Contador Not Doing the Giro...

TinyExplosions

"After winning the Giro and Vuelta this year, I'll return to the Tour to try to win," he explained. "I will not participate in the Giro. Last year I did, but I had more trouble recovering late in the season."

Full article on bikeradar.

Hmmm.... I think this means Lance is going to win the Giro, and not ride the TdF now... maybe Brunyeel has played the perfect game and got Astana to win all three tours next year?

Chips Lovell

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Full article on bikeradar.

Hmmm.... I think this means Lance is going to win the Giro, and not ride the TdF now... maybe Brunyeel has played the perfect game and got Astana to win all three tours next year?

They're still playing coy about Lance riding the Tour. I suspect its partly because of the poor relations with the organisers and partly to keep Contador happy.

TinyExplosions

el tonto wrote: »

They're still playing coy about Lance riding the Tour. I suspect its partly because of the poor relations with the organisers and partly to keep Contador happy.

I don't think we're going to find out for sure till pretty near start day. I'd still not be surprised to see Lance start the Tour, but at this moment I think he'll target the Giro and be happy with that

Chips Lovell

TinyExplosions wrote: »

I don't think we're going to find out for sure till pretty near start day. I'd still not be surprised to see Lance start the Tour, but at this moment I think he'll target the Giro and be happy with that

I think you might be right. Most likely scenario is that if he does well at the Giro he'll announce that he's riding the Tour, have an "emotional comeback" and ride for Contador. However, there's a chance he'll grab the jersey in the opening TT and Contador will have to pry it from his dead grasp. It could be like 1986 all over again.

Diarmuid

TinyExplosions wrote: »

I don't think we're going to find out for sure till pretty near start day. I'd still not be surprised to see Lance start the Tour, but at this moment I think he'll target the Giro and be happy with that

He has probably done the research and cancer awareness is lower in Italy than France :rolleyes:

Junior

Diarmuid wrote: »

He has probably done the research and cancer awareness is lower in Italy than France :rolleyes:

either way lad, where ever he rides, even if it's the des hanlon memorial, people are going to be talking about him and if he can get some airtime re cancer then he's doing what he set out to do.

sy

The fact is, nobody in the past 10 years or more has ridden the Giro if they planned to win the Tour. So if Lance rides the Giro then he will not be targeting a win in the Tour. In his prime he didn't attempt this. However I still think has his sights on the Tour and nothing else.

BaBiT

sy wrote: »

The fact is, nobody in the past 10 years or more has ridden the Giro if they planned to win the Tour. So if Lance rides the Giro then he will not be targeting a win in the Tour. In his prime he didn't attempt this. However I still think has his sights on the Tour and nothing else.

Giro, Tour, Worlds...Well if he wants to go down in history as better than Mercx...Of course he may have some catching up to do on the 595 wins but sure he has a whole year and we all know how he loves to race from one end of the season to the other :rolleyes:

Chips Lovell

sy wrote: »

The fact is, nobody in the past 10 years or more has ridden the Giro if they planned to win the Tour. So if Lance rides the Giro then he will not be targeting a win in the Tour. In his prime he didn't attempt this. However I still think has his sights on the Tour and nothing else.

Ullrich, Basso, Rasmussen and Menchov are a few to spring to mind who've riden the Giro before the Tour recently. Only Basso though was serious about trying to win both.

BaBiT

el tonto wrote: »

Ullrich, Basso, Rasmussen and Menchov are a few to spring to mind who've riden the Giro before the Tour recently. Only Basso though was serious about trying to win both.

Sastre rode all three tours in 06 and I think was third in the TdF that year...But he did say he'd never do it again and it was a contractual mix up that led him to do it...Then he rode the Vuelta this year after winning the tour and got shelled out the back regularly...Would seem being competitive in two tours is a lot to ask of a rider

Brian?

