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Lance Armstrong to return for 2009 Tour de France

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fujarome
Posts: 8630 - Karma: 1,561
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/news/story?id=3576014

No idea what to think about this. I hope he doesn't fuck up and make a fool of himself though.
Sep 8 2008 4:25PM
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paige.
Posts: 1930 - Karma: 907
I know. I feel bad for Levi... finished 3rd in the tour last year, most teams he would be the star but on Astana he is practically forgotten.
Jul 8 2009 1:16AM
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dbstar
Posts: 2038 - Karma: 20
haha i wonder if his drugged up body can take another tour
Jul 8 2009 1:56AM
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BMskier
Posts: 3363 - Karma: 365
lance wont win the tour. he will come close to leading in the early stages, but will eventually die out when the younger, better, althletes start crankin it up. i respect him and all, but i dont really think he has a chance even if he is tied after today. but i can be wrong.. sooo who knowwws.....
Jul 8 2009 2:07AM
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egeezy14
Posts: 305 - Karma: 36

serious? hahahaha

Jul 8 2009 2:16AM
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powder_submarine
Posts: 204 - Karma: 17
it's a shame lance didn't get the yellow t after the crono race, it could have made things much more thrilling (team rules and the role of contador with armstrong leading the tour)... but i guess that friday is gonna be an interesting race anyway, first one on the Pyrenees...
we will see how strong he still is...
Jul 8 2009 2:08PM
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AMD_5
Posts: 745 - Karma: 15
The only way Lance is winning the Tour is if he pays off the Schelcks, Contador, Levi, Evans,and Sastre so they don't attack him in the mountains.

Its just media hype and a bunch of horseshit. The fact that he uses gear that doesnt match just shows how arrogant the bastard is. cancer awareness my ass. its a crock how american media is pushing him as the best cyclist ever, when in reality, he isnt even close.

I wish Lance supreme failure.


Jul 9 2009 6:11PM
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OhMyBosh
Posts: 5056 - Karma: 170
Stop being a stuck up cunt. Nobody gives a shit about cycling before Lance. It may piss you off but its a fact. Another fact is that Lance Armstrong has won more Tours than anyone else, and another fact is that he did so after beating cancer.
So stop being a little douche. Lance loves cycling, hes done wonders for exposure of the sport along with raising millions for cancer research. He wants to keep doing it, and theres no reason why he cant keep doing it.

We'll know if the comback was a bad idea when he gets into the mountains, but either way, its just retarded to be such a dick about the whole situation.
Jul 9 2009 6:32PM
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AMD_5
Posts: 745 - Karma: 15
well your wrong there because everybody gave a shit about cycling in europe. it was and still is a huge deal over there. after all, ask the Belgians. all Lance did was expose it more over here in north america. and im pretty sure people did give a shit when 7-11 was the first pro team to come from America and when Lemond won the tour.

 yeah sure, he survived cancer and won the tour and its a great story, but for god's sake, dont call him the greatest cyclist ever because it just makes you look like a dumb prick

and if Lance is such a great guy, why does he still take all the money he makes in endorsements and not put it towards his charity? think about it

Jul 9 2009 6:49PM
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OhMyBosh
Posts: 5056 - Karma: 170
By 'nobody gives a shit' i was referring to North America exclusively.
If he is not the greatest cyclist ever, he is most definitely in the top 5.

I never said anything about Lance's character, I dont know him that well, although I have read his books...  He has raised millions for his charity, I think its a bit ridiculous to expect him to put every penny he earns into it.
Jul 9 2009 7:21PM
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AMD_5
Posts: 745 - Karma: 15
Well I would disagree with you on the Top 5 as well. Lance only contested the Tour de France, he is, obviously, the best Tour rider. But considering he didnt do any other big races, i would MAYBE put him at 10th on the list.

i dont expect him to put every penny he makes into his charity, but i'd say 5-10% would be an acceptable amount considering how hes such an advocate for cancer funding. i wouldnt be surprised if he didnt put in $5 a year.

but enough arguing about him. hes not gonna win  /thread
Jul 9 2009 7:36PM
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OhMyBosh
Posts: 5056 - Karma: 170
Im pretty sure if Lance competed in other races he would have won them too. The Tour is the most difficult and biggest race, and he dominated more than anyone else. I dont see how you can claim that he isnt one of the best of all time. You clearly just have some sort of contempt for him because youre some elitist cyclist who is pissed at all the media attention Lance gets.
Jul 9 2009 8:21PM
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AMD_5
Posts: 745 - Karma: 15
You clearly know nothing about cycling.

just because you win the tour de france, doesnt mean you can win any other race. if he focused his attention on the Giro or the Vuelta, MAYBE he would have a chance at winning it. it all depends on who else was contesting it.

lance would never have a chance at winning races like paris-roubaix, milan-sanremo, liege-bastogne-liege or even Amstel Gold. he doesnt have the ability.  the mark of a TRUE GREAT is somebody who can win the grueling one days, and win the monument stage races. compare the palamares of lance with somebody like Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Fausto Coppi, Bernard Hinault, or even Sean Kelly. you'll see a gigantic difference.

and im pissed at the way they PORTRAY lance in the media. people that know nothing about the sport saying  that lance is the greatest ever is an insult to the sport and any former great.

know what you're talking about before you post, because you just look like a complete idiot now.
Jul 9 2009 10:25PM
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AMD_5
Posts: 745 - Karma: 15
although im not gonna lie, I wish i was an elite cyclist :P
Jul 9 2009 10:25PM
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TheBigD
Posts: 250 - Karma: 10
lance armstrong is a brilliant cyclist for the fact that he plans only to race in the most important tour, everything else is just training, and he's been this way since 1999. Is he the greatest cyclist of all time? no, that belongs to eddy merckx and will probably never change. However lance armstrong is the most prolific cyclist of the modern era, why, because he is a brand and no other cyclist since eddy merckx can really say that. Maybe greg lemond, but nobody really likes him anymore, noting he's a bigger douchebag then lance, and if you don't think lance is a douchebag, well the fact that he said last years tour was a joke proved it, yeah he retracted the statement and said sorry, but it's still a horribly disrespectfully thing to say.

