Tour de France

[frenchfan]

Lance is back this year after a 3 years retirement...
And damn... the guy is still very impressive :shocked:

I can't wait to see how the moutains days will turn for him... Will the young stars be better? Will Lance be able to keep this level?

Anyway, I really enjoy his comeback in this great race...

Any thoughts guys (and girlies)?

:beer:

[Kapaibro]

Good to see the race authorities fining Lance and his team 100 Francs for 'signing in' late.

Lance is always such a consistant performer. He doesn't need to win every stage, just stay far enough up the front to put seconds on the bunch.

[BigDaddyBronco]

It would be nice to see Lance win this one at 37 and shove it right up the arse of the French media.

[Dreadnought]

Somewhere in Arizona there is a man named Zambini who has lit some votive candles in front of his Lance Armstrong shrine and has worked himself into a worshipful frenzy

[frenchfan]

It would be nice to see Lance win this one at 37 and shove it right up the arse of the French media.BigDaddy, not all French and French media dislike Lance... ;)

What some people here don't like is that he's a machine... I've never saw a bad day from Lance... So... questions came ;)

Personnaly, I don't care if he took something or not... What he did (with or without) is just unbelievable... Plus, I don't think there are many "clean" racers... JMHO (though I know a bit about high level sport and bicycle racing)...

I would just find amazing to see Lance winning his 8th Tour... And I really think he can do it... We'll know after the 1st moutains days...

[Thnikkaman]

Somewhere in Arizona there is a man named Zambini who has lit some votive candles in front of his Lance Armstrong shrine and has worked himself into a worshipful frenzy

http://broncosfreaks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22602

[G_Money]

If Lance did not use PEDs, against a field of guys who we now know did, and won 7 straight Tours, he is the greatest. Athlete. Ever. Period. Babe Ruth will bend knee to Lance Armstrong as being THAT much better than his peers.

If he did use, he's then "merely" the greatest cyclist of his era, because practically every other competitor for his throne has since come out as having been enhanced, so the playing field was level.

Regardless of whether he did or didn't, it's been a delight to watch him, and watching him ride in the field for his 8th is just fun. A lot of damn fun. :D

~G

[NameUsedBefore]

I wasn't even aware he came out of semi-retirement.

Dude's a beast with some incredible stories.

[Thnikkaman]

He is the greatest Endurance Athlete ever.

[Ravage!!!]

Lance is the most TESTED athlete in ALLLLLLLL of sports. So anyone... A N Y O N E.... that is still questioning if he is or isn't, really isn't being reasonable anymore.

[Jaws]

Can't wait for the mountains.

Must give Sparkie the link to this thread, she's hooked on the tour.

[frenchfan]

Can't wait for the mountains.

Must give Sparkie the link to this thread, she's hooked on the tour.Today is 1st mountain day... Not too tough tough, but we'll know a bit more...

Yeah, just bring us Sparkie here... :elefant: :beer:

[tripleoption]

Contador seems to have taken control today, but there are still lots of mountains left. Lance has shown he's still amongst the best in the world, even after four years away. He's 1:37 behind Contador in second place, and I don't think he can close that gap unless something major happens. Contador just took off up the mountain at the end of the stage today. Andy Schleck gave it a heck of a shot to catch him, but Contador is too good a climber. Armstrong seems quite OK to be in second place. Like he said, he has seven TdF winners jerseys at home.

[Kapaibro]

Terrible stuff over the last few days.

someone shooting at the riders with an airgun (New Zealand racer Julian Dean got hit on the hand, and another rider, Oscar Freire had a pellet lodge in his thigh), and a spectator being killed when crossing the road, in the path of a police motorcycle.

On the positives:

Hayden Roulston had the best stage ride of any Kiwi to participate in the Tour, finishing 3rd in the sprints.
Lance is currently 2nd, but losing time to Contador

[frenchfan]

Contador did the job yesterday... I knew he would be better than Lance in the mountains... But I don't think Lance really think it's done... he shouwed he still one of the best and it's already a big victory... Many thought he was done and his return in the TDF was a joke... Suckers...

