Somehow, I can't get excited about it this year

[thebluetrain]

I'm not saying it's right, far from it... but it's like y'all had your head up your asses until 1999.

Thats cause they all had their blinders on until someone they disliked started winning.
This race is going to come down to AC and LA (and possibly Kloden)with Leipheimer, Sastre, one of the Schlecks, and Evans picking up the scraps. Sastre is already over a minute down on LA. Evans doesnt have what it takes to win the mountains. Rogers and Kirchen are wishful thinking.
Kloden is a darkhorse and is hard to predict where he will end up. It all depends on if he is going to sacrifice himself for AC & LA or if he is going for the podium.
At the end I dont think LA has enough left to stay with AC in the mountains, but we'll see. Thats why they race.

 

[Cobblestones]

Okay,let me expound on my previous post. I think this will be the best Tour ever in terms of entertainment value. I find it hard to believe that Kloden will support another Tour winner if he feels he has a shot at the overall. I have to think that Armschlong wouldn't enter the race if he didn't think he could win, so it goes without saying, all syringes on are on the table. Cantadope is the best of the three but talent alone won't win the race. Lipohiniehole can't win with or without dope but I get the feeling he's not above manipulation by Armschlong (to be referred to as just Schlong for the sake of character conservation from this point on.)

I won't predict a winner, but I will predict a backroom deal wins it.

I watched today's recap, just tuned in a few minutes before the split happened. I see now what you're saying and why you're excited. Was Schlong tipped off by Big G before the attack? Was Zubeldia reluctant to pull with Popo?

Anyway, brilliant riding by Columbia.

Green points classification:
Manx missile: 70,
Cokehead: 0

Even Wheelsucker has more points.

What are the sprinters going to do?

Ah and swampy bluetrain: please go away. You're clueless.

 

[swampy1970]

I watched today's recap, just tuned in a few minutes before the split happened. I see now what you're saying and why you're excited. Was Schlong tipped off by Big G before the attack? Was Zubeldia reluctant to pull with Popo?

Anyway, brilliant riding by Columbia.

Green points classification:
Manx missile: 70,
Cokehead: 0

Even Wheelsucker has more points.

What are the sprinters going to do?

Ah and swampy bluetrain: please go away. You're clueless.

Schlong isn't as stupid as Contador, Evans, the Schlecks etc etc - he has a clue that when you're riding into a headwind and the course turns you're gonna get a crosswind and in a strong wind you're gonna get echelons.

Clueless... no. I just don't have a raging hard-on when it comes to hating like many on here. I know it goes on and I deal with it.

We could even go back to 1905 and say "well, somehow I can't get to excited about this Tour because last year about 25% of the field was disqualified for cheating..."

Maybe I should start a thread next year for the Giro "... ever since Merckx tested positive, I could never really get excited about it..." whaaa whaaa whaaaa....

... oh, I forgot, it'd only be taken seriously if the thread was slagging off Lance.

 

[classic1]

Schlong isn't as stupid as Contador, Evans, the Schlecks etc etc - he has a clue that when you're riding into a headwind and the course turns you're gonna get a crosswind and in a strong wind you're gonna get echelons.

Correct. Uniballer is smart, professional and a racer. Any GC contender that missed the move on stage 3 is a dumbarse. It's kiddie stuff. I had this **** hammered in to me when I was racing in the schoolboy categories. So-called professionals should know it is absolutely fundemental to get to the front when a cross wind is coming up. Rogers and all the Colombia boys got it, Cancellara got it, Geiderman got it, the Skil boys got it, and Armstrong got it. Good on them.

Riding in an echelon is becoming a lost art, as is the ability for pros to think for themselves IMO.

 

[Grater]

Let's hope Armstrong finally tests positive!

 

[Scotttri]

Klodifan,

Nice of you to say that.

You know, when I made my avatar on this forum, I was considering something similar as 'Klodifan'. I always thought that Kloden was a particularly stylish rider. I'm kind of glad I reconsidered (mostly because there already was a Klodifan). I chose a more neutral name because I feared that whichever rider I professed a particular interest in by my choice of a username, might at one point become discredited. I feel like as you might have felt when the Freiburg scandal broke. Except, for me it's not about any particular rider, it's about cycling in general.

Maybe I get into the spirit again. BroDeal wrote once an excellent post on the cycling news forum about how we all know what's going on, but in some schizophrenic way, we can still enjoy the actual racing. I'll try to dig it up. I haven't posted much the last 2 weeks neither here nor at cyclingnews. I read some of what is written over there, but they have now split the actual racing discussion section from the doping discussion section, which I think is a mistake. Anyway, maybe as you say, I might be back posting at one time. I'll go out for a spin now and watch the fireworks with my kids tonight.

Have a nice holiday weekend!

Firstly Cobblestones and Klodifan need to get a room!!! Secondly I'm not saying that cycling is clean, just saying it isn't as bad as some people like to point out. And as far as this years tour goes I think it's easy to gat into it, you've got 3 past winners, uncertainty with in a team, it's easy to get into. So what if the whole peleton is on drugs like some posters would have us believe, then it's an even race.

 

[randochap]

IMO, it doesn't get much more exciting than today's team TT. Glad to see it back in le Tour!

I don't hero worship him, nor let his celebrity eclipse the performances of all the other extraordinary riders, but, speaking as a 2X cancer survivor, I respect everything Armstrong is doing.

 

[Cobblestones]

rando: I watched it today, and there was definitely drama. There's always drama with a TTT.

