Professional Cycling For the Fans - Who are your fav tour riders so far? Who do you hate?

For me..

Voight...
I'm really liking Rabobank for their guts, Dekker & Rasmussen...
Boonen, omg - this guy sprints like I drive on the highway
Kloden - what a ride in stage 8...

I really don't like Salvatore Commesso... he toyed around with the escapees not really taking his turn during the break... saving his energy for sprint points... kinda un-sportsmanlike to me...

That what's interesting for me... it's been a pretty good Tour for me to watch so far... CSC's in the lead, Rabobank is showing good form & looks like Lance MAY [fingers crossed] have some competition in the Alps because a race isn't fun to watch when one guy is scorching everyone... it's good for THAT guy... but not for the spectators.. hahaha

Big underdog supporter
My man DZ... Enuf said
Mengin... My heart goes out this guy..
Voeckler... He wears his heart on his sleeve..
Erik Dekker... He was so close...

I am not sure I hate anybody yet...

Had to cheer for Pieter Weening for Stage 8, especially loved his "preying mantis" position for the descent! Can anyone emulate that?

Overall enjoying TdF.

Big underdog supporter
My man DZ... Enuf said
Mengin... My heart goes out this guy..
Voeckler... He wears his heart on his sleeve..
Erik Dekker... He was so close...

I am not sure I hate anybody yet...

Same here, I am a big underdog supporter :)

Love every rider but LA :)

I went in liking Basso and McEwen. I've since picked up The Z and Rasmussen.

Rasmussen is at the top of my list.
Boonen is awesome. Vino's attacks are the most fun things to watch on tv.
I like T-mobile, but Jan is getting on my nerves because HE WONT ATTACK. Whats the point of a 3 pronged attack if only Kloden and Vino will attack.
Pretty much anyone who puts on a good show, I like.
I don't like whoever made the decision to penalize McEwen on stage 3, made the points race alot less exciting.

I am a big underdog supporter :)
I was born in Brooklyn - need I say more? :(

Voeckler without a doubt. Rasmussen. And Moreau.

Hate? No one - they are all heroic!

I really like Rasmussen and am hoping he gets the Poka dot Jersey and places highly in the GC. Also McEwen is a great bike handler and a great sprinter and really agressive which I like. I am also a big George Hincapie fan in general.

I like:

Jens Voigt - I was glad to see him wear yellow again. He is always a selfless work horse.
Tom Boonen - Amazing sprinter and good guy.
Ivan Basso - He really impressed me in the Giro when he gave up all the time with the flu yet he never quit. Then he came back to win 2 stages. Classy touch on an otherwise ruined Giro.

Edit:


I don't like whoever made the decision to penalize McEwen on stage 3, made the points race alot less exciting.

I agree. I don't like him either.

i almost starting to hate lance.

im tired of the tdf being the armstrong show.

in the days and weeks leading up to the big mountains you get your hopes up that somone new is gonna challenge armstrong or one of the old favorites in on form, then he just rides away from everyone like he's done for the last 6 years. sure its impressive, but it gets old.

i like anyone who gives lance and discovery some difficulty. vino was at it in stage 8 but he just blew up today. rassmusen is climbing like a mofo, so i deffinetly liking him now.

basso, ullrich, bobby j, hincapie

would like to see Horner do well in the mountains

felt bad for mengin, so close to his hometown and so close to a stage win

i almost starting to hate lance.

im tired of the tdf being the armstrong show.

What you ought to be doing is hating everyone else for not working harder. It used to be cool to love a person who had a lot of talent and maximized it. It used to be revered. Now people hate that.

Sign of the times.

Look at it another way...all those stud riders can't beat a guy who almost died.

Work harder, suffer more.

What you ought to be doing is hating everyone else for not working harder. It used to be cool to love a person who had a lot of talent and maximized it. It used to be revered. Now people hate that.

Sign of the times.

Look at it another way...all those stud riders can't beat a guy who almost died.

Work harder, suffer more.

