Road Bike Racing - Le Tour De France!

So who do you think will win the Tour this year? I just recently bet $100 smackers on Lance Armstrong to win the race. My friend bet $100 that he wouldn't win the race. Like the odds?



:fight:

I think you're sitting pretty, since Jan Ulrich announced he's not going to do it!

Sure there are other contenders, but no other odds on favorites!

I'd take that bet too!

L8R

It'll most likely be Lance -- barring accident, injury, or illness. Or some French or Italian judge talking about doping by the USPS team. :(

You know, I'm sure somes rube lost a bundle in 1996, betting on Indurain as a sure thing. If you can be so sure about what will happen in a three week bicycle race, I'd like to get some lotto numbers from you.

Although Lance is the favourite, a host of external factors which could affect the outcome. Does anyone know what sort of media coverage will be available this year in the U.S.?

Im so sure Lance will win this year. I asked my friend to go ahead and give me the $100 now.

Ill be watching OLN tv in July everyday, since they show the tour live from like 9 till 11 in the morning.

Marco Pantani is coming back and kicking tail! But no I won't put any money on that.Us bald guys gotta stick together.No Ullrich,maybe no Pirate or Super Mario.Somebody is going to have to step up or this is going to get ugly quick.And I believe someone will. But Lance will probably come out on top.

I'd have to say Armstrong. Of course, there are a lot of factors that play into the race. I don't think he will have a very easy time, winning it, but he's just too focused and well prepared for this.

The news here in Europe (yet unconfirmed) is that Ulrich will not be competing this year, something to do with a driving under the influence charge/car accident.

I might be willing to bet $100 on Lance, but not in May. July 5th, maybe.

With Ullrich out, Lance and U.S. Postal have lost their orientation. I have been astonished to see how much energy they invest at trying to demoralize (subtly) Ullrich. First there was the creme pie comment a couple of years ago. Then you get Lance's mechanic saying that Ullrich is just not a professional the way Lance is (because Lance bravely changed his pedals). Postal is never assinine or obnoxious the way others can be, but they like to get in their digs. And they need to have a target for those digs--since that psychological energy functions both to de-moralize an opponent and to bolster one's own morale. Psychologically, it will be harder, not easier for Lance and Co.

So, I think that this race is going to be more interesting than we think.

Cheers.

I think you're right about that. What was the creme pie comment? I gather it has something to do with Ullrich's weight and his penchant for sweets. It's true that without a rival like Ullrich, there's sort of a vacuum. They can't really make digs at simoni since he's never done the tour and never really been Armstrong's rival. I wish Ullrich were competing this year, since I like him, but without him it'll probably be even more interesting, in a way, since Armstrong will have a few others to think about. He'll probably win, but it may not be the cakewalk we'd like to think it will be.

OLN Canada is also going to have live coverage of the tour. It's the only cycling they show. AFter the tour, I'm dropping OLN from my service until they change their programming.

It was a year or two ago. Lance declared his great admiration for Ullrich, but then said that Ullrich should eat fewer creme pies in the winter time so that his weight was lower at the start of the season. I have no doubt that Armstrong does admire Ullrich, but, of course, the creme pie comment gains more bite by prefacing it so.

Cheers.