bar for how to win the three-week cycling marathon.
==========================

Incredible, beyond words. :thumbsup: :beer:

Awesome Helmet as he easily wins 19th Stage

 

[dr150]

Congrats to Lance for a FANTASTIC TT today!!

The guy is amazing! He certainly deserves to win the SI's title of "Athlete of the Year".....again!

 

[UnoSigmaPi]

Originally posted by: dr150
Congrats to Lance for a FANTASTIC TT today!!

The guy is amazing! He certainly deserves to win the SI's title of "Athlete of the Year".....again!

he's got my vote!:thumbsup:

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: UnoSigmaPi

Originally posted by: dr150
Congrats to Lance for a FANTASTIC TT today!!

The guy is amazing! He certainly deserves to win the SI's title of "Athlete of the Year".....again!

he's got my vote!:thumbsup:

Same! :thumbsup:

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: UnoSigmaPi

Originally posted by: dr150
Congrats to Lance for a FANTASTIC TT today!!

The guy is amazing! He certainly deserves to win the SI's title of "Athlete of the Year".....again!

he's got my vote!:thumbsup:

Same! :thumbsup:

If not more...athlete of the decade...even though we aren;t even at half-point

 

[SKORPI0]

Armstrong Wins Record Sixth Tour De France . :beer: :beer: :beer:

 

[freegeeks]

woohoo

Boonen won his 2nd stage

Congrats to Armstrong :beer:

 

[Carbonadium4]

sweet.. just saw it on tv... kick some french a$$

 

[Chello02]

yehaw!

 

[faenix]

LANCE ARMSTRONG YELLOW BANDERS UNITE!

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: freegeeks
woohoo

Boonen won his 2nd stage

He'll be a serious World Cup contender next year at this rate.....unless Lance decides to focus on the classics next year.

Congrats to Armstrong :beer:[/quote]
BOOOYAH!!!

 

[freegeeks]

nah

Lance will go for his 7th victory in the Tour next year

I don't see him competing in Paris-Roubaix or Ronde Van Vlaanderen

 

[TRDGT]

VIVA LA LANCE !!!!!!!!
Another Tour De Lance

 

[Koing]

Congrats to Lance. He is a MONSTER.

:beer:

Koing

 

[godspeedx]

Originally posted by: faenix
LANCE ARMSTRONG YELLOW BANDERS UNITE!

Mine broke the first time I tried putting it on, i'm wearing it taped with electrical tape right now which looks kinda cool I guess.

 

[KokomoGST]

He's a friggin MACHINE... awesome... just awesome... GO LANCE!!

I still love that ESPN commercial where one of the Sportscenter anchors goes to the basement to check on Lance when the lights go out.

 

[RedPickle]

Hail America!!!

 

[Pocatello]

Armstrong for President!

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: freegeeks
nah

Lance will go for his 7th victory in the Tour next year

I don't see him competing in Paris-Roubaix or Ronde Van Vlaanderen

He's said he'll do the Giro before retiring. I'd be fun to see him hand Simoni his ass on his own turf.

 

[freegeeks]

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: freegeeks
nah

Lance will go for his 7th victory in the Tour next year

I don't see him competing in Paris-Roubaix or Ronde Van Vlaanderen

He's said he'll do the Giro before retiring. I'd be fun to see him hand Simoni his ass on his own turf.

I don't think he will do even the Giro. The Giro has zero commercial value in the USA

if he is smart (and he is a smart guy) he will stick to the Tdf and win it 8 times (what he is certainly capable of doing IMO)

just my 0,2 eurocent

 

[Mursilis]

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: freegeeks
nah

Lance will go for his 7th victory in the Tour next year

I don't see him competing in Paris-Roubaix or Ronde Van Vlaanderen

He's said he'll do the Giro before retiring. I'd be fun to see him hand Simoni his ass on his own turf.

It'd be nice to see him focus on some other races, like the Giro, and maybe take another crack at World's, which he hasn't done since '98, if I'm remembering correctly. Simoni might actually give Armstrong a tough race in the Giro, which has been his (Simoni's) focus for the last several years. Sure, Simoni's looked less than impressive in his '03 and '04 Tour rides, but those were both after top 3 placings in the Giro, and relatively few riders have been strong contenders in two grand tours in the same season. Of course, the toughest competition in the Giro will probably be Simoni's young teammate and '04 Giro winner, Damiano Cunego, who looks to have a very bright feature. I read somewhere (cyclingnews.com?) that he's one of those genetic freaks with a hematocrit level over 50% naturally, and has special permission from the UCI to race when his hematocrit is higher than the limit. He's definitely someone to watch.

Plus, it would be nice to see some drama return to the Tour - while I'm an Armstrong fan, most of his wins have been pretty boring (except maybe for his first, and last year). He's never lost the yellow jersey (except when he's won it early and said he wouldn't defend it), and he seems to have demoralized the opposition. Of course, if he decides to ride Le Tour next year, I'll be rooting for him.

 

[GiLtY]

Originally posted by: Mursilis

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: freegeeks
nah

Lance will go for his 7th victory in the Tour next year

I don't see him competing in Paris-Roubaix or Ronde Van Vlaanderen

He's said he'll do the Giro before retiring. I'd be fun to see him hand Simoni his ass on his own turf.

It'd be nice to see him focus on some other races, like the Giro, and maybe take another crack at World's, which he hasn't done since '98, if I'm remembering correctly. Simoni might actually give Armstrong a tough race in the Giro, which has been his (Simoni's) focus for the last several years. Sure, Simoni's looked less than impressive in his '03 and '04 Tour rides, but those were both after top 3 placings in the Giro, and relatively few riders have been strong contenders in two grand tours in the same season. Of course, the toughest competition in the Giro will probably be Simoni's young teammate and '04 Giro winner, Damiano Cunego, who looks to have a very bright feature. I read somewhere (cyclingnews.com?) that he's one of those genetic freaks with a hematocrit level over 50% naturally, and has special permission from the UCI to race when his hematocrit is higher than the limit. He's definitely someone to watch.

Plus, it would be nice to see some drama return to the Tour - while I'm an Armstrong fan, most of his wins have been pretty boring (except maybe for his first, and last year). He's never lost the yellow jersey (except when he's won it early and said he wouldn't defend it), and he seems to have demoralized the opposition. Of course, if he decides to ride Le Tour next year, I'll be rooting for him.

Yeah, as fun as watching Armstrong kicking ass all over France, the Tour overall was too boring.

--GiLtY

 

[dr150]

Lance was quoted as saying he'll be back next year for the TDF!

Of course. It makes sense.

He said the TDF is BY FAR the most recognizable bike race in the world. He goes after THE status event, and rightfully so.... as any top athlete would do.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: dr150
Lance was quoted as saying he'll be back next year for the TDF!

Of course. It makes sense.

He said the TDF is BY FAR the most recognizable bike race in the world. He goes after THE status event, and rightfully so.... as any top athlete would do.

Plus he has a new title sponsor (Discovery Networks) to keep happy.