re Lance: "Overwhelming favorite" or "Odds are against him"?

[Mike Jacoubowsk]

On Thursday, after Armstrong's two-minute deficit on
Ventoux, Cyclingnews writes-

"Armstrong's coach Chris Carmichael recently called Lance
"the master of psychological warfare" and his less than all-
out performance on the Ventoux , just measured out enough to
test himself but not go "au bloc", could fool his
adversaries into thinking that Lance was in trouble. But
with forty days still to go before the Tour De France's
crucial l'Alpe d'Huez mountain time trial, Armstrong must
still be considered the overwhelming favourite to win."

But at the conclusion of the Dauphine-

"For these three, and many others, the stage is set for
another exciting Tour de France. Armstrong could be facing
more serious rivals than he has throughout his Tour de
France reign, and the odds are against him as he tries to
become the first man ever to win a sixth Tour."

I guess this way Cyclingnews can say they predicted the race
correctly no matter what happens?

[At least each story was written by a different person]

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

[David Off]

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
> But at the conclusion of the Dauphine-
>
> "For these three, and many others, the stage is set for
> another exciting Tour de France. Armstrong could be facing
> more serious rivals than he has throughout his Tour de
> France reign, and the odds are against him as he tries to
> become the first man ever to win a sixth Tour."
>
> I guess this way Cyclingnews can say they predicted the
> race correctly no matter what happens?
>

I think it was JaJa who said on French TV that Mayo hasn't
lasted 3 weeks without having a bad day. Maybe this year
will be better. He thought Tyler was good given the strength
of his team. They thought SO'G had a good chances at Green
this time given his improved climbing strengths.

LA didn't look in trouble on the climbs on the Daubé but he
didn't look particuarly strong either. A bit like last year.