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Blake
| | Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 02:35 am: | 
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quote:By BY GERSH KUNTZMAN and BILL SANDERSON
July 22, 2004 -- Asinine German cycling fans harassed five-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong during yesterday’s grueling ride though the French Alps — two of the “idiots” spat on him, and another spectator chased him while wearing a “F - - - Bush” T-shirt. By the end of the day, of course, the spit on Armstrong was exchanged for a bath of champagne, thanks to the Texan's time-trial victory.
From http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/18138.htm
Lance is over four minutes ahead of his nearest competitor with only three days to go.
Lance is heading into an unprecedented 6th straight Tour De France victory. The recovered from near fatal bout with cancer just a few years ago. The dude is my hero.
He's been wearing a gold cross on a chain around his neck the entire time. Pretty friggin cool. Go Lance!!! Go America!!!! It is exceptionally apropos that Lance is a Texan too. Gotta love it, at least if you are a patriotic American or a fan of the tour or competitive bicycling in general.
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Firebolt020283
| | Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 02:56 am: |
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im not much on biycilceling but im sure proud hes from america and texas and u damn sure got to give it up to him to go from dieing of cancer to being able to ride a bicycle across france and do it faster than any one eles u definatly got to give it up so GO LANCE |
Thunder
| | Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 03:01 am: |
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I can understand that some people are not into bicycling, but I think everyone learned on a bicycle before the evolved to the motorized version.
Just remember how motorcycling got its start...
Lance is a remarkable athlete!!
Go Lance!! |
Firebolt020283
| | Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 03:07 am: |
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yea im just saying im not much in to watching bicycles on tv or as a sport but i have nothing aginst riding a bycle (though i rode a motorcycle before i rode a bicycle with out training wheels for some reason i could balance the motorcycle better that the bicycle) but i do have much respect for those guys that can ride those things for that long cuz i know my lazy a** couldnt but oh well |
Kaudette
| | Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 03:46 am: |
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I saw him go by yesterday in person (I live 3 mins from the stage road in the Alps - Bourg D'Oisans - Grand Bornand).
All I can say is that he's a machine out there, as is the rest of his team.
I'm glad he's on his way to his 6th tour victory and wish him, and all the riders the best. |
Blake
| | Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 04:34 am: |
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Ken,
Are you French or expatriated? Lance is a machine. He apparently puts out significantly less lactic acid compared to most elite athletes, which allows him keep on burning on. I saw him finish a mini-triathlon in Los Colinas near Dallas, TX back when he was still a kid around '86 or so. He destroyed the field and finished the event as if he had just been out for a brief morning stroll. I got the feeling then that he was bound for greatness.
Thanks for cheering on the bad ••• Texan.  |
Court
| | Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 04:53 am: |
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Gads....did you see yesterdays finish ???
He's an AWESOME machine! |
Mikej
| | Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 08:30 am: |
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You can get live updates in text on the cyclingnews.com web site.
Velonews.com has reports as well. |
Mikej
| | Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 08:31 am: |
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http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour04.php?id=photos/2004/tour04/stage17/s-ARMSTRONGA RR17a-849 |
Mikej
| | Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 08:35 am: |
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Here's the current active link, they currently have 100km to go in today's race.
http://live.cyclingnews.com/
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Kaudette
| | Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 09:33 am: |
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Blake, I'm an expat (kind-of) living in France for the past 7 years or so.
American, french wife, french/american baby boy.
I've ridden (on motorcycles) the roads they took in the Alps, and until you see it first hand, it is really tough to fully appreciate the effort these guys have to put out just to make it to the finishing line. |
Aesquire
| | Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 09:44 am: |
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GO POSTAL!! Yeah! Lance & the U.S. cycling team.
This message paid for by the U.S. Postal service. 37 cents at a time.
Robin Williams bit on Lance is priceless.
"The french claim he is on drugs...Bullshit!, It's Chemo!"
