Lance Armstrong to ride for Astana

[JohnP]

..but he'll be up against Mark Cavendish next time, won't he?

... who has yet to actually finish a TdF.

Why is concentrating on the TdF such a big problem with people on here ?  Armstrong did all the smaller events on his way up.  We've all been gloating about how good Hoy is on the track but I can't find his name on the Tour of Britain entry list.  Modern F1 drivers do not drive other classes or events like they used to. MotoGP riders seldom ride more than a single class in a season.  It's called specialisation.

Is it OK if he's one of our's but not if he's American ?

btw I am aware of the history drug allegations and associations.

btw I know Hoy's a Scot but I used term our's loosely.

[Frenchie]

He's not a bad rider - just don't say he's as good as Merckx.

Or Hinault and...

who have a much richer palmares.

[blackpuddinonnabike]

He's not a bad rider - just don't say he's as good as Merckx.

Or Hinault and...

Erm... Never did...

[gonzo]

We've all been gloating about how good Hoy is on the track but I can't find his name on the Tour of Britain entry list.

That's like asking a 100m sprinter why they don't run marathons, it's not so much specialisation as it's practically a different sport.

Armstrong has yet to make a mark on either of the other big two tours. He hasn't been a force to be reckoned with in classics for a very long time/ever (depending on POV). Winning the Kerin, team sprint and solo sprint is a similar idea to winning all three grand tours (but the later is a little trickier!).

[Greenbank]

We've all been gloating about how good Hoy is on the track but I can't find his name on the Tour of Britain entry list.

That's like asking a 100m sprinter why they don't run marathons, it's not so much specialisation as it's practically a different sport.

Isn't anything over 1km (of trackcycling) classed as "endurance"?

[Ian H]

We've all been gloating about how good Hoy is on the track but I can't find his name on the Tour of Britain entry list.

That's like asking a 100m sprinter why they don't run marathons, it's not so much specialisation as it's practically a different sport.

Isn't anything over 1km (of trackcycling) classed as "endurance"?

Compare Hoy's physique with your average roadman and you'll see the different specialisation involved.

[clarion]

MInd you, compare Charly Gaul with Djamolidine Abdoujaparov...

Or Jan Ullrich with, er, Jan Ullrich

[gonzo]

We've all been gloating about how good Hoy is on the track but I can't find his name on the Tour of Britain entry list.

That's like asking a 100m sprinter why they don't run marathons, it's not so much specialisation as it's practically a different sport.

Isn't anything over 1km (of trackcycling) classed as "endurance"?

Compare Hoy's physique with your average roadman and you'll see the different specialisation involved.

Or a rugby player!

[Hot Flatus]

I'm not a fan of retired sports people making comebacks. So Lance will have a crack at another tour..............big deal. Seems like you can't keep a good ego down.

I hope he falls in a heap on his arse and ends up coming well outside of the top 20, although I suspect that if that looked like happening he'd have to retire because of a "gastric upset"  Great rider - pigs arse - he wouldn't even be in my top 20.

So what's so great about you? 

He won the tour 7 times... and if he doped, at least he was on a level playing field. 

[clarion]

What's great about Alchemy is that he's a b;loke whose opinion I value, and hasn't ever been suspected of dabbling with performance enhancing drugs*





* That I'm aware of

[Ian H]

So what's so great about you? 

He won the tour 7 times... and if he doped, at least he was on a level playing field. 

Yes, but road racing was always as much about character and courage as about winning.

[Hot Flatus]

What's great about Alchemy is that he's a b;loke whose opinion I value, and hasn't ever been suspected of dabbling with performance enhancing drugs*





* That I'm aware of

Hasn't won many Tours though, has he.

[LEE]

It always amazes me to hear Lance derided because " he doesn't have a nice character in my opinion".

Who gives a rat's arse?  He wasn't out to win "Mister Nice Guy" 7 times in a row.

Winning at that level (in any discipline) requires a degree of selfishness, or you can guarantee someone in your team will stitch you up in order to further their own ambitions.

Nobody can say who is the greatest cyclist of all time, that's personal opinion.

I can tell you that he's one of the all time greats though.

