That's funny - I was thinking the same thing!

Not sure whether LA isthe strongest domestique in TDF or not, he was beaten by Kloden. LA has been riding as a team leader rather than a domestique so far, hence he is second in the general classification. When the pressure was put on, he was found wanting.

I'll third that. The thrill is gone. I'm betting Lance will now fall off the pace and lose by ... six strokes.

+4 i was hoping for the old Lance

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So you guys aren't really cycling fans as much as Lance fans?

True the drama may be over, but it's still a treat to watch a one of a kind athlete in his chosen sport. More so since cycling has such a tradition for great champions to stay in the sport as supporting players.

Kind of completes LA's resume, his cycling lifecycle if you will. Make's him more human, less a miracle freak of nature IMO.

Not that there is anything wrong with that ;)

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I think Kloden is the stronger domestique for Astana. Seeing as he out rode Lance in the TT by 18 seconds, and pretty much hauled Lance up the last hill today and put a bit of time into him in the last 100 meters or so. Where would we have guessed those two would have finished today had Kloden not paced Lance up the hill? I wonder where poor Levi would have been too.

Yeah, I'm thinking we need a "Seniors Tour". Lance. Der Kaiser. Maybe Lemond could drop a hundred pounds and make a comeback.
We can all follow Lance's domination of the pot belly tour.

Brad

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how would he have attacked? he got dropped by everyone including a guy who was a track rider until a few months ago. lance is done, and showed what a dick he is with the post-race comments. did you notice christian said "i'll absolutely be riding for wiggo" while lance could only lament on himself? and his "we still have a few cards to play" line - please. do your job and ride for contador like you said you would before he handed you your ass.

lance will be lucky to be near the podium when he doesn't have kloden to pull him up the mountain.

Lance the strongest Domestique of the 09 TDF??

I think that honour might go to Cancellara. Did you see him bust the race open at the bottom of the climb after being in the break all day? Lance will place higher, but FC has been doing a shitload of work the whole tour.

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So you guys aren't really cycling fans as much as Lance fans?

To the contrary. I'm quite a cycling fan. I just don't think this is going to be much of a bike race from here on. I think Contador is going to be on a cake walk to his coronation. I mean ... c'mon ... nobody came close to staying with Contador. You can argue for Andy Schleck, maybe, but it's a weak argument.

Game over.

I find that a rather negative assessment.

If you imagine that this is the first time in his career that Lance has actually raced his bicycle, (participated in other races), he's done amazingly well.

It makes one wonder how he would've done if he would've been out there racing during his Tour years; if he would've had success. With this year's broken collar-bone. It's so surprising that he's sitting so high up in the GC now. But, then, he's got a great team pulling him down the road.
It was good poker to have him pretend to be a team leader thus far.

For a guy who really shouldn't be there, - he's doing so great.

IMO, - Lance should be celebrated for breaking into the top 10; even if he now drops way back.

Cheers,

>>IMO, - Lance should be celebrated for breaking into the top 10; even if he now drops way back

this line of reasoning baffles me. was it lance's goal to win the tdf or go out and do as well as he can for a 37-year old guy? the way he sauntered back into astana and tried to shove the guy aside who has won the last three grand tours he's entered made it seem like he intended to win.

so now that contador appears to have the tdf under control (but of course a lot of things can change), is everyone going to shift their attention to giving lance lots of attaboys and backslaps for being out there trying hard, instead of recognizing contador as the strongest rider in the race right now?

Albert Accountant does seem to have the jump in the mountains and the TT'ing advantage over the main rivals that Lance had when he was winning - just that extra gear no one else has an answer to. Lance is still there with the top riders but doesn't seem to have that extra bit. Whether this is lack of training due to collar bone injury, 3 years off training, age or just not having that motivation to turn yourself inside out (though he seemed to be riding pretty hard so I doubt this) . At one stage it look like Kloden had been dropped as he shook his head and started to drop back. Lance pushed the pace to catch the Shlecks but that effort obviously cost him as Kloden came back.

Most cycling fans pretty well knew that before the tour started. Regardless of who wins, this week is the one to watch. Aren't you remotely interested to see what what Wiggins can do? Whether Kloden makes it on the Podium? Who wins up Ventoux?

I would love to see Astana turn Kloden loose. Kloden and Contador should end up 1-2 if he is not relegated to towing Lance around.

