Paris stage start: Why is LA such a media whore?

[indyrider]

LA throws on a new kit to the entire RS team and now the race is stopped to allow RS to get original jerseys back on, change #'s etc...

This whole debacle is taking away the spotlight from the boys at the front, which doesnt surprise me I guess....All he wants is attention....

Just cements my feelings that he's just a real a**hole or maybe he's just an idiot....no wait, a combination of both...

Good riddance, bye bye, good luck with the feds :beer:

[jvp]

wow
hard to argue with that.

[Johnnyg]

LA throws on a new kit to the entire RS team and now the race is stopped to allow RS to get original jerseys back on, change #'s etc...

This whole debacle is taking away the spotlight from the boys at the front, which doesnt surprise me I guess....All he wants is attention....

Just cements my feelings that he's just a real a**hole or maybe he's just an idiot....no wait, a combination of both...

Good riddance, bye bye, good luck with the feds :beer:
How much have YOU given to cancer research?

[gemship]

Here's a article fresh off the press, I didn't understand what indyrider was referring to.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/25/AR2010072500900.html


I don't think this is such a big deal because it's all just timing for a good and righteous pr moment of a worthy cause, fighting cancer and this stage 20 is pretty much fluff anyway. The rest of the peleton didn't even really have to wait up as I'm sure the shack would of simply caught up, couple minutes, no biggie.

[dave thompson]

Tempest in a teapot.

No issues with me. Today's mostly a big party and the RS team made their point. Chapeau!

[JonB]

Is it just because he thought of it first?

Is there anything stopping Astana from doing the same?

[indyrider]

you guys just dont get it, do you....he's been touting his return as "cancer awareness" the whole time...yes the stage is fluff, but its about the leaders at this point, as he's had three weeks of love on vs already....whens enough, nuff?

And yes, I havent contributed much monetarily to the cancer research movement, but its in my family, and we deal with it every day, so I've invested personally quite a lot.

And btw, this particular family member began following the LA news cycle for the past 6-9 yrs and is sick of him and his antics, and bs, despite his contributions. We were at an awareness ride in the not too distant past in Columbus, which consisted mostly of "non-riders", and he was pretty much off the front and unapproachable the whole time....

And as she says, it doesnt matter how much money you give, if its all lost due to the negative publicity for the alleged doping...Only time will tell

[gemship]

Is it just because he thought of it first?

Is there anything stopping Astana from doing the same?


Good point, this could be the start of a tradition. Like those alternate jerseys that other pro sports teams will where to games.

[indyrider]

Is it just because he thought of it first?

Is there anything stopping Astana from doing the same?

Its called stroking your ego.

[indyrider]

Good point, this could be the start of a tradition. Like those alternate jerseys that other pro sports teams will where to games.

Big difference though when league officials stand behind the retro jersey thing in many of the different american sports...TDF officials, not so much, which almost resulted in a dq. LA=Knucklehead

[JonB]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume that you just don't like Lance.

Nothing wrong with that, but it appears that a whole bunch of people still do. That's why he gets the attention and that's why he's marketable.

[csm]

didn't they do the same thing the last year that lance won?
didn't make them change then.... why do it now? seems to me they fined the team or something.
I think the race officials have it in for lance.

[indyrider]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume that you just don't like Lance.

Nothing wrong with that, but it appears that a whole bunch of people still do. That's why he gets the attention and that's why he's marketable.

Used to be huge fan during "the look" era et al, but somewhere along the line lost the love when he became a prick in the peleton, not just the patron...

Im not hiding the fact the Im not a huge LA fan anymore. This today just reminds me of a-rod announcing his new contract or whatever during the world series, in which he was not participating...self marketing ego whoring, whether for a good cause or not, is not my cup of tea

[jmc22]

I have no issues as the jerseys were in SUPPORT of Cancer!!!

It's not like the jerseys were in support of Lance or his personal accomplishments.

Cancer is a nasty problem, anything to rid of it would be nothing short of fantastic.

Great move LA and it's going to be nothing short of funny watching GA and FL spew their hatrid and non-factial info for thoes stupid enough to waste their time and listen. :beer:

[Matt-H]

you guys just dont get it, do you....he's been touting his return as "cancer awareness" the whole time...yes the stage is fluff, but its about the leaders at this point, as he's had three weeks of love on vs already....whens enough, nuff?

And yes, I havent contributed much monetarily to the cancer research movement, but its in my family, and we deal with it every day, so I've invested personally quite a lot.

And btw, this particular family member began following the LA news cycle for the past 6-9 yrs and is sick of him and his antics, and bs, despite his contributions. And as she says, it doesnt matter how much money you give, if its all lost due to the negative publicity for the alleged doping...Only time will tell

Enough is enough after today as it's his last Tour (we think).

Lance is gold for Vs so of course he is going to be a focal point during coverage. I ignore it and enjoy the rest of the Tour.

Following a news cycle for nine years about someone you can't stand seems senseless and counterproductive. I also fail to see how the money that has been raised for research is lost or tainted by the guy's alleged doping. Love him or hate him, he has done well for cancer research and his personal/professional shenanigans or alleged shenanigans shouldn't occlude that fact.

He'll be gone soon, save for bad beer commercials and perhaps more Leaf promotion, and then the Lance Rage will wane.

[djg]

you guys just dont get it, do you....he's been touting his return as "cancer awareness" the whole time...yes the stage is fluff, but its about the leaders at this point, as he's had three weeks of love on vs already....whens enough, nuff?

And yes, I havent contributed much monetarily to the cancer research movement, but its in my family, and we deal with it every day, so I've invested personally quite a lot.

And btw, this particular family member began following the LA news cycle for the past 6-9 yrs and is sick of him and his antics, and bs, despite his contributions. We were at an awareness ride in the not too distant past in Columbus, which consisted mostly of "non-riders", and he was pretty much off the front and unapproachable the whole time....

And as she says, it doesnt matter how much money you give, if its all lost due to the negative publicity for the alleged doping...Only time will tell

Dude, really, maybe there's lots not to like, but do you think he's been up late every night scripting the VS coverage for the next day? For better, worse, or both, he's a big-time celebrity in the US and, in the eyes of the larger US-sports-watching-public, he's THE pro cyclist of all time. VS cannot sell their endless Cervelo (not Trek), Specialized (not Trek), and Easton (not Trek) info-mercial time for borscht if they don't spend way too much time on Lance (way too much from the perspective of any cycling fan, Lance-hater, Lance-lover, or poor sane bastard in the middle alike). And without all the infomercial drek, we don't get hours of daily Tour coverage twice a day, in English, on HD stations actually carried by our TV suppliers. It's not as if you cannot find a French or Italian feed via the Internet if that's what you really want.

[norcalbiker]

How much have YOU given to cancer research?

:beer:

[BengeBoy]

Way back in the day, the sale of the yellow "Livestrong" bracelet exploded and the Livestrong foundation was born.

I was as moved as anyone.

Since then, it's seemed to me that Lance has used the promotion of Livestrong to promote himself, and his for-profit Livestrong business, Livestrong.com.

The cycle was:
- athlete becomes celebrity
- celebrity has a "cause" that touches people
- through promotion of the cause, the celebrity becomes more marketable, and attracts more endorsements, etc.

Lance now uses his work with Livestrong to burnish his image; deflect criticism and allegations of doping; and build his own personal brand. Do you think he could pull in the endorsements he does from Nissan, Nike and beer if he *weren't* an anti-cancer hero as well? For me personally, the final straw came during this year's tour, when he suggested that people should be concerned that the doping investigation was unfair "because of all the good we've done."

Since when did criticism of him become criticism of cancer research? Cancer is pervasive enough that every family has been touched by it; we can all decide whether to contribute, or where to contribute, or how much to contribute separately from what we think of Lance.

Somewhere along the way, some folks (especially bicycle folks) have come to believe that Livestrong is *the* major source of cancer funding in the U.S. It's not. Check out the amount spent by the National Cancer Institutes, the Susan G. Komen organization, or even the good ol' American Cancer Association.

Livestrong was great; and I used to contribute. I've long since become suspicious of the way it's been used by a celebrity to build his own personal brand and fortune.

My neighbor is a cancer survivor; he's our "block captain" for fundraising for the American Cancer Society. We always put a little something in the envelope he passes around; this year it's going to be bigger.

[avalonracing]

Personally, I'm not a big Lance fan as I don't know the man. For a while he was my personal hero when he was dating Sheryl Crow but he lost me when they split up.

Seriously though, ANYTHING he for cancer awareness is fine for me. Putting on those black "28" jerseys got attention and will all day long. This will inspire conversations and for some introspection while might turn into dollars for the cause.