+1

I am quickly becoming a Rassmusen and Dave Z. If you like sprinting you al most have to like the Boonen and McEwen rivalery( McEwen deserved to be penalized)I have always liked Hincappie and Bobby J

Moreau is showing great form!
I always like Dekker. I was hoping he'd win the stage!
I like Rasmussen.
You have to admire Jan- he's hurting but he just won't quit. He'll suffer like a dog if he has to.
I like Vino.

Not a big lance fan. I like anyone who gives him trouble. I like Valverde!

Had to cheer for Pieter Weening for Stage 8, especially loved his "preying mantis" position for the descent! Can anyone emulate that?

I did this on my last ride as I had never seen anyone in that position before. I descended faster than I ever have. It's a little precarious if there are many turns, but it is fast.

I am impressed with Rasmussen obviously. Have to say Leipheimer suprised me, good for him. Such a quiet unassuming rider.

I really was impressed with Popovych, to have crashed and then be the last man standing with Lance on the last climb yesterday.

I have always loved Voigt and his attacking style. Same goes for Vino. Have to love his aggressiveness to go so early today.

Look at it another way...all those stud riders can't beat a guy who almost died.

Work harder, suffer more.

Without cancer, Lance is nobody!!!!

He's become "mutant" after taking all the drugs to fight off the cancer, kinda "legally doping". Even Lance admit it on Discovery, "I owe my life to cancer".

Without cancer, Lance is nobody!!!!

He's become "mutant" after taking all the drugs to fight off the cancer, kinda "legally doping". Even Lance admit it on Discovery, "I owe my life to cancer".

You were wise to edit out your comment about him being lucky to have cancer.

I'm a Magnus Backstedt and George Hincapie fan. Why? I'm closer to their size than anyone else in the peloton (being 6'3" and 200; I'd love to be at George's 185), and that makes me want to root for them, wear their clothes, ride their bikes.

He's become "mutant" after taking all the drugs to fight off the cancer, kinda "legally doping".

Ahh, those drugs involved keeping him barely alive, not making him a stronger cyclist. He was 'doping' in the same way that a heavy rider going without food for a month would be 'doping'.

think about this for a minute, if his lungs had more than double the oxygen capacity of the average man and his heart was one-third larger before the cancer, he would be a kick-arse biker before the cancer, right? But he was not!!!

Then it got to be the drug he took. :) legally doping, I said.

think about this for a minute, if his lungs had more than double the oxygen capacity of the average man and his heart was one-third larger before the cancer, he would be a kick-arse biker before the cancer, right? But he was not!!!

Either you're an idiot, or just trolling.

Uninformed

He has a bigger heart? Odd, cause he seems like kinda of a dick at times...

ohh.. you mean physically larger....

We can all enlarge and stregthen our hearts, if we stop posting and ride more, lol

Uninformed

what I meant was, he was good but not super good, not superman like he is now. Comparing what he achieved before and after cancer period, you will see the big difference. subtract all the wins after 1998, he just look like a lot of guys in the peloton now.

http://www.lancearmstrong.com/lance/online2.nsf/html/career

I think uninformed is right.

Without cancer, Lance is nobody!!!!

He's become "mutant" after taking all the drugs to fight off the cancer, kinda "legally doping". Even Lance admit it on Discovery, "I owe my life to cancer".

You're absolutely right. In fact, I'm going to start snorting a pound of asbestos per day and wearing radioactive underwear to increase my chances of getting cancer. Then I'm going to go on an extremely aggressive chemotherapy regimen that weakens every one of my body's systems and then when its all said and done I should just be able to coast to at least 9 or 10 TdF wins since I legally doped on cancer and chemo. I hear that's the next fad in the pro peloton.

What a moron... :rolleyes:

I'm a Magnus Backstedt and George Hincapie fan. Why? I'm closer to their size than anyone else in the peloton (being 6'3" and 200; I'd love to be at George's 185), and that makes me want to root for them, wear their clothes, ride their bikes.

Aha! That's why Hincapie bib shorts come down below my knee.

"uninformed" is much too kind. I can think of a lot of other things to call someone who says anybody is "lucky" to get cancer, or that people who take cancer medications are "mutants". As I type this, my wife is upstairs with an IV in her arm.