I'm not so much a Lance fan as I'm a Tour fan. Maybe because it's in the middle of the summer, but I just really get into the tour. I really never expected Lance to beat AC, but also didn't expect AC to ride off his wheel so easy without more of a fight. There's still plenty of drama to come, just not for the Yellow.

There are two Lances.

One, - months ago said that "I'm coming back to promote cycling, and Livestrong." Then, came the contradiction, - sometime after the Giro. I concur with my teammates and racing pals who said that if he comes back and sticks to promoting cycling and behaves as a great ambassador/domestique that it'll be super cool. If he comes back knocking over all of the plates in the china closet, and asserts himself as the protected rider in the TDF, - then he's a major jerk. If it turns out that his behavior was part of a Bruyneel poker bluff; then some slack should be cut. If not, then shame on him.

At the end of the day, it was an amazing thing to watch, Lance riding the Giro, plus the TofCAL. Lets see if he rides the Vuelta.

Definetly would not want to play Texas hold-em with LA. Okay maybe I would.

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I'm not so much a Lance fan as I'm a Tour fan.

I'm not that much of a tour fan. Too many "nothing" stages like the ones we were treated to this year with final climbs coming 40 kms from the finish line. BOOOOOrrrring!

I always hoped Lance would come back from retirement. I just wish he'd have come back to be a classics racer ... to go for some of the races like Amstel where he was so close in the past. The classics have been pretty good for older riders.

i'm talking about the lance who said the tfd will get sorted out in the alps. ac just did the sorting and lance doesn't like his hand.

I have felt since the announcement of his return that today would happen. He lost a bit of time and and Contador going into the tour was the better rider. He proved that today but that does not mean that this tour is over one bad day in the mountains can put you out of the win. Astana came in with several options for this tour and I really think Astana's plan was to sweep the podium and that clearly is a realistic option. Lance did look to be struggling at the top. I do not think it is so much age but the fact he has ben out of the peleton for close to 4 years. The team Lance has around him now is built for options whether it be for Contador, Armstrong, Koden and Leipheimer when he was still in the race. In the past Lance had a team that worked the mountains for him in stages to launch him with 3-5 k to go. The guys like Popo, Rast worked the bottom but the climbers really had to work together. It is a great tour with a lot of drama remaining. Remember that last stage before Paris will still determine the podium. As for the pre stage and post stage comments remmber that Johan and Lance are the best at tactics and this race still has 4 major stages remaining. The tactic for Contador was to go today and Lance was looking for the tt and Ventoux.It was very unrealistic to think tht he would roll away with this tour especially since the best rider in the race is a teammate. It will be clear as the week goes on that the object is to make sure Astana wins the race and bickering could allow someone steal it. That will not happen under Johan's watch.

Quit living in the PAST!

So you guys aren't really cycling fans as much as Lance fans?

Guilty. Unapologetic. I first started looking at the Tour with Lemond. Really started looking at it with Lance. I am also not giving up on him yet. If he wins, great. If not, oh well and damn. Still unapologetic. I also would have liked to see Hincapie in yellow, not least because he is an american (would have really liked to see him take Paris-Roubaix). I also like the idea that there are two american teams. I would like to see more and more american contenders.

Do you like the idea that there is a canadian in the game? If not, why not?

Yeah,

I hear you. I don't think that Lance, as an individual, is a top ten rider. But, as you imply, the race is not an individual race. Astana seems to be the best team be far.

Swap Lance and Cadel with Astana and Lotto, - Cadel would be doing as well or better. Same with Sastre, Wiggins, et al. Lance is doing great, he had a great TT, but he did not have the TT of a TDF winner. The same will plan out for his climbing, - IMO.

Yep,

Makes him look bad in my eyes. But, if Bruyneel was using that as big bluff time, (playing head games), with the other teams, - then that's bike racing. At the end of the day, - Lance would've looked better by saying and behaving as a domestique and promoter of Livestrong, - instead of a GC contender.
Other than a pretty big wrong done to Hincapie, - not much harm done. Garmin really showed some nasty behavior too, (they had a guy in the break and were still driving the group against Hincapie). Podium at the TDF or not, Lance better keep racing.

"So you guys aren't really cycling fans as much as Lance fans? "

Why the hateration? I think most people want an exciting race with some suspense and some strong battles between possible contenders. The best Tours during Armstrong's years were when there was some drama between him and Ulrich or Beloki or someone else with a real chance to win. Bring Lance back, and add some suspense/controversy between him and Contador, and it's an exciting race. Take that away, make it clear that Contador has the race to give away, and it's far less interesting. Doesn't make someone not a fan of cycling. Sometimes the Tour is just more boring than other years. Same goes for any sport. There are great Super Bowls and crappy ones, great World Series' and crappy ones.

