"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Paris-Nice 2005 **SPOILER***

**SPOILER** (it's on OLN later today at 5pm EST I believe)



Vino is looking smooth, got a top 20. Lance finishes way off the pace. And best of all, Voigt wins the prologue with Cancellara at a close 2nd place.

Can anyone tell me why Fabian is wearing a red jersey? I didn't think he was a national champion, but I could be wrong.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2005/mar05/parisnice05/stage0/cycling-paris-nice-cance-40.jpg

**SPOILER** (it's on OLN later today at 5pm EST I believe)
Can anyone tell me why Fabian is wearing a red jersey? I didn't think he was a national champion, but I could be wrong.

He is the Swiss TT Champ

and boy does he have a motor! Didn't he wear the yellow jersey for a few days at last years Tour?

Thanks Gustaf, I figured it out by looking at Graham Watson's pictures. You can see more of the jersey in his pictures.

oneradtec - yeah, he did. He won the prologue and kept the jersey until the 2nd or 3rd stage I believe.

Lance finishes in 140th? 27 seconds down? Good God! What does it all mean???

Go Voigt! Go Vino!

Thanks for the update. I'm just getting settled in to watch it on OLN.

Koffee

If Bob Roll says 'Tour day France' or Paul says 'turn the pedals in anger' one more time, i'm gonna have a nervous breakdown.

torrents?! :D

If Bob Roll says 'Tour day France' or Paul says 'turn the pedals in anger' one more time, i'm gonna have a nervous breakdown.

I thought it was me! I like Bob Roll, but I am going to have to slap him if he says it one more time.

Thanks for changing the thread title, koffee. Completely slipped my mind to put it IN the title.

or Paul says 'turn the pedals in anger' one more time, i'm gonna have a nervous breakdown.

for me it's Paul's "his body is screaming out, telling him please no more..." line that gets me! :p

Not a fan of Bob Roll. I don't like how he is now in the middle of Paul and Phil. He totally messes up that chemistry between Paul and Phil.

I'll tell you one that I really do like that most of you wouldn't think of......and that is Sam Posey. I remember him doing some Tour narraration for ABC back when Lemond and Indurain were winning the Tour. I thought he was just awesome. He has also done some recent work with OLN..and I seem to remember him on screen a bit with OLN last year at the Tour. Sam Posey was born to do cycling in my opinion...so I hope to see him doing more in the future. No one even comes close to his narraration talent! And I do mean no one!

If Bob Roll says 'Tour day France'

I think Bob's doing it on purpose.


or Paul says 'turn the pedals in anger' one more time, i'm gonna have a nervous breakdown.

I was wondering why these pro riders are so pissed off.

I can't stand Bob either. As many times as he's talked about the Tour, can't he be smart enough to say it right, or he just doesn't care?

I couldn't stand hearing the "turn the pedals in anger" crap anymore either. They make it sound like every cyclist is a raving lunatic.

I just think they're trying to find some catch phrase that is catchy and works well, but that's not it. Just report the race and stop forcing out what you're going to say. It's too fake.

I really AM glad they are doing some coverage, but it would be nice if they didn't treat us like we have short attention spans. Can you imagine if instead of covering a whole car race, they just showed bits and pieces, mispronounced names and places, interrupted the race with all sorts of shennanagans, and abbreviated the whole thing so we never really get a sense of the race itself? People would be up at arms.

I just contacted my friend in Europe. I'm ready for some real coverage, and I'm going to get him to record the races and then if he can upload them to his computer, send it to me over msn, and if he can't, just mail me a CD or DVD. If I get them, I'll find a way to get them posted so we can at least get a full race.

Koffee

Bob Roll is a hell of a lot better than Al Troutwig. At least Bob knows the sport, he was a cyclist. Al does not know anythying about anything. Even when he is on reporting for other sports he does not know what the hell he is talking about, anyone agree??

how funny was it to hear Paul plug the Gravity Games *in old man brittish accent "when the snow comes down, the heros come up, and they AIN'T afraid of anything."

ahahahaha

So now can we tell the folks who think Lance to be a better cyclist than Mercx to note the results...

