LeBlanc Disses Armstrong

[OnceFast]

Check it out: http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2006/tour06/?id=/news/2005/oct05/oct27news3b. The Frogs just couldn't stand the US winning their race. It would be priceless if Zabriskie or some other American could win in 2006. I'm still not buying any French wine. Also, what is the idea behind dumping the team trial?

[gasman]

Sad to see them snub a 7 time winner. Even if Lance did use drugs there are plenty of past winners who have also not been clean. Can anyone say Virenque ? They still loved him and forgave him because he was French.

[Gothard]

I am having a hard time with the Tour. It is blatant how biased the french are. They forgot in a nanosecond that Virenque lied through his teeth for sooo long, yet they bite into an unverifiable (legally) assertion dating 6 years back...
Plus they are nowhere close having a contender for the overall win.

[e-RICHIE]

the tour is not reality.
it's canned entertainment - a circus.
sure i follow it.
but i'm more impressed with a bettini or a
zabel that can race the entire season and
still win at both ends and in the middle.

the gc specialists are boring by comparison.

hey -thanks for reading.
e-RICHIE©™®

ps

:) :) :)
:p :p :p
:D :D :D

arrange disorder

[dehoopta]

Truely annoying. Can you look more like a crying 5 year old who just had his kick ball taken from him? Geez, we get it. You can't come close to winning the thing, you have no credible evidence that Lance cheated, and you are just not going to let it end. If some French cyclist did this, no one would be insinuating how the last 7 years were tainted and "good to put it behind us now" crap.

Yo Tour Organizers.....grow a pair will ya!

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . remind me of most (not all) Yankees fans around here. They simply can NOT live with being even remotely gracious in the face of defeat.

This is even more mystifying when you consider the current state of French cycling and the very, VERY short list of French riders who have even a remote chance of doing anything in the Tour this next year.

I really want to like them, but in the face of BS like this it’s difficult not to secretly hope for a dominating performance from Levi, Floyd, or Dave Z.

BBDave

[manet]

if you wanna' wave your flag back at the french then go wave it in georgia.
help make that A tour instead of yet another american feel good moment.
waddle around with the stars and stripes hootin' like your way is better _ it
ain't, it's JUST different.

the french tour is THE tour, it's not american, never was, never will be. i
really don't understand the all this concern over these recent writings or any of the past blather.

[shaq-d]

the tour is owned by rich guys who also happen to own a newspaper. the statements of that corporation are hardly the product or the opinion of the french.

as for me, i still enjoy french fries, french wine, and french women.

sd

[manet]

http://www.dealante.com/upload/nodos/2005/6/5/doc-38933.jpg

[manet]

a little circus side show

http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/images/ep/images/ep61.101.17.R.jpg

[divve]

I don't think frogs ever got on well with pigs.

[gary135r]

as for me, i still enjoy french fries, french wine, and french women

Not necessarily in that order.

[Kevin]

. . . remind me of most (not all) Yankees fans around here. They simply can NOT live with being even remotely gracious in the face of defeat.

BBDave

We didn't lose. We were being charitable and allowing some other teams to experience the thrill of winning a World Series. ;)

Kevin

[jpw]

the tour is not reality.
it's canned entertainment - a circus.
sure i follow it.
but i'm more impressed with a bettini or a
zabel that can race the entire season and
still win at both ends and in the middle.

the gc specialists are boring by comparison.

hey -thanks for reading.
e-RICHIE©™®

ps

:) :) :)
:p :p :p
:D :D :D

arrange disorder

The definitive word for Le Tour is... "synthetic".

[William]

the tour is not reality.
it's canned entertainment - a circus.

arrange disorder

France now has a serious ( :rolleyes: ) chance at winning their own Tour...
http://www.brophyproductions.com.au/Giant%20Bike.jpg



William

[jeffg]

the tour is not reality.
it's canned entertainment - a circus.
sure i follow it.
but i'm more impressed with a bettini or a
zabel that can race the entire season and
still win at both ends and in the middle.

the gc specialists are boring by comparison.

hey -thanks for reading.
e-RICHIE©™®

ps

:) :) :)
:p :p :p
:D :D :D

arrange disorder


To be honest, e-richie, if the TdF is not reality (does it at lease have Dasein?), neither do any of the other big events in Europe. Zabel is certainly one of the most impressive all-around cyclists and Bettini is the man (well, Boonen may have something to say about that), but reality?

Anyway, ASO strikes me as provincial, petty, arrogant, and generally useless. I keep thinking of another word that use the letters aso to describe them ...

[victoryfactory]

One might be tempted to feel sorry for LA that he devoted his career
to such a high , honorable goal, only to get pi$$ed on by the politically
motivated, small minded old farts that control the tour as they circle their
wagons in the post LA era.

Same thing happens to great olympic athletes, when someone pulls back the
curtain and reveals the truth about their particular Oz.

It's not these institutions that we respond to on a gut level,
It is the human story, the athlete that inspires us. The TDF idiots have it
backwards. They sould be grateful that the great ones choose their race
to display their wares.