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I just watched the interview and I wonder if he is sandbagging everyone. Maybe I'm hoping he is but it would be great if he stayed with Contador untill next Saturday.

Contador looks kinda creepy to me and what's with the pistol thing ?

Go Lance!

All I have to say is if Lance was mad before, he's gonna be really pissed now. Alberto is going to be in trouble.

Seriously though the Versus coverage is really turning me off. They can't stop falling all over themselves saying how great Lance is doing while getting dropped like a stone, then reminding me 50 times that he is 37 years old.

Anyone else think he had Kloden sitting on the front trying to pull back Andy and Alberto after his attack?

That is true about being on the right team. Even when Lance won 7 tours he night not have been the best physically. Strategically he was always the best. One day does not determine a top 10 rider and 4 years away does not help. All former tour winners pass the torch on a really bad day in the mountains usually in horrible weather. I am not so sure this was a day where he imploded but when the last shots were fired he may not have had his former fire power. The way Astana is structured has a lot to do with the tactics now. When Contador fires the attack he blocked as it should be. As much as it may not appeared in the past Lance has shown to be a strong teammate. At the USPRO championships in 1998. He rode very relentless for Hincapie. Let see where the week goes. Should he win this tour 99% chance of no and that has not changed since last September. Can he finish top 10 probably a decent chance with this years layout. The tour is very different this year. Today was hte first really hard day and there was only 1 tt so far and it was more suited for a climber. Since Lance has been gone for 4 years this allowed him to be in striking range this long now we need to see how Astana reacts to the jersey.

I can't believe you guys actually thought lance had a chance.

A Major F'Yeah for Alberto!!! I am sick of Astana falling all over themselves for Lance.. I hope as one poster put it that they let Kloden cut loose and see what he can do instead of dragging Lance all the way up the mountain.
Now that we see that Lance may not be the 2nd protected rider on the team maybe some other riders can let a little glory for themselves.. This was not always possible except for one other time when Hincapie won a mountain stage.. and also one other time when Lance tried to give the stage to Landis.
Either way I am glad for Alberto to finally put Lance in his place and make him ride for him not the other way around!!!

I said it when Ricardo Ricco blasted off the front to win a big mountain stage... JUICED!

Unless we were watching a different race, Alberto sat on Lance's wheel until he made his move.

I'm still hopeful that the 09 TDF is Lance's debut of new acting skills and that he'll come out like a fireball when it counts... although it's doubtful that he can keep with Contador, and not b/c he's is "too old"!

It seems that Lance's ability to bolt has been transferred to Contador... maybe Lance has too much to lose (now) and he no longer drinks juice with his breakfast?

There are still 6 stages including a TT and Ventoux left. Realistically, I doubt Lance will win, if someone is going to unseat Contador it will be Andy Schleck. But seriously, you know very little about cycling if you assume the tour is over at this stage. Yeah, contador showed dominant form today and if he can continue to ride in that manner, then the tour is over. But 2,3,4+ minutes can easily be lost in one stage in the mountains, or a rider can crash out at any point.

The one thing I'll give Lance is that he is promoting livestrong and cycling. Yeah, maybe his nasty streak is coming out, but all of you are watching, and talkng about cycling and livestrong, millions of people who normally could give two shits about cycling are talking about Lance. He's no Eddy Merckx, but he's great for luring media attention in North America.

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Are you suggesting that I start hoping that Contador will crash or will get sick?

I guess you're bringing out my nasty streak...

I never asume the Tour is over until the they hit Paris, but for someone to say that Albeto was sucking Lance's wheel is crazy.. I have looked at every stage 3 to 4 times a day and Alberto is not sucking wheel!!! When the last climb was upon them Alberto was at the head of the pack and Lance chased him down to stay on wheel some teammate!!! he is in it for himself dont be fooloed!!
He came back to promote the Livestrong philosophy and I applaud him for that but as you say his "Nasty" streak came back when he thought he had a chance to win this years Tour. Im sure he is planning his next move maybe get in a break and go up the road he will say"I was looking out for the team"let see if he sits on or pushes the break!!