Many people in this world struggle with challenges that other people don't even imagine. Small minded people with small characters just don't get it. Pathetic buggers.

Who are your fav tour riders so far? Who do you hate?

For me, that could be one guy: Robbie McEwen... He's a great bike rider, but he's a cocky SOB, too.

My actual favorite is probably Hincapie. He's been doing some great riding so far.
I'm very impressed with Rasmussen, though I'm not so sure about the polka-dot helmet.

Yeah, just like all those guys in the Peloton who were World Champions at 22 years old, all those others who were named Velonews Male Cyclist of the year. All those who were 2 time 2nd place in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege, winners of Fleche Wallone, winners of a Tour de France stage at 24.

Ok, so he is not uninformed...either does not realise the significance of those results or a TROLL.

What you ought to be doing is hating everyone else for not working harder. It used to be cool to love a person who had a lot of talent and maximized it. It used to be revered. Now people hate that.

Sign of the times.

Look at it another way...all those stud riders can't beat a guy who almost died.

Work harder, suffer more.


dont get me wrong i have enourmous respect for lance and he obviuosly has earned and deserves each of his victories. however, after 6 now 7 years, his domminence has began to make the tour seem routine and less exciting than if there were constatly strong challengers and different winners. how extinging can it be when for 7 years its been practically a foregone conclussion who will win in july?

as great as he has been for the tour, his retirement will be just as importat so that others will win and keep the tour from being a one man show.

Riders I Like in the '05 tour: Ullrich, Kloden, Basso, Armstrong, McEwen, Backstedt, Rasmessen, Vino and Thor H.

Hate is too strong a word to really use. I guess I hate when the riders use dope.

Moreau is showing great form!
I always like Dekker. I was hoping he'd win the stage!
I like Rasmussen.
You have to admire Jan- he's hurting but he just won't quit. He'll suffer like a dog if he has to.
I like Vino.

Not a big lance fan. I like anyone who gives him trouble. I like Valverde!


Not a big lance fan. I like anyone who gives him trouble.

Ah yes, everyone hates a winner...especially one who should have died. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

first of all, I would like to say sorry to all who has cancer or know someone has cancer. I actually think that Lance was lucky that he had cancer, and survived. No doubt about this while so many of people die of cancer everyday, he's got to be lucky. That's what I meant!

If all the LA fans think LA become what he is today because he trains hard, then they should think again, there are so many of riders train as hard as LA but they can not achieve what LA did because of their body not the same as LA.

first of all, I would like to say sorry to all who has cancer or know someone has cancer. I actually think that Lance was lucky that he had cancer, and survived. No doubt about this while so many of people die of cancer everyday, he's got to be lucky. That's what I meant!

If all the LA fans think LA become what he is today because he trains hard, then they should think again, there are so many of riders train as hard as LA but they can not achieve what LA did because of their body not the same as LA.

And your source for this insider information is? Let's see your credentials regarding evaluation of training effort, technique, and efficacity of time spent training. Then tell us about how much time you've spent going over Lance's efforts and everyone else's in pro cycling and the methods you use to determine their relative efforts. OR, you could just stop talking out of your butt and give the man some credit. Everything I've read about Lance's training, from supporters and detractors alike, is that he works like a dog, harder than anyone, when he focuses on a goal. (If he has a shortcoming, it's that he puts his success before everything else, where others (Hincapie, Voigt, etc.) are "nice guys" who'll never succeed in the TDF until they develop more dedication to the goal).

Come to think of it, he worked his butt off when he had cancer- pursued a variety of treatments and opinions, rode his bike while on chemo (Have you ever been sick- you know how hard this is to do?)...But damn, he sure was lucky to have survived. :rolleyes: The fact that he survived cancer, when it was already spreading throughout his body, is a testament to the skill and dedication of his doctors and to Lance's will and effort.

