Alberto was just trying to get some of the time back that Lance took from him on stage 3. Besides, he is the superior rider (on the mountains and TT, not in terms of experience). Keep on whining, they are only 2 seconds apart. If Lance is truly better, he will end up winning. He was not the better rider today. He couldn't have made an attack like AC did.
why is this thread on the front page
great riding wrote:
Alberto was just trying to get some of the time back that Lance took from him on stage 3. Besides, he is the superior rider (on the mountains and TT, not in terms of experience). Keep on whining, they are only 2 seconds apart. If Lance is truly better, he will end up winning. He was not the better rider today. He couldn't have made an attack like AC did.
Contador may be the superior rider, maybe not. His youth is his physical advantage, so he should be. On the other side, I thought he showed great immaturity today and impatience. He may be physically superior, however you need a team to win and he may push his team fully to LA.
And Contador WAS attacking Lance and only Lance today. To think otherwise is ignorant. It's why Lance was surprised. Contador drifted back just a bit, got a big running start, plus he accelerates faster than almost anyone going up anyway, and surprised Lance. He also knows the unwritten rules of team cycling. He knew Lance would stay back. He is obviously insecure and weaseled out a few seconds today.
I also think LA is learning more about Contador all the time, and that info he is gathering is going to pay off later. He is playing this perfect. Armstrong is the toughest guy there is, very smart, very patient, and he knows just what to say and do to get in his competitors heads. AC is probably the better athlete right now. LA may not beat him in the end, but I think Contador gained 21 seconds today and cost himself more than that in the bigger picture. He also showed he cannot outthink Armstrong and he won't be able to surprise him again.
I enjoy Lance in the tour; it's a freakish talent circus, and I can't look away. We can debate the strategy, but AC looks near dominant. Better TTer, better climber. You can have the suitcases of courage and years of experience but it's about your fitness. AC 1st, Lance top 3.
Before all the AC fans on here go to bed and start having wet dreams about Alberto Contador's attack on today's stage of the tour, I would like to post an uncensored version of today's stage.
First, I need to go back to Stage 3 when Lance "attacked" Alberto Contador - according to some Tard Nuggets on this message board. Lance did not attack Alberto to get his time advantage. It was windy, and Alberto was poorly positioned going into a corner where the peleton would be changing direction, this creates a situation where a breakaway is likely to happen, and it did. Lance was well positioned, along with Leipheimer and Popovych, and made it into the breakaway pack.
Today, Astana had four men in the group of GC contenders when Contador attacked - Lance, Contador, Leipheimer, and Kloden. By attacking Contador debilitates Armstrong, Kloden (who probably couldn't have helped anyway), and Leipheimer from attacking or pushing the pace in the GC contender pack.
Cycling 101: You don't help other teams catch one of your teammates on a break, even if the teammate is being a douche.
By the team rules of cycling, Lance and Leipheimer could only hold the wheels of the other men, TEAM TACTICS FORBID them from counter attacking or even pushing the pace. Had Lance been able to push the pace over the final km's he would have rode over 8 seconds faster and been wearing yellow in tomorrow's stage.
In summation, Contador's move on today's stage robbed his teammate and team of the yellow jersey.
Just watched the replay of the end of the stage again. Lance looks pretty comfortable to me. He is in the saddle more than anyone else, and Contador rode his guts out at the end. Standing up, mouth open, tongue out, back and forth. We won't know if Armstrong could have matched it since he had to play defense. I don't think today's stage tells us anything about who is better. I do still think it shows how selfish and immature Contador is though.
Contador robbed Armstrong today and didn't pull his share in the TTT. I wonder what is being said in Astana team meetings tonight?
Lance is the GREATEST ATHLETE ever !
Post race comments by Levi. He sounded pissed about Contador. Flat out said that Astana would have yellow if Contador had not attacked.
since when does lance play by the rules
Contador,like his Spanish ancestors did to the Aztecs, raped, pillaged, and stole from the tour today. The greed and vanity of this Spaniard disgraced the integrity of the tour. Today, Contador acted more like the drug peddlers he associates with in the off season than a tour GC contender.
I don't know jack about Cycling, but I do watch this.
What it means to me is that, either the rest of these guys were never that good, ot Lance surely was every bit beyond the Michael Jordan of cycling, when that means there is a no doubter about who is the best of all time in an era.
It does seem absurd to me, that Lance as a 37 year old with a good amount of time off, could still come back and even be remotely competitive, maybe a 12-15 guy, let alone third at any point of this.
I argue with a friend of mine all the time about Lance, it seems absurd anyone could win 7 in a row, right? Tiger Woods would have to win 7 U.S. Opens in a row to even be Lance Like right?No one argues that Tiger is not the best out there.
Now Lance takes years off and is still right in it at 37? Almost Barry Bonds like, hate to say it.
How come when Track guys run WR's almost everyone assumes they are dirty first, yet Lance seems to go unscathed?
I know he has been tested without fail, a ton of times.
Guy is absolutely amazing.
You have to realize he's the only guy in the tour right now that actually knows what it takes to win it. And he knows 7 times more than everybody else in the field.
Contador essentially had his win handed to him. He doesn't really know how to do it yet.
wow, that is some sick stuff, nice.
they see me rolling
they hating
they out patrolling
trying to catch me riding dirty...
It's time to roll in yellow.
Lance will win. UCI will make sure of it.
SMJO wrote:
You have to realize he's the only guy in the tour right now that actually knows what it takes to win it. And he knows 7 times more than everybody else in the field.
Contador essentially had his win handed to him. He doesn't really know how to do it yet.
Sastre doesn't know?
And Contador, in addition to the Tour victory you aren't counting, won the Giro and the Vuelta in 2008.
If the situation had been reversed and Lance had grabbed 20 seconds in a late attack yesterday, everyone would consider it a brilliant move and a slam dunk certainty that Lance will win the tour. But Contador picks up 20 seconds and he's selfish, immature, and is setting himself up to get his ass handed to him?
i still can't fathom why lance would choose to ride as a domestique, and not as a team leader, when he clearly is capable of winning. he's doing the right thing, and has put his ego aside to be a great team member, but it must be eating him up inside.
trialswatcher wrote:
How come when Track guys run WR's almost everyone assumes they are dirty first, yet Lance seems to go unscathed?
I disagree with this statement, there are a ton of people on this site that suspect Lance, are you new here? Ever heard of the term "Lanced?"
The guy is an obvious doper. If Wejo took a poll on the front page, you would see that many do suspect him, it's just old news at this point.
Lance will win. The interview with him from before the start of todays stage, he held back from saying he is going to kick some ass now that AC ticked a few people off. It is going to be game over when he is ready to make his move.
Letsrunner wrote:
I disagree with this statement, there are a ton of people on this site that suspect Lance, are you new here? Ever heard of the term "Lanced?"
The guy is an obvious doper. If Wejo took a poll on the front page, you would see that many do suspect him, it's just old news at this point.
The UCI won't do anything because of a Letsrun poll. Innocent until proven guilty, silly. He rubbed some steroid-containing cream on his ass in 1999, I believe, and that obviously wasn't seen as the reason he won the tour 7 times.. so it's never been proven he's doping.