Anyway, look at the final result. Basically, you have Menchov, Evans, and probably Sastre out of contention. The last serious contender standing beside the Astana guys is the Schlecklet. And he's already down about 1:30 on Bertie before they've seen a single mountain. Quite a few posters think it's over. Who knows, maybe it is, maybe it isn't.

Helmut has the right of it. The excitement is within Astana. At least let's hope so.

And swampy, you're clueless, because you have no idea where I'm coming from.

 

[Geoff Vadar]

Firstly Cobblestones and Klodifan need to get a room!!! Secondly I'm not saying that cycling is clean, just saying it isn't as bad as some people like to point out. And as far as this years tour goes I think it's easy to gat into it, you've got 3 past winners, uncertainty with in a team, it's easy to get into. So what if the whole peleton is on drugs like some posters would have us believe, then it's an even race.

Scott this post is retarded. Not even slightly, its a full blown spaz attack.

 

[limerickman]

Correct. Uniballer is smart, professional and a racer. Any GC contender that missed the move on stage 3 is a dumbarse. It's kiddie stuff. I had this **** hammered in to me when I was racing in the schoolboy categories. So-called professionals should know it is absolutely fundemental to get to the front when a cross wind is coming up. Rogers and all the Colombia boys got it, Cancellara got it, Geiderman got it, the Skil boys got it, and Armstrong got it. Good on them.

Riding in an echelon is becoming a lost art, as is the ability for pros to think for themselves IMO.

Yep.
Basic stuff which every single professional ought to know.

I blame the increased use of radios - these so called pros cannot think for themselves,

 

[Eldron]

Like I've said elsewhere - I'm rather stoked about this year's tour - mostly because I've completely given up the art of trying to figure out who dopes... Who really cares anyway? So they do - so they don't - what difference does it make? By the time the media has mashed any doping story into a doping frenzy whirlwind you're probably not getting the full story anyway. The truth about how many people at the tour dope is somewhere between 0 and 100% - does the actual % matter? Hell no. No one will know. Ever.

Stop throwing the Lance fanboy hissy fits, "please dear god can he be busted this year" prayers, finger waggling and indignation and just enjoy the spectacle of 200 chaps riding bikes through one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Better still go and enjoy it personaly - it'll blow your mind.

Suffer less - enjoy more. Do it. Now.

 

[Cobblestones]

So I watched it. First, nothing, then nothing, then Evans attacks and fails. Finally Conti attacks his own train out of desperation over the other 'contenders' (Schlecklet, Evans, Sastre). Bertie doing a lot of effort to make up those 20s on the Schlong. Also, we learned who the omega ***** is among the Astana 4 (hello Kloden). I admit, it had a certain drama at least for the last 5 km.

Anyway, good win by Feillu. And congrats to Nocentini for the yellow.

And the polka dot podium girls look stupid with their red bunny ears.

ETA: Whoa, you can't say bitch here any more? Weak.

 

[randochap]

Today's stage was great racing. I was sure excited. Great surprise by yong Feillu!

 

[Cobblestones]

After Tourmalet, still not excited.

 

[Bro Deal]

Worst. Tour. Course. Ever.

Two weekend days in the high mountains, and they are both snoozefests where there is no opportunity for the GC hopefuls to do anything but ride like they were on parade.

A 100+ riders went over the Tourmalet together with the yellow jersey.

 

[JonnyW]

Worst. Tour. Course. Ever.

Two weekend days in the high mountains, and they are both snoozefests where there is no opportunity for the GC hopefuls to do anything but ride like they were on parade.

A 100+ riders went over the Tourmalet together with the yellow jersey.

+1

It was nice to see breakaways succeed but the last two days have been a big disappointment in general, with a rest day tomorrow I really hoped someone would attack going over Tourmalet... shame.

 

[TheDarkLord]

+1

It was nice to see breakaways succeed but the last two days have been a big disappointment in general, with a rest day tomorrow I really hoped someone would attack going over Tourmalet... shame.

That is what happens when you put the Tourmalet so far away from the finish.

 

[Mansmind]

Nothing of substance in regards to general classification is going to happen until the Alps and TT in my opinion. I think that's where we'll see the true strength/or lack of in the GC contenders. The rest will be sort of dull. I think when it does happen it will be extremely exciting, there are still quite a few names that are close enough to fight it out. I think there are too many for Astana to control all of them, but we'll see.

 

[nonns]

Its very sad. When I was racing as a junior we were all enthusiastic about training equipment and so forth. As a cup half full person I've decided perhaps I need to reconsider the whole doping thing. Perhaps as a fan I should fully embrace it and discuss not only the skills equipment team tactics and such like of my favourite riders but also the drugs to which they might have access. Oh just think how x or y or z could have ridden if only they'd had brand x EPO to call upon plus the help and guidance of Lolo Ferrari (err she might have been a **** star!)

Perhaps the riders should also be rated not just on finish results, time bonuses, points, but also the number of times they been tested clean whilst actually being on drugs.

It would add an extra dimension.

 

[Bro Deal]

Nothing of substance in regards to general classification is going to happen until the Alps and TT in my opinion.

A major problem is that the Alpes are not any better. The stage to Verbier looks slightly easier than the stage to Arcalis. Both climbs are moderate climbs. We are left with the whole race coming down to the ITT and Ventoux. The TTT already eliminated everyone not on Astana with the possible exception of Andy Schleck; but even if the Schlecklet had raging form there is no where for him to take any time except Ventoux.

It is just an increbibly stupid course as far as the GC goes. It looks like it was designed for an old rider. As far as breakaways go, it's gold, though.