Amazing Armstrong withdrawal

... Withdrawing from a last stage of the race while still was in contention for overall, and he was third in the Tour! What an incredible lukewarm appearance. Irish weather and St. Patrick's hill were to much.

Tour Of Ireland: Stage 3, Route Maps & Results | Cyclingnews.com

Would Contador pull out of this?

__________________
"Soldiers! Heroes!

The supreme command has erased our regiment from its records. Our regiment has been sacrificed for the honor of Belgrade and the Fatherland. Therefore, you no longer have to worry for your lives - they do not exist anymore.
So, forward to glory! For King and country! Long live the king! Long live Belgrade! "

What sucks is that all those people who turned up to see him will feel that they've been robbed when actually there was some really good racing going on and Downing won with panache. Still, that's what you get when you allow one rider to overshadow the sport

Weather was miserable over here today - torrential rain with very heavy showers all day.
Dreadful cycling conditions.

great win for Downing : he witheld against three Saxo riders (O grady, Kolobnev aand Kroon).
Super performance by RD.

Yeah, Armstrong should have finished the race - he dropped out before they did the first climb of St Patricks Hill in Cork.

The supporters got to see an excellent stage though today.

__________________
.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it" - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

Come on now folks! I was one of the hundreds (thousands???) who turned up to see Armstrong today on St Patrick's hill. Having travelled the 200+ miles and having stood in the torrential rain, I was gutted he didn't have the courtesy to at least attempt one circuit! To me, he may as well have given the middle finger to each and every fan who stood there for hours or drew his name on the road. Let's be honest, would the Tour of Ireland have even gone ahead had it not been for Armstrong's entry?

What did he say again? Oh yeah, "Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever". Enough said.

hear, hear!

__________________
"Kick over the statues and the tyrants die. Wave bye bye to their heroes with a hammer."
--The Redskins, Kick Over the Statues

soft ****

It must have been bad though as most of the field abandoned, didn't they?

__________________
Find your ideal riding partner. Anywhere in the world!!!

True, I think 47 finished the stage - 104 started

__________________
Steve
CyclingForums.com

Kroon and O Grady and few of the hardcore riders managed to complete stage 3.

I went to Stage 2 of the race.
Managed to get in to the SAXO team bus and met O Grady, Kurt Arvesen (the highlight for me), Jakob Fulsgang and Matti Breschel.
Very nice experience and a very friendly bunch.

Got to meet LA too.
Dickhead McQuaid asked me if I would like to meet him - so I went along to the Astana truck and said hello.
Armstrong was pretty relaxed - he was prepared to sign plenty of autographs and to chat with people.
Looked like a man without a care in the world.

I agree with what the posters said about Cork though.
A lot of the spectators went to Armstrong ride St Patricks Hill.
He should have done one circuit.

__________________
.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it" - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

Had a chat to him a couple of years ago when he was on Oz. Nice genuine bloke. Tough as nails on the bike. Good to see him have a big win.

Yep - he just missed out on last years winners jersey, so it was nice to see him win it this year.
He did a superb ride - held off Kroon, O Grady, Breschel : that is some going.

And he does come across as a nice guy.

Cavendish got huge support from the crowds here.
Firm favourite over here.

__________________
.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it" - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

Loved seeing Downing stick it to the big pros.

Most impressive for me is his teammate, "old" Mal:

http://grahamwatson.com/gw/imagedocs...8?OpenDocument

__________________
Did you know that 64.3% of all statistics are just made up?

__________________
http://jonathanlovelock.blogspot.com/

Before Stage 2, Elliot received a great round of applause at the riders sign on.

The compare - and a very good American compare he was too - read out ME palmares.

ME races over here each year in the Ras.
Another firm favourite.

__________________
.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it" - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

Elliot won the points jersey in the Vuelta in '89- no mean feat. I enjoy his punditry on Eurosport as well. All in all a thoroughly good egg.