erader

here's a pretty objective story story about the astana conflict during the tour and how lance and contador conducted themselves.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/war-...ador-armstrong

and here's armstrong's angry and threatening twitter reply showing what a punk and classless a-hole lance really is:

Armstrong responded via his Twitter feed on Monday evening, and was clearly angry. “Seeing these comments from AC (Alberto Contador). If I were him I’d drop this drivel and start thinking his team. W/o (without) them he doesn’t win.”

“Hey pistolero, there is no ‘I’ in ‘team’. What did I say in March? Lots to learn. Restated,” Tweeted Armstrong.

lance is his own worse enemy. he needs to learn how to count to ten before he opens his mouth and if i were him i would lose the twitter account because it will be his undoing.

ed rader

LesDiablesRouge

Undoing for what?

He's just about done maybe has one more tour. He's done a lot for the sport and he sells for his contraversial nature.

Contador OTOH is 26 and has many more good years ahead but if he draws the ire of the cycling world he'll be hard pressed to get a strong team.

chrisvu05

we'll see....I tend to agree with Lance. Without the team the Tour will be much harder for Contador to win. He can still do it but it's gonna be harder. All Lance is saying is AC better watch out because he'll end up on a team full of no one and find out how hard the tour can be when you are essentially racing it by yourself.

monosierra

Guess he hadn't thought AC would say plainly they weren't friends.

Fireworks! The TdF organizer would be pleased.

erader

a hothead and a twitter account is a recipe for a PR disaster. LA better hope someone can talk to him about losing the account, which he also used during the TDF to slam his team captain and to share team business that should have never been made public.

there's a line around the corner of teams begging to sign contador....are you kidding me?

ed rader

LAJ

I don't really see much wrong with what Lance Armstrong said.

Not ed rader

erader

what was AC's option? to give lance the tour and be his flunkie? i think lance had better worry about his team. all he has are old guys who can't win, and no young guy with talent in his right mind would join radio shack.

ed rader

chrisvu05

You're crazy...you're telling me that a young GC contender wouldn't jump at the chance to race with Armstrong, Levi, and Kloden next year? Mark my words....if they are all healthy come the tour next year, Team Radioshack will be THE STRONGEST TEAM in the peloton even if they don't bring in a legit GC rider. Lance could possibly podium again as could Levi. I agree that neither will likely win again and that both are almost done...but next year they'll be superstrong.

As far as AC's options....his best option would be to shut his mouth before he turns into Cadel Evans. No one likes a guy on a team that runs off at the mouth about the rest of his team. Yes Lance has said things before, during, and after the tour about AC but most have been justified. I actually think Lance sees himself in AC and is pointing out that being a strong rider isn't always going to be enough to get you through. Playing the team game gets you wins, being there when the field splits gets you wins, not attacking your own teammates gets you wins......that is simply what Lance is saying but in your "Lance is ****" colored glasses you can't see passed your nose to read his statements with any comprehension.

JoelS

AC's option was to keep his mouth shut, publicly thank the team, and go on about his business. LA should take that advice as well

erader

oh, lance could probably get cordell evans. that's a match i would love to see .

ed rader

jecjec81

What's wrong with Lance reply? Hot headed? I don't think so..

daxr

You can say that again. I wonder if they'd consider a twitter-free tour next year.

erader

on the day that contador clinched the tour armstrong informed the world via twitter that he was starting his own team.

ed rader

chrisvu05

it also happened to be the day that Astana announced that Brunyeel and Co wouldn't be back next year....it's ok for the sponsor to do it and not the team? The team should've just stopped riding....it was very unprofessional of Astana to make that announcement during the most publicized race in the world. They'll regret it next year when Vino and Astana aren't invited.

erader

vu, you are again sounding like a fu !

why would any talented kid with other options in his right mind knowingly and willingly put himself through the same hell that alberto contador went through this year?

lance would be lucky to get cordell, and i think they deserve each other !

ed rader

monosierra

“I probably would have done it differently,” Armstrong said of the way Contador dealt with him joining the team this season.
“If I put myself in that position, even in ’99 or 2000, when I was young and ambitious, if Indurain would have come to the team, he still would have come to the team because he’s Indurain,” he said, referring to the five-time Tour champion Miguel Indurain of Spain. “That doesn’t mean he has to win, but he’s the leader because he’s a legend. Not that I’m a legend.”

-LA, https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/sp...ef=global-home

Roadszx

I'm with Lance; I don't know him but from what I saw in this year's TDF, Contrador is the one who should be more careful in choosing his words. Young men are oft too quick to burn bridges. In the end it's more publicity and excitement for next year's TDF; can't wait !

BTW, great HD coverage, absolutely great !

cjbruin

Ed, we get it OK? You don't like Lance Armstrong and everything he does from what he wears to the bike he rides to what he says is absolutely wrong. You're no better than the Lance Lovers that you despise as neither of you can take a breath and think about it objectively.

You may deny this but if your mind wasn't set you would realize that in the end, none of it matters. Contador was the strongest rider and he won the tour. Instead of being gracious, he has basically said that he did it on his own and that his team should have helped more. I lost a lot of respect for the kid and I hope he will mature someday soon.