I never know what to believe what Lance says concerning tactics. The Johan/Lance combo are great at bluffing. I think a lot of the pre tour talk was to set Alberto up for this moment. They knew who the strong rider was going to be. I have said it since day1 that Astana will be going to sweep the podium and that strategy has not changed. Another 2 things this tour has done is to get rid of the alleged drug use talk concerning Lance and he has gained popularity in France because he has proved beatable. This was a strategy move and Astana will not lose this tour unless a big collapse.

For a guy that is "riding on bread and water" totally clean... half ass trained... collarbone broken a couple months ago... he is done great so far.

Baring accident, the tour is effectively over, as Lance will not be able to recover 1:37 on Contador and everyone else that matters is too far back. As mentioned, having Lance there certainly added to the viewing numbers, but we're seeing in Contador a rider at the top of his form and it's a treat. The changing of the guard is complete.

i dunno the commentators yesterday were alluding to something happeneing, saying things like everyone has one bad day in the alps. Maybe the plan is to set up lance to win the big climb ventoux (i dont know if thats how you spell it, but you know what i mean). or will contador gift it to lance hahah that might be funny. (dont take it too seriously though playing a little devils advocate) oh and damn contador can climb he is like canvendish. oh i think ill win now

What races were you watching? He was far and away the strongest rider in all of his Tour wins with the possible exception of the one year when Ullrich ran him somewhat close. Most years he could have won by ridiculous margins if he had wanted. After the first mountain stage where he typically established an unbeatable lead, given his domination of the TT's too, he would ride defensively and just keep with the other protagonists rather than attacking them to build his lead even further.

IMO, Armstrong has looked far too near his limit climbing so far, as he did in the Giro. I wouldn't be surprised if he can conserve a podium spot thanks to the TTT and the seconds he gained when he made the front group the day the split occurred in the wind. OTOH, I wouldn't be surprised to see more of a collapse and finishing well off the podium. He's fortunate there is only one mountain top finish and two days where he'll have a chance to limit his losses if dropped, due to his good descending ability.

Sorry guys Contador will be in the same category as Hinault, Indurain, Merckx, and Armstrong when he retires. If you follow cycling you'd know this was Contador's race. I'm not his biggest fan (if you think he's the new generation of clean riders look up Liberty Seguros) but you are watching greatness right now.

Although he won't be racing in an era where there was essentially meaningless drug testing or in an "only the dumb ones" get caught era. So it's at least a chance his career could suffer a serious interruption. I guess theoretically OP is still an issue?

I've never thought he looked unbeatable as Indurain or Armstrong did in their days, but he's consistently doing enough to win these things fairly comfortably. It will be interesting to see how he does in the TT, clearly the mountains are his.

+5. I was only watching in hopes that Lance could pull it off one more time. Lance was the only reason to tune in.

And "NO", I really am not a fan of cycling as a spectator sport. Who really enjoys watching? I like "DOING", but I personally cannot stand "spectating". Maybe when Im so old that I can not longer "Do", then I'll become more interested in "just watching".

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persequetur vestra metas furiose

Do you like the idea that there is a canadian in the game? If not, why not?

I don't really care if their is a Canadian in the Tour to be honest. Riders are not riding "for their countries" they are riding 99% for themselves and 1% for their teammates so where they were born has little interest.

I don't get how people can say they enjoy cycling and then turn it off because none of the riders (or contenders) happen to have born in the same country they are from. I can see if they were your family member or even a close friend, but really, does it make a lot of difference if they are American?

Yeah it's over for Lance now, no number 1 for him.

Why the hateration? I think most people want an exciting race with some suspense and some strong battles between possible contenders.

It seems awfully early to be saying "My Tour of France is Over" which to me sounds like if Lance is not winning, there is no point in watching. That is why I said they are not cycling fans as much as Lance fans.

They have Ventoux to come and any cycling fan should have an interest in that, with or without Lance.

Let's bring it back a gear people, the tour is far from anyone's shoulders. Let's just not concede the tour to contador. One bad day or moderate day, and will have a new "head of state". I just hope to see an Armstrong attack. I don't care if it sticks or not, I just want to see the old man try to rip one open. If contador follows and they ride up together, that would be enjoyable to watch as well.

 
I was spectating on the road to Verbier yesterday, just 2.5 km from the finish. Seeing Contador show everyone who's the boss plain rocked. Being a Brit I was also stoked to see Wiggins ride past with the contenders and ahead of Lance. Yep, it was a good day for anyone who finds "Lance-lovers" get on their nerves.