I don't care if he kicks little baby kittens for a hobby, he's my cycling hero and I wish he'd stay retired so all the Lance-bashers can't say "see I knew he wasn't all that good" if he gets beaten.

Always seems like sour grapes from lesser cyclists to me.

[pdm]

Well! Lance certainly seems to raise the hackles...

Love him or hate him...  Go on - everyone else does! 

[Ian H]

Well! Lance certainly seems to raise the hackles...

Love him or hate him...  Go on - everyone else does! 

He doesn't raise my hackles, he just bores me slightly.

[clarion]

He is a dull rider.

[Hot Flatus]

He is a dull rider.

Yeah.  Of course he is.  You get to win 7 tours if you are dull.   

[clarion]

Miguel Indurain was one of the most boring riders in history.  I know he didn't win seven Tours de France, but, you know, he does have other things on his palmares...

Linky

[alchemy]

What's great about Alchemy is that he's a b;loke whose opinion I value, and hasn't ever been suspected of dabbling with performance enhancing drugs*


* That I'm aware of

Even if I had dabbled it's pretty obvious that it's never enhanced my performance on a bike  

But no, I've never touched an illegal substance in my life  

[alchemy]

I'm not a fan of retired sports people making comebacks. So Lance will have a crack at another tour..............big deal. Seems like you can't keep a good ego down.

I hope he falls in a heap on his arse and ends up coming well outside of the top 20, although I suspect that if that looked like happening he'd have to retire because of a "gastric upset"  Great rider - pigs arse - he wouldn't even be in my top 20.

So what's so great about you? 

He won the tour 7 times... and if he doped, at least he was on a level playing field. 

Touched a nerve did I Pumpy??

I never claimed to be a great, or even good, rider. In fact I'd be rubbish at racing because I don't have a shred of competitive ability or spirit. I just never liked Armstrongs' approach to the sport - simple as that.

[bikenerd]

I always thought the French hated Armstrong so much because their great new hope, Tricky Dicky Virenque, was proven to be a drugs cheat and never really raced again after 1999, the year Lance came to dominate.
Sour grapes, innit?
And he got to shag Sheryl Crow!

I'm not a fan, btw.  I couldn't care one way or t'other about him.

[Greenbank]

It got quite heated the last time Lance was discussed:

Heads up: The Science of Lance Armstrong

[gonzo]

Yeah.  Of course he is.  You get to win 7 tours if you are dull.   

Being exciting or dull does not dictate if you win the tour. Lance was dull because it was just predictable. His team would bring back any breaks that might have stood a chance in thg GC. He'd come top in TTs (the most dull spectator sport known to man). Finally, his team would set tempo on mountain stages, dropping nearly all the rivals and then he'd get away with a couple of other hopefuls with about a mile to go. I'll not deny that was what was required to win, but it was boring as hell.

The year afterwards? A breakaway person eventually won, but there was that day with Landis which is the most amazing feat on a bike I've ever seen (make your own judgement on the positive). People got excited, it was something different.

To be honest, my real grip with him was that day with Simeoni. For that he lost my respect permanently.

I hope that Contator kicks his arse and makes him work as a domestic!

[clarion]

Armstrong was even duller on the Giro, Vuelta, Paris-Nice, Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold, Fleche Wallonne, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Paris-Tours etc etc...

[mattc]

Yeah.  Of course he is.  You get to win 7 tours if you are dull.   

Being exciting or dull does not dictate if you win the tour. Lance was dull because it was just predictable. His team would bring back any breaks that might have stood a chance in thg GC. He'd come top in TTs (the most dull spectator sport known to man). Finally, his team would set tempo on mountain stages, dropping nearly all the rivals and then he'd get away with a couple of other hopefuls with about a mile to go. I'll not deny that was what was required to win, but it was boring as hell.

It was very dull. HOWEVER if any other team had got their act together and copied him, it could have been pretty interesting.
(I also reckon several of Lance's later wins were due to his rivals aiming for 2nd - he'd won before the race started.)

Oddly I thought this year's profile would have been a good Lance-beater. Perhaps it will be similar next year, and Lance will produce a real ding-dong battle?