Why Lance should ride for VIII

I know there is a lot of furor and speculation about Armstrong,doping and riding another tour.
I personally do not have a problem with a decision to do so.

It would undoubtedly draw a bigger audience because of the "soap opera" style drama surrounding it. "Lance vs the French"
It would give CF countless thread material for debates.
Trek would sell more bikes.
And my #1 reason ,it would give Jan one more chance to try and beat Lance and I know this was his ambition that slipped away. Maybe, just maybe, he would train even harder this time.

Yes I know it would be like filming Rocky VI "The quest for more money" but maybe you guys know of some more good reasons.
I leave it to your discretion to make comments.

 

Lance should leave his legacy intact, and not sully it by responding to a petty vendetta. He leaves on a high note, with the one attempt to slap him after the fact now officially killed off by the UCI. He has set the bar very high, but not impossibly high, and has gone out a true patron.

On the other hand, if he were to unretire and ride the Giro, it would make for a very exciting race. And the crowds he would inevitably draw away from the Tour would be an indirect slap at LeBlanc, who was only too anixous to leap on the 'slime Lance after the fact' bandwagon.

 

He shouldn't.



And I'm a hardcore LA fan.

 

I agree with you. He should mean what he said and if his intentions are to "piss off the French" he could do it some other way.

On the other hand, if he needs to "unretire", how about he try for the hour record as he once said. That would be cool.

 

Whatever your feelings, please sign the Lance Armstrong Petition at

http://www.lance.co.nr

I personally think he should go for the 8th - if you were him, would you?

 

Nope. It would be coke, booze and whores with all that money I made.

 

Getting to the level of fitness he needs to be in is a level of committment that I don't think any of us recreational riders can properly appreciate. it's not a matter of saying "oh, what the hell, why not?"

I sort of like the idea of him doing the Giro, though. It'd do a lot to bring that ride into the (American) public's awareness. Or the hour record. He could probably do that, and it's a way to follow in Merckx's footsteps.

Did any of the five-time winners win their last tour? I don't think so -- Indurain's final tour was kind of sad, and Hinault "supported" Lemond on his final tour. Going out a winner has a lot to be said for it.

 

I agree 100% with this. He's not going to prove anything by going out and riding another TdF, even if he wins it (does anyone doubt that he would, really?). However, he does have a lot to lose if he rides and loses.

 

He might start crack and decide to ride the Giro and the Vuelta or perhaps even the World Championships

 

I would like to see Lance in as many TDF's as he has the legs for, he and most cyclists would know when to call it quits due to physical limitations. However, I would like to see a fight for the GC in 2006 and beyond, the 2005 GC was aleser. The KOM, sprints and T's were great and some times bazaar (Rasmussen and crew imploding) but someone will have to challenge GC.

I agree with Jhuskey, on the Jan Ullrich issue. There is no way that Jan would feel sas-sis-fied with winning a TDF without Lance in it. He (Jan) has expressed that more than once. And frankly, if anyone were to beat Lance, I for one would want it to be Jan.

All this being said, I would love to see him in the Giro d' Italia and so would Gilberto Simoni.



LW

 

LOVE the idea of him riding the Giro and taking the attention to there. I think that would be a much better slap. Win or lose, the attention would be there and the Tour would be anti-climatical. Unless Discovery fielded a team at the Tour also, without Lance, that could still win. That would be a double slam.

 

I don't think any of us can appreciate the discipline and sacrifice it takes to train for this. I don't think revenge is a big enough motivating factor to put in this much effort...or at least I hope it isn't...that would be sad.

 

I agree - ride the Giro, and set up Discovery for the TdF.

 

Seems you didn't understand much about Lance's case... And Leblanc is a guy who have defended Armstrong year after year against rumours. This time just is not rumour...

Personnaly, I would be glad Armstrong rides next year. He's a great champion, even with forbidden substances in the blood...
Could be an interesting Tour, open and disputed.

However, many are sure it's a bluff by Lance. Just trying to divert attention. Sad... I'd like to see him again.

 

Latest news is that Lance is planning to ride the 2006 Tour of Britain...
No, seriously, he should leave the TOF alone, he has nothing else to prove there.
He should go for a Giro or maybe a Vuelta if he really ants to slap the Frogs in the face so to speak, and that way he will draw the public to other races apart from the TOF.

androo

 

I think you over-estimante him a bit... Tour de France was alive before Armstrong and will be well alive after Amrstrong.
Seems you're a kid believing in sperheroes and other bullsh... like that. Cyclists come and go away, Tour de France remains.

 

Actually I'm 73 yrs old. But at least I can spell correctly.

 

Oh yeah, you're a great guy

 

congratulations asshole

 

The history of the tour has been shakey at time it almost ended just as it got started , but you are correct in the prediction that it will live on. At least for some time ,however how much intersest will it evoke in American cycling without Armstrong?
The next few years of the tour will undoubtedly get similar coverage in the US as now, but will it wain if the US doesn't continue to have top performing riders?
Fortunately there are some promising prospects,but being I am a greedy A** Hole ,I want continued improving coverage of cycling and fear it will diminish with a new era. Right now I have football to watch ,but I am looking forward to next July and don't want to just read about it on the net.

Before anyone critiques my spelling, well....I can't spell crap ....actually I can spell crap ,it is the muliti-syllable words that give me problems.