But the real truth does shine through, the spirit, soul, greatness of a LA
remains, long after the petty politicians have diced up his memory to their
own ends, I still get goosebumps every time I think of that man blasting up
a climb, winning on guts, doing what he needed to do.

VF

PS: please don't tell me about drugs, that's too easy a way to muddy the water
of any discussion, a red herring when you consider the history of all
sports.

[Phil Selisker]

The french can't stand to lose their national tour, but even if they did win they would just surrender. :beer:

[Andreu]

Good to see tolerance and the ability to turn the other cheek is alive and kicking in USA.
A

[e-RICHIE]

To be honest, e-richie, if the TdF is not reality (does it at lease have Dasein?), neither do any of the other big events in Europe. Zabel is certainly one of the most impressive all-around cyclists and Bettini is the man (well, Boonen may have something to say about that), but reality?

Anyway, ASO strikes me as provincial, petty, arrogant, and generally useless. I keep thinking of another word that use the letters aso to describe them ...

you want reality?
try doing what any of them are doing.
i agree - there's more to it than meets
the eye, but the tdf is clearly a specialty
now, and i'd rather stay more interested in
the non gc types that race an entire season
compared to some well bred pony that only
races in july. note: my comment is not directed
at lance. it is a generaliztion about how the
interest in the tdf has changed the way the
public views cyclesport.

[Grant McLean]

The french can't stand to lose their national tour, but even if they did win they would just surrender. :beer:


Put the shoe on the other foot there Phil, and I think USA's reaction would be worse. How about an all Japanese team winning the world series 7 times in a row. Or a Canadian team kicking the USA's butt in hockey at the Olympics (oh wait, that happened!)

Grant

[Phil Selisker]

easy does it, I was just thowing in what I thought was a little humour, sorry if I upset anyone. :)

[spiderlake]

Well said, Shaq!! I don't understand the French bashing. I was only at one stage at the TDF but I saw a TON of American flags being waved by non-Americans. Of course, I also saw many people that were clearly not fans of Lance Armstrong but I wouldn't equate that to bashing Lance or the USA. By and large, it has been my experience that most Europeans, to include the French, don't dislike Americans. They may not always agree with our policies (and I certainly don't blame them) but they seem to be able to separate their feelings of a country and the individual. I'm basing my experience on 2 years in Italy, 5 years in Germany and 2 years all over Europe where I lived on bread, wine and cheese while figuring out what I wanted to be when I grew up! : )

the tour is owned by rich guys who also happen to own a newspaper. the statements of that corporation are hardly the product or the opinion of the french.

as for me, i still enjoy french fries, french wine, and french women.

sd

[BarryG]

. . . remind me of most (not all) Yankees fans around here. They simply can NOT live with being even remotely gracious in the face of defeat.
***? Are they claiming the BoSox and Angels are all on steroids?

Must be missing something. Seems like Joe Torre defines graciousness.

[shaq-d]

you want reality?
try doing what any of them are doing.
i agree - there's more to it than meets
the eye, but the tdf is clearly a specialty
now, and i'd rather stay more interested in
the non gc types that race an entire season
compared to some well bred pony that only
races in july. note: my comment is not directed
at lance. it is a generaliztion about how the
interest in the tdf has changed the way the
public views cyclesport.

e-richieissimo,

if only those one-day races were shown on OLN...then i'd watch'm too :(

sd

[e-RICHIE]

e-richieissimo,

if only those one-day races were shown on OLN...then i'd watch'm too :(

sd


folks followed the sport before tv coverage!

[GoJavs]

folks followed the sport before tv coverage!

My brother and I used to followed Formula One racing back in the late 70s/early 80s growing up in Puerto Rico off tiny little newspaper clippings with results only. Then, we'd have to imagine the race until the Road & Track issue with the actual write-up of the race would come in months later!

Same thing for cycling. Before internet, we basically waited for VeloNews or Bicycle Guide or RoadBikeAction...

[e-RICHIE]

My brother and I used to followed Formula One racing back in the late 70s/early 80s growing up in Puerto Rico off tiny little newspaper clippings with results only. Then, we'd have to imagine the race until the Road & Track issue with the actual write-up of the race would come in months later!

Same thing for cycling. Before internet, we basically waited for VeloNews or Bicycle Guide or RoadBikeAction...



yeah what he said.

[Fixed]

bro when I first started being a bike mess there was this lawyer cyclist from canada he would listen to the short wave radio broadcast in french and tell me about lemond when we road together after work and that was great fun . Any one try frog legs ? they are pretty good.i.m.h.o.cheers :beer:

[bluesea]

Any one try frog legs ? they are pretty good.i.m.h.o.cheers :beer:

Blonde or brunette? Anna Karina comes to mind. Yum.

[ergott]

the tour is not reality.
it's canned entertainment - a circus.
sure i follow it.
but i'm more impressed with a bettini or a
zabel that can race the entire season and
still win at both ends and in the middle.

the gc specialists are boring by comparison.

hey -thanks for reading.
e-RICHIE©™®

ps

:) :) :)
:p :p :p
:D :D :D

arrange disorder

Here! Here!
:banana: