General Cycling Discussion - Lance should not ride Tour De France?

Just read the Story from ESPN's Sports Roundtable.. US sports journalists suggested LA should not ride TDF for some kind of retribution against the French,for their audacity to not go along with us.
This war fever is making me crazy. To do such is nuts. LA, I think agrees.. This is a sports event not a debating match between the Presidents of the two respective countries.. Sport events are supposed to encourage understanding!
Today, we got a letter from two of our many French friends. They worried what is going on is getting personal.. I think it is the Americans that are out of control.. No one has to fight our wars. No one owes us to add to our dead by making the pile higher, particularily when they can't see our our collective security is threatened. LA will be okay in France, as long as the Islamic Nationalist don't get too over-zealous. But if so, is that France's fault. I say no.. If anything France and the Pope are trying to bridge understanding between the West and Islamic groups.
Should the French become jaded against us- I know they- as a group won't. I know too many.. They are my personal friends. I have been there 17 times. I know better.
But if they should read the reports of wine being dumped and the recent fire-bombing of a French store in Fresno, Calif., I can understand.
Meanwhile, I plan to celebrate Lance's pending rival to the legacy of the great Indurian..

Originally posted by cyclezealot
Just read the Story from ESPN's Sports Roundtable.. US sports journalists suggested LA should not ride TDF for some kind of retribution against the French,for their audacity to not go along with us.

Sounds like the US media has been taking some lessons in trolling from their colleagues down under.

The media pretty much make up anything they want... It's like the war when you turn on the tv its like checking the score in a football game.

As Chris L said elsewhere "the truth is out there"

I for one am ashamed by the whole childish attitude the world has undetaken in general. Besides, as I said in another post, if USA patriotism is such a concern then what better way to voice it to the French than to send USPS over there and win yet another TdF victory for the fifth time in a row? Wouldn't the world be a much better and civilised place if countries could settle their disputes on the routes of the TdF instead of threatening to blast each other to pieces?

This is worse than "Freedom Fries" "French" Fries are BELGIAN people. :crash:
[slightly off-topic] I swear if people boo the Canadian National antherm at the hockey game tonight (Montreal vs. Tampa Bay) I'm going to be so ashamed for the maturity level of my country, much as I was for that of the Canadian's who booed in Montreal. It's a HOCKEY GAME not the friggin' UN people. Do your symbolic gesture somewhere else. I may agree with you or I might not but I CERTAINLY don't want to hear about it when I came to watch Hockey

Originally posted by cyclezealot
Just read the Story from ESPN's Sports Roundtable.. US sports journalists suggested LA should not ride TDF for some kind of retribution against the French,for their audacity to not go along with us.

Uterrly ridiculous. It just shows the level of sensability and maturity of the people at this roundtable. How does the war change anything? Lets not turn this into another boycotted Olympics type arrangment.

Originally posted by cyclezealot
But if they should read the reports of wine being dumped and the recent fire-bombing of a French store in Fresno, Calif., I can understand.


Wow, i dislike the French as much as any other English man(nothing to do with the current war), a lot of people i know wont buy French products unless there is no equivalent. But to bomb a shop? Or boo their national anthem? Thats taking it a bit far.

But i agree that not racing in the race would be absurd.

Edit: How nice (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2907701.stm) :(

It's not fair to Lance. I'm only worried about his well being. I believe sports a wonderful way of bringing countries togeather.

I agree with budamen, I think the Tour is a great meeting place of many nationalities and any politcal agendas can be put on the back burner for the common goal of performing your best.

However...for those that can't get past the whole French thing, you can also look at it as a great way for Lance to kick French butt. Either way, it's a win, win situation if Lance rides the tour.

Originally posted by khuon
...if USA patriotism is such a concern then what better way to voice it to the French than to send USPS over there and win yet another TdF victory for the fifth time in a row?

BOOYA!!!!

Yeah, I agree.. it's alla bunch of crap.. I blame a lot of it on Americans, and their attitude when traveling abroad... they think they are better than everyone, and get pissed when no one will speak English to them... As an American, if I were planning to travel to France, or wherever overseas, I would at least make an attempt to learn the language, customs, and culture of the place I was visiting... I have a friend on the US Army, right now he is stationed in Germany, waiting to get called to the Gulf... he totally agrees with me.. he even feels embarassed at times to be American, because of the actions he see with some of the other army guys and their ignorance of the host country in which they are living... makes me mad to see the ignorance most Americans show...

ok.. enough of a rant... I rode 11 miles this morning before work... bikes are cool

Jeff

I totally agree with ya SipperPhoto, I lived in France and had no problem cause I spoke French, learned and respected thier customs, culture, history. Lance has done the same thing, he lives in France speaks French, loves the culture. More Americans should look to LA as an example of how to get along with people in the world. He will ride and he should ride this year cause as has already been said, this is a sporting event, not a political rally or even a platform to be used to express political views. GO LANCE!!!

Sounds like an example of the media trying to make news instead of just reporting it.

Originally posted by aerobat
Sounds like an example of the media trying to make news instead of just reporting it.

Precisely. I don't see whether Armstrong rides or doesn't ride in the TF as being newsworthy at all.

