skinnyone

Agree...

ddeand 

Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Ali, etc. . . . All heroes, and they all have loyal adorers and fanatical detractors. "Asskissing"? Nah, it's admiration for a unique and perhaps inspirational performance. It seems pretty obvious that those who dominate their sport are going to dominate the headlines - and they are going to alienate those who have a different sense of appreciation for what they do. This is THE TOUR, and right now, the manner in which Armstrong is handling the overall pressures of the event is the main story. The Stage wins are chapters in the story and they generate quite a bit of chatter, but the main story is still about one person. Were someone else winning, they would be the center of attention. There's got to be a "Lance Sux" discussion page somewhere where it is verboten to admire those at the top of their game (I think it's on the same board as the "Jeff Gordon Haters" discussion page.

We're going to talk about this unique event - get over it. My "asskissing" proclamation - Lance attacks on Stage 15.

Dean

ZappCatt

1) It's only asskissing if you are doing it to the person for benefit. This just happens to be people making a prediction of what is going to happen, and then reliving it when it does happen.

2) I love when people say we should hear more "feel good" stories about the other Americans who are having "such a good tour"...which means fighting for 4-10th places, while they are *****ing about Ullrich and Basso being "happy with a podium finish" and not blowing themselves up to try to beat Lance.

skinnyone

Looks like I started a flamewar... Well I agree that LA is special.. The man acheived more than anyone and I like his personality and such... I also agree that part of my frustration is with the other GC contendors not doing S*it... Watching the same person dominate over and over is kinda boring, just like how F1 became old news till this year... Peace...

JungleCat

Is Al Trautwig the Joe Theismann of cycling commentary?

97 Teran

It certainly does, but he's leading. That's how it goes.

We could, instead, talk about Mayo and Botero and Heras being jokes in the mountains. And TTs, for that matter. But that's not really fun, b/c everyone wants them to do well, they just have no clue how to be TdF professionals... even after all these years. With the exception of Botero once every 7 or 8 days, these guys don't seem to even wake up on race day. I guess I'm so furious because I want a race, not an easy ride for Armstrong. I have no problem with him winning, he is the best after all, but I just want to see a competition. And only Rasmussen and, perhaps, Basso (although I don't think he's ready, still needs more TT improvement) are even capable of contemplating that goal. Very frustrating.

Dolomiti

Maybe the race is just so incredibly difficult now? It's not like the past, where a climber could get much more rest on the flat days, for example. I'm sure many of these great riders prepare as good as they possibly can... just that they simply cannot handle it, or they get minor illness, or a crash or who knows what else. Many of these same riders go ahead to have great rides in other difficult, but not as difficult stage races.

alanbikehouston

The only top riders who finished on Saturday looking as if they still had gas in the tank were Lance and Basso. So, on Sunday, Lance will be riding to win. If Ullrich is as tired as he looks, Basso may be Lance's only remaining competition for the yellow jersey.

Sunday is likely to be a lot of fun for fans watching on TV, and a lot of pain for the guys out on the road.

ddeand 

You are absolutely correct - a good analogy. Not a flame war - just a minor skirmish.

flyin hawaiian

We're going through the "Lance Bubble"...much like the real estate values across the country. At the end of the Tour, fascination with the sport of cycling will wane, but perhaps will bottom at a higher level than Before Armstrong. I live in San Francisco and the San Francisco Grand Prix is the result primarily of Armstrong and his Story. Practically all the non-cycling fans know Armstrong's story, but know little about the sport and its history. We went through this with LeMond, and I guess we'll have to wait for the next U.S. citizen to draw our interest back to cycling.

flyin hawaiian

This is where we find out who wants to win. Even if it looks impossible, there must be a sincere attack on the Yellow Jersey by those who want to win in order to make this a race and not a parade. The attacks have to come early, and if Hincapie rides his tempo on the front of the peloton over the Col d'Mente without being attacked, bring out the marching band.

waltergodefroot

Isn't it interesting how looks can be deceiving. Floyd and Levi are continuing to display a persistent tenacity as they consolidate their positions in the race for the final podium spots. Levi certainly didn't seem to talk like he was "out of gas" in this diary entry:

As for me, it was hard but I was ok most of the time. Basso kept attacking on the climbs and I didn't want to accelerate too often so I just stayed at my pace and got back on when I could. I knew the climbs well so if I knew a flat spot was coming up I would be sure to get back on before we hit it. I lost Floyd's wheel just before the finish but I knew with about one kilometre to go it flattened out a little so I was sure to get back on by then. Sure I lost contact a few times, but it could have been much worse.