Well, it's his first race of the season, and I doubt he's freaking out about it. Although he's said he would like to win PN, and he won't have too many more chances. And 27 seconds is not huge. If he really wants to win he'll have to make up time on Mont Faron.

I can't stand Bob either. As many times as he's talked about the Tour, can't he be smart enough to say it right, or he just doesn't care?

I couldn't stand hearing the "turn the pedals in anger" crap anymore either. They make it sound like every cyclist is a raving lunatic.

...
I just contacted my friend in Europe. I'm ready for some real coverage, and I'm going to get him to record the races and then if he can upload them to his computer, send it to me over msn, and if he can't, just mail me a CD or DVD. If I get them, I'll find a way to get them posted so we can at least get a full race.

Koffee

I was in Europe (Warsaw) for a week during the '98 Tour. We got the coverage from the UK and while interesting in some ways, I will take the OLN coverage, even though they have the constraint that they are broadcasting to an audience that is not as sophisticated. Time after time something looked be happening or you were wondering what has happening with the break or the gaps on the climb and all you heard was war stories of little or no relevance to the race. While this is just one week of observation, the impression was so consistent that I would not pick that coverage.

you know its really funny, Bobke (I'm a big fan) says Tour DAY france to piss
off the French, he said so much in his book, and y'all are getting way
too worked up over it.
Annoying? yup.
Classic Bobke who doesn't give a rats a$$ what anyone thinks? yup again.
Lets see, on a 32 degree day, Lance decides not to go for it and
the Merckx comparisons (or lack of) start coming out?
Lance is no Merckx but puhleeze one race a career doesn't make.
I'm just happy that we have coverage, that Cyclism is about races (cycling, duh)
and not Lance.
I think I'm going to pull for Dekker this year, the young one!

marty

If Bob Roll says 'Tour day France' or Paul says 'turn the pedals in anger' one more time, i'm gonna have a nervous breakdown.


You've discovered the secret for dealing with Bob Roll!.....

how funny was it to hear Paul plug the Gravity Games *in old man brittish accent "when the snow comes down, the heros come up, and they AIN'T afraid of anything."

ahahahaha

I thought I may have been the only one who noticed that. Didn't he say something like "see who has the biggest snowballs" or something like that. I wonder how bad he hates having to read that garbage.

Guys who looked good: Voigt, Cancellara, Erik Dekker, Vinokourov, Mattan.

Guys who didn't look good: Anyone wearing a Discovery kit, Sastre because everybody else for CSC is throttled up.

32F/0C degrees at the start. Not ideal for a 4km TT, but it'd be nice if those who show up to race actually race. I know the routine with Lance and his team: they're testing new equipment and the like this time of year, but good grief. I hope some sort of effort comes from Discovery by the end of the week.

Interesting to see Zabriskie finish well. CSC should smack down their competitors in some TTTs this season.

So now can we tell the folks who think Lance to be a better cyclist than Mercx to note the results...

I think Lance could have whopped everyone's butt if he really wanted to. He knows it's a multi-day race.

I think Lance could have whopped everyone's butt if he really wanted to. He knows it's a multi-day race.
wow.
are you serious?

wow.
are you serious?

Man, how many times are you gonna edit your post? From "wow" to calling someone stupid.. make up your mind :D

Lance looked fat, slow and uninspired as proven by his time and placing in the prologue.

Boonen takes stage 1!

Sounded like a massive crash. No one seriously injured I hope.

Boonen should win everything this spring.

Atta boy, Boonen!

I got a little freaked out by all those crashes near the end. Don't need another rider going all Tristan Hoffman so early in the season.



Boonen should win everything this spring.
I concur.

About how many are left?
Judging by what I read, seems like only a few dozen have a good shot at the overall victory.

From Procycling: Lance Armstrong described yesterday's Paris-Nice prologue performance as "undoubtedly the worst of my life"
He added that he has no real ambitions for Paris-Nice, “apart perhaps from not finishing last… I have to lose weight and I haven’t got enough power at the moment to be at the front at a race like this.

like we didn't notice this!

From Procycling: Lance Armstrong described yesterday's Paris-Nice prologue performance as "undoubtedly the worst of my life"
He added that he has no real ambitions for Paris-Nice, “apart perhaps from not finishing last… I have to lose weight and I haven’t got enough power at the moment to be at the front at a race like this.

like we didn't notice this!