As far as the French not liking Americans, I think the reality is that the French don't like 'ugly Americans', just as we Americans wouldn't like people coming here and acting like morons. I don't think that the French so much appreciate visitors that immerse themselves in the culture or language. I think they simply appreciate visitors that conduct themselves with simple dignity, with respect for the country they're in and the people they're among, and with manners.... just like we do.

I think Lance should go to France and do what Jesse Owens did in Germany in the '36(?) Olympics. He beat them on their home turf. Granted, it's not a parallel comparison since the French are not our enemy, but I think we need to keep sport and politics seperate from one another.
My 2 cents-Gino

So the Tour de France is held in France and has a French name. Unfortunately for whoever suggested team UPS boycott (a person who is pretty much one neuron short of a synapse), one of the things that has made the Tour so prestigious and respected is fact that it brings nations together in a very dignified competition. It doesn't pit political views, methods of cooking potatoes, or nuclear arsenals of one country against another, but rather some of the best athletes in the world in an incredible test of strength, endurance, and skill. It's history has been one which gives those who participate something in common, just as the Olympics have. Those who would take a tool of unification and twist it into a political wedge do not know the definitions of peace or patriotism.

I think people should let Lance make up his own mind.

What disgusts me is that these so-called reporters/commentators want everyone else to carry out their personal political agenda; they're trying to rally as many people as possible to put pressure on Lance. Isn't winning a 5th TDF enough pressure? They guy is training his heart out, but they can't respect that. I'd expect something like this from Rush Limbaugh or Fox News, not ESPN.

I think the media is getting out of hand in all aspects of the news. Everyone is searching for the big headline or going after new viewers. What ever happened to reporting the fricking news? I'm tired of them analyzing every aspect of the war and talking about the strategies. With all of the real-time reporting on troop movements and our strengths and weaknesses all Iraq needs is someone who can watch TV and know English to help gather information. Can you imagine if we reported all these details in WWII real-time? Against a formidable (or any) enemy seemingly small details can cause a lot of harm.
My fear is that they will turn the Tour into a media circus because of this. Coverage will include polls about US Postals participation in the Tour. Predictions about when possible attacks could occur during the race. Thank GOD for OLN and their awesome coverage.
I agree with budamen, I think the Tour is a great meeting place of many nationalities and any political agendas can be put on the back burner for the common goal of performing your best. I must agree. Everyone puts his or her differences aside and we race. How many times have you seen a rider slow down and wait for an opponent after a crash or show them some other sort of respect? The Tour stands for so many things including teamwork, respect, strength, etc.

Sorry I will get off of my soap box now. :(

Rember the fiasco in 1980 and 1984? Keep the politcal bullchips out of sports. End of story. Bye Bye.

Ha... did anyone watch the Daily Show a while back.... they have a special called "Back in Black" that was hilarious.. I love that guy. Anyway.. he was talking about a certain group of Americans actually pouring out bottles of French wine in boycott of French companies. Apparently nobody bothered to tell them that they had already PURCHASED the wine, and that their little "Protest" was in financial support of the French company.. absolutely hilarious! Americans can be soooooo ignorant sometimes!

Man that is alcohol abuse.

Turning back to the post header. I think there is an argument for only letting those riders who compete in all the major stage races (other than those missed by injury or illness) compete in the TdF.

This would get rid of the "Specialists" who train solely for the TdF.

I think I'd prefer to learn to speak German or Italian before French. Although, I just bought a bike from a predominately French speaking country. Oops, ma bad! So much for the boycott idea. BTW, how do you say, "Who's your daddy" in French? :D

Originally posted by Merckxrider
Although, I just bought a bike from a predominately French speaking country.


... from tubing made in either the USA (Easton) or Italy (Columbus). :D



Originally posted by Merckxrider

Oops, ma bad! So much for the boycott idea.

Is that boycott thing supposed to extend to French-speaking countries? I thought they were just boycotting France directly.

Gosh, maybe I should stop speaking with my relatives since they speak a high degree of French... wait... hmmm... not a bad idea... :D

There might be a few US sports journalists who really are gung-ho on the anti-French thing.

And there might be even as many as two or three that have a genuine interest in cycling.

I suspect, however, that it's just a contrived opinion to build ratings. Just like that columnist that claimed LA was not an athlete.

Just about every sports talk show has some idiot with outlandish opinions whose purpose is to keep the phones lit on slow days.

And these are indeed slow days in sport, cept for the NCAA.

Go Orangemen!

how do you say " whos your daddy in French"
the literal translation is "qui est ton pere" I am sure that there is a slang equivalent to "whos your daddy" but I'm that educated!!!

Lance needs to ride just to kick Pintani in the ass ....... see thread "Il Pirata's thoughts on the tour" in the road cycle subforum.

Originally posted by Jim311
Apparently nobody bothered to tell them that they had already PURCHASED the wine, and that their little "Protest" was in financial support of the French company.

Yeah, that's the one thing that makes me giggle at book-burners, too..."Excuse me, I want to buy twelve copies of Harry Potter and a full set of Dungeons and Dragons rulebooks. Book burning today, y'know...."

why not, I would certainly will give my 100% support for Lance to win his 5th Tour de France yellow jersey,