And Lance doesn't seem to think Jan is "out of gas" either as he indicated in these words to reporters:

Jan, — and he’s a tough dude — he kept following the attacks and he was immediately on the wheel. It wasn’t as if there were gaps and Jan had to come back, which is an indication that he’s very strong too.”

But then, LA doesn't see Jan from the same perspective as we do, does he?

ZappCatt

You are kidding about Levi and Landis right? You think they left some in the tank when they were getting dropped again by the people ahead of them in the standings?

Do you really think that Lance is going to come out and say that Jan sucks and he can't beat him? Didn't you see how he dodged the "who is your bigger competitor" question so that he would not give them something to use at motivation?

Do you really think that Levi would say on his blog that he is wasted and has no chance to move up in the standings?

Dolomiti

Here is a profile of the final climb.
Notice the 13.5% section... and kilometers 1-4 are averaged at %10.

Crack'n'fail

I'm sorry for kissing Lances Ass by saying he would win today. I didn't realize that this was the forum where I was supposed to praise who I thought would come in 2nd or 3rd.

Crack'n'fail

You kow all those annoying commercials by cable providers that make it sound like every time it rains taht sattelite TV goes out? Well, I've never had a problem with DirectTV, but it's pouring down rain here and with this "Queen" stage on, I keep losing my freaking signa!!!

CgChris

Don't worry about the jealous lance haters. Every sucessful person has to deal with people like that. The difference between true champions like Lance and pretenders, is that they prove them all wrong and make them look like fools.

It's great because Lance uses people like that to fuel his drive, which makes him a better rider/person in the end.

Crack'n'fail

My favorite part is that they always assume that if you support Lance you must be a "newbie" and wouldn't be interested in the sport except for Lance. God forbid that someone who has been riding and competing for 15 years might have lost someone to cancer and taken a keen interest in this guys career.

Anyway, there's a race going on we should be watching and reacting to that.

As if on cue. . . Basso has a puncture.

waltergodefroot

You obviously know the real story, right? Just like alanbikehouston knows that Zabrisikie and Boonen weren't really injured when they crashed...they were just faking their injuries to get out of the race, right?

Levi's quotes weren't taken from a blog by the way; they were taken off a diary he is publishing for cyclingnews.com. If you read his diary daily, you'll see that Levi hasn't been blowing smoke, has been honest and frank, and has performed very consistently with what he has written.

But then, I'm sure you know better than he does what the truth is and what the conspiracies and duplicitous tactics are, right?

And no, I didn't see how LA dodged anything; but I'm sure you know what his inner motivations are.

CgChris

I am suprised Hincapie is in that breakaway, and up 18 minutes..wow.

I am sure they will get caught, but you never know.

Crack'n'fail

Hincapie and Pereiro are pawns in that break. They're high up the classification and are intended to draw the sting of CSC and T-Mobile.

Mambwe

Seems like disco is going to leave lance to fend for himself again.

Man do I miss beltran and echimov

Mambwe

Alot of riders are getting dropped now.

CgChris

Yea, Discovery is dropping to the back, must be a very hot day.

That's ok, I like watching the race anyway when lance is alone, it makes it a lot more exciting watching Lance react to the attacks and watching everyone around him like a hawk, really shows what a great bike rider he is, makes it exciting, but I am sure lance dosen't like it at all..hehe

waltergodefroot

This is an attitude towards life and sport that reflects the "winning is the only thing frame of mind". Some of us care what impact on Floyd or Levi's career a top five finish will have, how they will benefit from it financially, how they will see some fruits for their hard work and sacrifice as pros, and how a top five finish in the toughest race in the world reflects on them as athletes and human beings.

Obviously you care only about who the winner is. Perhaps when you become more familiar with the players in the game and the complexities of the sport, you will start to appreciate what having a good tour means to these tough competitors as human beings, not just as winners or losers. Perhaps if you were to actually compete in a race and discover how difficult it is to win, you might have empathy for those who did not.