I've been making this call over in rec.bicycles.racing since before the TdF ended. Lance had WAY too much fun riding the cobbles in stage 3. I say he's got his eyes on Flanders ... and to break the Amstel curse. I also think he'd really like to win Liege after having been second the one time.

He won't go to Italy because of the Simeoni thing. He'll skip the tour this year which will create an incredible buzz for the following year when it's Lance vs. the defending Tour champion.

And he'll close out the season with a Vuelta victory. Remember he was 4th there in '98 before his comeback was even making many people's radar screens.

Having said all this, I'm not taking into consideration how the new Pro Tour requirements will enter into this.

Bob C.

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Bob C.

The "science" on any matter can never be settled until every possible variable is taken into account.

I agree Classics then the vuelta.

I hope you both are right. I'd love to see this happen.

I would not try too hard to see what you want to see but rather what makes the most sense for his main sponsor. I don't think there was any doubt, absent injury, in Discovery's mind that their jeresy would be at the front of the TdF in 2005. What Lance wants is only part of the equation.

What do you think would be best for this team and their sponsors? To do what they're expected to do, or to do something suprising and take a shot at being successful at races they traditionally haven't focused on?

Does anyone know if Discovery Channel will be televising these races? The rumour I heard was that Lance would retire completely and then be an announcer for Discovery, which would get the tv contracts. This seemed consistent with the coverage of OLN (distances in mileage not km's, American announcers, US sponsors). I would love Pro cycling coverage to be on par with NASCAR or golf.

Mike

What I think is not so relevant. What I know is that I would have never agreed to be the title sponsor of the team without some assurance that Lance was racing TdF in 2005. I understand your point about the other races but Discovery wants its name along with Lance's mug on TV as soon as possible so they can reap the benefits of the sponsorship. They are not going to take a risk of letting Lance race a bunch of classics "do a knee" and never tow the line in the TdF with a Discovery jersey on. In a year maybe but they need him to race this year to make their sponsorship worthwhile. They invested in Lance, and his image, first and foremost, the team second.

Again, don't look for what you want when analyzing this situation, look for what is in the sponsors best interest, that is where you will find Lance in 2005 IMHO.

To answer your question: To do what they (this TEAM and its sponsors) are expected to do. Unless television coverage changes, the only place that Discovery is going to get North American air time is in the TDF... which means they want Lance there.