Armstrong coming back?

benjo maso said:

No way. The Tour is much bigger than Lance Armstrong. Armstrong thanks his
fame to the Tour, not the other way round.

Many Americans may disagree with you...

Jim "not that that's a good thing" Feeley

Gunsberg said:

Of course, if he were to race in
the next 9 TdFs he could break Joop Zoetemelk's record for TdF
participations. 16 straight wins in the Tour would REALLY [censored] the
French.

He has WON seven but rode in all from 1993 to 1996 (stage wins in '93
and '95, finished only in '95)

DR

"Bill C" <[email hidden]> wrote ...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

That's not even close to the point. Going on my experience with
hardcore Rodeo types from Oklahoma, Texas, etc...The quickest way to
really [censored] them off and motivate them is to kick [censored] on them. They
may not win the fight, but they sure as hell are going to cause one to
happen.
With all this [censored] flying, and the new wife saying, "go kick their
ass" I'm betting he's back.

Is she really saying that? I have a hard time thinking Sheryl "Lance'll be
my roadie" Crow will be thrilled about going through another year sniffing
Lance's chamois, to borrow your phrase, Bill. IMHO Lance should quit while
he's ahead, stick to his word about retiring, and let the l'Equipe stuff run
its course.

JF

--
I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones
among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found
how to serve.
-- Albert Schweitzer
http://spaces.msn.com/members/flomblog/

Robert Chung said:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2005/sep05/sep06newsflash

"I'm thinking it's the best way to [censored] (the French) off."

Which shows what a total [censored] he is. Bashing 65 millions of people -
most of whom don't even care about bicycle race - because ONE newspaper
attempted to prove that the real champion is Lance Armstrong's doctor,
this is pathetic.
Little xenophobic [censored], that's what Armstrong is, before being a
champion or another drugged idiot - who cares. Go lick Bush's ass,
Armstrong...

Simon

in 484475 20050907 043050 said:

benjo maso said:

No way. The Tour is much bigger than Lance Armstrong. Armstrong thanks his
fame to the Tour, not the other way round.

Many Americans may disagree with you...

Those "many americans" being the ones who know nothing about cycle racing?

<[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

benjo maso said:

No way. The Tour is much bigger than Lance Armstrong. Armstrong thanks

his

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

fame to the Tour, not the other way round.

Many Americans may disagree with you...

Many Americans would be wrong. Viewershipwise, the Tour de France is the
largest annual sporting event in the world. It was that way before Lance,
during Lance, and will be after him. The only other sporting events which
have a larger International viewership are the Olympics and the FIFA World
cup, both of which only happen once every four years. Not even close.
Armstrong only targets the Tour because that's far an away the biggest and
most important. Don't kid yourself, if Lance rode the Giro, it would
certainly create more interest for that race, but still wouodn't compare to
the Tour.

trg said:

Many Americans would be wrong. Viewershipwise, the Tour de France is the
largest annual sporting event in the world.

Mostly because it is a 23-25 day event. Those numbers include many of
the same people, over and over. Wonder whether the Tour exceeds the
football club finals in Europe or the world for a single day. I doubt
the Tour makes the top ten worldwide for any one day.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

While I think Lance by himself wouldn't make the Giro "The Race of the
Year", it would be catalst enough to cause a tipping point.

The Giro was the race of the year (for Grand Tours) in 2005 followed by the
ongoing Vuelta in second slot. .

But if Lane road the Giro, won't all the French riders would boycott?

in 484520 20050907 102903 Curtis L. Russell said:

trg said:

Many Americans would be wrong. Viewershipwise, the Tour de France is the
largest annual sporting event in the world.

Mostly because it is a 23-25 day event. Those numbers include many of
the same people, over and over. Wonder whether the Tour exceeds the
football club finals in Europe or the world for a single day. I doubt
the Tour makes the top ten worldwide for any one day.

When the TdF is described as the world's largest annual sporting event
(which it is by a long way) it is based not on TV audiences but on the numbers
of people who get out there and watch it for real. And that's hardly ever the
same people on more than one day. On a recent stage (when it went through
Holland) it was estimated that more than a million people lined the roadside.
This years finish in Karlsruhe also saw many hundreds of thousands.

"Bob Martin" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de news:
[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

in 484520 20050907 102903 Curtis L. Russell <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

trg said:

Many Americans would be wrong. Viewershipwise, the Tour de France is the
largest annual sporting event in the world.

Mostly because it is a 23-25 day event. Those numbers include many of
the same people, over and over. Wonder whether the Tour exceeds the
football club finals in Europe or the world for a single day. I doubt
the Tour makes the top ten worldwide for any one day.

When the TdF is described as the world's largest annual sporting event
(which it is by a long way) it is based not on TV audiences but on the
numbers
of people who get out there and watch it for real. And that's hardly ever
the
same people on more than one day. On a recent stage (when it went through
Holland) it was estimated that more than a million people lined the
roadside.
This years finish in Karlsruhe also saw many hundreds of thousands.

The tour is broadcast in 170 countries with 2 billion television viewers.
There are a couploe of million spectators for the final stage in Paris. I
don't know of any single day sporting event that has more live spectators.

trg said:

The tour is broadcast in 170 countries with 2 billion television viewers.
There are a couploe of million spectators for the final stage in Paris. I
don't know of any single day sporting event that has more live spectators.