"It ez unfair (french accent) he has only one testicle! He ez more aerodynamic than our riders! All riders must cut off one ball immediately!"
Think of a marathon a day for 3 weeks, up mountains.
edited by aesquire on July 23, 2004 |
Ebear
| | Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 10:03 am: |
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INCREDIBLE Athlete and an even better Human....GO LANCE !!! |
Djkaplan
| | Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 12:32 pm: |
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The guy may only have one ball, but it must be a real big one. |
Blake
| | Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 03:52 pm: |
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heheheh... Did anyone read about the drama unfolding between Lance and one of his competitors who is suing Lance for slander? It seems even bicycle racing involves politics.
From the link Mike posted above...
quote:14:06 CEST 49km/117.5km to go
Armstrong and Simeoni are still at odds off the back of the break. Armstrong chased down Simeoni when he went after them. Simeoni is suing Armstrong for slander after Lance called Simeoni a liar, so the pair are not best buddies. And Lance is now behaving like a real patron, taking charge of the situation personally. .
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.14:34 CEST 66.5km/100km to go
A recap: The leading six (Flecha, Joly, Garcia Acosta, Fofonov, Mercado and Lotz) escaped at the 9 km mark. Phonak kept the peloton at 30-40 seconds until the first climb at 34 km. Filippo Simeoni tried to bridge across to them, but an annoyed Lance Armstrong got on Simeoni's wheel and although the pair made it across to the break a few km later and started working, increasing the lead out to 1'50, Simeoni and Lance dropped off the back and went back to the peloton.
In normal circumstances this wouldn't happen - both are good enough to stay with this sort of break. But the off the bike issues that Simeoni and Lance have (Simeoni is suing Lance because Lance called him a liar after Simeoni testified against Dr Ferrari in a trial in Italy) caused the pair to drop back after they kept arguing..
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.14:55 CEST
There have been many emails about the Armstrong/Simeoni dynamic. Consider this: Armstrong clearly didn't want Simeoni in the break or to win the stage, hence he chased him down. If Armstrong had stayed in the break, he could have sat on all day and just watched Simeoni. Simeoni's chances of winning would have been remote because Armstrong was marking him so closely. Hence there was no alternative but for them both to drop back to the bunch.
Armstrong has never considered himself a "patron" of the peloton, but today he has really shown that he is. No-one gets away without his team's permission..
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.15:24 CEST 90km/76.5km to go
An update on Simeoni's lawsuit. His lawyer said that he is demanding a "symbolic sum of €100,000" from Lance Armstrong, after Armstrong said in a Le Monde interview that Simeoni was telling lies.
Simeoni told Cyclingnews at the start of the Tour: "Remember that I denounced him for this defamation when he declared publicly to newspapers that I was a liar, when I simply testified as an honest citizen in front of a judge, telling my personal experience. (Armstrong) publicly insulted me and took advantage of his media power. That really bothered me and so I'm seeking legal recourse for this.".
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.15:27 CEST 93km/73.5km to go
According to the unofficial word in the press room, when Armstrong reached the break earlier with Simeoni, he allegedly said to the others in the break, "If you ride with Simeoni in this breakaway, I'll put my team on the front to chase you down."
Intresting. GO LANCE!
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Honu
| | Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 06:24 pm: |
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As a cyclist and fan, it is great to see Lance winning. Number six is almost in the books!
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Mr_grumpy
| | Posted on Saturday, July 24, 2004 - 08:32 am: |
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Interesting to see it was German idiots harassing him, but I didn't expect any French fans to do it as they take their cycling very seriously here.
My wife's sister and another good friend of ours do the Tour every year as part of the catering crew so we'll shortly be getting a big goody bag of hats, signed pics, & pens etc etc, from them.