BaBiT wrote: »

Giro, Tour, Worlds...Well if he wants to go down in history as better than Mercx...Of course he may have some catching up to do on the 595 wins but sure he has a whole year and we all know how he loves to race from one end of the season to the other :rolleyes:

lol.

Seriously though is there anyone out there that thinks Armstrong is anywhere near as good as Mercx?

I am also obliged to mention he's no Sean Kelly either.

I am disapointed Contador is not going to have a go at defending the Giro though, it'd be great to see him win both the Tour and Giro.

Signal_ rabbit

I think Armstrong is as good as Mercx, but not quite. Armstrong was good at winning the Tour, mercx was good at winning everything. I hope Armstrong does take part in the Tour 2009 as I have a bet on him to win!!!

Diarmuid

Signal_ rabbit wrote: »

I think Armstrong is as good as Mercx, but not quite. Armstrong was good at winning the Tour, mercx was good at winning everything. I hope Armstrong does take part in the Tour 2009 as I have a bet on him to win!!!

IMHO Merx was in a different league from Armstrong. Armstrong rode the TdF and nothing else. Merx rode and won everything.

sy

el tonto wrote: »

Ullrich, Basso, Rasmussen and Menchov are a few to spring to mind who've riden the Giro before the Tour recently. Only Basso though was serious about trying to win both.

In my opinion Ullrich rode the Giro to lose weight for TDF:D. Basso being Italian speaks for itself while the other 2 never really were contenders for the overall in the Tour.( Not when Lance was about) I feel that in the past ten years the average speed of the race (and we all know why this has occurred) has increased, the overall power output has increased etc. With the result it has become increasingly more difficult to target both the Giro and the Tour if you are aiming to win the latter. Contador was very impressive winning 2 GrandTours in one season but I can understand why he has opted out of this years Giro.
Still dont think Lance will ride the Giro. He will probably target the Tour of Switzerland or the Dauphine to see if his climbing legs are still there. Very intriguing. Any more views?

sy

briankeating wrote: »

lol.

Seriously though is there anyone out there that thinks Armstrong is anywhere near as good as Mercx?.

It is very difficult to compare riders from different eras.
Armstrong never won any of the major classics nor the Giro or the Vuelta. However I think he was equal to Mercx in his climbing, time trialing and recovery capabilities but his overall strength and stamina was no match for the Cannibal. He was from another Planet. In fact he was so far ahead of the next best that the statistics seem unbelievable. I think a better comparison would be between Jacques Anquetil and Armstrong. IMHO Bernard Hinault was even better than Lance.

briankeating wrote: »

I am disapointed Contador is not going to have a go at defending the Giro though, it'd be great to see him win both the Tour and Giro.

see above post re Contador and the Giro

Diarmuid

Video of Armstrong doing some wind tunnel test here. There is a bit of an interview with the most interesting bit at the very end where he gives a customary subtle reply to Linus Gerdemann recent remarks

zzzzzzzz

Diarmuid wrote: »

Video of Armstrong doing some wind tunnel test here. There is a bit of an interview with the most interesting bit at the very end where he gives a customary subtle reply to Linus Gerdemann recent remarks

:rolleyes:
"WHO SAID THAT???!"

Chips Lovell

Some guy in a windtunnel is probably the most boring exclusive ever.

Diarmuid

The latest in the soap opera that is LA's return:
You might be interested in hearing LA's recollection of the Simeoni "incident". If you ever needed a definition of revisionism, I think this is it.

Chips Lovell

“First off, I did not chase Simeoni down,” Armstrong said. “I was simply following his wheel. That is the truth of the matter. I never bridged across to Simeoni. He was in front of me, people were attacking, he accelerated, and I stayed on the wheel. We have footage of the race that will back that up. There was never more than bike length between us. There was no gap closed. There’s a big difference between following wheels and closing a gap.”

Armstrong said he’d naturally expected the peloton to follow, and was surprised to see that the pair had opened a gap when they reached the day’s breakaway a few kilometers later.

I almost choked on my bagel laughing.

Funkyzeit

He must be...