Armstrong/Seimoni Round 2...

meehs

Okay, let's rephrase it then. Simeoni is dead in the water in the TdF until Armstrong is no longer racing in it. I would guess that other USPS (Discovery Network) riders aren't going to exactly make life easy for Simeoni either. He's made his bed. Nighty night.

limerickman

I think you over estimate the level of support for Armstrong's actions.

I think it was a very very foolish move by Armstrong.
Why did he do it ?
Simeoni never accused LA of any wrongdoing.
He accused Ferrari and Armstrong then waded in and called Simeoni a liar for accusing Ferrari.
Simeoni then sued Armstrong for slander.

Simeoni's testimony in respect of Ferrari has nothing to do with Armstrong.
Or has it ?
Why did Armstrong get so defensive and start calling Simeoni a liar ?
Why did Armstrong feel the need to defend Ferrari ?

There is more to this than meets the eye.

DTMwood

Ummmm. Take a look where he's racing this weekend. You may now remove your foot from your mouth.

limerickman

He's taking part in criteriums - standard stuff for a TDF winner and the TDF
podium placements.

I was referring to races - not criteriums.

DTMwood

Point taken

Ted B

It is not unusual for a man of honor to stand up for a friend...especially if he believes (rightly or wrongly) said friend to be innocent.

Naturally, I would not expect you to offer such an obvious probability since it does not fit into your agenda.

jhuskey

So if the TDF don't mean crap ,after all it is only a couple of weeks , why is everyone except for Lance supporters so upset. Let just say anyone can win one race even if it is Le Tour, Armstrong is no threat, Europe rules and drop it.

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meehs

You may be right about there being more to Armstrong's defense of Ferrari than meets the eye. Whether or not anything comes of it remains to be seen however. From what I've heard so far the legal case against Ferrari is flimsy at best. I'm not saying that I think Ferrari is beyond reproach (far from it) but I don't know if they have to goods to hang him. None of us know the nature of Armstrong's relationship with Ferrari, again it's all just speculation at this point.

I think you may very well be underestimating Armstrong's influence in the peleton (whether he's present or not). I've said before that I think it was poor form for LA to chase down Simeoni in stage 18. But right or wrong I think that by making a big issue out of it, Simeoni may very well have dealt a severe blow to his own cycling career. We shall see.

tin kicker

The Italian courts have been pretty good at criminalizing things that should be handled in civil court over the last few years. They recently sentenced an air traffic controller and an airport manager to several years of jail time because of a crash caused by an idiot who was flying/taxiing a Lear in a totally incorrect manner. This idiot got out on the wrong runway because he was lost in the fog. They went after the controller because he "should have known where Lear was" even though the visibility was less than 100 Meters. And the manager because the signs should have been better even though the signage was compliant with ICAO standards. The whole accident was caused by the idiot Lear pilot, but he was a fatality so they couldn't get any blood out of that turnip so they went after the surviving controller and airport authority.

So, going after race car teams and cycling pros is not beyond the pale for them, even if it makes no sense to the rest of the world.

mattp71

Italian authorities to me seem like a bunch of jackass's. Italian authorities are charging the guy or guys who supplied pantani with his fatal coke with murder. That's as dumb as a lot of other stuff I read about going on in Italy.

I'm suprised Pantani's mom hasn't sued Italian authorities for wrongful death. After all, they are what killed him and provoked him to do coke and whatever else he was doing.

limerickman

How would you know that I am not an honourable person, eh ?
Because I cast doubt on Lance Armstrong - you conclude that I have no notion of honour ?

Look at your hero and honour.
Isn't the word, honour, part of a wedding vow ?

Honour - if you want to play dirty pal, we can.

limerickman

Musette made the point that by allegedly upsetting LA, Simeoni was digging his own grave, in her view.
I stated that LA only races for a three weeks per year - meaning that it is unlikely that Armstrong will compete against Simeoni outside of the TDF :
that's the point i was trying to convey.

birdman23

That's lame Limerickman. How many other pro riders honor their vows? I am sure Lance is the only rider in the peloton to ever have gotten a divorce. Give me a freakin' break. His personal life and that of other riders in the peloton should have no place for discussion in these forums. Time for everyone to grow up.

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Ted B

I base my opinion on your past record of frequent, consistent Armstrong bashing in this part of the forum and others and the twisting of the obvious associated therewith. I may not be able to prove it, but this my belief based upon convincing circumstantial evidence what I derive from my research.

Sounds familiar?