Armstrong also said some questionable things to the press and I don't agree with some of what he did. In the end, he came in 3rd place in the hardest bike race on the planet...at 37 and with a three year layoff. It was an exceptional accomplishment and he proved a lot of people wrong...you were probably one of them.

Here's a link to LA's interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_OkuElrjrI I know it will be very difficult but try to be objective. This is the road he chose to go down. Contador could have simply said something like, "I'm very happy to have won the tour and to have proved that I was the strongest rider. Whatever went on within the team is over and I hope we all will benefit from the experience."

Armstrong's legacy is in place and unless he goes Lemond on everyone, he will continue to be very popular. That may not be the same for Contador as he can do a lot of things to screw up his reputation.

xyzzy834

Erader, you seem so determined to give LA advice about how to become a better person, a better teammate, and how to improve his public relations interactions. You make post after post full of suggestions for him. Your concern is touching to all of us, I'm sure. But, Lance isn't reading this forum.

You've pretty much dedicated the last three weeks of your life to improving Lance Armstrong, the bike racer and the person, surely at the price of your own mental anguish. It pains me to watch you put yourself through all of the agony of following Lance's every move, reading all of his Twitter messages, and seeking out all of his interviews so you can advise him how to be a humble and unassuming Grand Tour rider. If we could only find a good role model for Lance to follow... wait, there is Alberto Contador! If you could only teach Lance to be more like him. But, Lance isn't reading this forum.

I have an idea. Lance rides in charity events for the Livestrong cause. These are open to anyone with $1000 or so to donate. You need to ante up for one of these rides. You could motor right up beside him and explain your personal Lance Armstrong Personal Improvement Plan in person. Maybe then you'll be able to sleep again, knowing you've truly done all you can to help him out.

erader

for the sake of his legacy armstrong better lose the twitter account or else he really will be "the next greg lemond" !

ed rader

chrisvu05

Real original Ed....it isn't even a funny insult but then again I don't expect much out of you. A talented kid gets all the exposure he will ever need to become a number 1 guy in this sport. How many young GC contendors are there right now honestly? There aren't too many guys that are ready to step in next year and be stronger than Armstrong or Levi. Maybe Nibali? But otherwise most young GC guys that would be joining Radioshack would have future years in mind. Thus riding with some of the most experienced riders and one of the most intelligent coaches in pro cycling would be a tremendous advantage to any up and coming GC rider.

cjbruin

Yeah!!! What a raw deal for Contador. I'll bet he wishes he never met Johan and that he spent the last three years riding for someone else. I can't imagine why any up and coming young cyclist would want to go through the absolute hell of riding for one of the strongest professional teams in the world and winning four grand tours.

CaDan

A plague on both their houses. C'mon guys--save it for your memoirs.

Howzit

I wouldent give much stock to this drama. Its like the saying goes, there is no such thing as bad publicity.
Both are boosting thier profile, look at us, mere peasants flocking to converse over their supposed dueling. Two men who dont like each other, certainly nothing new in the history books. Yes they are great men, but men non-the less.

I will offer a little more meat other than a text book brush-off.

I blame Lance for the rift, and here are but a few thoughts I have gathered.

Since when does a Team director and rider spend time preparing press reports and speeches during a grand Tour (Radioshack announcement). That is absolutely disgusting. They had a GC contender leading the Tour, ALL focus should be on him and the team clinching the victory. Instead, Lance and Bruyneel are parading and advertising their new plans.

Secondly, Lance enver worked for Contador this Tour. Never did Lance pace AC up the climbs. Instead, Lance covered himself, and himself only on the climbs. If anything, he used Kloden for his own benefit. Lance was never going to win, from day 1, and instead of parading and making AC look bad as he was so focused on doing, he should have focused on supporting AC.

It is even worse that he used the Tour as a platform for his advertising of LIVESTRONG and his new team Radioshack. LIVESTRONG.org is a non profit organization. LIVESTRONG.com is a for profit organization. He drove traffic to the for profit site by posting tweets, daily videos and so on on livestrong.com during the Tour. All his gear were labeled LIVESTRONG without distinguishing that there are two different organizations with the same name, one for profit and one not.So much for a guy who is suppose to have no "I" in Team.

All AC did was race a good race. The poor guy is just a victim or gullible press that feeds off anything thrown at them.

Had Lance attacked and Kloden dropped, it would have been labeled "Lance stamping his authority" when AC did it, it was labeled "attacking his team"
A man racing a 3 week bicycle race which determines the winner by accumulated time is condemned for going out to gain time. What a pity.

After all is said and done, it doesnt matter anyway. Well it does, all this jitter boosted the coverage and profile for this year's Tour. In the end, the evil means jusitfy the end.

We all love bikes, and this petty dueling helped us receive HD coverage of a Race in France. We couldnt ask for more.

Keith99

At least you are honest about not knowing much history. Lance has a history of recruiting god young riders who think their time will come and then the time never comes. Contador know his history.

I'n looking forward to Contador vrs Schlecks and perhaps seeing the first 2 jersey or 10 minute winning margin in a long long time.