tour de france...armstrong faltering...says ulrich is the favorite now...

[gardenweasel]

armstrong admitted today that he is struggling and he thinks that jan ulrich is the guy to beat.....you can still get favorable odds at oly on ulrich....i hope lance can pull it off...but,i had to throw a couple dollars on ukrich at around 2-1...considering the size of the field,and not knowing whether armstrong is blowing smoke,it may not be a smart wager.....what the hey.....if armstrong folds,i`d have to think ulrich will have a decent shot........g.l.

 

[Lemons]

I think Armstrong is blowing smoke..

 

[gardenweasel]

lines at oly

lines at oly

just shifted from ulrich +180 to ulrich -150......he`s now the favorite....

 

[Scotty H]

Had to reply to this post.

This has been one of the best Tour de France's ever. The mountain stages have been great. Lance is defenitly not in top form. The heat from time trial really zaped him today. Jan Ullrich is looking great especially attacking today in the mountains and gaing another 16sec. Armstrong is really going to have to dig if he is going to win this Tour. Tomorrows stage is going to be absoullty bruttle,with 4 catogory 1 climbs. Unfortunally for Lance the finnish is down hill and I don't see him gainning time against Ullrich. But I will not be ssuprised to see some of the Spainish riders attack tomorrow. Look out for Iban Mayo and Haimar Zubeldia to attack tomorrow. Mondays stage is a mountain top finnish on a beyond catogory climb so maybe Lance can gain some time on Ullrich. If you have OLN (Outdoor Life Network) they have live coverage of the tour except tomorrow which sucks, but you can watch about 2.5 hours of replays at night.

Forgot to paste this quote which i think will sum up the last week of the tour.

`One of the two will crack,'' French rider Richard Virenque predicted. ``There's going to be destruction in the days
to come. It's going to be spectacular.''

 

[gardenweasel]

lance armstrong is a beast

lance armstrong is a beast

took a fall and still gets up to win the stage and increase his lead........he`s in great shape to win,now...the most gratifying money i`ve ever lost.....get `em lance.....

 

[neverteaseit]

The tour will be over wednesday possibly. tuesday is a rest day and i do not see it helping Ulrich in anyway. Wednesday's stage is more difficult then most are saying and if anyone is going to attack It will be Vinokourov. Armstrong who at the start of the tour was not in a good form due to dehydration from the heat is now clearly riding better than anyone else. Ulrich will not have another time trial like his last. Look for the same to happen as today Armstrong will counter attack as needed on the climbs but look for him to nuetralize any attacks on the final climb.

People who have never seen this event are truly missing out on one of the greatest athletes that has ever lived. Armstrong has his legs back while everyone else is searching for some sort of hope. It is only fitting that on the 100th anniversary of the tour that perhaps the greatest rider ever in the tour shall win it.

The media was looking for a chink in his armor and they all thought they had it. But this race is also a mind game and I think Armstrong duped all of his opponents today. No one could react to his attack and it was just pure who wants it more and Armstrong clearly proved who the real man of the mountains was today. Truly a great event, and may go down as one of the greatest tours ever.

 

[gardenweasel]

and after the cancer

and after the cancer

....(and anybody that has ever had anyone close to them battle the disease....and that`s most of us),it is one of the most amazing sports stories in history.....

the guy does not get the attention here in the states that he richly deserves......you wanna talk about role models.....mental and physical toughness....a guy that proves that you don`t have to be 6`2" and 225 lbs to be a monster athlete.....

man......as a guy that loves and has been involved with boxing,this guy makes most of the boxers i am familiar with pale in comparison.....boxing and wrestling training take a certain type of person.....takes extreme discipline and determination.....

armstrong has that kind of physical and mental toughness....

i am truly in awe of the man....
:yup :clap:

 

[neverteaseit]

Well it will be official tomorrow after today's time trial the greatest athlete on the planet and I mean on the planet right now is going to win his 5th straight tour. Only fitting that on the 100th anniversary of the tour that maybe the greatest rider ever should win it. What this man has done is simply amazing to say the least. Truly a special man indeed.

Gardenweasel you right over here he does not get near the attention he truly deserves. But over in France he will be the talk of the country tomorrow when he rides into the Paris and starts sipping the champagne while riding around the Champs-Elysees. The funny thing is how at first they did not like Armstrong for his shy attitude, but ever since he learned to speak French and made him self more available for the press, they adore him now.

Truly was a great tour this year the best since Lemond won by 8 seconds. Only hope Armstrong comebacks next year in better shape and dominates again. A 6th would be truly special. Also would like to see Beloki return and make next year even better then this one.

 

[Spock]

have followed Armstrong for a while & he is one of few athlethes that I truely admire (and who are still in action - used to like a lot of athlethes but now most are retired - one used to be sergi bubka the pole vaulter from USSR).

This guy is someone who can be a role model. Instead the present role models - Bonds .. Kobe .. . among others .. * ouch *

someone shud teach a lot of these overpaid lazy ass baseball players what dedication is all about .. basterds shud be made to bike to the stadium from the hotel (if angry bettors are throwing cow dung all over them from the sidelines that would be great )

Armstrong is welcome to be beamed up by Scotty anytime.

Regarding not getting enuf attention in the States .. truely pathetic .. they want someone who is into rape .. drugs and other stuff so that media can sell the stories .. all this guy did was beat cancer and make a victorious return .. piece of cake

 

[gardenweasel]

well said spock and never...

well said spock and never...

we have a strange fascination with the "lower character' tier of athlete and celebrity here in the u.s........

when you see the reprobates that we call hero,it`s not hard to understand why we are scorned and disliked internationally.....

the kobe`s and tyson`s get the press(i actually feel sorry for tyson....the guy is basically a child mentally...he needs supervision).........the armstrong`s are a mere blip on the radar screen....

 

[djv]

Would'nt it be nice for just one day all we here is about winners.
Like Amrstrong. Lets have the news outlets talk one hour about him. No Koby or Denney or any other chit for just one day a week. Just talk about the winners. Talk about real heros. The folks that jumb in the water to save some child. The guy that dragged a person from a burnning car. This stuff happens everday in America. We here two maybe three times that day for about a total of 6 to 10 minutes about these folks. The chit we get hours at a time over and over. Sunday make it the good day for all the good people have done that week. Go back to there basic shit on Monday. There all guilty ABC, FOX, CNN. Dont matter.

 

[neverteaseit]

DJV that will never happen. the only thing ever on t.v. is violence or crime and scandal. I was watching the sport reporters this morning. First 3 minutes about Kobe, Next 3 minutes about Dennehy and then 40 seconds about Armstrong. He should have been the first topic of discussion. As a matter of fact they should have done the whole show about Armstrong at least it would have been something positive in the sporting world. Willing to bet that maybe 1 paper tomorrow will have his victory as the main story on the front page.

Regardless it still does not take away the fact that this guy is a true champion and an awesome athlete. When he wins number 6 next year he may get an additonal 30 seconds coverage. Congrats Mr. Armstrong you are the kind of person role models are made of. Not overpriced cry babies who will never have the dedication or desire as you do!