Bizzarre - so odd it made 5news which as a fellow Brit you'll understand was some pretty unexpected cornflake TV. Clearly didn't love the conditions but was only really shown up by Landis being awesome - Phonak have got a TdF wild card right?

Particularly puzzling because it looked like LA was coming into some form the day before but as a bit of a neutral I've got to say I'm super excited about an in form Jan and a shaky LA in the Tour - bring on July

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"Are you sure we're going fast enough?" - Emil Zatopek

he finally stopped doping.

hahahaha (evil laugh as i watch the riot ensue)

Nice try but I'm not taking the bait........

Maybe he's banking his blood for TdF. It has a 120 day lifespan.

Following Tyler Hamilton, I've become very cynical.

Lance loves to play head games. recall mt. ventoux last year... and what happenned in a similar competition up alpe d huez a month later? that's not from a change in form. And now the tt at the tour de georgia where some rivals happen to be racing again, landis, julich... and he loses an 18 mile race by 1:46? that's enormous, if his form was really that poor in comparison to landis he wouldn't have a chance, i'm not even sure he'd bother showing up considering time trialing is his forte.

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"The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed" - Lloyd Jones

http://www.2BePro.org

A valid point however a lot of his rivals have been racing the classics season so are coming out of their first peak.

I don't know, I'm an avid Lance fan but even I have my doubts over this one. Mind you, ask yourself this....where's Mayo, or Heras ?.........

When Lance was on the TT course there was a lot of rain......

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I shall never misuse Rex Kwon Do
I shall be a champion of freedom and justice

What 1:45's worth of rain ? It's either poker or he's bust.

A disaster? Get a clue. Even in the dynamics of the rainy conditions there was only a 4 second difference in 1st place and 50th place. Hardly a disaster...

Looking at the results on cyclingnews.com there was nearly 4 and a half minutes between 1st and 50th. I think you've got that one wrong.

I agree.

He was also quoted in velonews as saying that he was well behind schedule and that he had a lot of work to do or something to that extent. I would think that if he was 1:45 behind he would be a lot more than behind schedule and probably wouldn't even be talking to the press. This is a pr stunt and if its not then lance is going to go out with more of a fizzle than a bang. That being said, almost every year people talk about how strong jan and mayo, basso, pantani were and that lance was not looking so strong. and we've been fooled some 5 years in a row... not this time LA. I think i would be more worried if he was 30 secs down, his time is almost ridiculous. which makes me feel kind of bad because he got 9th place and that means that 100 some odd riders finished behind him with no games to play. ouch.

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"The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed" - Lloyd Jones

http://www.2BePro.org

with 6 Tours..in a row..how much do you really think the TDG means to Lance? Really? And if going all out means risking a crash that could put his retirement/swansong race in jeopardy do you think he's going to do it? Yes the man in a consumate professional and he hates to lose so I think he likely gave his all well calculated effort. Those ahead of him might be further along in their preparation then he is too. After his third I quit second guessing his reasoning and doubting his ability. He knows what he's doing..and come those 21 days in June we'll all know for sure.

correct. strange placement of a decimal point in the results at dodgetourdegeorgia.com threw me off.

But still, the dynamics of wind and rains can lead to various outcome in a short timetrial like that. However, I still think its far from a disaster and the local paper reported Armstrong saying he was happy with his form at this stage of his training.

Remember, his goal is to peak in early July, not mid April...

I'd agree with that. I know he'll do the best job he can do. He sure as hell won't turn up and give any less than ideal.

Isn't it also intesting that most Discovery riders went slow ? Including Ekimov. Preorchestrated team tactic ? possibly.....

My opinion, is Lance has just lost the "fire", every recent interview I've seen him do, he almost talks about racing because he has to - for his new team. These guys aren't separated by a lot of physical ability, and a big factor in how these guys place, is how hard they've trained. Lance has always trained the hardest, I don't even think he's close this year.