In fact I'm logging on to Livestrong right now to donate in my mom's name. Really. I encourage others to do the same.

-Robb

[bkboom123]

I did find it funny how the announcers stated "I think its about time the governing body of the TDF actually writes the rules and regulations down for riding in the tour" They went on to give a couple of examples of riders in the past doing the same thing and not being threatened with disqualification, but only received a fine after the race.

Many many people have won the tour; many people have won the world series, superbowl, world cup, NBA championship, and so on...

But how many of those winners have created not only a company to provide funding for a great cause, but a SYMBOL that livestrong stands for......would it be more socially acceptable if he just sat on his money and wins, and never did anything at all in the cancer field, or any cause for that matter? (like countless other athletes do)

[Chris]

I have no issues as the jerseys were in SUPPORT of Cancer!!!

It's not like the jerseys were in support of Lance or his personal accomplishments.

Cancer is a nasty problem, anything to rid of it would be nothing short of fantastic.

Great move LA and it's going to be nothing short of funny watching GA and FL spew their hatrid and non-factial info for thoes stupid enough to waste their time and listen. :beer:

Did you just call people stupid and then misspell three words in the same sentence?

[retrofit]

Way back in the day, the sale of the yellow "Livestrong" bracelet exploded and the Livestrong foundation was born.

I was as moved as anyone.

Since then, it's seemed to me that Lance has used the promotion of Livestrong to promote himself, and his for-profit Livestrong business, Livestrong.com.

The cycle was:
- athlete becomes celebrity
- celebrity has a "cause" that touches people
- through promotion of the cause, the celebrity becomes more marketable, and attracts more endorsements, etc.

Lance now uses his work with Livestrong to burnish his image; deflect criticism and allegations of doping; and build his own personal brand. Do you think he could pull in the endorsements he does from Nissan, Nike and beer if he *weren't* an anti-cancer hero as well? For me personally, the final straw came during this year's tour, when he suggested that people should be concerned that the doping investigation was unfair "because of all the good we've done."

Since when did criticism of him become criticism of cancer research? Cancer is pervasive enough that every family has been touched by it; we can all decide whether to contribute, or where to contribute, or how much to contribute separately from what we think of Lance.

Somewhere along the way, some folks (especially bicycle folks) have come to believe that Livestrong is *the* major source of cancer funding in the U.S. It's not. Check out the amount spent by the National Cancer Institutes, the Susan G. Komen organization, or even the good ol' American Cancer Association.

Livestrong was great; and I used to contribute. I've long since become suspicious of the way it's been used by a celebrity to build his own personal brand and fortune.

My neighbor is a cancer survivor; he's our "block captain" for fundraising for the American Cancer Society. We always put a little something in the envelope he passes around; this year it's going to be bigger.

+1

[ergott]

The way I see it, he could be found guilty of armed robbery (or worse) and that would be ok with some people so long as he keeps on raising money for cancer.

There are other foundations that raise money for cancer research out there. I choose to support them.

[Chris]

The way I see it, he could be found guilty of armed robbery (or worse) and that would be ok with some people so long as he keeps on raising money for cancer.

There are other foundations that raise money for cancer research out there. I choose to support them.

word

[csm]

Did you just call people stupid and then misspell three words in the same sentence?

this made me laugh! :D

[Rueda Tropical]

The way I see it, he could be found guilty of armed robbery (or worse) and that would be ok with some people so long as he keeps on raising money for cancer.

There are other foundations that raise money for cancer research out there. I choose to support them.

There are a lot of foundations that are a lot more efficient in putting donations to work for cancer research. Livestrong isn't terrible but it scores below quite a few major cancer charities.

I also have a problem with the fact that the line is very blurry where the for profit Lance promotion ends and the charity begins. Lance is already using the Cancer fighter get out of jail card in interviews. You can't come after me look at all the good I've done!

Lots of riders who got nailed, are in their private lives stand up guys who have donated and supported good causes. That does not give you a pass if you get caught.

[indyrider]

Did you just call people stupid and then misspell three words in the same sentence?

Poor jmc22...chuckle

[dumbod]

How much have YOU given to cancer research?

