redrocks

OK, I was at this race and EVERYONE was cheering for Lance! I dont know what you saw or thought you saw, but I can tell you first hand that the crowd went nuts over that incredible ride and the fact he did it on a flat. Second, the finish line is literally a dead end at the end of the street on the top of a hill. Lance was mobbed by fans, he was completely spent, asking for all the candy bars/sodas he could get. Dont rip him for not hanging around, they didnt have the security to keep the fans away. There were thousands of folks who showed up for this, and Leadville is a really small mountain town! It was made even worse by the bottleneck at the finish line. I went further down the street to watch the race since I saw the possible mayhem. The fans filled in behind him too. I would say he was welcomed as the race champion! Third, I think Lance tried to get more talented riders to come out this year (keep in mind Levi was supposed to ride before breaking his wrist), not only to break the course records, but to help promote these races. The guy has done alot of promoting and went on the local news talking about his efforts to bring stage racing back to Colorado. The Coors classic used to be a premier event, and with Lance living in Aspen, I have to think he wants to be a driving force in popularizing the sport in Colorado, which at least has a past history of success.

julian

How dare you pee in the hater's Wheaties!

I don't doubt he really enjoys mountain biking. For those of us who are into it, it is a great sport that has a lot to offer, whether you are racing, touring or just cruising with friends.

redrocks

LOL! It is a great sport, and it was a great atmosphere in Leadville! There were hundreds of people there cheering on racers hours after Lance and Dave finished.

In fact, I think I am going to get off the computer and take my Mt bike for a ride with Pikes Peak serving as my backdrop. Some days, life is good!

xfimpg

May I have your permission to use this quote in my signature?

meb

Sure he does-he announced when he retired in '05 he would occaisionally run a mountain bike race and did so from time to time during his retirement.

meb

No-Travis Brown had a Trek Fuel full suspension mountain bike, same model as Lance just that Trek Sponsored rider customized his differently for the road/fast sections.

julian

Sure!

xfimpg

Thanks!

DenisMenchov

After watching that video Lance says that that was the longest he ever raced alone. Good to see he will be back defending the title next year.

monosierra

I meant this bizarre machine:

julian

Look how bitter he was when he lost in 2008!

https://theadventureblog.blogspot.com...0-results.html

meb

More detail on
Travis Brown's drop bar Trek:
https://www.velonews.com/article/96645/

xfimpg

He's such a good actor. Didn't he have a spot on a commercial or movie with Vince Vaughn?

monosierra

Ah thanks. First time I've seen such a combo!

pathdoc

That is a very cool setup. I much prefer curved road bars over straight mountain bars.

xfimpg

I'm used to the traditional flat-bar model... must be an interesting learning curve... as in "don't miss that curve!".

hopsing08

This is the main reason i dont understand why Americans hate on Lance. He is trying to make the Tour of California as awesome as some of the European races, trying to get the Coors Classic going again, bringing so much exposure to awesome American races. What did he do to everyone to make them hate him so much, yeah he has some attitude, But he is American, we are all arrogant pricks compared to other countries.
There are some amazing American races that we can all go see in our own backyards. dont you want to see all the famous racers busting there ace to win right in front of you, or do you want to keep watching some european classics on TV. the Tour of California is awesome, i want every American to be able to experience that. exposure brings more people into the sport, the more people in the sport the more people are aware while they drive, the more money cities will put into fixing up roads and making them bike friendly. its a win win situation for all of us in the states.

hopsing08

wow...super bitter. lol

Hezz

Actually, I'm glad to hear this. But as I was watching the live video feed of the finish it did not appear as you describe it to me. Perhaps it was because of the low quality sound or the disorganization that was going on. Or the crowd was just so stunned that they were speechless.

Quel

Lance's Trek domestique thugs popped Wiens tires every 10 miles to make sure he never caught up. Then they gave him wet willies to keep him out of his comfort zone. No way Lance wins if Wiens didn't have slobbery fingers in his ears.

hopsing08

haha...what a bunch of bullies.

Hezz

Leadville 100 2009 Finish: An alternate interpretation.

After Redrock's post I want to offer a possible alternative explanation for what looked like to me like a fiasco of disrespect at Lance's Leadville 100 finish.

The crowd was stunned at Lance's performance and at the finish line when Lance was about 1/2 mile away it was dead quiet. The crowd near Lance may have mobed him to help him since it looked as if he was about to fall off the bike. He was asking for food and water and could barely continue. From the point of view at the finish line it looked as if the crowd had become a mob for different reasons and Lance was too far away to really be able to see what was going on. The announcers didn't seem to have any reliable information from further up the course so they were making perceived judgements.

Perhaps Lance needed to stop for a moment while the police escort got there. Hopefully someone had something to give him. Some water or something. His leaving the finish line post haste was largely explainable. He needed to recover and fast. And there was also no security there.

Also, I have never seen this race before. It's possible that the towns people are well aware of how spent riders can be at the road leading up to the finish line. They may have to help some of the riders to finish who may be delirious and not realize that they still have a little more to get to the finish line.

xfimpg

He can't show he's bitter or it will stain the foundation he is cycling for.
That's the primary reason he's out there, right?

127.0.0.1

Travis Brown lost this race hard.


So there you go, stupid-arse John Tomac era cockpit = no advantage

redrocks

Well for starters, there were a ton of people that had probably never seen a bike race in person and werent sure what to do, before he came through the race officials were going up and down the street making sure everyone knew to stay back since two cop cars side by side were escorting him through. I dont know about the video, but I have seen some youtube clips of people that shot video showing people going nuts for Lance. I have to think the feed was misleading, because in person he got a heroes welcome, but like me, I think alot of people were trying to get pictures/shoot video as he first went by, while trying to make sure we werent about to be run over. Once the barricade started, the fans filled it in behind him and there was hardly any security. His handlers did get him out of there and rounded up candy/sodas. It was a bit of a mess at the finish, there were grandstands, people there to help the racers, announcers and everyone else in a small space. Also, the race reports they were giving out were misleading, no one was expecting anyone to finish it that quick and they also said Dave Wiens was alot closer than he was. I can tell you that there was alot of cheering, and if you google some of the videos youll see it, but that feed must not have been very good. Also, there were probably 2 thousand people or more that stretched out for more than a mile from the finish, so that one spot isnt really indiciative of the reaction either.

I am glad I made the decision to drive up rather than pay for that feed, doesnt sound like it gave a real clear picture of the race.