What happended to Lance at the TDG !!! The TT was a disaster. Even i’m wondering if he’s bluffing…
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
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.
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…
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.
What 1:45’s worth of rain ? It’s either poker or he’s bust.
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.
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.
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.