Road Bike Racing - New team for Landis

Sorry if this is old news for everyone, but I just heard one reason Floyd dropped out of the Vuelta was that he was told he would not be re-signed in 2006. It may be money problems with the team because Phonak may not sponser them next year. Floyd was disappointed with the news and could not continue racing.
I wonder if his rift with Armstrong is too big for him to return to Discovery?

Considering Armstrong is no longer part of Discovery, I don't see it being a problem.

I thought Armstrong was still going to be a big part of the discovery team. If Landis would have stayed with discovery he may have been their lead rider now. Since he left they will probably want to consider all their options before bringing him back. At this point they're probably the best funded team and are the team that can best support their lead rider. Landis is going to have some competition if he wants that job.

Armstrong is most definitely a HUGE part of Disco's future. He's under contract through 2006. I think when he signed that all he committed to do was one more Tour, whether it was '05 or '06. That obligation has been fulfilled. Lance has stated that he would love to be in the team car for certain races next year.

That being said, was his dig at Landis in Georgia just a competitive gesture? I think Lance would love to have a strong rider with whom he is familiar in training habits and who helped him soldier to victory in France. However, what does that say to Popo or Tom Danielson, who have been tapped as the future of Disco?

Intriguing, but I bet Floyd lands on his feet in another camp. He's a cool cat.

I really hope he gets a good team for next year...he is one of my favourite riders, and he seems like an all around great guy.

First, the "rift" between the two was overblown. Second Armstrong is not the team director and since no one is working for him anymore, it's not his call as to whether or not Landis rides for Disco.

First, the "rift" between the two was overblown. Second Armstrong is not the team director and since no one is working for him anymore, it's not his call as to whether or not Landis rides for Disco.

Yes the rift was overblown but don't forget the LA owns a large part of the team. He may not be the DS but he is the one of main owners of the team.

Does anyone remember the "cribs" style interview with Landis(He was showing off a couple of the team jerseys and made note of LA's sig) Was that before or after TDG?

Does anyone remember the "cribs" style interview with Landis(He was showing off a couple of the team jerseys and made note of LA's sig) Was that before or after TDG?

before.

well i guess that shoots a hole in that theory

Landis has no worries. Someone will sign him....maybe even Bjarne Riis. people forget that CSC is an American sponsor. Landis would give good support to Basso in the Tour. I'm not sure Landis can win a Tour de France. He seems to lack the accelerations in the mountains and he is unable to crush the competition in the time trials. The way Hincapie rode this year..I would say big George could pull off a great GC ride if he could ride for himself..and have a little support.

Lance is a stakeholder in the Discovery team, and as such will continue to be a big part of their team. Landis won't be going to Discovery, at least he won't be welcome anytime soon.

Lance is a stakeholder in the Discovery team, and as such will continue to be a big part of their team. Landis won't be going to Discovery, at least he won't be welcome anytime soon.

As someone else mentioned, the two had no huge fight. It was one of those things that people totally blew out of proportion.

Landis has no worries. Someone will sign him....maybe even Bjarne Riis. people forget that CSC is an American sponsor. Landis would give good support to Basso in the Tour. I'm not sure Landis can win a Tour de France. He seems to lack the accelerations in the mountains and he is unable to crush the competition in the time trials. The way Hincapie rode this year..I would say big George could pull off a great GC ride if he could ride for himself..and have a little support.


In comparing Riis and Landis, I can't think of two people with a greater difference in training philosophy/mindset. It would be hard to imagine how that would work.

Mark

Landis needs Riis more than Riis needs Landis. I expect Floyd to end up with a smaller squad, maybe a new team.

People make the mistake of thinking Landis is a GC contender. He just isn't. That said, he can be a valuable asset to a team. He can TT very well and he can climb with some proficiency. He'll hook up with someone, but it's anyone's guess right now who with.

Doesn't Lance own a fair share of the Discovery team?

Lance has alot of influence on the Discovery team. He has a big contract with Discovery even though he is retired. He still gets paid by them....and he is still part of the cycling team. He said he still talks to Johan 4-5 times a day...and they aint talking about old times either. Lance is still 'The Boss'

Armstrong is at least a part owner in Tailwind Sports, which is the holding company for Discovery and previously Postal or any new sponsor that might come along.

In comparing Riis and Landis, I can't think of two people with a greater difference in training philosophy/mindset. It would be hard to imagine how that would work.

Mark

Im interested please keep talking.

People make the mistake of thinking Landis is a GC contender. He just isn't.

oh, he will be if he goes to CSC, you can guarantee that. ol' bjarne there has his ways...

So what actually happened between LA and landis at the TDG? I never heard of this before...

Landis wasn't kicked off. He was told by the team manager that Phonak may not sponser a team after 2006 so if they received an offer from another team they were free to break their contracts and take the offer. As for Landis and Armstrong...Landis was heard saying "Discover this" as he passed him in the tour de georgia.

As for Landis and Armstrong...Landis was heard saying "Discover this" as he passed him in the tour de georgia.

that was clearly a toungue-in-cheek moment. what was more telling of the current state of their relationship, was when landis commented during an interview about how lance seems to think that anyone who has ever ridden with him owes him something. that seems to jell really well with what scott livingston said about being shunned by armstrong after moving over to team telekom. or about how armstrong was so put off when bobby julich took his place at cofidis. shouldn't surprise anyone who knows how much of a prick lance was before he could afford to hire people to conceal that side of his personality.

that was clearly a toungue-in-cheek moment. what was more telling of the current state of their relationship, was when landis commented during an interview about how lance seems to think that anyone who has ever ridden with him owes him something. that seems to jell really well with what scott livingston said about being shunned by armstrong after moving over to team telekom. or about how armstrong was so put off when bobby julich took his place at cofidis. shouldn't surprise anyone who knows how much of a prick lance was before he could afford to hire people to conceal that side of his personality.

COUGH COUGH JEALOUS! COUGH COUGH. And you know it too! Lying to yourself is a horrible thing ya know.

jealous of what? a better word is 'realist.'

you're young, and yet another one of the millions who only accept what they've seen in the last few years and refuse to take a realistic view of what he's done.

Prove it.

prove what? that you're young? ok...

"Birthday : April 16th, 1990"

seriously, though...
i've followed this sport longer than you've been alive. keep closing your eyes to the facts and people will always get away with things like this. as it exists, the system is lance's puppet. why do you think he has a house in spain? because the mountains in france aren't challenging enough? please... the fact that he was never caught only means he was careful. marion jones wasn't caught. barry bonds wasn't caught. not to turn this into another politcal debate, but damn, it really amazes me that so many people on the left are into this sport when there's so much obvious corruption. it's incredible that no one sees any similarities between lance and GWB. amazing how much someone can get away with when they have a little support. :roflmao:

I believe in DogHairs comments on LA holding a grudge against other riders...Thats hisn personality, no doubt. It would really be interesting if Landis makes his way back to discovery... I dont think it will but still...

I dont think that CSC will pick up Landis... They recently signed Cancellara and to be honest have quite a lot of firepower...

I cant think of where else but one interesting team would be Liberty Seguros in support of Vino?

that seems to jell really well with what scott livingston said about being shunned by armstrong after moving over to team telekom. or about how armstrong was so put off when bobby julich took his place at cofidis. shouldn't surprise anyone who knows how much of a prick lance was before he could afford to hire people to conceal that side of his personality.


Hey you old sage it's Kevin Livingston not Scott.;)

thanks, 2Rodies.
now who the heck is scott..?

prove what? that you're young? ok...

"Birthday : April 16th, 1990"

seriously, though...
i've followed this sport longer than you've been alive. keep closing your eyes to the facts and people will always get away with things like this. as it exists, the system is lance's puppet. why do you think he has a house in spain? because the mountains in france aren't challenging enough? please... the fact that he was never caught only means he was careful. marion jones wasn't caught. barry bonds wasn't caught. not to turn this into another politcal debate, but damn, it really amazes me that so many people on the left are into this sport when there's so much obvious corruption. it's incredible that no one sees any similarities between lance and GWB. amazing how much someone can get away with when they have a little support. :roflmao:

Admittedly, I'm relatively new to following cycling. I need some help here. Why does Lance have a house in Spain? Is the corruption you're referring to the thought Lance used EPO and that he had friends on inside that covered it up? Just trying to understand but I don''t think I have enough of the history here...

spain was known for having very weak anti-doping laws until very recently.

"Government officials in Spain - long regarded as a country with a soft policy on doping in sport - may begin seeking jail time for those caught using and distributing performance-enhancing drugs.

On Friday, Spain's Cabinet focused almost entirely on drafting the outlines of the National Anti-doping Plan.

The 59 measures passed are characterized by Spain's Sports Council as "conclusive and with no return." Included is a new anti-doping law that would change the penal code so that doping can be treated as a crime, and the creation of what would be Spain's first anti-doping agency.

Until now, the only person sanctioned in a doping case has been the athlete, but the new plan envisages punishment of coaches and doctors. Doping will be considered a crime, and those found guilty could be sent to jail rather than simply being fined."

-- http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/7559.0.html

and as far as the game being corrupt -- it's not just armstrong. he's just the most glaring example. i'm referring to the UCI's reluctance to clean it up. they're alot like major league baseball in that regard. it's really sad.

Thanks!

thanks, 2Rodies.
now who the heck is scott..?

Must be his Tri-geek brother!

prove what? that you're young? ok...

"Birthday : April 16th, 1990"

seriously, though...
i've followed this sport longer than you've been alive. keep closing your eyes to the facts and people will always get away with things like this. as it exists, the system is lance's puppet. why do you think he has a house in spain? because the mountains in france aren't challenging enough? please... the fact that he was never caught only means he was careful. marion jones wasn't caught. barry bonds wasn't caught. not to turn this into another politcal debate, but damn, it really amazes me that so many people on the left are into this sport when there's so much obvious corruption. it's incredible that no one sees any similarities between lance and GWB. amazing how much someone can get away with when they have a little support. :roflmao:

Ehh I dont even care, I was bored and decided to write it. :D To each their own...

Looks like Landis is staying put.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2005/sep05/sep13news

Has anybody heard anthing about vanequerough(spell) and what team hes going to. Because douring the tour de france they were saying that he might go to discovery

I'm guessing you mean Vinokourov, if so, I believe he announced his intention to go to Liberty Seguros in the final days of the TdF.

o ic
and sorry about my spelling

i've followed this sport longer than you've been alive. keep closing your eyes to the facts and people will always get away with things like this. as it exists, the system is lance's puppet. why do you think he has a house in spain? because the mountains in france aren't challenging enough? please...
Could it be that the weather in Spain is more favorable for training in the Spring? No, it must be the drugs, and only the drugs. Lemond lived in Belgium during his racing years so there may be other reasons for living outside France. Work visa problems perhaps.

Did you folks read the book "Lance Armstrong's War"? It's a good read and gives you some real insight into Floyd and Lance. The impression it left me with is that Floyd is a very capable rider and a potential GC contender, but a bit of an oddball off the bike. And Lance is a single minded bastard with an eye on winning the TdF, and a habit of burning folks that disappoint him in some way.

I really like Floyd, and I think it would be interesting to see him on Gerolsteiner with Leipheimer.

I really like Floyd, and I think it would be interesting to see him on Gerolsteiner with Leipheimer.

It looks like Floyd decided to stay with phonak afterall. I had heard that they did not want to re-sign him because of money issues, but that must have not been true. It looks like phonak will sponser the team in 2006, but may not after that. It seems Floyd is very loyal to the team, I hope it works out well for him.

Personally, I don't like Landis. I think he shot himself in the foot by leaving LA's team. I don't think he has the make-up of a champion. CSC are already the top team on the ProTour, so would not benefit from signing a rider that would be prepared to leave at the first sign of a opening to lead a B-rate team.

Personally, I don't like Landis. I think he shot himself in the foot by leaving LA's team. I don't think he has the make-up of a champion. CSC are already the top team on the ProTour, so would not benefit from signing a rider that would be prepared to leave at the first sign of a opening to lead a B-rate team.

And by B-rate that woud mean 2nd in the pro-tour rankings like Phonak ended this year, and I guess that makes Discovery a H-rate team (8th in Pro Tour Rankings) and T-Mobile (oops they only list the top 10 on the page at cyclingnews.com so I don't know where they rank but its after J).

He certainly shot himself in the foot, he could have been a domestic for LA for another two years (LA had already signed a 2 year deal with Discovery) and given a shot at winning a huge race like Georgia. Instead he has the opportunity to ride for himself in the Tour. He must be really hating life.

"I don't think he has the make-up of a champion." I'm sure that haunts him at night.

I guess CSC did alright with other ex-disco riders who left to ride for themselves like Zabriski and Vande but you must be thinking of Bobby J, wait he never wanted to ride for the king.

Clueless just a bit.

First, the "rift" between the two was overblown. Second Armstrong is not the team director and since no one is working for him anymore, it's not his call as to whether or not Landis rides for Disco.

Actually it is, he owns part of the team.

Personally, I don't like Landis. I think he shot himself in the foot by leaving LA's team. I don't think he has the make-up of a champion. CSC are already the top team on the ProTour, so would not benefit from signing a rider that would be prepared to leave at the first sign of a opening to lead a B-rate team.
Comparing anybody to Armstrong isn't a very good measure of a rider's ability. Is Floyd a GC contender? Not really, but then how many of these guys are there? How many guys can you say are good bets to be on the podium in Paris? Is Floyd a solid all around rider? Sure, and since there's more teams than high profile GC contenders, signing a guy of Floyd's caliber isn't a mistake. Considering how Phonak has disintegrated over the last two seasons, I wouldn't be quick to call out Landis. It's not as though other Phonak riders like Botero or Pereiro had big seasons either (good, but not great).

Who can blame a guy for breaking camp and staking his claim?

[QUOTE=dog hair] that seems to jell really well with what scott livingston said about being shunned by armstrong after moving over to team telekom. QUOTE]

I think you meant KEVIN Livingston.

According to Landis' website, he's staying put at Phonak.

Until, I see him go elsewhere, I believe Floyd will remain at Phonak.