Oh well, if Lance wanted a reality check he got one. I just don't know how high his expectations are at this point in the season......However, I think it's a little early for the eulogies.... :rolleyes:

Lance could have at least put some kind of effort into his ride, you demonstrated a little respect for a race like Paris-Nice. Maybe he could've won, maybe he couldn't have, but for god sakes he could have shown some effort.
As for the temp being a 'frigid' 32F, give me a break. He knows he's going to Europe, he knows its going to be cold, why display some of that massive preperational skill and get there a few days early to acclimatize.

how funny was it to hear Paul plug the Gravity Games *in old man brittish accent "when the snow comes down, the heros come up, and they AIN'T afraid of anything."

ahahahaha

:lol:

That's exactly the one I was going to bring up. But it was worse, "aint afraid of nothing" (with perfect english pronunciation). Then he followd that up with a tag line from the event, something about "grabbing by the snowballs". Someone's got to figure out that maybe a generic voiceover dude would have been better for that.

So it looks like maybe Valverde, Julich, Voigt, and who knows as the most likely contenders? Looks like the only other shakeup will be on the hilltop finish.


Lance could have at least put some kind of effort into his ride, you demonstrated a little respect for a race like Paris-Nice. Maybe he could've won, maybe he couldn't have, but for god sakes he could have shown some effort.
As for the temp being a 'frigid' 32F, give me a break. He knows he's going to Europe, he knows its going to be cold, why display some of that massive preperational skill and get there a few days early to acclimatize.

Riders do that all the time. Remember not everyone is trying to win the GC. Why fight so hard to finish maybe 40th in a prologue that will have no relevance to your goals? Pointless, particularily for a rider like him that doesn't need to search for every possible UCI point.

Lance could have at least put some kind of effort into his ride, you demonstrated a little respect for a race like Paris-Nice.

Oh god, you guys are never happy.

Hah, why should I be? He's the one getting paid, he's the one whom so many want to call the best cyclist ever, do you think a rider like Mercx would have come to race to ride it half-assed as a warm up? If he's going to ride like that, why not just do his usual thing of skipping the early season, race the Tour and disappear again. Lance is great and all but as I was originally saying, he's not the greatest cyclist ever.

If he's going to ride like that, why not just do his usual thing of skipping the early season, race the Tour and disappear again.

Have you watched any cycling besides the TDF the last seven years?

Hah, why should I be? He's the one getting paid, he's the one whom so many want to call the best cyclist ever, do you think a rider like Mercx would have come to race to ride it half-assed as a warm up? If he's going to ride like that, why not just do his usual thing of skipping the early season, race the Tour and disappear again. Lance is great and all but as I was originally saying, he's not the greatest cyclist ever.

Armstrong isn't calling himself the greatest cyclist ever

Lance has never tried to hide the fact that he's a part time racer. July is all that matters to him and everything else is just training. So it shouldn't be such a huge shock that he shows up a Paris Nice and just goes through the paces.

I know he's won other races but they seem to be oportunistic wins. That's all. Look how many wins he has post July.

Armstrong isn't calling himself the greatest cyclist ever
I never said LA was calling himself the greatest ever, I said others call him the greatest cyclist ever

Lance has never tried to hide the fact that he's a part time racer. July is all that matters to him and everything else is just training. So it shouldn't be such a huge shock that he shows up a Paris Nice and just goes through the paces.

I know he's won other races but they seem to be oportunistic wins. That's all. Look how many wins he has post July.

Its not a huge shocker to me that Armstrong isn't riding all out. Its simply dissapointing that he couldn't take the race seriously, which I find discouraging at the very least.

Have you watched any cycling besides the TDF the last seven years?

Admittedly I've only been serious following racing for 2-3 years now, but looking at Lance's palmares he doesn't exactly post a lot of results excluding the Tour.

Sure, he undoubtedly concentrates on the TdF. But he competes, and competes well, in many other races in the Spring.