Same issue, though. A World Cup match simply can't put two million
people in a stadium such that they can watch it. A Tour stage can move
through three of four towns on a given day, plus have several other
places to watch.

But I'll concede this point, because I read and reacted as much to
'largest annual sporting event' as 'significance' as well as purely
large logisitcally. It is large logisitically, because of the nature
of the event and its timing IMO more than because of its stature as
asporting event. Bicycling is a declining sport, worldwide dropping
further and further behind sports like volleyball, basketball and
football/soccer.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

Jim Flom said:

"Bill C" <[email hidden]> wrote ...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

That's not even close to the point. Going on my experience with
hardcore Rodeo types from Oklahoma, Texas, etc...The quickest way to
really [censored] them off and motivate them is to kick [censored] on them. They
may not win the fight, but they sure as hell are going to cause one to
happen.
With all this [censored] flying, and the new wife saying, "go kick their
ass" I'm betting he's back.

Is she really saying that? I have a hard time thinking Sheryl "Lance'll be
my roadie" Crow will be thrilled about going through another year sniffing
Lance's chamois, to borrow your phrase, Bill. IMHO Lance should quit while
he's ahead, stick to his word about retiring, and let the l'Equipe stuff run
its course.

JF

--
I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones
among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found
how to serve.
-- Albert Schweitzer
http://spaces.msn.com/members/flomblog/

I agree, the best thing he could do is stay retired, and I'm guessing
he won't stay [censored] enough, long enough to come back, but I
remember his buddy "college" saying that Lance once got [censored] at him
over something minor and wouldn't talk to him for like a year. My guess
would be that since they are still together that the only Sheryl is
saying is "Do what you have to do. I'll back you up on it.". I'd doubt
there's any other good answer around Lance when he's [censored].
Who the hell knows though, none of actually sit around having beers
with the guy.
Bill C

in 484543 20050907 143023 Curtis L. Russell said:

asporting event. Bicycling is a declining sport, worldwide dropping
further and further behind sports like volleyball, basketball and
football/soccer.

Come to Europe and say that! Volleyball? Basketball?
I suppose you mean in the USA.

I hope he comes back and kicks ass. For Le'Equipe to come out 7 years
after his first Tour win and accuse him of doping is just sour grapes,
plain and simple. They can't stand the fact that an American dominated
their sport. After all he's given to cycling you know these accusations
have to [censored] him off big time.

_Dave_

Curtis L. Russell said:

Quoted message said:

asporting event. Bicycling is a declining sport, worldwide dropping
further and further behind sports like volleyball, basketball and
football/soccer.

Bob Martin said:

Come to Europe and say that! Volleyball? Basketball?

What about dressage.

On Wed, 07 Sep 2005 14:13:06 GMT, Bob Martin <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Come to Europe and say that! Volleyball? Basketball?
I suppose you mean in the USA.

I mean worldwide. That was the context, that was what I said.
Worldwide, volleyball in all its various forms is the most popular
competition sport. This is not the same as saying it is the most
popular sport watched or the most popular professional sport. It means
that when it comes to leagues, events and whatever else, volleyball is
the most popular sport as a competitive sport. Basketball is second,
football/soccer third.

I won't argue that you might find a poll or study that moves those
sports around a bit, since the concept of what constitutes
'competition' will vary, but I doubt that they will move off the top
three or four and bicycling won't push any of them down.

Bicycling is not even on the horizon as a competitive sport - a sport
where people participate in as a competition.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

"Curtis L. Russell" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de
news: [email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Wed, 07 Sep 2005 14:13:06 GMT, Bob Martin <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Come to Europe and say that! Volleyball? Basketball?
I suppose you mean in the USA.

I mean worldwide. That was the context, that was what I said.
Worldwide, volleyball in all its various forms is the most popular
competition sport. This is not the same as saying it is the most
popular sport watched or the most popular professional sport. It means
that when it comes to leagues, events and whatever else, volleyball is
the most popular sport as a competitive sport. Basketball is second,
football/soccer third.

I won't argue that you might find a poll or study that moves those
sports around a bit, since the concept of what constitutes
'competition' will vary, but I doubt that they will move off the top
three or four and bicycling won't push any of them down.

Bicycling is not even on the horizon as a competitive sport - a sport
where people participate in as a competition.

We were discussing the Tour, not cycling in general, and thus not sports
people participate in (which obviously the TDF isn't), but sports that they
watch. In fact, the most watched is probably just about the least
participated in- Formula 1.

Dans le message de news:[email hidden],
Dave <[email hidden]> a réfléchi, et puis a déclaré :

Quoted message said:

I hope he comes back and kicks ass. For Le'Equipe to come out 7 years
after his first Tour win and accuse him of doping is just sour grapes,
plain and simple. They can't stand the fact that an American dominated
their sport. After all he's given to cycling you know these
accusations have to [censored] him off big time.

You're just another guy waiting for the video of an injection ...

Curtis L. Russell said:

I mean worldwide. That was the context, that was what I said.
Worldwide, volleyball in all its various forms is the most popular
competition sport. This is not the same as saying it is the most
popular sport watched or the most popular professional sport. It means
that when it comes to leagues, events and whatever else, volleyball is
the most popular sport as a competitive sport.

There are some volleyball players worth watching :
(http://www.wgallery.org/f_piccinini/jpg_fp02.htm)