It's good to have connections.  |
Brucelee
| | Posted on Saturday, July 24, 2004 - 08:55 am: |
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LANCE IS SIMPLY THE BEST< NO ONE ELSE IS CLOSE RIGHT NOW! |
Tommy_2stroke
| | Posted on Saturday, July 24, 2004 - 10:57 am: |
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There's not much better than seeing the American TEAM dominating this Europe-centered sport, especially after the way the French and Germans spat at us when we decided to fight for freedom around the world. I hope Lance's victory grates on them no end.
07:40 PDT now and Lance just left the gate for the Tour's final time trial... go baby go... its yours if you want it! |
Tommy_2stroke
| | Posted on Saturday, July 24, 2004 - 12:30 pm: |
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And that's it... Lance blasted them all in the time trial once again. Cruisin' home to Paris tomorrow.
I feel like we've got the French in a six-year-long headlock and Lance is giving them a six-year-long noogie! Heh heh... |
Ray_maines
| | Posted on Saturday, July 24, 2004 - 01:22 pm: |
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My wife and I were in Limoges, France on July 13th to see the start of stage nine and it was one of the high points of our vacation.
What a great all day party that was. By 8:30 am the action was well underway and the actual race didn't begin until 2:30 in the afternoon. Everybody, and everything that has anything to do with the Tour seemed to be part of the parade through town to the starting area. There were team cars, team buses, sponsors giving away their products, dignitaries, past heroes, parade floats, and even the pretty Air-Kiss-After-The-Race girls were there. I'm 100% sure I saw Mr. Grumpy's sister-in-law but I can't prove it. Even Spiderman made the trip.
We had a wonderful time and everybody that's interested in bicycle racing should make the pilgrimage to France at least once in their life. It was just too cool for words.
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Ray_maines
| | Posted on Saturday, July 24, 2004 - 02:20 pm: |
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Let me explain what I just wrote and clear up any misunderstanding.
On the evening of Monday, July 12th my wife and I checked into the Ibis Limoges Nord Hotel and found ourselves in the company of both the Fasso Bortolo and Gerolsteiner Teams, National TV 2 & 3 news crews, and a bunch of other tour groupies. We got up the next morning and drove the 25 Kms to St. Leonardo-de-Noblat where stage nine started and the photos were taken. The next morning, stage ten began in Limoges and I wasn't there. Sorry for any confusion caused by my poor writing skills. |
Davegess
| | Posted on Saturday, July 24, 2004 - 11:34 pm: |
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cool Ray, a very neat event. It is the sort of thing I can't imagine happening here. 10's of thousands of people lining the roads for a very emotional event and no one messes with the riders. A couple of fans spit at Lance and it a big event. Hell go to a Yankee Red Sox game, the visiting players are lucky to escape.  |
Court
| | Posted on Sunday, July 25, 2004 - 06:30 am: |
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Ray:
I am getting a mental picture of you, mounted on a Buell bicycle, as the FIRST TEAM ELVES Entry...talk to me people!
That had to be absolutely awesome to be there. I find this to be one of those things that I get caught up in quite easily. It's like college basketball, I don't watch all year but then every year when the Kansas Jayhawks are in the Final Four, I am glued to the set. Kinda like being at a Shakespear Festival everyone drinking and milling around not paying attention then "Romeo, Romero, wherefore art thou....." captures the crowds attention for 22 seconds, then back to drinking.
Post more picures of your trip...TOO COOL ! |
Blake
| | Posted on Sunday, July 25, 2004 - 03:55 pm: |
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It is the sort of thing I can't imagine happening here.
Yeah, the French are so well known for their love and hospitality of Americans let alone other foreigners. We do have some decent bicycle races in America too. Should there ever evolve an event of the magnitude of the TDF, I'm sure that Americans would be infinitely more hospitable than the crowds in Europe. Your take on America sure is unfortunate there Dave. Comparing a longtime heated baseball rivalry to spectators of a bicycle race??? I didn't see not hear of any fan hostility towards foreigners at Laguna Seca.
Sorry for getting all political on you Dave. I am just SICK and TIRED of all the America bashing and have made it my mission to oppose it wherever I encounter it.
