Professional Cycling For the Fans - Team Astana list

http://www.velonews.com/article/93796/

Astana for Tour de France
Lance Armstrong (USA)
Alberto Contador (Spa)
Levi Leipheimer (USA)
Andreas Kloden (Ger)
Haimar Zubeldia (Spa)
Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr)
Gregory Rast (Swi)
Sergio Paulinho (Por)
Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz)

Who the F is this guy? I may be wrong as I am still new to following professional cycling, but this stinks of politics to me. I can just hear the Kazakhstanian (sp?) backers saying: "Hey, this is the best we've got, you have to have him on your team. Take it or GTFO." :roflmao2:

Thoughts? Opinions?

PS: Just my two cents, I think Astana has a really good chance to win TdF. :innocent:

no Horner, that is the rub.

no Horner, that is the rub.

It is very possible that Horner is not fully recovered from his broken leg. I know he raced in the Nevada City Classic but his condition just might not be up to a grand tour. Too bad because when healthy, Horner is a fun rider to watch.

no Horner, that is the rub.

The Tour De France is not a criterium. :notamused:

They have six guys that have finished top ten at the TDF, not to mention the obvious 10 pro tour titles between Lance and Alberto Talk about a stacked squad.

They have six guys that have finished top ten at the TDF, not to mention the obvious 10 pro tour titles between Lance and Alberto Talk about a stacked squad.

Top 12, but yes.

Rast is a surprise to me as well. Only 9 days until we see how it starts playing out.

Top 12, but yes.

I hate to quibble, but:

Lance Armstrong (USA) - Multiple wins
Alberto Contador (Spa) - Won in 2008
Levi Leipheimer (USA) - 3rd in 2007
Andreas Kloden (Ger) - 2nd in 2006
Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) - 5th in 2007
Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) - 8th in 2007
Gregory Rast (Swi)
Sergio Paulinho (Por)
Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz)

I hate to quibble, but:

Lance Armstrong (USA) - Multiple wins
Alberto Contador (Spa) - Won in 2008
Levi Leipheimer (USA) - 3rd in 2007
Andreas Kloden (Ger) - 2nd in 2006
Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) - 5th in 2007
Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) - 8th in 2007
Gregory Rast (Swi)
Sergio Paulinho (Por)
Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz)

oops - I see what I did.

They look strong, but so did New England, but the Giants got in the way.

They look strong, but so did New England, but the Giants got in the way.


You risk me hijacking my own thread yelling at you for bringing up that disgrace. At my superbowl party I was the only one in the room rooting for the Pats and when they lost in the last 30 seconds I threw the remote across the room and everyone laughed at me. :mad:

gdamngiantsihateyouplzdieinafire. FML

:lol:

Horner's Response (http://blog.oregonlive.com/horner/2009/06/astanas_chris_horner_explains.html)


It was always going to be a difficult decision, with so many interests weighing in on the nine precious roster positions.

One spot would go to a Kazakh, for the sponsors. Dmitriy Muravyev got it.

Four would go to our top GC riders -- Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden -- all of whom have finished on the podium at the Tour.

Two went to Haimar Zubeldia and Yaroslav Popovych, who were selected early as support riders.

The eighth spot went to Gregory Rast, a big guy who could help tackle the flats.

That left one final spot -- the spot I had believed to be mine.

So I guess that answers that. Kinda what I figured, but Horner spells it out. :cry:

rast has raced the tour before-in 2007 for wait for it...astana. contador & armstrong have
plenty of help in the mountains but not enough for the flat and in the valley leading up
to the mountains-hence rast. not worried about him not pulling weight. would you want to
be the guy who let alberto or lance down?? this means horner can concentrate on the vuelta
and be the top lieutenant to levi or contador. i'd love to see him go for king of the mountains
in the vuelta. not likely to happen unless neither contador nor levi races and astana
features kloden or zubeldia as the protected rider. methinks he could actually pull it off.
would be great to see him pull off a major stage victory or classic before his imminent
retirement. after all the tireless support he's given since leaving the domestic u.s.a. scene
(for the 2nd time), he deserves a breakaway mountain stage win.

This basically proves to me that Contador is a b*tch.
"His guy" has no justification to be riding in le Tour.
Horner DOES have justification.

That's all I have to say. Hopefully this will not come back to bite the team in the butt.

I agree about the COntador B!tich statement. Everyone in my cycling club now hates him but we have direct association with horner since his Girl Friend is from our area and our club leader and LBS owner wrenched for her when she was a pro. (not to mention wrenching from Chris when he raced in a local even a few years back) Not that he likely cares but I hope he (contador) becomes the most unpopular cyclist for americans and I hope he ends up with no financial opportunities here from having no fan base. I could be immature and say I hope he crashes out but I don't hope that...nobody deserves somthing like that. However my dream scenario would be Armstrong, Levi and Kloden as podium finishers and contador dead last in the race. Especially humiliating would be Lance and Levi smoking him in the alpes. I know its not likely to happen since contador is going to climb like a goat in the alpes...but we can have our dreams.

This basically proves to me that Contador is a b*tch.
"His guy" has no justification to be riding in le Tour.
Horner DOES have justification.

That's all I have to say. Hopefully this will not come back to bite the team in the butt.

What justification is that exactly?

Who the F is this guy?

Bingo! Exactly what I was thinking. This guy may abandon after the TTT.

Typical yankee attitude. If it aint American, then it aint worth shyt hey? well put and true, why put it in question form when you know it as true.

If you really wanted American cyclists to flourish you wouldent have made such an icon out of one so at least others could have a little bit of spotlight too. Exactly! LIKE CHRIS HORNER, great logic there pal.

http://velonews.tv/?articleID=2747

What justification is that exactly?

What justification?

Try this:
Horner
2nd Stage #1 TTT Giro d'Italia
4th Stage #2 Amgen Tour of California
5th Stage #5 Tour of the Gila
6th Stage #5 Giro d'Italia
8th Overall Tour of the Gila
8th Stage #1 Amgen Tour of California
11th Stage #1 Vuelta al País Vasco
12th Stage #4 Giro d'Italia
12th Stage #6 Giro d'Italia

Paulinho
I cannot find anything of note that he has done this year.
He has done well in the past, but...

Ultimately he is, as Redneck stated, Contador's guy. Him being there has nothing to do with the betterment of the team. I believe that if Redneck were riding, he would support the top rider for Astana, no matter who that rider is. Just exactly like LA will. If Contador is strongest, he will be supported by both Levi and Lance. If not, then he will not.

I do not hate "all things not-American". I root for strong riders. I enjoy Boonen (when he keeps his nose [sic] clean), Sastre, Evans, the Schlecks, and Cavendish. As Americans, we do not have a large number of great riders. I enjoyed watching Contador, but it seems that anytime he thinks things are not going his way, he throws a tantrum and threatens to take his ball and go home. There is no place for that kind of attitude in the peleton. Yes, he can be a prima donna, if his performances warrant that. His performance this year, while it has been good, could have been better. He simply needs to mature both as a person and as a rider. But that simply comes with age and experience. And Johan should not be required to tell him when to eat and drink. He is an adult, and a skilled enough cyclist to be succesful on the ProTour, he should know his body well enough by now to know when to attend to its needs.

It will be interesting to see what happens if Contador is not the strongest rider on Astana. Will he support the stronger rider? Something tells me he would not. Just a hunch.

It will be interesting to see what happens if Contador is not the strongest rider on Astana. Will he support the stronger rider? Something tells me he would not. Just a hunch.

I have the same hunch.

Not me. I doubt Contador would ever believe that anyone else was stronger.

Which would have the same result...


Besides, this is a three week race. Everyone has their good and bad days. You simply can't tell who's "stronger" until the end.