# Thank you Mr Armstrong



## gizzard (Oct 5, 2005)

I've watched LA throughout his career, from his amateur days and the disappointment of the 1992 Olympic road race, to his bursting onto the international stage at the age of 21 by winning the UCI World Road Championship and his mid-career domination of the Tour. But I have to say the images of him fighting to stay in the Tour, amid the dust and cavalcade of team cars and TV motorbikes will stay with me for a long time. I saw a different side to him two days ago, and I have to say I quite liked what I saw – not because his Tour was effectively over before it started, but because of the fight he showed on the road to Porte du Hainaut, and perhaps more significantly, his seeming humility and refusal to cite excuses for his losses. 
Thank you Mr Armstrong.


----------



## muscleendurance (Jan 11, 2009)

He could have done that anytime, the fact is he has never really had to.
Except Luz Ardiden in 2003 was the only other occasion Im aware he had to do something like this.


----------



## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

He is fighting for all he can get while accepting his age and abilities.


----------



## OES (Jan 23, 2002)

Well said.



gizzard said:


> I've watched LA throughout his career, from his amateur days and the disappointment of the 1992 Olympic road race, to his bursting onto the international stage at the age of 21 by winning the UCI World Road Championship and his mid-career domination of the Tour. But I have to say the images of him fighting to stay in the Tour, amid the dust and cavalcade of team cars and TV motorbikes will stay with me for a long time. I saw a different side to him two days ago, and I have to say I quite liked what I saw – not because his Tour was effectively over before it started, but because of the fight he showed on the road to Porte du Hainaut, and perhaps more significantly, his seeming humility and refusal to cite excuses for his losses.
> Thank you Mr Armstrong.


----------



## OldEndicottHiway (Jul 16, 2007)

Lance bashing last year in here was at the level of a frenzied, mob-mentality, frothing slobber fest. 

Why all the warm fuzzies this year? 

How am I supposed to keep myself entertained bashing the bashers when the bashers are so... _tepid?_

Oh wait I think Mr. Gumball Avatar is still at it here and there... Oh yoo hoooo...Gumby, won't you come out to play? 

Ah well it seems there's a new whipping boy tied to the post, Cavendish.


----------



## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

everybody loves the underdog.


----------



## TheOcho (Jul 2, 2010)

I like Armstrong a lot better when he's on the bike and silent than off the bike and talking. 

I was also impressed with his performance the other day. Classic Lance. Gutsy, determined, and edgy.


----------



## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

Its really hard to top the days of Lance vs. Jan. Those were some memorable TDF races. 

I still don't understand the almost unicersal view that Lance has lost the TDF by getting a flat (and no mechanical help) on stage 3 and losing 50 seconds to Contador. Counting today, there's 18 stages left. Lance beat Contador on the opening time trial. Would anyone have predicted that? I'm not a big fan of LA, but it would be nice to see him go out somewhere on the podium. Plus, I can't stand Contador.


----------



## gizzard (Oct 5, 2005)

pmf said:


> Its really hard to top the days of Lance vs. Jan. Those were some memorable TDF races.
> 
> I still don't understand the almost unicersal view that Lance has lost the TDF by getting a flat (and no mechanical help) on stage 3 and losing 50 seconds to Contador. Counting today, there's 18 stages left. Lance beat Contador on the opening time trial. Would anyone have predicted that? I'm not a big fan of LA, but it would be nice to see him go out somewhere on the podium. Plus, I can't stand Contador.


+1. There's something creepy about el pistolero


----------



## Beethoven (Jul 28, 2005)

Well said, Gizzard. I had exactly the same reaction. I think the images of him fighting back on the cobbles are so transfixing because they have the quality of a nightmare we've all had: there you are, immobile, dropped by no fault of your own, on a surface that really isn't made for bicycles, in hostile territory, while your opponents ride away and threaten what you have worked for every minute of last year. To then get back on the bike and power yourself back to the group, and to accept it as part of bike racing -- that was magnificent. To my mind, Armstrong's finest moment.


----------



## Opus51569 (Jul 21, 2009)

gizzard said:


> +1. There's something creepy about el pistolero


It's pretty well documented (i.e. Weekly World News) that, when not on the bike, AC murders puppies and molests small children...oh, and his carbon footprint is enormous...


----------



## Slim Again Soon (Oct 25, 2005)

The dude's a competitor like none other. He's the model for HTFU.


----------



## Guest (Jul 8, 2010)

*Seems to have come full circle.......*

and well said OP, I too was emotional at the footage of Mr. Armstrong riding away from Popo after his flat and the images of him riding alone, covered in dust, through the team cars. 

My initial impression of his return to racing was one of Michael Jordan and his baseball fiasco years or more currently, Bret Farve's behaviour. So much to lose and what, exactly, to gain?! That was erased by what he showed after his flat on the cobbles.

Can't top what's been written in this thread, but will add that it seems he's come full circle. He no longer controls the peleton, as was the case for so many years. His performance and the ultimate outcome in Paris is his and his teams responsibility, the peleton has a new leader (Sparticus at this point, it appears). 

