http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour04.php?id=photos/2004/tour04/stage3/S-ARMSTRONGULLRICHPAVE
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ah, the ol’ days when the greats rode the classics.
The greats still do. The mediocre ones only focus on the Tour :-). That’s why Lance will never be as cool as Ekimov or Hincapie. Flame away!
Ekimov and Hincapie sure did look strong… It’s too bad there has to be a “cloud” over such a powerfully ridden stage . After spending a good amount of time thinking about the way the stage played out, I lean toward Mayo’s situation as more a matter of timing and location, then the others taking advantage of a GC with a bit of bad luck. That said, I do see how the debate or argument can be made on BOTH sides of the opinion scale.
To answer your initial question, YES it would be nice to see such a battle in the spring!!
I’d have to say though, I doubt Jan would look so good so close to coming off the winter training cycle…lol. Btw, I’m a huge Jan fan, but in the spring, I’d say Hincapie would thump on Jan in P-R, not to mention LA.
Oreo
Mayo should be happy, the actions of Lance, Jan and Tyler showed they are scared of him. It’s easy to be graceful when there is nothing on the line, it becomes harder when waiting for a fallen rider could cost you the Tour. They were not prepared to do that. It doesn’t matter, nobody is obliged to follow unwritten rules, that’s why they are unwritten. They’ve been broken before, and they’ll be broken again.
but can lance mount his brakes any higher. mayo not in yellow too bad. even worse his team seems weak and less than willing to lay it all out to ride him back up to the front. 1 contender brushed aside.
I have no idea, but I’m curious.
When was the last time a TDF winner won a major one-day classic (in the same year)?
I tend to have more respect for the worker bee’s, but I’d settle for 5 TDF wins if I had to. 
Chris
The latest who came close was Riis (Amstel Gold 1997 and Tour in 1996). Before that Indurain (Clasica San Sebastian 1990 and Tour 1991-1995).
But the last to win a major one-day race and the Tour would be LeMond (Worlds and Tour in 1989) and Roche (same double in 1987, and he also won the Giro that year.
If you mean the last guy to win a classic and the Tour, that would probably be Hinault (Tour and Lombardia in 1979, Tour, Lombardia and Amstel in 1981).
Don’t forget that Lance has been very close to the Tour/classic (or at least World Cup) double on multiple occasions.
Tour & 2nd in Amstel Gold twice…
How about they took advantage of an opportunity to cut out another racer.
But why? Why sometimes grab the opportunity to cut out another racer and sometimes not? There are clear reasons not to wait, for example if another contender is up the road. But there would have been no problem waiting for Mayo if they wanted to observe some of the unwritten rules, so why didn’t they? Because they didn’t feel like it?
In my view Lance only waits when it looks good for the camera and there is nothing at stake, for example his wait for Ullrich when the Tour was decided anyway. That is his good right, I have absolutely no problem with that, but it’s a bit rich when he accuses Ullrich of breaking the unwritten rule last year (aside from the fact that Ullrich clearly slowed down, unless you believe that all of a sudden after Lance’s crash Ullrich decided to start riding in his smallest gear for kicks).
Gerard, I’m watching the tape of today’s stage and I gotta say that I’m confused by your comments. Postal was pressing the pace with over 90 miles to go- far before the first section of pave (presumably to be at the head of the peloton when hitting the pave). They didn’t suddenly pick up the pace when Mayo crashed. When he did crash they were already in the first section of pave. There was also a 2 man break that had a 3 minute lead that the peloton was trying to chase down. Mayo could have regained contact with the main group had his teammates dropped back and helped him, but they didn’t even realize that he had crashed for some time. So I’m not clear on what USPS did wrong. They didn’t suddenly pick up the pace to attack Mayo. How much time do you give someone to rejoin the race when their own teammates won’t even drop back to help them? Were they supposed to suddenly sit up and let the break open up 7, 8, 10 minutes on the peloton? Also, by most people’s accounts, Mayo is a longshot at best for a podium spot. Sure, he had a good day on Mt Ventoux, but this doesn’t make him a TdF GC contender in my book. He has a weak team and he’s a weak all-arounder. So, who do you decide to wait for? Just because he’s someone’s dark horse contender, is the peloton obligated to wait for him? What about Levi? Christophe Moreou (sp)? You get my point- where do you draw the line? I’d argue that Lance wasn’t afraid of him, if anything he had dismissed him as a real GC contender.
And i bet if a Certain bike co was sponsor of a certain bike racer,the owner of this bike co would have different fellings about this racer,and would not make coments on a certain forum???
The Tour is too hard of a race to not specialise in exclusively if you have any hope of winning. As you have stated, it has been a very long time since someone has won the classics AND le Tour. I don’t know that we will ever see a Giro/ Tour double winner for a long time, if ever again. What would be cool is a Giro/Tour/Vuelta winner, but I have a funny feeling that feat would take quite a bit of pharmaceutical help to achieve.
In the end- drug testing has gotten a LOT stiffer, what is banned is a lot broader, so I believe that the days of the Classics dominator/Tour winner and Giro/Tour winners are through.
right on.
Agreed.
Unlike all the LA apologists on this board, Chris Carmichael isn’t making excuses:
"The Tour de France is all about seizing opportunities whenever they arise, and that’s exactly what US Postal, T-Mobile, and Phonak did during Stage 3. The crash that took Euskaltel-Euskadi leader Iban Mayo down happened before the first section of cobblestones even started, and that was exactly the opportunity leaders like Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, and Tyler Hamilton were looking for.
You have to remember that Armstrong isn’t the only one who would benefit by leaving Mayo behind, which is why we saw a cooperative effort from USPS, T-Mobile, and Phonak at the front in the final 50 kilometers of today’s stage. Their efforts prevented the peloton from regrouping prior to the second section of cobblestones, and by the end of the day Mayo finished a full four minutes behind stage winner Jean-Patrick Nazon."
Political correctness has arrived in bike racing! Next time someone on this forum sees someone with a flat or involved in a crash make sure you stop to help out,and just maybe one day we will find a way for everyone to cross the finish line together,then maybe we can all sit and do chants.
fyi, I agree with Carmichael. I just hope that if Lance slips up later in the tour, and Jan takes advantage of it, that we don’t see the board inundated with titty babies screaming how unfair it is.
But I’m not going to hold my breath.
Not to mention that the level of competition in the Giro has really gone up. It wasn’t that long ago that LeMond and the rest rode the Giro as a training race for the tour. I think in general things (training, equipment, etc.) have changed to much to see one person dominate many different types of racing.
Chris
Good memory, the best I could come up with was Lemond in 89. I would argue that the sport has changed since then (Lemond, Hinault Roche, etc.). I’d really call Indurain the first of a ‘new generation’ of Tour racers. Guys who focus on the race to the exclusion of all else. Yes, he came close in other races, but Lance has won other races, and come close in many others. And, at least he’s not focusing on the Tour and finishing second five times, he’s winning!
Chris
And, at least he’s not focusing on the Tour and finishing second five times, he’s winning!
That’s very true. There are four extremely talented guys who have sacrificed their entire season to NOT win the Tour. And even worse, there are teams who are now sacrificing everything in the Tour, the potential for stage wins, chances to win certain jerseys, only to assist their team leader who will NOT win the Tour. Of course that’s the essence of sport, you don’t know who will win, but I don’t see tennis players docus only on Wimbledon and treat the Australian Open as a training tournament.
And while it may be harder now than before, a rider can still concentrate on both. Lance has shown that he can win a Classic, Tyler has shown that he can win a classic and be very compatitive in the Tour. And Riis is only 8 years ago.