Lance Armstrong... Yes or No?

[davidmc]

Well I ask the question because people say he is tested all the time.
The only information to support this that I have seen, comes from his books -
and I was just wondering if anyone out there in Cyberspace had a
source (apart from his books) showing the number of tests he's undergone.

I'm not a "big" L.A. fan but i tend to believe that he is tested as much as anyone else & mayb moreso bcause he only does this 1 race (?) Now this does not cover the possibility of drugs, old & new that r not tested for. Am i right in thinking that drug tests are targeted to specific drugs( & not all drugs)?

 

[Fusioned]

hes gonna win it...but beware of basso and ullrich....ullrich is an enigma like no other

 

[cmonie]

Unfortunately, the cyclist I love to root against with probably retire. With that said, all the American enthusiasts can kiss OLN coverage good-bye. Hell, you can barely find many Americans to follow it now, can you imagine us rooting for a non-American, no way!!!

Peace.

 

[pobserver03]

Has anybody noticed just how strong his team mates are at the endof the mountain stage , Hincapie didn´t even seem out of breath last mountain stage - doing an interview for german tv 50 yds over the line ?
With all the reverlations coming out of US athletics these last months you have to ask has there been any spill over of " technology " from that Californian lab ( THG etc ) to this very American cycle team , LA may be a superman but all 9 ?? don´t think so .

Private life is private until you sell your face and lifestyle for money ( adverts , social mags etc ) then all bets are of : see Beckham .

And what team is gonna hire a bunch of sissies? All 9.......you betcha.

 

[Beastt]

Has anybody noticed just how strong his team mates are at the endof the mountain stage , Hincapie didn´t even seem out of breath last mountain stage - doing an interview for german tv 50 yds over the line ?
With all the reverlations coming out of US athletics these last months you have to ask has there been any spill over of " technology " from that Californian lab ( THG etc ) to this very American cycle team , LA may be a superman but all 9 ?? don´t think so .

Private life is private until you sell your face and lifestyle for money ( adverts , social mags etc ) then all bets are of : see Beckham .

I don't suppose it occurred to you that these guys have been training with the strongest man on a bike and that his honest, aggressive training methods are what has spilled over. When Tyler Hamilton was riding for USPS he said in an interview that he used to think he knew how to train hard until he met Lance. Lance showed him how to bring his training up a few levels. When Rubiera and Heras were first brought to the team, they were training with Lance but the training was so strenuous that both of them came into the 2001 Tour de France with injuries. Johann said that he had to limit them to only training with Lance two out of every three training days. Perhaps all of that dedicated and hard training is what's paying off for the team.

I applaud Lance's approach to those making claims of doping in "L.A. Confidential". If you have something let's see it. If you don't, better get yourself a good lawyer. This idea that anyone who wins or appears stronger than average must be doping is getting old. Sometimes our personal favorite is going to be beat by someone else. That doesn't mean that the guy who won was doping. It just might mean that he was stronger because he has the genetics to win, trained harder or trained better.

It looks like Richard Virenque is going to be the first ever to win seven "King of the Mountains" titles in the Tour. I don't see people pointing at him and screaming that he's doping and he, unlike Armstrong, has a history of doping. Sometimes we just have to live with the fact that a rider who isn't our favorite is the better cyclist. Jan didn't have it this year. He's a great cyclist but he doesn't deserve to win because Lance is better.

 

[Greg-O]

well whether you guys like it or not, he just won.

 

[drebro]

I must say I am not a fan of Lance, but it seems every year I come to admire him more and more. He is just so good. So maybe I am a fan. I am definitely not against him winning, and think the behavior of many fans on Alpe d'Huez and some of the other climbs was shameful.

I guess the reason I say I am not a fan is because I prefer riders who are not as flashy and flamboyant, even though they are often criticized for not having panache. Guys like Indurain and now Basso. I guess they match my quiet personality and gentle approach to life. I have in the past seen those riders as having more class and style than Lance or others who win like he does. But now Lance has learned to dominate and win everything and still have style and class and not be a hothead like he was years ago. And that is why I admire him more and more. His victories this week really have been beautiful to watch.

 

[Beastt]

well whether you guys like it or not, he just won.

I like it.

...I like it a lot.

 

[less'go]

It was great to follow the tour this year....now what the hell am I going to watch on TV while I babysit my 6 month old daughter....?! Truly inspiring!

He is no mortal man...

You can love him, you can hate him, the dude's a God...

Pointless to debate his charisma and personality, it's not a popularity contest.

He won AGAIN. Amazing.

 

[pobserver03]

It was great to follow the tour this year....now what the hell am I going to watch on TV while I babysit my 6 month old daughter....?! Truly inspiring!

I agree, the TDF is truly an inspiring event. I am going to say this despite the ridicule I might possibly subject myself to, but to watch not just the amazing machine LA, but the entire peloton as a whole-their triumphs, their personal failures, the landscape they helped to add color to-it all provoked such emotion, at the sight of all this I welled up with tears.

As for what are you going to watch now-Please do not watch the Teletubbies-they are terrifying.

 

[izzodesh]

I agree, the TDF is truly an inspiring event. I am going to say this despite the ridicule I might possibly subject myself to, but to watch not just the amazing machine LA, but the entire peloton as a whole-their triumphs, their personal failures, the landscape they helped to add color to-it all provoked such emotion, at the sight of all this I welled up with tears.

As for what are you going to watch now-Please do not watch the Teletubbies-they are terrifying.

this is true teletubbies scare me
same with that sponge thing

repeats of tdf?!