Good on you, Mr. Armstrong. Here's wishing you good luck in your final Tour.


----------



## LWP (Jun 6, 2006)

Where were all these people last year when I was getting the anti-Lance beatdown for publicly pulling for Lance to do well in his return to the tour?


----------



## adimiro (Jun 28, 2007)

billium said:


> Here's wishing you good luck in your final Tour
> .





THough a great champion in his prime....at this point, good riddance. Glad he's moving over for the next generation to take the attention and limelight. You can now get back to winning Leadville and other assorted races/disciplines, and of course, you can have more time to devote to the Livestrong cause.

Respectfully,

A Lance fan until he un-retired.


----------



## bmxhacksaw (Mar 26, 2008)

I'm not a big LA fan but I think it would be awesome to see him shut people's mouths. I hope he does well.


----------



## gh1 (Jun 7, 2008)

Really, you really think that was a big deal? Most of his team finished 17 seconds behind him, if we would have dropped back and worked with them he would have had basically the same time with energy to spare. If he was the master tactician that you guys seem to drool over then he would have known that. And then he surfed a car forever until the race officials made all the cars stop. Seriously, I give him full credit for being a fighter and winning 7 tours but to make a big deal out of stage 3 is misguided. He was whining about being unfortunate, well hell Conti had a broken wheel and finished on a flat. Frank had a really bad day. The yellow jersey changed bikes something like 3 times. Those are bad days, Lance just lost time as he will during the mountains.


----------



## Beethoven (Jul 28, 2005)

What an ungracious post. Wrong, too.


----------



## gh1 (Jun 7, 2008)

Beethoven said:


> What an ungracious post. Wrong, too.


Use the quote button, not sure if you were talking to me or not but will respond as if you meant me. Ungracious? Cynical, maybe but ungracious, hardly.


----------



## ToF (Jan 18, 2008)

Pic related


----------



## Beethoven (Jul 28, 2005)

gh1 said:


> Really, you really think that was a big deal? Most of his team finished 17 seconds behind him, if we would have dropped back and worked with them he would have had basically the same time with energy to spare. If he was the master tactician that you guys seem to drool over then he would have known that. And then he surfed a car forever until the race officials made all the cars stop. Seriously, I give him full credit for being a fighter and winning 7 tours but to make a big deal out of stage 3 is misguided. He was whining about being unfortunate, well hell Conti had a broken wheel and finished on a flat. Frank had a really bad day. The yellow jersey changed bikes something like 3 times. Those are bad days, Lance just lost time as he will during the mountains.



No one here talked about Lance as a master tactician, just the opposite, it was about his being a fighter, dropping Popo, and trying to get back to the next group, not the one behind him. 
If you look at the film, you'll see that he overtakes cars long before they're made to stop. And, logically speaking, you can't 'whine' about being 'unfortunate', you can only whine about something being unfair, which Armstrong didn't.
That's what I mean with ungracious.


----------



## Beethoven (Jul 28, 2005)

tferris said:


> Pic related


That's the picture that will summarize his career better than any other.


----------



## pretender (Sep 18, 2007)

Beethoven said:


> That's the picture that will summarize his career better than any other.


So you think he ought to be remembered for the day he lost his final Tour?


----------



## ToF (Jan 18, 2008)

pretender said:


> So you think he ought to be remembered for the day he lost his final Tour?


I think he means as a fighter.


----------



## pretender (Sep 18, 2007)

tferris said:


> I think he means as a fighter.


Or maybe all of his palmares in the cobbled classics?


----------



## rydbyk (Feb 17, 2010)

pretender said:


> So you think he ought to be remembered for the day he lost his final Tour?


Pic is worth a thousand words...this pic shows him to be a true fighter. Lance is a fighter in every sense of the word.

That is all.


----------



## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

pretender said:


> So you think he ought to be remembered for the day he lost his final Tour?


Who lost? He and all the riders are in it, while we all sit around the computer and talk about how fast we think we are. Bashing someone may be fun but when it is someone of LA or AC's caliber we all ought to thick twice. I would venture to say most and I do mean most people here couldn't hang on any of those guys wheel. No way. Not for a minute. If you can quit armchair racing and get out there and ride the tour in '11.


----------



## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

A from Il said:


> Who lost? He and all the riders are in it, while we all sit around the computer and talk about how fast we think we are. Bashing someone may be fun but when it is someone of LA or AC's caliber we all ought to thick twice. I would venture to say most and I do mean most people here couldn't hang on any of those guys wheel. No way. Not for a minute. If you can quit armchair racing and get out there and ride the tour in '11.


You're right. Let's spend the next few days discussion which monsters Spilak and Konovalovas are relative to me.


----------



## Beethoven (Jul 28, 2005)

pretender said:


> So you think he ought to be remembered for the day he lost his final Tour?


For the day in which he fought to preserve his chances.

If you don't see the awesome in that picture you've never been in a bike race.


----------



## pretender (Sep 18, 2007)

Beethoven said:


> If you don't see the awesome in that picture you've never been in a bike race.