2004
1st Tour de France, six stage wins including the Team Time Trial
1st Tour of Alrgarve stage win, 5th overall
1st Tour de Georgia, two stage wins
1st Midi Libre stage win, 6th overall
3rd Criterium International
4th Dauphine Libere
23d Tour of Murcia

2003
1st Tour de France, two stage wins including the Team Time Trial
1st Dauphine Libre, one stage win
8th Amstel Gold
20th Liege-Bastogne-Liege
8th End of year world ranking

2002
1st Tour de France, four stage wins
1st Midi Libre
1st Dauphine Libre, one stage win
2nd Criterium Internantional
3rd Championship of Zurich
4th Amstel Gold
6th San Francisco Grand Prix
2nd End of year world ranking

2001
1st Tour de France, four stage wins
1st Tour of Switzerland, two stage wins
2nd Amstel Gold
2nd Classique des Alpes
8th Setmana Catalana
12th Tour of Aragon
4th End of year world ranking

2000
1st Tour de France, one stage win
1st GP Eddy Merckx 2-man TT with "Eki" Ekimov
1st GP des Nations
2nd Paris-Camembert
3rd Dauphine Libere, one stage win, King of the Mountains winner
3rd Olympic Time Trial
3rd Classique des Alpes
4th GP Gippingen
7th GP Miguel Indurain
13th Olympic Road Race
4th End of year world ranking

1999
1st Tour de France, four stage wins
1st Dauphine Libere stage win, 8th overall
1st Circuit de la Sarthe stage win
1st Route de Sud stage win
2nd Amstel Gold
2nd Ride for the Roses criterium
7th Tour of Aragon
7th End of year world ranking

1998
1st Tour of Luxembourg, one stage win
1st Rheinland Pfalz Tour
1st Ride for the Roses criterium
1st Cascade Classic
2nd First Union Invitational
4th USPro Championship
4th Tour of Holland
4th Vuelta Espana
4th World Time Trial Championship
4th World Road Race Championship
25th End of year world ranking

Hah, why should I be? He's the one getting paid, he's the one whom so many want to call the best cyclist ever, do you think a rider like Mercx would have come to race to ride it half-assed as a warm up? If he's going to ride like that, why not just do his usual thing of skipping the early season, race the Tour and disappear again. Lance is great and all but as I was originally saying, he's not the greatest cyclist ever.

Who keeps saying Lance is the greatest cyclist ever?? Himself? No. His fans? Some of them, and good on them! As a fan of Merckx "The Greatest Cyclist ever" why would I even bother to tell you otherwise.. It's so childish, let others enjoy the sport and their favorite riders as they wish. Most will be open to learning about other pro cyclists if given the chance. Piss poor attitudes don't help at all.

I never said LA was calling himself the greatest ever, I said others call him the greatest cyclist ever

And it seems like you're complaining about Armstrong's actions in relation to what others say about him.

Outside of three tours and two world's...lemond didn't seem to take many other races all that seriously either. I like the way Lance rides. I like the idea of having a few big objectives during the year and then getting tunnel vision..and building your fitness up to those goals. Lest we forget...the Tour is 23 grueling days...and Milan-San Remo is only one day. You could do all the big classics and still not have raced as many kilometers as one who finishes the tour in Paris. Davide Rebellin is never going to win the Tour...although he could win Milan-San Remo...it takes cyclists like Greg lemond, Lance Armstrong, and Miguel Indurain to win the grand tours. Welcome to modern pro cycling...the age of specialization. There are no more Eddie Merckx's in the peloton.

You know this is going to be a pretty good P-N and it would be nice if every race this year didn't degenerate into a Pro/Anti Lance discussion. Lance is going to race in other races this year besides the TdF because of the ProTour and he won't do well in all of them. Let's all agree that LA is a great cyclist and that he is no Eddy Merckx. There are a lot of great riders in the ProTour this year and I for one was very happy to see Voigt get the prolog win.

2 questions: would eddy merckx be able to win the tdf today if he were riding? I could imagine that the specialization of armstrong's rivals would be too much for him. when he raced, everyone raced everything, no?

it seems that most arguments are lance vs eddy or indurain or someone else from the past. what about lance vs. his contemporaries. is he even "the best" out there today? clearly he's the best tour de france rider, but is that enough? for instance, did cunego have a better year than lance last year?

just trying to make some folks think, instead of knee jerk responses.