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Non Gaming Discussions => Off-Topic => Topic started by: Coredweller on July 22, 2004, 08:42:02 AM
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As a former cyclist, I\'ve always been fascinated with the Tour de France. I watch it every year, and this year is no exception. I\'ve been particularly nervous for the last week, wondering what unanticipated misfortune might prevent Lance Armstrong from setting a tour record with six consecutive wins. Now it seems he has it in hand with a 4:09 minute lead over Ivan Basso.
I was never really worried about Ullrich; he just seems to have a loser\'s outlook on this event, and he\'s never really looked strong to me. What I was really worried about was that some younger rider like Basso or Monqutie or Kloden would prove Lance was over the hill, and crush him on the types of stages he as always excelled at. That didn\'t happen though. :) Yesterday\'s stage on L\'Alpe d\'Huez was stunning. It was thrilling when Lance chugged past Basso and put a couple minutes on him in a single stage.
What has really surprised me this year was the power and organization of Lance\'s USPS team. Azevedo, Tricky Beltran, Ekimov, Chechu Rubiera, and of course the great George Hincapie have supported Armstrong with unbelievable consistency. It\'s going to be awesome to see Lance cap his career off in such a decisive fashion.
:bounce:
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what the hell are you talking about? BMX?
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Are you telling me you\'ve never heard of Lance Armstrong?
http://sports.yahoo.com/sc
(https://psx5central.com/community/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fus.news2.yimg.com%2Fus.yimg.com%2Fp%2Fap%2F20040722%2Fcapt.tdf10807221600.cycling_tour_de_france_tdf108.jpg&hash=37b0f24421ec968071c52901bc6f759e2b22827c)
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Lance Armstrong is current seeing Sheryl Crow. At least I think he is.
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I\'ve been watching this too. I was gonna post the results yesterday but feared that the mods would lock it as a spam thread.
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I was yankin\' yer chain...IMO the tour de france is NASCAR for homosexuals.
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Yeah I had it streaming here at work today - talk about an exciting finish on stage 17!!!!
Armstrong is the Wayne Gretzky of cycling. I am also taking special glee in the that he is doing all of this in France in front of the French and I hope Chirac has a heart attack when Armstrong rolls into Paris. ;)
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Originally posted by CHIZZY
I was yankin\' yer chain...IMO the tour de france is NASCAR for homosexuals.
I consider it more of a sport than NASCAR, golf and even baseball.
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its awesome him being from Austin, he\'s huge here.
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Originally posted by GigaShadow
Yeah I had it streaming here at work today - talk about an exciting finish on stage 17!!!!
Armstrong is the Wayne Gretzky of cycling. I am also taking special glee in the that he is doing all of this in France in front of the French and I hope Chirac has a heart attack when Armstrong rolls into Paris. ;)
I don\'t think this needs to be thought of in political terms. The French used to love Greg LeMond, although his name certainly helped. I think they also appreciate and respect Lance. It\'s the Germans who have been poor sports in this years Tour. I guess seeing Ullrich, Kloden, and the rest of T Mobile get pwn3d by the posties was too much for them. :)
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Do you know if Armstrong has said anything about a seventh? ;)
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I thought he said he would definitely NOT compete in another Tour de France after this year. I think that was said as much as a month or two ago, so who knows if he would change his mind. I think retirement from the tour would be his best choice, but he might continue to ride in other smaller events, or participate in managing the team. They will have a new sponsor, so I can\'t call them "USPS." I heard speculation the team may be sponsored by the Discovery Channel next year.
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Originally posted by Coredweller
I don\'t think this needs to be thought of in political terms. The French used to love Greg LeMond, although his name certainly helped. I think they also appreciate and respect Lance. It\'s the Germans who have been poor sports in this years Tour. I guess seeing Ullrich, Kloden, and the rest of T Mobile get pwn3d by the posties was too much for them. :)
I know I was saying it in jest... but LeMond has even said negative things about Armstrong over the doping accusations. Personally I never cared for LeMond and think he is jealous of Armstrongs accomplishments.
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Seriously... I can\'t believe that crap LeMond has been saying about Armstrong. What a bitter jackass. Lance destroyed LeMond\'s record years ago; you\'d think he would have gotten over it by now. :rolleyes:
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Not only that, but I think LeMond is also pissed about Armstrong\'s better comeback story. Sure LeMond overcame being shot in a hunting accident to win the Tour, but Armstrong beat nut cancer and is about to win it 6 times in a row. ;)
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armstrong.....great sportsman, not so great as a person, what he said about some of his former colleagues is just not done in my book.
btw. about that cycling being gay NASCAR: you\'ve obviously never seen mass sprint accidents in cycling......
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Apparently team T-Mobile is ahead of USPS in the team classification, so forget what I said about USPS pwning T-Mobile. :( I thought CSC was in first. Oh well.
