Where do you think Lance will place in the Tour?
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that's the point, he's won 7 times, he's had his peak, gone away and come back nowhere near the rider he was before. during his wins he trained all year round just for the tour. now, he is racing more, suggesting his racing works out as his training, and thus little racing = little training. anyway, the schlecks, contador and all the rest will walk all over him in the mountains.
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Originally Posted by icyclist
While it might take a few unlucky breaks for the likes of Contador and Schleck and everyone else, and a few lucky breaks for LA, counting him out of a podium finish, including first place, should not be discounted.
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Last edited by USAZorro; 06-24-10 at 01:09 PM.
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It's that good 'ol Lance Armstrong Reality Distortion Field(tm) in action again. (Just like most of the cycling media running his non-denial denial over and over and over).
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This banter is eerily familiar. Oh yeah, same stuff I read last year. "Podium? In his dreams. Too old" Flashforward to the Tour... "He got lucky. It was only due to x, or maybe y, but not it wasn't due to his skill" I saw him as the underdog last year and this year is no different. I hope he wipes the place up.
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armstrong has a team (again) that will focus solely on his aspirations. sure, they're older than dirt
but they were last year too and they did pretty decently despite the contador vs armstrong
controversy within the team. collectively, the shack team may have more tdf experience
than the rest of the field combined (ok, maybe a slight stretch but they've been there before
and before and before...infinity). a finish in the 5-10 range with team radioshack 100%
behind him is not unreasonable. armstrong, since his return, has morphed into a cadel evans
(of old) type of rider; he hopes & tries to cover the important attacks but lacks that top-flite
kick that he once had which contador now possesses.
but they were last year too and they did pretty decently despite the contador vs armstrong
controversy within the team. collectively, the shack team may have more tdf experience
than the rest of the field combined (ok, maybe a slight stretch but they've been there before
and before and before...infinity). a finish in the 5-10 range with team radioshack 100%
behind him is not unreasonable. armstrong, since his return, has morphed into a cadel evans
(of old) type of rider; he hopes & tries to cover the important attacks but lacks that top-flite
kick that he once had which contador now possesses.
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I dunno, where he'll place is kind of hard to read this year. Watching him in interviews, he doesn't seem to have that confidence in his voice that he once had. However, he makes it clear that he is after Contador and even says that 2011 will be his last year to race. Not like Lance to come back again for this kind of torture only to finish poorly (whatever he'd consider poorly to be for himself). To place 3rd last year is phenomenal in itself. May not happen but personally I'd love to see anyone, no matter who it might be, break Contador' trigger finger off and stick it right.......
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LA is just as likely to contract caca a week into the TDF. He's already had a bout or two this year. The guts start to do strange things with age...
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Mhm. I could imagine that if it starts to look like he's going to finish somewhere outside the top10 that he suddenly contracts a horrible case of "one-day flu" or something.
I think his team is so strong that he should get at least close to the podium, if not on it, though.
I think his team is so strong that he should get at least close to the podium, if not on it, though.
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I dont get the fingerbang hate. Is it just cos Contador beat His Lanceness last year and is likely to spank him again this year?
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#68
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Firstly, the fingerbang logo is just way too cocky, and all his crap about "my radio didn't work" or "I couldn't understand the English" just rubs me the wrong way. Finally and on an unrelated matter your choice of words is in rather poor taste but if you're going to use it, why you just spell it out and leave out the asterick?
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Actually I think I have a pretty good guess what would have happened at last year's TDF if Lance hadn't ridden for Alberto. Because I watched last year's TDF. So I'd say in that "hypothetical" situation he would ride a pretty good showing for himself, a strong TTT, and a savvy break into 3rd place.
I'm not a fanboy, I think his wins weren't clean, etc, but damn I would love to see him win it. Just for the spectacle. In sports I love to feel like I'm watching history. Also because while I respect many of them I'm just not in love with any of the other GC contenders. Evans 2.0 maybe an exception.
But it would really take a lot of luck for #8. On his best day he could not lose time in the mountains. Actually making time on the contenders would require big mishaps, like crashes, allergies, or bonking, not just judgment or tactical errors. The high-end burst just isn't there. Also he's just not the TT beast that he was, it's almost a liability now compared to his main competition. No TTT this year means he misses another couple minutes of time he could put on certain rivals.
I say he finishes 4-6, with the podium being Alberto, Schlek the Younger, and a rider to be named later.
I'm not a fanboy, I think his wins weren't clean, etc, but damn I would love to see him win it. Just for the spectacle. In sports I love to feel like I'm watching history. Also because while I respect many of them I'm just not in love with any of the other GC contenders. Evans 2.0 maybe an exception.
But it would really take a lot of luck for #8. On his best day he could not lose time in the mountains. Actually making time on the contenders would require big mishaps, like crashes, allergies, or bonking, not just judgment or tactical errors. The high-end burst just isn't there. Also he's just not the TT beast that he was, it's almost a liability now compared to his main competition. No TTT this year means he misses another couple minutes of time he could put on certain rivals.
I say he finishes 4-6, with the podium being Alberto, Schlek the Younger, and a rider to be named later.
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kreuziger or basso, evans, a. schleck, contador, le mevel, ll sanchez, joaquim rodriguez, sammy sanchez & tony martin are my potential candidates
for the podium placings ahead of armstrong (sure i'm forgetting a couple). don't think vandevelde or wiggins are going to be there at the end.
one or more will crash out, one will drop out due to illness, two or more will have an absolutely horrible day and lose 5+minutes. shall be interesting...
for the podium placings ahead of armstrong (sure i'm forgetting a couple). don't think vandevelde or wiggins are going to be there at the end.
one or more will crash out, one will drop out due to illness, two or more will have an absolutely horrible day and lose 5+minutes. shall be interesting...
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i still think armstrong will finish anywhere from fifth to tenth. i don't think all of the riders i mentioned will
finish ahead of armstrong-hell, a few are likely not to finish the race. a couple of them will finish ahead of
ol' lancer though. wouldn't be discounting anyone liquigas sends as team leader. symzd, basso & kreuziger
may be the most formidable threesome any team in the race has.
finish ahead of armstrong-hell, a few are likely not to finish the race. a couple of them will finish ahead of
ol' lancer though. wouldn't be discounting anyone liquigas sends as team leader. symzd, basso & kreuziger
may be the most formidable threesome any team in the race has.
#75
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I think it's entirely possible that Lance will finish outside of the top ten or, as said before even a dnf. But it's Lance we're talking about so he can be counted out for something better. I'm hoping to see some good things from Andy Schleck.