Hinault doubts Armstrong can win

found at www.dallasnews.com

Hinault doubts Armstrong can win

Saturday's stage rolled past the birthplace of five-time
Tour champion Bernard Hinault, but the last Frenchman to win
the Tour doubts Armstrong will score the elusive sixth win.

"He has not looked that good this year, and everyone saw how
he struggled in the mountains last year, so I'd say his
chances of winning are only 50-50 at best," Hinault said.

Hinault presents prizes on the podium during the Tour. After
Armstrong's fifth victory last year, Hinault shook
Armstrong's hand and said, "Welcome to the club."

brian roth wrote:
> found at www.dallasnews.com
>
>
> Hinault doubts Armstrong can win
>
> Saturday's stage rolled past the birthplace of five-time
> Tour champion Bernard Hinault, but the last Frenchman to
> win the Tour doubts Armstrong will score the elusive
> sixth win.
>
> "He has not looked that good this year, and everyone
> saw how he struggled in the mountains last year, so I'd
> say his chances of winning are only 50-50 at best,"
> Hinault said.
>
> Hinault presents prizes on the podium during the Tour.
> After Armstrong's fifth victory last year, Hinault shook
> Armstrong's hand and said, "Welcome to the club."

He could have easily said:

"Armstrong looks to have a solid chance to win his sixth
Tour -- almost as good a chance as the rest of the field
combined."

50-50 is quite good odds, especially considering nobody's
ever pulled off the
#6.

Dan

"brian roth" <brian_j_roth@yahoo.com> a écrit dans le message de
news:ebf01652.0407120544.15754b08@posting.google.com...
> found at www.dallasnews.com
>
>
> Hinault doubts Armstrong can win
>
> Saturday's stage rolled past the birthplace of five-time
> Tour champion
Bernard
> Hinault, but the last Frenchman to win the Tour doubts
> Armstrong will
score the
> elusive sixth win.
>
> "He has not looked that good this year, and everyone saw
> how he struggled
in
> the mountains last year, so I'd say his chances of winning
> are only 50-50
at
> best," Hinault said.
>
> Hinault presents prizes on the podium during the Tour.
> After Armstrong's
fifth
> victory last year, Hinault shook Armstrong's hand and
> said, "Welcome to
the
> club."

This quote is about a month old, just after the Dauphiné. I
wonder what Hinault would say today?

brian_j_roth@yahoo.com (brian roth) wrote:

>found at www.dallasnews.com
>
>
>Hinault doubts Armstrong can win
>
>"He has not looked that good this year, and everyone saw
>how he struggled in the mountains last year,

Won Stage 15 Luz Ardiden, lost no significant time to GC
contenders on other Mt. Stages (2:12 to Mayo, along with
everybody else but Vino, on L'Alpe d'Huez), 3rd in KOM. "Not
dominant" perhaps. "Struggling" a bit hyperbolic.

I would expect similar Mt. results this year, maybe no Mt.
Stages, win ITT at Besançon, and yellow in Paris. --dt

"brian roth" <brian_j_roth@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:ebf01652.0407120544.15754b08@posting.google.com...
> found at www.dallasnews.com
>
>
> Hinault doubts Armstrong can win
>
> Saturday's stage rolled past the birthplace of five-time
> Tour champion
Bernard
> Hinault, but the last Frenchman to win the Tour doubts
> Armstrong will
score the
> elusive sixth win.
>
> "He has not looked that good this year, and everyone saw
> how he struggled
in
> the mountains last year, so I'd say his chances of winning
> are only 50-50
at
> best," Hinault said.
>
> Hinault presents prizes on the podium during the Tour.
> After Armstrong's
fifth
> victory last year, Hinault shook Armstrong's hand and
> said, "Welcome to
the
> club."

I wonder what Hinault will say if Armstrong creates
the #6 Club.

Dave

"brian roth" <brian_j_roth@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:ebf01652.0407120544.15754b08@posting.google.com...
> found at www.dallasnews.com
>
>
> Hinault doubts Armstrong can win
>
> "He has not looked that good this year, and everyone saw
> how he struggled
in
> the mountains last year, so I'd say his chances of winning
> are only 50-50
at
> best," Hinault said.

Tour de Tech: It's all about fit By Lennard Zinn VeloNews
technical writer This report filed July 8, 2004
http://www.velonews.com/tour2004/tec...es/6501.0.html
One example is the hip problem Lance Armstrong had in 2003.
The man on his way to a fifth successive Tour win had
received new shoes and cranks shortly before the start of
the Tour. The Q-factor of the new pre-production Dura-Ace
10-speed cranks were apparently greater than that of the Dura-
Ace 9-s), placing his feet wider apart. Current production
models have the same Q-factor as the old cranks. Another
explanation could have simply been mis-location of the
cleats on the new shoes. In any case, something was askew,
and Armstrong had to make adjustments in mid-Tour to
minimize the pain, but it never went completely away during
the race, simply because he had no chance to recover.