BTW, what comments are you referring to, politiepet? I\'ve noticed Lance speaks the truth, even if it hurts, but he doesn\'t seem to make a lot of spiteful or childish remarks like some others.
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he always seems to speak badly about the cyclists who used to be his helpers but decided they wanted to give it a shot as a group leader (don\'t really know the english term for that).
If you want an example, Levi Leipheimer....
he said Levi is not a good cyclist and he should have stayed as a helper, cause that\'s all he was good for....
However, in my book, someone who is in the top 10 is worthy of being a leader ;)
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On the other hand he did not say any such thing about Roberto Heras or Tyler Hamilton, two former USPS team members who left to join other teams. My point is, maybe he had good reason to say that about Leipheimer. For good or bad, he speaks his mind.
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well i\'m not a big fan of the sport and the only big name i know of it is lance armstrong, and i\'ve heard that because the crowd is basically right in your face as the cyclists are competing some in the crowd have actually spat in lance\'s face..not sure what that was all about..probably because he\'s american?..whatever the case that\'s gotta be frustrating because i\'d probably get off my bike and crack that assholes wig wide open...
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Originally posted by clips
well i\'m not a big fan of the sport and the only big name i know of it is lance armstrong, and i\'ve heard that because the crowd is basically right in your face as the cyclists are competing some in the crowd have actually spat in lance\'s face..not sure what that was all about..probably because he\'s american?..whatever the case that\'s gotta be frustrating because i\'d probably get off my bike and crack that assholes wig wide open...
The French are not that kind to non-French people. Well....unless your last name starts with La or Le. :p
That\'s their game, BTW. Think of it as a team from Fiji islands beating the best NBA All-Star Team in America.
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Reports I\'ve heard indicate that it was not the French intimidating riders and spitting on them, but rather the Germans and Basque spectators. These stages draw fans from all over Europe.
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Originally posted by Coredweller
On the other hand he did not say any such thing about Roberto Heras or Tyler Hamilton
haha, I\'d doublecheck that if I were you ;)
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I\'d rather poke my eyes out with a red hot butter knife than watch. It\'s right up there with watching a marathon. Snooze fest.
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Originally posted by politiepet
haha, I\'d doublecheck that if I were you ;)
It sounds as if you expect Armstrong to speak like all other athletes; nothing but empty catch phrases and sound bytes. I\'m glad he doesn\'t just repeat crap like "We\'re going to give 110% out there" and "I\'m just gonna ride hard, and see what happens."
He speaks the truth and gives truthful answers to questions you ask him. Furthermore, I just watched an interview with Leipheimer last night, and he was EXTREMELY complimentary toward Lance Armstrong and his contributions to cycling, so evidently no offense was taken to whatever Lance said about him.
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well, maybe they worked it out ;)
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Le Tour de France on tv ? Ah that tv Europe sightseeing show,where there\'s always some ppl on bikes obstructing the view of the beautiful lanscapes ! :laughing:
But indeed, like Ace said.... for me it\'s a snooze fest. Just like speed/ice skating. Heck, most of the \'European\' sports I find boring and I\'m European myself. lol.
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I saw a clip of the race. Did Armstrong win again, and by passing the second place guy just before the finish line?
Or was that something else...
-Dan
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Ive been watching off and on but i didnt catch it recently. Lance has done the whole course multiple times. Its no surprise that he should at least be in the top 5.
Usually its a trend to hate people that continuously win but he seems like an alright guy. I thought he was going to retire after this year but it looks like hes going to switch sponsors and compete for two more years.
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Originally posted by Eiksirf
I saw a clip of the race. Did Armstrong win again, and by passing the second place guy just before the finish line?
Or was that something else...
-Dan
hehe, that wasn\'t a race, it was a time trial, they all started at different times
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If it wasnt posted, he did win.
this is his sixth.
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Personally, I find European sports 10 times more interesting than American sports.
WRC > NASCAR: What is so damn interesting about watching cars go around in a circle? I wish they would broadcast more WRC over here as it is much more exciting than watching bubba\'s driving Chevy\'s in a circle.
Baseball has to be the least athletic sport among the 4 professional sports in the US. It is the only sport where some fat ass can actually be "good".
I think it is great Armstrong won the Tour again. Not since Michael Jordan have we Americans had such a domineering athlete in any single sport.
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He says he might go for a 7th straight win, hoping to make his record a little more difficult to match or break.
If he decides to go for it, more power to him! And if he decides against it, I don\'t blame him. That is one grueling sport! I can barely make it up one slightly graded hill on my old 12 speed. :D He\'s climbing the damn Alps! :eek:
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Actually I heard on the radio today that he is actually thinking of not racing the race again and instead doing some of the others.
I think he needs to stick it to the Frenchies on more time.