So let me get this straight. It would be OK for Lance Armstrong to murder his ex-wife and children because he gave money to cancer research? (Side note: how much do you have to give before you can murder your wife and children? Is there a volume discount? My eight-year old niece is only 50 pounds. Could I contribute less to murder her than I would my 22-year-old nephew? Does anybody have a coupon code?)

We've all got to get away from the binary world. Even the best of us have our a-hole moments. Even the worst of us do good things on occasion. Just because we've done something good in our lives doesn't mean that other things we do don't deserve criticism.

As for the actual subject: in my opinion, the last day of the Tour is to celebrate everyone who has finished and especially those have won a jersey. LA and RadioShack have known for months that they were going to do this. They even had a commercial shot in the new jerseys. They could have easily contacted the race referees days, or even weeks ago, to get permission to wear the different jerseys. They didn't. I can only conclude that this was a purposeful attempt to deflect attention from the winners and put the spotlight on LA. And that makes it an a-hole move.

[Kirk007]

Who cares. Live your life. Do some good. Let others live theirs as they see fit. Who is any one of us to judge any other? Enough of the hating and the the idolizing, good grief.

[victoryfactory]

I give LA a pass on this clumsy stunt because
this may be the last big stage he gets,
unless you count drug court.
No matter who is sick of him right now,
he is still an all time great. If he hangs in
long enough the hate will fade

VF

[wc1934]

Indyrider writes "And yes, I havent contributed much monetarily to the cancer research movement, but its in my family, and we deal with it every day, so I've invested personally quite a lot."

If that is the case then you REALLY dont' get it!

[dave thompson]

True dat

[Karin Kirk]

So let me get this straight. It would be OK for Lance Armstrong to murder his ex-wife and children because he gave money to cancer research?

Wow, you have taken the slippery-slope argument to new lows. Congratulations.

Turn off the TV and go ride your bikes, people!

[pbjbike]

Go Karin. :beer:

[OtayBW]

Way back in the day, the sale of the yellow "Livestrong" bracelet exploded and the Livestrong foundation was born.

I was as moved as anyone.

Since then, it's seemed to me that Lance has used the promotion of Livestrong to promote himself, and his for-profit Livestrong business, Livestrong.com.

The cycle was:
- athlete becomes celebrity
- celebrity has a "cause" that touches people
- through promotion of the cause, the celebrity becomes more marketable, and attracts more endorsements, etc.

Lance now uses his work with Livestrong to burnish his image; deflect criticism and allegations of doping; and build his own personal brand. Do you think he could pull in the endorsements he does from Nissan, Nike and beer if he *weren't* an anti-cancer hero as well? For me personally, the final straw came during this year's tour, when he suggested that people should be concerned that the doping investigation was unfair "because of all the good we've done."

Since when did criticism of him become criticism of cancer research? Cancer is pervasive enough that every family has been touched by it; we can all decide whether to contribute, or where to contribute, or how much to contribute separately from what we think of Lance.

Somewhere along the way, some folks (especially bicycle folks) have come to believe that Livestrong is *the* major source of cancer funding in the U.S. It's not. Check out the amount spent by the National Cancer Institutes, the Susan G. Komen organization, or even the good ol' American Cancer Association.

Livestrong was great; and I used to contribute. I've long since become suspicious of the way it's been used by a celebrity to build his own personal brand and fortune.

My neighbor is a cancer survivor; he's our "block captain" for fundraising for the American Cancer Society. We always put a little something in the envelope he passes around; this year it's going to be bigger.
Well said.

[vqdriver]

forget about breaking up with sheryl crow. when he left his family for sheryl crow is when he lost me as a fan.

as for today's little stunt, if the worst he did is put some awareness jerseys on his team, is that really so bad?

i'm all for disliking the guy, but let's dislike him for the right reasons. give to charity, just do it here cancer.org

[witcombusa]

Way back in the day, the sale of the yellow "Livestrong" bracelet exploded and the Livestrong foundation was born.

I was as moved as anyone.

Since then, it's seemed to me that Lance has used the promotion of Livestrong to promote himself, and his for-profit Livestrong business, Livestrong.com.

The cycle was:
- athlete becomes celebrity
- celebrity has a "cause" that touches people
- through promotion of the cause, the celebrity becomes more marketable, and attracts more endorsements, etc.

