Tour de France 2009 [LIVE THREAD]

[DollyCali]

I am glad armstrong is back but I dont believe it will be the same "glory ride" of years back. give him a ton of credit however and wish him a successful ride!

Lance thread from a few years back -- which I took heat regarding

[cleveland gop]

psst, are you watching????

NO, I’M WATCHING WIMBLEDON!!! But no tea and crumpets though....

[leilani]

Thanks for the pings Bay. Didn't get yesterday's til now but I did see part of the TT (Lance's ride at least) in the AM & a bit of the wrapup last night after coming home from the fireworks.

Nobody posted the results yet, so here are the top ten:

[Standing| Rider | Team | Time]

1. CANCELLARA Fabian TEAM SAXO BANK 19' 32"
2. CONTADOR Alberto ASTANA 19' 50"
3. WIGGINS Bradley GARMIN - SLIPSTREAM 19' 51"
4. KLÖDEN Andréas ASTANA 19' 54"
5. EVANS Cadel SILENCE - LOTTO 19' 55"
6. LEIPHEIMER Levi ASTANA 20' 02"
7. KREUZIGER Roman LIQUIGAS 20' 04"
8. MARTIN Tony TEAM COLUMBIA - HTC 20' 05"
9. NIBALI Vincenzo LIQUIGAS 20' 09"
10. ARMSTRONG Lance ASTANA 20' 12"

Noting Roman Kreuziger (Czchechoslovakia?) finish for Liquigas yesterday [#7], Lance tweeted that he used to race against his Dad! Ouch!

[leilani]

That's a cool thread, Dolly! Especially as Bay mentioned that part about the fact he would have likely been an abortion statistic had Linda done what all 'feminists' & good democrats would have expected her to do.

So here is the guy whose Mom generously let him enjoy his right to life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness after the TT yesterday, back at the hotel watching coverage (snapped by Mark Higgins of Austin):

Speaking of cool threads, searching just now for today's I see that somebody else here made a very nice one for TdF the other day with links & graphics and all which we aren't using but maybe we should invite him/her here because they've done a really nice job & maybe they'll help with our dailies? FLAttorney didn't have our ping list, so here's that thread:

FLATTORNEY'S TdF Thread

[Mom MD]

What a beautiful set up by Team Columbia. Cavendish will be the dominant sprinter for a while, but his team lead out was a thing of beauty.

[Mom MD]

Mr. Mom notes that Cavendish was pulling away from the riders in his slipstream!

[VicVega]

Great pics.

[stylin_geek]

I followed the Giro and I think Bryneel said Armstrong worked well as a Domestique.

So, from that aspect, it looks like Lance is also an outstanding team player.

How would you like to be racing against a team that has a past Tour winner that is willing to work as a Domestique? Especially if that someone is Lance Armstrong?

[Sir_Ed]

Does anyone know why Lance isn’t with his old team Discovery/High Road/Columbia anymore?

Or am I remembering it wrong?

I wish Lance, Levi and Hincapie were racing together.

That being said, I hope he wins again!

But he’s pretty old for that...

What happened to Al Trautwig, by the way?

Ed

[Mom MD]

Discovery is no longer a team, discovery pulled their sponsorship after the year Lance retired the first time. Most of the top riders went to Astana (Contador, Leipheimer) Hincapie left Discovery before Lance retired if I remember right.

[lainie]

I’m seeing what you guys are saying. The vibe is coming clear to me; plus, adding Ventoux to the mix, I get it. And truthfully, so far Lance is keeping his Tour on the down-low, and as long as that continues, I’m happy.

He has said that one day at a team meeting, Johann will say which of the riders is the leader, and that’ll be it. If it’s Contador, they’re moving that way; end of discussion. As long as his ego stays where it should be, I can dig Lance.. and if his team-player attitude evolves as you guys suggest, it could turn into quite a redemption story of sportsmanship. At least for me and people like me. So.

Are we going to use this as a long-running TdF thread or would someone like to create a new one every day?

[lainie]

Trautwig did Beijing Olympics sportscasting as I recall. I think he does the NY Knicks now for MSG network.

[deport]

Discovery went caput.........

Lance is at home with his team manager/director [Johan BRUYNEEL] whom he likes and respects. Johan produced eight Tour De France winners (Lance Armstrong from 1999-2005 and Alberto Contador in 2007).

[Sir_Ed]

Ah, I see. I’m remembering the facts wrong!

I thought Lance bought the Discovery team, then sold it to High Road, which partenered with Columbia, who then owned it outright...

So, does Lance own Astana now?

I’m rooting for Columbia, as I’m an Oregonian and I like Columbia gear, and they employ a lot of Oregonians.

See ya’,

Ed

[Sir_Ed]

I much prefer Trautwig over Chris Hummer, who has broadcasting’s most screechy, high-pitched irritating voice!

I wish Astana had chosen Chris Horner to race at the TDF. He broke his leg, but it seemed like he was back to par...

Ed

[stylin_geek]

It remains to be seen how it plays out. It makes for an interesting side story to the Tour

One thing that can’t be ignored is the time off the bike. It’s double edged sword.

On one hand, there’s the lack of training/conditioning factor.

On the other, it’s three years for Armstrong’s body to rebuild/recover from the rigors of professional cycling.

[PeteB570]

I’ll be trackin’ it for the next three weeks.

Ping On!

Go Garmin.