Armstrong was also in the midst of a divorce during last
year's Tour. Given the reports of his devotion to his kids,
that may have had some effect on his mental state. But then,
we don't need to make excuses for last year, right? He won.

Sounds like Hinault is worried...

Cheers, Ears

brian_j_roth@yahoo.com (brian roth) wrote in message news:<ebf01652.0407120544.15754b08@posting.google.com>...
> found at www.dallasnews.com
>
>
> Hinault doubts Armstrong can win
>
> Saturday's stage rolled past the birthplace of five-time
> Tour champion Bernard Hinault, but the last Frenchman to
> win the Tour doubts Armstrong will score the elusive
> sixth win.
>
> "He has not looked that good this year, and everyone
> saw how he struggled in the mountains last year, so I'd
> say his chances of winning are only 50-50 at best,"
> Hinault said.
>
> Hinault presents prizes on the podium during the Tour.
> After Armstrong's fifth victory last year, Hinault shook
> Armstrong's hand and said, "Welcome to the club."

Given the fact that Armstrong has more than one challenger,
50-50 odds of him winning implies that Armstrong is the
favorite. Once again, proof that Hinault is an idiot, apart
from his other obvious faults.

-ilan

"trg" wrote...
>
> This quote is about a month old, just after the Dauphiné.
> I wonder what Hinault would say today?

Especially given Lance's self-assessment that he is in "much
better" shape this year per the Lance Chronicles.

"trg" <trg@world.REMOVE.THIS.com> wrote in message
news:ccu7k3$v2r$1@s1.read.news.oleane.net...
>
> "brian roth" <brian_j_roth@yahoo.com> a écrit dans le
> message de
> news:ebf01652.0407120544.15754b08@posting.google.com...
> > found at www.dallasnews.com
> >
> >
> > Hinault doubts Armstrong can win
> >
> > Saturday's stage rolled past the birthplace of five-time
> > Tour champion
> Bernard
> > Hinault, but the last Frenchman to win the Tour doubts
> > Armstrong will
> score the
> > elusive sixth win.
> >
> > "He has not looked that good this year, and everyone saw
> > how he
struggled
> in
> > the mountains last year, so I'd say his chances of
> > winning are only
50-50
> at
> > best," Hinault said.
> >
> > Hinault presents prizes on the podium during the Tour.
> > After Armstrong's
> fifth
> > victory last year, Hinault shook Armstrong's hand and
> > said, "Welcome to
> the
> > club."
>
> This quote is about a month old, just after the Dauphiné.
> I wonder what Hinault would say today?
>
>
The other day on French TV, when asked whether Armstrong
would win a sixth, he replied brusquely like he was tired of
answering the question, "Je m'en fou" (I could care less),
adding "if Mercxx concentrated only on the Tour he'd
probably still be winning the thing"

"Pistof" <dataylor123@yahoo.com> wrote:

>I wonder what Hinault will say if Armstrong creates
>the #6 Club.

"You can't compare riders of different eras. If Merckx
wanted to concentrate on the Tour de France, he'd still be riding. If I
wanted to concentrate of the Tour de France, I'd have won 8. If EPO was
around in my era, I'd have won 10." Etc. Etc.

--dt

"Ears" <Earslookin@you.kid> wrote in message
news:9PCdnYXBo-TicW_dRVn-vw@comcast.com...
>
> "brian roth" <brian_j_roth@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:ebf01652.0407120544.15754b08@posting.google.com...
> > found at www.dallasnews.com
> >
> >
> > Hinault doubts Armstrong can win
> >
> > "He has not looked that good this year, and everyone saw
> > how he
struggled
> in
> > the mountains last year, so I'd say his chances of
> > winning are only
50-50
> at
> > best," Hinault said.
>
>
> Tour de Tech: It's all about fit By Lennard Zinn VeloNews
> technical writer This report filed July 8, 2004 http://ww-
> w.velonews.com/tour2004/tech/articles/6501.0.html One
> example is the hip problem Lance Armstrong had in 2003.
> The man on his way to a fifth successive Tour win had
> received new shoes and cranks
shortly
> before the start of the Tour. The Q-factor of the new pre-
> production Dura-Ace 10-speed cranks were apparently
> greater than that of the Dura-Ace 9-s), placing his feet
> wider apart. Current production models have the
same
> Q-factor as the old cranks. Another explanation could have
> simply been mis-location of the cleats on the new shoes.
> In any case, something was askew, and Armstrong had to
> make adjustments in mid-Tour to minimize the pain, but it
> never went completely away during the race, simply because
> he had no chance to recover.
>
>
> Armstrong was also in the midst of a divorce during last
> year's Tour.
Given
> the reports of his devotion to his kids, that may have had
> some effect on his mental state. But then, we don't need
> to make excuses for last year, right? He won.
>
> Sounds like Hinault is worried...
>
> Cheers, Ears

It is all about PR. Make the competition think that 2003 was
an anomoly so they don't become optimistic about Armstrong's
chances of losing.