I mean you not only seek to downplay the hostile actions towards Lance Armstrong, but you then deride America? Damn man. WTF? |
Blake
| | Posted on Sunday, July 25, 2004 - 03:56 pm: |
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Ray,
Thanks for the photos! Really cool. I'm jealous. |
Benm2
| | Posted on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 10:01 am: |
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The US has tried at least twice in recent memory to develop good stage races; the Coors Classic and the Tour Du Pont. The Coors race got some decent following, but neither approached the magnitude of the TDF. There is an annual race here in Philadelphia, the USPRO championships, that attracts some crowds in Manayunk on "the wall", but alot of those people just show up to drink.
Cycling just isn't big here, except for the July-only fans who watch Lance. You don't think that out in the Colorado mountain stages of the mythical Tour de USA that some backwater hick wouldn't harass Richard Virenque as he was going for his eigth King of the Mountains jersey? I've been harassed by enough hicks in pickups during my roadracing career to disagree with that. I've had stuff thrown at me, been called names, been sideswiped, been physically threatened & chased, here in the USA.
Blake, throw on a pair of cycling shorts & a French team jersey, and go for a 125-mile ride through the Texas countryside for 22 consecutive days. I suspect you're opinion might change. |
Kaudette
| | Posted on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 10:51 am: |
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Blake. Here's some news for you. The Tour de France is a 100% open, public event for 3 weeks over 1900 MILES. The teams stay at local hotels, eat at local restaurants, and are in public areas 70% of the time. They ride all of those 1900 miles on open road.
No secret service, no goon patrols, no crowd controls, mounties, leather glove wearing cops with a mean stare.
The crowds are absolutely AMAZING - the people come from all over the world to see the event and you can chat it up with ANYONE on the side of the road assuming you can get by in the same language. The French are very happy to see the crowds and take pride in the event & the sport.
So Lance got a couple of goons giving him a hard time on his way up - that's part of the race and the charm of the "Tour".
Let's not end up mixing channels here between some "probably intoxicated" germans and the political stance of Europe vis a vis the US intervention in Iraq.
I've lived here 7 years, have seen the TOUR since 97 and never saw a major incident or political influence on the part of the spectators. |
Davegess
| | Posted on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 10:57 am: |
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Blake, Blake, Blake, the tour is every bit as emotional and historic as the Red Sox -Yankee thing. Buy you don't need to go there, just about any game in Philly will do. The people are just plain disgusting to the visting team.
It is not just the US, the whole world of sport spectating, at least for mainstream sports motorsports seem quite civil, has gotten very nasty. The language I hear at just about every ball game is unbelievable. College games up here feature organized cheers that are just are just not appropiate. I won't bring my 8 year old to a game.
Dave
PS, Every July, Milwaukee is home to the longest running pro bicycle racing in the US. Two weeks of daily racing, criteriums and road races with an overall and daily winners. The best attended day pulls maybe 12000 spectators and is one of the (maybe not one of actually) most heavily attended bike races in the US. Closet thing we have to a Tour |
Bomber
| | Posted on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 11:08 am: |
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one of the reasons I stopped following the Olympics is because of the political BS that attached itself to it -- some folks see a small girl twirling in the air in complete control of herself, and think "wow -- what a great display of physical and mental prowess!" Others see the same person, and come away thinking "wow, look at that American/cursed Capitalist (depending on their point of view)"
Unfortunately, many sports have become politicized to the point where I can no longer enjoy spectating due to the stupidity and insistance on tribal affiliations of many of the spectators and media commentators . . .. . my loss, I'm sure (tongue planted firmly in cheek)
all that said, congratualtions to all the participants (would that I was that good at ANYTHING to be able to compete at that level), and specially to Mr Armstrong -- like Tiger Woods, San Makita, Micheal Jordon and a few others, he's redefined his sport, and is well know to folks who no nothing else about their chosen profession - ya gotta admire someone at that level |
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