Lance now uses his work with Livestrong to burnish his image; deflect criticism and allegations of doping; and build his own personal brand. Do you think he could pull in the endorsements he does from Nissan, Nike and beer if he *weren't* an anti-cancer hero as well? For me personally, the final straw came during this year's tour, when he suggested that people should be concerned that the doping investigation was unfair "because of all the good we've done."

Since when did criticism of him become criticism of cancer research? Cancer is pervasive enough that every family has been touched by it; we can all decide whether to contribute, or where to contribute, or how much to contribute separately from what we think of Lance.

Somewhere along the way, some folks (especially bicycle folks) have come to believe that Livestrong is *the* major source of cancer funding in the U.S. It's not. Check out the amount spent by the National Cancer Institutes, the Susan G. Komen organization, or even the good ol' American Cancer Association.

Livestrong was great; and I used to contribute. I've long since become suspicious of the way it's been used by a celebrity to build his own personal brand and fortune.

My neighbor is a cancer survivor; he's our "block captain" for fundraising for the American Cancer Society. We always put a little something in the envelope he passes around; this year it's going to be bigger.


Nicely put......and I concure.
It's not about the bike or cancer....it's all about HIM

[Rueda Tropical]

When I make contributions I do my research. I want the money to go to what I contributed it for and not to "administrative overhead" or fund raising expenses. More often then not, as is the case with Livestrong, celebrity charities are not the best way to get the max amount of your donation to the intended cause.

[gearguywb]

I can only conclude that this was a purposeful attempt to deflect attention from the winners and put the spotlight on LA. And that makes it an a-hole move.

Really? Conclusion=Assumptions and we all know what that can do......

[jmc22]

Did you just call people stupid and then misspell three words in the same sentence?

Next time if you prefer, I'll use your first name in lieu of the word stupid...my bad

If my Admin Assistant ever decides to leave her position, I'll give you a call for your spelling and filing efficiency

[BBB]

Those black jerseys look a whole lot better than the regular team strip. Time for an offical change maybe?

[indyrider]

Indyrider writes "And yes, I havent contributed much monetarily to the cancer research movement, but its in my family, and we deal with it every day, so I've invested personally quite a lot."

If that is the case then you REALLY dont' get it!

Look, you can choose to see through all the blown smoke, or not. There's a world apart from selflessness and selfishness and we are not fooled.

[sjbraun]

Indyrider,

Why did you start this thread? Okay, so you don't like LA, you're free to have your opinion. But why do you think anyone else cares what you think?

What point do you serve with your anti-LA rant?

If you're unhappy, feel free to keep your negativity to yourself.

Steve-living with cancer

[jvp]

The evening versus show gave much less coverage of the jersey spectacle (other than the "livestrong" side story) compared to this morning's live coverage.
I kind of enjoyed watching team RS swap out jerseys and numbers while sitting on the roadside, and listening to phil and paul speculate about the official rules. None of that tonight.

[indyrider]

Its pretty obvious a lot of other folks have opinions as well and have chimed in, whether in agreement or not. At this time there are 887 views and 43 replies, the most active of threads today it seems.

So it's an extremely polarizing subject. Why cant I express my views?

[witcombusa]

Indyrider,

Why did you start this thread? Okay, so you don't like LA, you're free to have your opinion. But why do you think anyone else cares what you think?

What point do you serve with your anti-LA rant?

If you're unhappy, feel free to keep your negativity to yourself.

Steve-living with cancer


A point equal to your pro-LA rant I would guess..... :argue:

[sjbraun]

If you actually read my post, you'll see I don't say anything about LA, pro or con. How does my post equate with indyrider's rant?

[steampunk]

when it comes to "illegal kits" and ticking off the commissaires - cipollini wrote the book and on that aspect there is no equal to his antics.

[JMerring]

when it comes to "illegal kits" and ticking off the commissaires - cipollini wrote the book and on that aspect there is no equal to his antics.

equating Armstrong with cipo is not a good thing. recognizing his sprinting prowess, cipo was (probably still is) an arrogant self involved ass. his conduct when the gradient increased was the epitome of bad sportsmanship.

[Elefantino]

This is silly.

[azrider]

This is silly.

you spelled pathetic wrong :p

[SoCalSteve]

OK, boys and girls...

I know its been hot all around the country and people have not been riding their bikes.....and, this thread is going nowhere FAST.

For the sake of everyone who has ever been touched by cancer, I am closing this thread.

I hope it cools down enough for everyone to get out and ride!!!

Thanks for understanding,

Steve