"Jim Flom" <jimflom@telusREMOVE.net> wrote in message
news:keyIc.37425$eO.29828@edtnps89...
> "trg" wrote...
> >
> > This quote is about a month old, just after the
> > Dauphiné. I wonder what Hinault would say today?
>
> Especially given Lance's self-assessment that he is in
> "much better" shape this year per the Lance Chronicles.

Never listen to the "self assessment" of an athlete that has
used misinformation as a strategic tool.

Today I heard Roll comment on the weather this year relative
to last year. He seems to think that Armstrong's problems
were caused by the heat. It was just as hot for everyone
else, but some tolerate heat better than others. He may have
a point. If Lance wins this year, we will know the anomoly
last year was caused by the weather and not age or any other
factor related to the passing of time.

"matabala" <matabala@wanadoo.fr> a écrit dans le message de
news:ccuc89$crk$1@news-reader2.wanadoo.fr...
>
> "trg" <trg@world.REMOVE.THIS.com> wrote in message
> news:ccu7k3$v2r$1@s1.read.news.oleane.net...
> >
> > "brian roth" <brian_j_roth@yahoo.com> a écrit dans le
> > message de
> > news:ebf01652.0407120544.15754b08@posting.google.com...
> > > found at www.dallasnews.com
> > >
> > >
> > > Hinault doubts Armstrong can win
> > >
> > > Saturday's stage rolled past the birthplace of five-
> > > time Tour champion
> > Bernard
> > > Hinault, but the last Frenchman to win the Tour doubts
> > > Armstrong will
> > score the
> > > elusive sixth win.
> > >
> > > "He has not looked that good this year, and everyone
> > > saw how he
> struggled
> > in
> > > the mountains last year, so I'd say his chances of
> > > winning are only
> 50-50
> > at
> > > best," Hinault said.
> > >
> > > Hinault presents prizes on the podium during the Tour.
> > > After
Armstrong's
> > fifth
> > > victory last year, Hinault shook Armstrong's hand and
> > > said, "Welcome
to
> > the
> > > club."
> >
> > This quote is about a month old, just after the
> > Dauphiné. I wonder what Hinault would say today?
> >
> >
> The other day on French TV, when asked whether Armstrong
> would win a
sixth,
> he replied brusquely like he was tired of answering the
> question, "Je m'en fou" (I could care less), adding "if
> Mercxx concentrated only on the Tour he'd probably still
> be winning the thing"
>
>
In the same interview he said that it makes no sense to
compare riders from different eras.

"matabala" <matabala@wanadoo.fr> wrote in message

> The other day on French TV, when asked whether Armstrong
> would win a
sixth,
> he replied brusquely like he was tired of answering the
> question, "Je m'en fou" (I could care less), adding "if
> Mercxx concentrated only on the Tour he'd probably still
> be winning the thing"

I had not heard that one. I like it.

Thanks

On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 18:24:52 +0200, trg <trg@world.REMOVE.THIS.com> wrote:

>
> "matabala" <matabala@wanadoo.fr> a écrit dans le message
> de news:ccuc89$crk$1@news-reader2.wanadoo.fr...
>>
>> "trg" <trg@world.REMOVE.THIS.com> wrote in message
>> news:ccu7k3$v2r$1@s1.read.news.oleane.net...
>> >
>> > "brian roth" <brian_j_roth@yahoo.com> a écrit dans le
>> > message de news:ebf01652.0407120544.15754b08@posting.g-
>> > oogle.com...
>> > > found at www.dallasnews.com
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > Hinault doubts Armstrong can win
>> > >
>> > > Saturday's stage rolled past the birthplace of five-
>> > > time Tour
>> champion
>> > Bernard
>> > > Hinault, but the last Frenchman to win the Tour
>> > > doubts Armstrong
>> will
>> > score the
>> > > elusive sixth win.
>> > >
>> > > "He has not looked that good this year, and everyone
>> > > saw how he
>> struggled
>> > in
>> > > the mountains last year, so I'd say his chances of
>> > > winning are only
>> 50-50
>> > at
>> > > best," Hinault said.
>> > >
>> > > Hinault presents prizes on the podium during the
>> > > Tour. After
> Armstrong's
>> > fifth
>> > > victory last year, Hinault shook Armstrong's hand and
>> > > said, "Welcome
> to
>> > the
>> > > club."
>> >
>> > This quote is about a month old, just after the
>> > Dauphiné. I wonder
>> what
>> > Hinault would say today?
>> >
>> >
>> The other day on French TV, when asked whether Armstrong
>> would win a
> sixth,
>> he replied brusquely like he was tired of answering the
>> question, "Je m'en fou" (I could care less), adding "if
>> Mercxx concentrated only on the Tour he'd probably still
>> be winning the thing"
>>
>>
> In the same interview he said that it makes no sense to
> compare riders from different eras.
>
>

I don't think that it does make sense. Now, you have people
spending hours in wind tunnels trying to get as aerodynamic
as possible. Heck, Lance even takes drinks a particular way
to benefit aerodynamics. And then you have different bikes,
different training, better analysis of diet, HR, etc. The
list goes on and on.

--
Bob in CT Remove ".x" to reply