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People I've loved, I have no regrets
Some I remember, some I forget
Some of them living, some of them dead
All I want is to be home ".....Foo Fighters, Home

this is the beauty of being in Lance's position. Last year he came into the season on top form - he won the TT in Portugal in March and then cruised to an easy win in Geogia. Everyone said, oh Lance is on form for the Tour better train hard... then he doesn't win Ventoux and everyone is wondering "who will take down Lance"...

This year Lance has barely shown up to race - this was his first TT of the year and all his other races have been throwaways. Now the question isn't "how bad is his form", it's how much is he bluffing.

Truthfully - I don't think he wanted to loose to David Zabriski or Chris Baldwin. This isn't a good result for Lance, but he knows it and he also knows (like all the rest of us armchair DSs) that the only race that matters in in 10 weeks. I think he's way off form this year and I don't think he has the motivation to win the Tour - not with the training / racing he's done so far this year. but... it's not like any of his major contenders are tearing up the stage races now either so everyone appears to have work to do.

He'll be in shape come July - but I think this is a clear sign that it isn't going to be business as usual and the race is going to be a lot more wide open.

"He knows what he's doing" I remember thinking the same thing about Mike Tyson as he entered the 8th round against Buster Douglas. Two minutes later he was stumbling around trying to find his mouth piece.

"He knows what he's doing" I remember thinking the same thing about Mike Tyson as he entered the 8th round against Buster Douglas. Two minutes later he was stumbling around trying to find his mouth piece.



...you win for most insane post of the day. yes, it's early but anyone comparing Tyson to Armstrong on a Triathlon site is either much more creative than I - or has been drinking the funny coffee.

I agree with a lot of what you said. One of Lance's greatest advantages over the years has been his high level of fitness and low weight early in the year. That way he doesn't have to be red lining and crash dieting in the two months before the tour. (ie the Jan method) If he is truly behind this year, he is at the same disadvantage that Jan has had the last few years.

The tour hits the mountains today. I think the real indicator of his current level of fitness will be today or tomorrow at Brasstown. A few of the riders that placed ahead of Lance yesterday said they expect Lance to turn it on at Brasstown, the beyond category climb.

I can tell you, I live about 20 minutes north of where the riders are starting today. There are thunderstorms threatening the area and there is a thick yellow layer of pollen on the roads. The mixture can make for real dangerous riding conditions. It wouldn't surprise me if team Discovery took that into consideration when determining their pacing today.

good point Ian.

Lance isn't bluffing. Not anymore than he was beaten last year in the Ventoux. Funny there are lots of talks about periodization on this forum but they never apply to Lance.

We don't know what he was doing beforeTdG. He started getting ready later for the Tour. He probably trained really hard to make it time and got to TdG a bit tired. The others may have come well prepared and even Lance can lose 1'45'' on a TT. It's not like he is losing to a 70yo woman on a tricycle, these guys are excellent TTers.

All riders use races to improve their fitness and this is exactly what he is doing. He is likely a bit behind schedule and is just using this race to improve his fitness.

If he was able to win, he would, he wouldn't let others do it.

IMHO he's just behind this year. It's also possible the entire team were disadvantaged by something like poor tire choice or tire pressure for the conditions. It was strange to see TD, Eki and La in 7th, 8th and 9th.
But I think it's silly to suggest they were bagging it for any reason.

On the flip side, Floyd rode and looks absolutely super: could be a top 5-10 contender in the Tour this year if he rides as Phonak team leader. Zabriskie's ride was no fluke either.

The TdG mountain stages will tell us another part of the story ... should be very interesting.

rmur

Floyd's time was faster than Lance's winning time from last year. In the rain no less. He was definitely moving.

On cyclingnews.com they said Floyds was 4 second slower, whats a few seconds amongst friends, he was riding like he stole it!

Floyd, Bobby, Levi and Lance all hammering away at each in a few days and maybe in July, god what a wonderful time to be a cycling fan. Throw in Jan, Vino and maybe Roberto and Cunega, MAMA, lets get some corn poppin we got a race to watch!

Too bad I'll have to watch it in a couple of weeks isntead of live tomorrow....