It's a fine photo, but I'm not looking at it through mythology-tinged glasses.

A photo of Armstrong riding for Hincapie at Paris-Roubaix five to ten years ago would be much more impressive in my book.


----------



## jptaylorsg (Apr 24, 2003)

OldEndicottHiway said:


> Lance bashing last year in here was at the level of a frenzied, mob-mentality, frothing slobber fest.
> 
> Why all the warm fuzzies this year?
> 
> How am I supposed to keep myself entertained bashing the bashers when the bashers are so... _tepid?_


I think it's safe to say last year the sentiment among us "bashers" began at, "Look, Lance says he wants to ride Le Tour in support of Contador and to raise cash for cancer. How nice. I think Contador's the class of the pelaton and will win." and over a three-week period, fueled by interview comments both subtle and overt, stoked by Tweets that ranged from barely tacitly respectful to full-blown incendiary, our opinion changed to "Lance is the same egomaniacal glory hog he's always been. Contador probably made a tactical error or two on the bike but will still win. I wish they both would shut up (especially Lance, because I don't understand Spanish anyway)."

Now that Lance has team leadership nailed down again, there's just not as much to hate. Hell, he even managed to be gracious and admit the tactical error that Phillipec pointed out led to his flat in that other thread.


----------



## jptaylorsg (Apr 24, 2003)

Beethoven said:


> That's the picture that will summarize his career better than any other.


Clearly Lance has always been a tremendous fighter - in all facets of life - but it was a dusty day on cobbles. You could have gotten the same picture of 100 guys that day. 

Might be getting carried away a bit.


----------



## muscleendurance (Jan 11, 2009)

remember kids everything someone says no matter how stupid or seemingly obvious is nothing more than their opinion even citing references to cycling news or anywhere is the same, their opinion, you are just sharing it. mmk tks bai


----------



## Circlip (Jul 26, 2005)

rydbyk said:


> Pic is worth a thousand words...this pic shows him to be a true fighter. Lance is a fighter in every sense of the word.


Must be that Lance is the first rider ever to have a grimace on his face, or maybe the first to have a grimace on his face and have dust swirling around. Or maybe just the first rider wearing red and grey, on cobbles, with dust swirling around, while giving the camera a grimace face. That there is history folks.


----------



## Guest (Jul 9, 2010)

*context*



Circlip said:


> Must be that Lance is the first rider ever to have a grimace on his face, or maybe the first to have a grimace on his face and have dust swirling around. Or maybe just the first rider wearing red and grey, on cobbles, with dust swirling around, while giving the camera a grimace face. That there is history folks.


Context is the key here, me thinks. Without it, each of your observations are spot on. With it, you miss the point entirely.


----------



## OldEndicottHiway (Jul 16, 2007)

jptaylorsg said:


> *I think it's safe to say last year the sentiment among us "bashers" began at, "Look, Lance says he wants to ride Le Tour in support of Contador and to raise cash for cancer. How nice. I think Contador's the class of the pelaton and will win." and over a three-week period, fueled by interview comments both subtle and overt, stoked by Tweets that ranged from barely tacitly respectful to full-blown incendiary, our opinion changed to "Lance is the same egomaniacal glory hog he's always been.* Contador probably made a tactical error or two on the bike but will still win. I wish they both would shut up (especially Lance, because I don't understand Spanish anyway)."
> 
> Now that Lance has team leadership nailed down again, there's just not as much to hate. Hell, he even managed to be gracious and admit the tactical error that Phillipec pointed out led to his flat in that other thread.



See now I don't consider this "Lance bashing". This here is an honest response to an event that looked pretty ugly. And yes, he should've stepped aside. Much like Hinault...oh never mind...


But true _bashers_ are a whole 'nuther breed unto themselves. They pop off with stupid one-liners, extolling their pure hatred of the fellow and how they wish he would disappear. They cannot bring themselves to concede anything positive the guy has done on or off the bike, or for the sport. I suspect they treat people "in real life" with the same recklessness to some degree.

This to me is mindless. 

I poked a lot of fun at Contador last year, hopefully never with vitriol as was certainly never the intent. (However I don't think he is smarmy anymore, as was my first impression; I've elevated him to "calculating"  ). I'll have fun watching him ride this year just as last year. 

What's funny, is that which we despise most in an individual, are often our very own traits we'd rather not admit to. What's that saying, point a finger at me and there's one pointing back at you? So I have to laugh... I think there may be a little Cavendish in me...  oh shoot me now. And I think, yes I do, that there's a bit of Lance in every basher. 

Look, the love/hate dramas that go on at the TdF with its fans, have been going on since day one. It's a bike race, for pete's sake. If you want to watch a bunch of sporting gentleman where all are acting like adults, are not narcissistic little bastards, never let you down with bad behavior...well you won't even find it on the PGA apparently.


----------



## OldEndicottHiway (Jul 16, 2007)

tferris said:


> Pic related



I wonder what the guy on the AG2R motorbike is thinking..."_I hope you flat you little effer. Oh, wait..."_


----------