Someone was saying, if lance cared so much about Cancer why wouldn't he donate his salary? While i generally have a huge problem with athletes not donating, lance is an exception. This year he is riding for free and while cancer prevention is far more important then anything else to do with cancer he has set up one of the most notable fundraisers of the last 10 years with livestrong,

will lance win the 2009 tour de france? Well, at the end of the day it doesn't really matter.
he has nothing to prove, a feel good story? he already has 7 of those to go along with a world championship, he's still the most feared rider in the peleton and one of the smartest riders. Maybe he'll win, maybe he won't tomorrow will be a great indication if he still has it, and at the end of the day, he has made for the most exciting tour in god knows how long, the media are thankful and tv ratings must be going through the roof and he's revived cycling in the us again, though it's sure to go on life support once again
Jul 10 2009 12:35AM
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fujarome
Posts: 8630 - Karma: 1,561
One thing that bothers me a bit is the amount of hype about him. It's almost as if he's untouchable. No one in the race wants to be known as the guy who just barely beat out lance armstrong, the cancer surviving cycling god who should automatically win it all. (thats the hype sarcasm...)

I think it's great that he's doing it for cancer research and all, but i think in some ways that is also being a bit overused. He is a remarkable cyclist, but i wish they wouldn't bring up cancer survivor as much. Sure it's amazing and all, but plenty of people survive cancer despite the odds being against them. Really it more or less bothers me that it's never "here comes armstrong, the 7 time tour winner." but instead it's "here comes armstrong, the cancer survivor who won the tour." They make it seem as if he was right in the midst of his cancer battle when he won it. I dunno, it just bothers me a bit.

And i hope for his own sake that he never fails a doping test, because it will absolutely destroy him. He'd probably lose his titles and people (other than most americans i think) would find him to be a liar and cheater. But unfortunately, cycling these days is more a contest to see who can stay the farthest ahead of the doctors and doping testers.
Jul 10 2009 1:08AM
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paige.
Posts: 1930 - Karma: 907
I'm getting really sick of how focused the American coverage is on Lance. Watching the tour on TV he is practically all they talk about. Every hill, breakaway, or crash and they immediately discuss how it will affect Lance's chance. And that stupid little Astana jersey at the bottom of the screen telling us where Lance is in the race, There are 170 other riders in the race and plenty with as good or better chances of winning. I might have to start muting the tv to get through the next two weeks.

What do you guys think about tomorrow? That finish looks so brutal, hopefully the weather improves. If not it is going to be a miserable day for the riders.
Jul 10 2009 3:09AM
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TheBigD
Posts: 250 - Karma: 10
i'm sure the ratings for the tour have spiked dramatically, and that could only be for one reason, lance. I'm sure the majority of people watching you didn't last year are tuning in just for that one reason. Americans(sorry for the generalization) want to know how lance is doing. As for the other 176 racers still in the race, well there might be 7 others with legitimate chances. Astana has 4 of the top 8 riders and has created the most dramatic tour since 1986, which i feel has been played up by versus. also two of the riders with the strongest chances have already fallen 3 and 4 minutes back(evans and sastre)
yeah they talk about lance way too fucking much, but they aren't stupid, they know people want to here about him, tomorrow though, i'm betting cadel evans will try something, 3 minutes back, he has nothing to lose. Armstrong and Contador will mark each other in every mountain stage until one cracks, hell that could be tomorrow, i mean lance is 37 years old.
Jul 10 2009 7:40AM
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AMD_5
Posts: 745 - Karma: 15
BigD is absolutely right. If you dont think Lance is a prick, watch him during an interview. He oozes arrogance. It pisses me off how everybody thinks hes "untouchable". I hope Contador cracks him.

In terms of tomorrows stage, if theres a small break once they top the Agnes then the win would go to th best downhiller in that group.

but if somebody attacks on the Agnes and gets more than a minute, they've won the stage barring a crash. I expect to see something like what Sastre did last year at Alpe d'Huez. my bet is on somebody like Andy Schelck, Vandevelde, or even Sastre. I would doubt any Astana guys win tomorrow, they'll be too closely marked.

Jul 10 2009 2:21PM
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fujarome
Posts: 8630 - Karma: 1,561
well there you have it....lance just didn't have it in him this year.

i think he's planning on racing again next year though.
Jul 26 2009 12:37PM
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Hansel.
Posts: 4583 - Karma: 112
lance on his own team next year, Team Radio Shack 2010.
Jul 26 2009 12:40PM
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Get.Kronk
Posts: 2543 - Karma: 226
No climbers win the rubaix, thats just how it is.  He won tons of circuit races when he was younger before he got into stage racing
Jul 26 2009 12:44PM
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The_Tim
Posts: 779 - Karma: 36
well look at that. lance is still as strong as ever.

fuck off all the haters.
Jul 26 2009 1:24PM
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Pow.yuHdig*
Posts: 1903 - Karma: 146
haha idiot
Jul 26 2009 1:33PM
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