Wait a moment! You mean people actually come to the Tour to see Lance? Doesn't this go against a million other comments by Tour officials over the last decade? Actually I'm surprised the comments weren't like "Lance being late was an obvious attempt to avoid the possibility of having to submit to a drug test prior to the start of the stage, and therefore we will endeavor to have him suspended from the Tour"
Man, Lance trusts others playing around on his bike more than I would. Especially just before a crucial TTT. http://www.livestrong.com/lance-arm...stage-4/c36bf9fe-c56f-4470-9f81-f2565a078836/
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVCeUw9kj2I"]YouTube - Lance's Dick's Sporting Goods commercial[/ame]
Ben Stiller on his TT bike. http://www.livestrong.com/lance-arm...stage-4/c36bf9fe-c56f-4470-9f81-f2565a078836/
I actually think it is a bit sad that some people in the comments below couldn't see that this was a staged bit. Hello, McFly!
Staged as it may be, I'm not letting Derek Zoolander anywhere near my race bike. You saw what he did to the model of the School For Kids Who Can't Read Good.
Yet another Downfall parody [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MxMRmooVk0"]YouTube - Lance Armstrong goes for 8[/ame]
The genre is pretty old news, but there's actually some really funny lines in that one. "They have tactics and manners similar to my SS!" "Don't worry Gerta, we'll see Lance at the Annecy TT."
Rick Reilly's latest article on Lance http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=reilly_rick&id=4312289 But hearts are melting toward the old guy, even French ones. One French reporter stood up Tuesday and said, "Lance, in four days, you have brought more excitement back to the Tour de France than we had in four years here." When the French start admiring Armstrong, you know the worm has turned. We still have so much to go -- Spain, the mountains, the pitiless Mont Ventoux in the second-to-last stage -- but this could really happen. Lance Armstrong could pull off the greatest American comeback since the fedora.
Stage 7 and Stage 20 will determine the winner, obviously. There are about 10 riders in contention for the maillot jaune right now. After Stage 7, that number will be reduced significantly, and the winner will be determined on Stage 20. Stages 8-19 will provide little opportunity for change. If Lance has the Maillot Jaune after Stage 7, I strongly believe he will win Le Tour. We shall see!
I'm not so sure. Two weeks is an awful long time to have to defend the yellow jersey. I'm not sure Lance would even want it just yet. I look forward to seeing how he handles the mountains.
I said something along these lines in the Tour thread. Considering it's only two seconds that separates both Lance and Alberto and neither is in yellow, I can see this race coming down to the final time trial and of course Ventoux. After today's stage I'm not sure which other GC contenders are going to be able to get away? We already know Levi will never attack, Wiggin's has a lot to show in the moutains and after the that the time gaps are essentially a minute or more. To me Lance would have to do it in the TT because I just don't think he could match Contadors acceleration.
And Lance isn't head and shoulders above The Accountant at the time trial. I think that ****** may well get on the podium.
Realistically, it's a 2 man race now between Armstrong and Contador. I realize Kloden and Leipheimer are still in the race, but I don't see them being able to bridge the gap. There is the individual time trial on Stage 18 and Mont Ventoux on Stage 20. The other stages don't offer much opportunity for gaining time. Let's call the ITT dead even between Contador and Armstrong. My sense after watching every stage of Lance's 7 Tour wins is that he let Contador go when he attacked. Sure, he didn't want him to get too far ahead, but he was calculating in only allowing a 2 second gap at the end. What I'm saying is that he could have followed Contador a bit faster if he wanted to, but chose to let him go, because he wanted to give the appearance of weakness, he wanted to save himself for Ventoux, he wanted to reduce tension in the team by appearing to give support to Contador, and he wanted to give Contador a false sense of security. Yes, most people will tell me I'm crazy, but after watching Lance all these years, this is my gut feeling. The 20th stage is going to be super exciting stuff!
I agree that Lance decided NOT to go after Alberto today. But, can Lance match the kind of power and acceleration Contador showed on those mountain attacks?
In 2003, maybe. In 2009? I don't think so. I think Bert is going to win this with several minutes to spare. Astana could easily have all three podium spots. The only chance anyone has is if they attack the Accountant at the base of the final climb of the day. He typically attacks towards the ends of the climbs. Of course it's kinda hard to attack the peloton when Astana is putting the hammer down the way they did today.
Christian can make the podium for sure but I think Levi is in the drivers seat between the two as his support up front is much stronger plus I just think he is more natural at the two big disciplines (TT/Climbing). As far as ranking trialing abilities b/w Lance and Bert, it's hard to say really. What Bert has done to improve his trialing is amazing but after watching stage one I really felt (and others too) that Lance was holding back. The outcome of stage 18 will most definitely make stage 20 one to remember. The race within the race. Not me, I'm on the same page as you. Somehow I feel today was all about posturing to be able to ride without a target on his back. Even in his prime I'm not sure Lance could match the pure acceleration of Bert but then again when they chose to start attacks is very different. Bert waits for the top and then just puts the smack down. Lance attacks early and often. Ventoux most certainly will be an epic one for the ages. We pretty much said the same thing but I'm not sure about the minutes to spare part. Definitely not saying it's impossible but I'm not sure where he'll pick up that much time. Alberto Contador
http://www.livestrong.com/lance-arm...incapie/40ba57d1-9445-4acd-aa75-325e8226f02f/ Lance with Cav and George.
When I see Cav actually interviewed in a regular setting, as opposed to right after a race, he comes off as rather shy. Lance is hilarious at giving him crap.