Classy move by Armstong.



steve26

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Here is the link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf2006/news/story?id=2523007

For him to say that it would not be fair to say whether he won or not is a classy move, but it is obvious he would have won easily without ullrich or basso in the field.



L'ALPE D'HUEZ, France -- Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong hopes an American can win this year's Tour de France and continue the streak he created before retiring last July, as it would be good for the sport in the U.S.

Armstrong was in the French Alps to support this year's race, which has been caught up in a doping scandal in Spain, and on Tuesday saw former teammate Floyd Landis take the leader's yellow jersey at the L'Alpe d'Huez ski resort.

"I know that there's been friction here and there between us but he's American, he's great for American cycling and I'd love to see the yellow jersey stay in the United States," Armstrong told reporters.

"I think it's very important for the success of cycling in the United States. American sports fans need their guys to be successful and see names and faces they can identity and relate to.

"Floyd is riding great. If I was betting man I'd certainly put my money on him now."

Armstrong rode to the summit of the famous L'Alpe d'Huez climb on Monday with Hollywood actor Jake Gyllenhaal. He looked fit and is in training for November's New York marathon but declined to speculate on whether he could have won this year's race.

"That would just be theorizing or guessing. I'm sitting here as the retired guy that would be the lantern rouge [last overall] in this Tour," the 34-year-old said.

"That's the reality. It wouldn't be fair to the people who win to say if I could have won.

"I'm still a fit guy but I'm not in the race and don't want to be. So let somebody else win, let somebody be the be the new champ and wear yellow. It's somebody else's race now."

Armstrong said he was in France to help defend cycling after the recent Spanish doping investigation in which nine Tour riders, including favorites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, were implicated forcing them to withdraw from the race.

"I came here as a fan because I think the sport needs fans to say 'okay, rough start to the Tour, another black eye but I don't think it's the time to run from the sport.' "Now is the time to stand up and support cycling," he said.
 
steve26 said:
Armstrong said he was in France to help defend cycling after the recent Spanish doping investigation...
LOL! What is he going to do? Intimidate all those who are thinking about spitting in the soup? Christophe Bassons could tell the world a lot about how Armstrong defends cycling with regards to doping. Simeoni could also.
 
Steve I don't think you will get too many to agree with you on the board here. Lance could cure cancer himself and absolute proof could come out that he didn't dope and most still wouldn't believe it. I think we all know Lance would have won this year with or with out Basso and Ulrich. :)
 
azdroptop said:
Steve I don't think you will get too many to agree with you on the board here. Lance could cure cancer himself and absolute proof could come out that he didn't dope and most still wouldn't believe it. I think we all know Lance would have won this year with or with out Basso and Ulrich. :)

Idol worship.

Even LA supporters can't deny a very strong case can be made that the boy doped. And the he-never-tested-positive argument doesn't hold water -- neither did the 59 other guys caught up in Operation Puerto. Unless one believes that OP was a bunch of BS, then essentially what the LA supporters are saying is, LA was clean through all his seven Tour wins while more than half of the other riders were doping. That makes him about 30 percent better -- pure fantasy.

LA is the best Tour rider, doped or not doped. I personally don't care either way, but if Vegas laid odds, I wouldn't place a bet on Lance being clean.

It's going to be a sad day when you guys have to pull down the posters from their bedroom ceilings as the evidence continues to mount against him.

Or maybe you won't.
 
I respect LA, but to be honest, I'm sick of hearing about him. It's like a song that you like at first, but by the 1000th rotation you want to take a baseball bat to the radio. :) For the people who really hate him, how can you stand to talk about him? I kinda wish he'd just go away for a while, although that's unlikely here in the US where he's Mr. Celebrity now. And, when the hell did he become best buds with Jake Freaking Gyllenhall? *laugh*
 
helmutRoole2 said:
Idol worship.

Even LA supporters can't deny a very strong case can be made that the boy doped. And the he-never-tested-positive argument doesn't hold water -- neither did the 59 other guys caught up in Operation Puerto. Unless one believes that OP was a bunch of BS, then essentially what the LA supporters are saying is, LA was clean through all his seven Tour wins while more than half of the other riders were doping. That makes him about 30 percent better -- pure fantasy.

LA is the best Tour rider, doped or not doped. I personally don't care either way, but if Vegas laid odds, I wouldn't place a bet on Lance being clean.

It's going to be a sad day when you guys have to pull down the posters from their bedroom ceilings as the evidence continues to mount against him.

Or maybe you won't.
i never said he wasn't doped. Just using it to make a point. ;)
 
I think they should allow all drugs in cycling.

It is obvious they can't stop it, so let everyone do whatever they want.

Of course Armstrong doped...But so did everyone else.
 
DV1976 said:
Lance and "classy" don't go together... Wrong title:)
That depends entirely on your definition of classy. If by classy you mean a little kiss-ass brown-noser who will suck up to the fans, ride in all the races they want him to, not be overly dominate in the tour, and downtalk himself, then no he's not classy. Personally I wouldn't call that classy, I have another word for it which I won't say here.

I'm curious who you think you are to judge someone of his level or any rider in the pro peleton for that matter. What exactly have you accomplished that puts you so high?
 
dexjava said:
That depends entirely on your definition of classy. If by classy you mean a little kiss-ass brown-noser who will suck up to the fans, ride in all the races they want him to, not be overly dominate in the tour, and downtalk himself, then no he's not classy. Personally I wouldn't call that classy, I have another word for it which I won't say here.

I'm curious who you think you are to judge someone of his level or any rider in the pro peleton for that matter. What exactly have you accomplished that puts you so high?

Well personally, I've never cheated in a sporting event.

Which is not to say that I think that LA lacks all or even most class. His charity work is exceptional, rare amongst celebrities, and to me, makes him (largely) a terrific person.

If this were a forum about people's general attributes, I'd rate LA pretty high. So many celebrities use their fame for nothing more than appearing in the gossip rags and their money for nothing other than mansions and cars, and their influence for nothing at all. LA does a lot of good with his moeny, fame, and influence.

But this is not a forum about general attributes. It's a forum about cycling, and I think there is plenty of evidence that LA was, like the majority of other cyclists in the pro peloton, a doper and cheater.
 
helmutRoole2 said:
My bad. I rode this morning. I'm tired. I'm going to stop typing now.
No worries. I envy you that you got to ride today. I'm hanging with my son while my wife is at work. Hoping to put in a few miles when she get's home-Unless of course another Monsoon hits tonight and I'll be watching the wind, rain and lightning go by. :(
 

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