 

[The Dubliner]

I've just returned to Australia from 10 days in NY. It was interesting to see the differences in coverage of the Tour between SBS in Aus, and ESPN in the States, and I find it easy to understand why Americans in general are fans of Lance.

There was a lot of coverage, adulation and praise for him on what US coverage I saw, and a lot less focus on the racing, and other people making up the peloton. I did manage to see the live TT on OLN network in Times Square, and was amazed at the crowds it pulled, and the voracity of cheering for Lance as he crossed the various time checks.

Despite the so called reporting by Phil Liggit and Paul Sherwin, it was fairly and squarly slanted for the US Market, and the advertising around it would have you thinking that US Postal, Berry Floors etc actually sponsored the whole TdF.

I saw the first week of the Tour in Sydney, and found that SBS focusses much more on the race in general, and whilst it does update us on the Australian riders, it didn't put them on the pedestal that ESPN did with Lance.

 

[davidmc]

I like it.

...I like it a lot.

Like Lance do you? (saw you're discreet avatar)

 

[The Dubliner]

....And your point is.....

It might account for the greater ratio of 'pro' to 'anti' Lance people in the US than in the other regions?

 

[Beastt]

Like Lance do you? (saw you're discreet avatar)

I put the avatar together on the 26th, the day after Lance took his 6th win. It's celebratory and will likely be changed after the celebration period is over. I should also say that I created the new avatar as much because of all the unfairness shown Lance with the unsubstantiated claims of doping as because of his new record with a 6th win. Yeah, I like Lance.

 

[limerickman]

It might account for the greater ratio of 'pro' to 'anti' Lance people in the US than in the other regions?

Just to take up your point - living down here in Munster we get Eurosport and I watched the Tour.
I don't have ITV 2 but the other night ITV 1 (UTV) showed highlights of the last week of the TDF and I just watched it to see the coverage.

Phil and Sherwen were doing the commentary.
Phil Ligget was his usual impartial self - he is a first rate commentator.
Sherwen ! He should buy himself a cheerleaders short skirt, a nice pair of dernier tights and a set of PomPoms !
I always he knew he was LA's cheerleader but ITV's coverage surpassed itself
with his biased one eyed view.
Of course he was involved with Motorola on the media side as we all know.
But to have him commentating in such biased tones ?
Imagine having to be Ligget listening to that all day in the commentary box and then having to drive to the hotel at night with that clown Sherwen as well ?

He should be confined to his farm in Kenya.

 

[davidmc]

Just to take up your point - living down here in Munster we get Eurosport and I watched the Tour.
I don't have ITV 2 but the other night ITV 1 (UTV) showed highlights of the last week of the TDF and I just watched it to see the coverage.

Phil and Sherwen were doing the commentary.
Phil Ligget was his usual impartial self - he is a first rate commentator.
Sherwen ! He should buy himself a cheerleaders short skirt, a nice pair of dernier tights and a set of PomPoms !
I always he knew he was LA's cheerleader but ITV's coverage surpassed itself
with his biased one eyed view.
Of course he was involved with Motorola on the media side as we all know.
But to have him commentating in such biased tones ?
Imagine having to be Ligget listening to that all day in the commentary box and then having to drive to the hotel at night with that clown Sherwen as well ?

He should be confined to his farm in Kenya.

Agree, you make a valid point; they should of just been honest & called it the "Tour de Lance"

 

[Dudee]

In light of the popularity of the "Why does Armstrong provoke such strong pro/anti feelings?" thread, I thought it would be interesting to take a poll to see who is and is not a fan of Lance Armstrong.

In addition I thought it would also be interesting to see where the fans and non-fans were from. Sorry to lump everyone who isn't from either Europe or the USA into a generic "somewhere else" catergory but I had to draw the line somewhere.

LANCE IS THE MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO USA

 

[Jaguar27]

In light of the popularity of the "Why does Armstrong provoke such strong pro/anti feelings?" thread, I thought it would be interesting to take a poll to see who is and is not a fan of Lance Armstrong.

In addition I thought it would also be interesting to see where the fans and non-fans were from. Sorry to lump everyone who isn't from either Europe or the USA into a generic "somewhere else" catergory but I had to draw the line somewhere.

I'm British but live in the USA, so I put myself down as European for want of my own special category


Personally, I ride and I know (or can kinda relate to) just what every single rider has been through to even get a RIDE in the TDF, let alone win something...or even FINISH...

Lance is awesome, an icon...in my opinion anyway....I was sooo glad that he won...he deserved to....and Hats off to all the other Riders who were there, wherever they're from...they're all awesome...I wish I had 1% of their Talent and determination...

 

[theyoungkid]

I saw the pole after not having logged onto the board for a few days and decided to vote without looking at any posts. I was interested to see, after I had voted that I am a fan of Lance that it seems to be the consensus of the majority, no matter where they live.

To be honest I never was into pro bicycling and the only reason I hear about Lance and in the past, Greg LeMond is because they were leaders in what is considered by a lot of us in the US as an European sport.

No matter what one thinks of the man, Lance Armstrong one cannot deny that he is up there in the stratosphere of the very best in the history of pro bicycle racing. His coming back from cancer adds to his panache. The fact that he has divorced gives the message that he is a mortal human like the rest of us. The fact that he has won the Tour De France 5 times in a row also says he is one of the strongest riders in history.

Lance Armstrong has name recognition in a country that is practically only a baseball, basketball and football nation.

make that 6 times in a row now. Way to go Lance! go for 7 next year with the discovery channel! hope OLN covers it again like they did this year