You can hate successes all you like. They exist because they work harder, smarter, and are more dedicated that anyone else in their field. If you really believe that he had the luck to survive cancer, and that it "mutated" his body because he's successful at what he does, then I suggest your go back to reading World Weekly News.

rant off

No one is required to be an Armstrong fan, but to not see that the problem with the Tour being (and this is subjective, obviously) less exciting than it could be is entirely the fault of the other teams and riders is just very myopic. It doesn't say much for your sporting values that you criticize someone who, on the bike, is as professional as they come. Aside from his cancer research support efforts, which are astounding, I don't particularly care much for what I perceive to be Armstrong's personality. But I can't fault the guy in any way for his approach to training, racing, and winning.

Blame the underachievers, not the ones who set the bar.

think about this for a minute, if his lungs had more than double the oxygen capacity of the average man and his heart was one-third larger before the cancer, he would be a kick-arse biker before the cancer, right? But he was not!!!

Then it got to be the drug he took. :) legally doping, I said.

You are truely the definition of an idiot.

If you think Radiation, and chemo therapy will help in anyway and double his oxygen capacity, you are so ignorant of what cancer is and how it's treated it's just sickening. If you ever get cancer (which I would never wish on anyone), I am sure your opinion will change and you arrogant, ******** view on this subject would change as well.

The reason lance excels now, is because compared to the suffering of Cancer and chemo therapy, suffering on the bike is a breeze. Is it beyond you that cycling is a lot more mental (mind over matter) then you think, and that after you go through an experiance like this it makes you stronger?

Do you know how close to death he was? How bout all the other people that are/or were in the same situation, that look to him and see that even after all this is over you can still excel and be the best in the world at not just cycling but anything...

You have the right to your opinion, you also have the right to look like a complete idiot.

You can hate successes all you like. They exist because they work harder, smarter, and are more dedicated that anyone else in their field. World Weekly News.


Totally agree, but I do believe I will take a page from Lance, and say that people like this rapidcarbon guy are the type that give lance energy and drive.

People like that just make the champions perform better, and he proves them wrong, and makes them look like fools. I'll never forget when lance was going up alpe d huez, and chalk on the road said "EPO Lance", and the german fans were spitting on him....He saw that sign and he accelerated so fast like a man that was pissed off, then the next day he saw a german was going to win, and just blows right by him making sure the T mobile german dosen't win! Man that was awsome, best stuff I have seen in sports, kinda getting the last laugh at those scum fans spitting on him.


Anger is a great motivator...and I think fuels lance better then anything.

Then it got to be the drug he took. :) legally doping, I said.

Dude radiation destroys living cells and the cancer... Its not something to **** with... I am not a Lance lover by any means but what you said is plain out wrong... Do you know how much a cancer patient suffers. I have seen one and trust me this is not something you wish upon your worst enemy...

You are insulting a person who has overcome so much to reach a level of greatness previously unknown.Understand the gravity of the statemets you are making here...

For me, it's gotta be Vino. So far, he's been the only guy wiiling to take the big chance and risk it all. Too bad he didn't have the legs on Stage 10.

I did this on my last ride as I had never seen anyone in that position before. I descended faster than I ever have. It's a little precarious if there are many turns, but it is fast.
Almost every time I see that kind of descending position, I hear the commentator(s) saying something akin to "don't try this at home" because it is very dangerous, as you point out.

I think the only positive thing that cancer did for Lance, aside from the obvious psychological and epistemological implications (increased maturity), is that he came back with a cyclist's body. Previously he was too big, particularly his upper body, to carry that kind of weight around in the mountains.

Also, regarding the maturity, it didn't seem like tactics were his strong suit pre-cancer. Seems like aggression was the motivating factor for him.

I am not a LA fan. I am not a Lance hater either.

Lance is an extremely strong mentally. Facing the threat from cancer and the difficulty of the treatment to overcome it is a mental challenge.

Maybe once the cancer was in remission Lance felt he was given a second chance. In life when we get a second chance we shouldn't waste it.

Like the interview with Eddie Merckx who said Lance "had become a killer." His training was to seek and destroy the disease that was inside of him.

I respect LA for his determination despite a physical setback. I would like him better as a cyclists if he participated in more events.