Just thought id ask u guys what u think on lances bad finish in the preliminaries. The announcers were saying he was taking it easy. I agree with them. They think he might be saving energy for the tour de france. I dont know about u guys but if he wants to win he has to at least try. He has to take some risks at some point right? This isnt the lance i have seen race before. What do some of u think?
Lance in Paris Nice?
- Thread starter mike7382
- Start date
mike7382 said:
To Lance and his team P-A is like spring training. He certainly didn't go there to win (he said so himself). He is riding himself into shape to be ready for the only race that matters to him, the TdF.
If you caught the race commentary it is plain to see that he wasn't putting in a max effort to win. P-A is a nice race, but hardly a major goal of LA.
Let's see how his form is by the time the TdGorgia rolls around. That would be a better indicator of his preparation and fitness.
If you saw him on the Eurosport coverage he is not in any shape at all ! I'm not kidding... he don't look good... he is not as lean as he used to be and he has caught Ullrich's disease... he has a waist line !..... of course he has plenty of time to get himself right but he has always prided himself on planning for the TDF.... lance fans watch-out !
He shouldn't really have entered in the first place, the mountains just aren't big enough for him to gain the advantage he does in the tour de france and anyway, a training camp is much better for improving fitness than a race like the Paris-Nice which seems to be have more than its fair share of **** weather.
I agree with Virenque racing is much better training for racing than a training camp. Lance has nothing to prove this year anyways he has already established his name in the history of cycling. He could not finish a race this year including the TDF and I would still claim he is one of the best cyclist in the world right now.
""Man I was cold today - I froze!" he was quoted by Sportwereld as saying. "This was extremely hard...My condition is really nothing special. I've actually never stopped training, but I'm behind compared with other years. I stayed a lot longer in the US and I only came back to Girona on Thursday. The jetlag is still in the legs. I'm still a bit too heavy... "From now on, it really starts for me and I am 100 percent ready to go to work...everyone knows my objective this year (Tour de France) so for now (at Paris-Nice) I'm just here to get used the rhythm of racing and build my strength. This is pure preparation. Hey guys, these were my first four racing kilometres!""
LA recognizes he's a bit heavy.
LA recognizes he's a bit heavy.
Le Fougere said:
A lot of climbing tomorrow, so I'd say it's still a tough call. But all the same, I'm totally rooting for Julich. Great rider. He deserves a nice trophy.
Heck, any CSC rider winning would make me happy. They've showed up in great form. Jens Voigt has long been one of my favorite pros.
Lance the best rider my ass, what makes Lance is Lance's team. There are many good riders out there, it's only a matter of time before Julich or a Cunego will take over the helm. Then what are all you guys out there going to do with your million dollar Trek's with 20 cm of spacers and Bontfager wheels! And don't even get me started on those Shimano!
Great Team or not, hats off to anyone who can win 6 tours... but still... I'd say that in their eras, Merckx, Hinault, and Sean Kelly were the real deal, and really lived the life and took on the races. They were Riders who could earn Palmares from March until October.996vtwin said:
Didn't LA say that this was going to be his year to add other wins to his record to silence the critics? I don't see it. Bruyneel dropped the hint that LA might not enter Tour of Flanders now, despite all of LA's crowing about how he wanted to win it this year.
LA also dropped a hint that he might try his hand at Paris - Roubaix. I guess we'll have to see.
strummer_fan said:
I doubt it, it'll be like other years; he'll be there to support Hincapie. I hope George takes it, and I hope Bobby wins tomorrow. The "other" Americans are just so much more humble and palatable to my English temperament than LA. There's no arguing with 6 TdF though...
Lances is team is awesome and maybe if they weren't so good he wouldn't win the tour de france so often. However the reason he's the team captain is because he's the best out of that team of talented individuals. Just look at his time trials, he beat the next fastest member of his team by over a minute on the Alp D'Huez time trial, therefore he's the team captain and they all ride for him.
When Lance retires, as long as there is enough of the the old USPS team around their next team captain (Azevedo?) will have a damn good chance of winning the TDF.
When Lance retires, as long as there is enough of the the old USPS team around their next team captain (Azevedo?) will have a damn good chance of winning the TDF.
I think Discovery's problem with slotting in another rider to take over is that they never give any of their other riders the opportunity to experience the pressures and responsibilities of leadership - instead even if they have the Yello Jersey they still have to fetch and carry for Armstrong. There's a big difference between the second and third steps and the top of the podium and it helps to be given team leader status to learn that - which aint going to happen while ever Armstrong is around.Eldrack said:
Armstrong is highly unlikely to ride more than a bare handful of races if he's going to win TdF number 7. I can't be the only one whose noticed that his season has got shorter and shorter the longer he rides.