When I heard Lance wanted to come back, I knew it wasn't a joke... The guy is a great performer, a great athlete and a huge professional...

Contador is just too good now (and may be too young) for Lance...

Kappie... yeah, some terrible stuff...

Some people are just dumb... Why the hell do they have to go on the road and put their life (and the others one too) in danger???

I'm more worried by the shooting incident... It could have been worst... The problem is that TDF is a "open" race... You can't always prevent disturbed people to do bad things... I think the organization is making a very good job but can't do everything... I hope we'll catch the guy.

[BigDaddyBronco]

Contador's acceleration going uphill is amazing.

He looks like Lance circa 2001-2002.

It's Contador's race to lose.

[tripleoption]

What a race up Mont Vontoux. The Schleck brothers did everything they could to try and get Frank into third place and onto the podium as well as cut into Contador's lead, but Contador and Armstrong would have nothing of it. Lance showed he is undoubtedly still among the best in the world. Not bad for a guy who is 37 and hasn't competed in almost 4 years. Contador did a great job riding for the team and not allowing Andy Schleck to control the race up Vontoux. So Contador is going to win, with Andy Schleck 2nd and Lance third. Next year could be a good one. Lance likely won't be on the same team as Contador, and the Schlecks will be hungry after coming so close. It's going to be interesting.

[frenchfan]

What a race up Mont Vontoux. The Schleck brothers did everything they could to try and get Frank into third place and onto the podium as well as cut into Contador's lead, but Contador and Armstrong would have nothing of it. Lance showed he is undoubtedly still among the best in the world. Not bad for a guy who is 37 and hasn't competed in almost 4 years. Contador did a great job riding for the team and not allowing Andy Schleck to control the race up Vontoux. So Contador is going to win, with Andy Schleck 2nd and Lance third. Next year could be a good one. Lance likely won't be on the same team as Contador, and the Schlecks will be hungry after coming so close. It's going to be interesting.It's amazing indeed...

Just finishing 3rd at 37 with almost a 4 years retirement... Wow... What a guy... Can we bring some guys like him with our Broncos??? :laugh:

Hey... Did you notice how the French public enjoyed the return of Lance?
Despite the common rumours that we didn't like him, I think he was really welcomed and he was the real star of this Tour... :beer:

[Hawgdriver]

It's amazing indeed...

Just finishing 3rd at 37 with almost a 4 years retirement... Wow... What a guy... Can we bring some guys like him with our Broncos??? :laugh:

Hey... Did you notice how the French public enjoyed the return of Lance?
Despite the common rumours that we didn't like him, I think he was really welcomed and he was the real star of this Tour... :beer:

i didn't see that, but that's good to hear. it would be nice if there was a French contender again.

[Jaws]

Equal best ever finish for a Brit in the General Classification, with Wigga (Bradley Wiggins) finishing fourth overall.
For a track specialist, he's done a fantastic job at improving his climbing skills.

And how about Cavendish, crowning his tour with a sixth stage victory on the Champs Elysees. Green jersey next year :D

[tripleoption]

Equal best ever finish for a Brit in the General Classification, with Wigga (Bradley Wiggins) finishing fourth overall.
For a track specialist, he's done a fantastic job at improving his climbing skills.

And how about Cavendish, crowning his tour with a sixth stage victory on the Champs Elysees. Green jersey next year :D

I have to hand it to Bradley Wiggins. He cracked on Vontoux but reached deep down inside to keep his fourth place. He knew Frank Schleck was trying to get past him in the standings and really gutted it out. I'm thinking Wiggins could be a dark horse to win next year, but I also think a lot will have to go exactly right for him to do that. A podium spot may not be out of the question for him next year though.

[tripleoption]

Anyone wanna start predicting who'll win this year? I'm going with Andy Schleck.

[frenchfan]

Anyone wanna start predicting who'll win this year? I'm going with Andy Schleck.Well... I think it's too early...

But Andy seems a nice bet...
We'll see more in the next months ;)

:beer: