Old Age and Treachery: Go Lance!
07-10-09, 12:26 PM
#51
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However, you got to keep today in perspective. Bradley Wiggins was in that "elite" group at the top today. When the race gets harder, we'll see if Armstrong is still at the front. Today gives you some indication he might be.
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07-10-09, 12:36 PM
#52
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Yeah Wiggy had the ride of his life today...lets see if he can sustain it. Lance didn't look to comfortable in the post race interview nor did he seemed pleased that AC flow the coop.
The dynamics in this team must be really hard for JB to control...you've got a 7 time tour winner who is still the class of 90% of the field, then you've got arguably the best GT rider on the planet all with back drop of a crazy Kazakh who is going throw you and LA off the team.
Alberto knows he won't be riding next to LA next year nor will JB be his boss...so you go get yourself the jersey and force them to work for you....I don't think there is love and harmony at the dinner table tonight.
The dynamics in this team must be really hard for JB to control...you've got a 7 time tour winner who is still the class of 90% of the field, then you've got arguably the best GT rider on the planet all with back drop of a crazy Kazakh who is going throw you and LA off the team.
Alberto knows he won't be riding next to LA next year nor will JB be his boss...so you go get yourself the jersey and force them to work for you....I don't think there is love and harmony at the dinner table tonight.
07-10-09, 12:43 PM
#53
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Yeah, I was not sure that Armstrong could hang with everyone today. I think he played the team mate role well, knowing that AC wasn't going to take too much time in what was apparently a windy last 1.5k. I'm wondering when the gloves will come off. Like LA said in an interview after the stage, one of these days in the mountains there won't be a big group up front, there will be a couple of guys. He didn't mention who he thought those couple of guys could be. But he's way ahead of where he was at the Giro as expected, and he certainly knows how to peak for the Tour de France.
07-10-09, 01:07 PM
#54
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I'm just pointing out that there were a number of people on this thread who disagreed. Had it been the other way round I'm sure I'd be getting it right back, and deservedly so. BTW I've been saying that LA couldn't beat AC since the end of stage 1 this isn't some thing I just came to. Having said that I thought LA would lose more time today to AC...Lance is riding much better at this point than I would have guessed.
Don't lump me in with the LA fanboys. I thought today would have been good for a "gift" to LA and a great PR move. But it seems that Astana might not be as cohesive as I believed.
07-10-09, 01:35 PM
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I want one of those crystal balls everyone on here seems to have.
07-10-09, 01:36 PM
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07-10-09, 01:40 PM
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No problem...send $1999.99 US to my paypal account and I'll ship one out to you. You can choose from several colors and sizes...if you order in the next ten minutes I'll include a towel that you can cry into when Lance loses more time to AC 
07-10-09, 01:42 PM
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07-10-09, 03:53 PM
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07-10-09, 07:02 PM
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Anyhow after all of that Im happy to see Lance at 37yo upfront.....the guy inspires me to train in preparation to race...
Last edited by RichinPeoria; 07-10-09 at 08:28 PM.
07-11-09, 10:35 AM
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(From L) Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s rider Levi Leipheimer of the United States, teammate, seven-time Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s Lance Armstrong of the United States, yellow jersey of overall leader French cycling team AG2R-La Mondiale (ALM)'s Rinaldo Nocentini and 2007 Tour de France winner and Kazakh cycling team Astana (AST)'s leader Alberto Contador of Spain ride in the pack on July 11, 2009 in the 176 km and eighth stage of the 2009 Tour de France cycling race run between Andorre-la-Vella and Saint-Girons. AFP PHOTO JOEL SAGET
07-11-09, 10:58 AM
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Armstrong still third behind Nocentini, Contador
More Cycling Videos SAINT-GIRONS, France (AP)—Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong remains in third place in the Tour de France, after Spain’s Luis Leon Sanchez won the eighth stage Saturday in a sprint ahead of three other breakaway riders.
Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy earned the yellow jersey for the second straight day by finishing in a pack with Armstrong and his Astana teammate Alberto Contador. The 2007 Tour winner is six seconds back, with Armstrong eight seconds back.
Their teammate, Levi Leipheimer, is 39 seconds off the pace in fourth.
Sanchez, who won the Paris-Nice stage race in March, pointed skyward and tapped his chest after he crossed the line just ahead of France’s Sandy Casar and Mikel Astarloza of Spain.
They clocked 4 hours, 31 minutes, 50 seconds for the 110-mile trek along three big climbs from the Pyrenean principality of Andorra to Saint-Girons.
Vladimir Efimkin, who was reeled in after a failed solo breakaway, finished the stage in fourth, while the main pack trailed 1:54 behind.
“That was a really long, hard climb,” said Christian Vande Velde of Garmin-Slipstream.
The Tour ends July 26 in Paris, with the Alps, a final individual time trial and the dreaded Mont Ventoux awaiting
More Cycling Videos SAINT-GIRONS, France (AP)—Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong remains in third place in the Tour de France, after Spain’s Luis Leon Sanchez won the eighth stage Saturday in a sprint ahead of three other breakaway riders.
Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy earned the yellow jersey for the second straight day by finishing in a pack with Armstrong and his Astana teammate Alberto Contador. The 2007 Tour winner is six seconds back, with Armstrong eight seconds back.
Their teammate, Levi Leipheimer, is 39 seconds off the pace in fourth.
Sanchez, who won the Paris-Nice stage race in March, pointed skyward and tapped his chest after he crossed the line just ahead of France’s Sandy Casar and Mikel Astarloza of Spain.
They clocked 4 hours, 31 minutes, 50 seconds for the 110-mile trek along three big climbs from the Pyrenean principality of Andorra to Saint-Girons.
Vladimir Efimkin, who was reeled in after a failed solo breakaway, finished the stage in fourth, while the main pack trailed 1:54 behind.
“That was a really long, hard climb,” said Christian Vande Velde of Garmin-Slipstream.
The Tour ends July 26 in Paris, with the Alps, a final individual time trial and the dreaded Mont Ventoux awaiting
07-12-09, 08:59 AM
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Armstrong: Tour will be decided in the Alps
By SAMUEL PETREQUIN, AP Sports Writer
The American was third before Sunday’s stage, eight seconds behind leader Rinaldo Nocentini, who is not seen as an overall threat. Alberto Contador, the 2007 champion and Armstrong’s Astana teammate, was six seconds back.
“There’s not going to be a lot of change until Verbier,” Armstrong said, referring to the 15th stage, a grueling 128.94-mile trek between Pontarlier and Verbier, Switzerland. “We’ll have more moments there when we’ll see who’s truly the strongest.
“I think that’s where the race is going to be decided,” he added of the Alps. “The combination of those days from Colmar all the way to the top of Ventoux (on the penultimate stage) is a very difficult six days. We’ll wait. The hardest mountain in France is on the last day, basically. You can’t forget that.”
The race is shaping up as a two-man battle between the two Astana stars, primarily because the other pre-race favorites struggled in the time trials and are trailing badly.
The 37-year-old Armstrong was surprised when Contador attacked in the Pyrenees on Friday, making his move in the Andorran ski resort of Arcalis. Asked if he could have easily followed the Spaniard, Armstrong said he preferred to be a team player.
“I wouldn’t say that I could have easily followed, because it was an impressive attack,” Armstrong said. “I probably could have gone, but I didn’t see it coming and it wouldn’t be correct for me to go across. So, I waited for the other guys. I expected them to be able to pull it back and they didn’t, but that’s life, that’s cycling, and I had to do the right thing.”
The 26-year-old Contador has won all three Grand Tours of France, Italy and Spain—a feat accomplished by only five riders. Armstrong isn’t one of them.
Armstrong attacked early during Sunday’s stage, a 99.7-mile trek from Saint-Gaudens to Tarbes taking riders up two climbs, including the Tourmalet pass—one of the toughest ascents in professional cycling.
The American, a seven-time Tour champion, was soon joined by Nocentini and eased the pace to get back into the main peloton.
Riders will get their first rest day Monday after three punishing days in the Pyrenees.
The race ends July 26 in Paris.
By SAMUEL PETREQUIN, AP Sports Writer
The American was third before Sunday’s stage, eight seconds behind leader Rinaldo Nocentini, who is not seen as an overall threat. Alberto Contador, the 2007 champion and Armstrong’s Astana teammate, was six seconds back.
“There’s not going to be a lot of change until Verbier,” Armstrong said, referring to the 15th stage, a grueling 128.94-mile trek between Pontarlier and Verbier, Switzerland. “We’ll have more moments there when we’ll see who’s truly the strongest.
“I think that’s where the race is going to be decided,” he added of the Alps. “The combination of those days from Colmar all the way to the top of Ventoux (on the penultimate stage) is a very difficult six days. We’ll wait. The hardest mountain in France is on the last day, basically. You can’t forget that.”
The race is shaping up as a two-man battle between the two Astana stars, primarily because the other pre-race favorites struggled in the time trials and are trailing badly.
The 37-year-old Armstrong was surprised when Contador attacked in the Pyrenees on Friday, making his move in the Andorran ski resort of Arcalis. Asked if he could have easily followed the Spaniard, Armstrong said he preferred to be a team player.
“I wouldn’t say that I could have easily followed, because it was an impressive attack,” Armstrong said. “I probably could have gone, but I didn’t see it coming and it wouldn’t be correct for me to go across. So, I waited for the other guys. I expected them to be able to pull it back and they didn’t, but that’s life, that’s cycling, and I had to do the right thing.”
The 26-year-old Contador has won all three Grand Tours of France, Italy and Spain—a feat accomplished by only five riders. Armstrong isn’t one of them.
Armstrong attacked early during Sunday’s stage, a 99.7-mile trek from Saint-Gaudens to Tarbes taking riders up two climbs, including the Tourmalet pass—one of the toughest ascents in professional cycling.
The American, a seven-time Tour champion, was soon joined by Nocentini and eased the pace to get back into the main peloton.
Riders will get their first rest day Monday after three punishing days in the Pyrenees.
The race ends July 26 in Paris.
