*** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

Le Tour de France starts tomorrow. Discuss.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

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Le Tour de France starts tomorrow. Discuss.

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This is the "sports" forum. I don't know where this belongs but it isn't here. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

I predict Lance won't win this one.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

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I predict Lance won't win this one.

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i predicted that last year. i figured all the sponsorships, interviews, tv appearances, popstar girlfriends, etc. would have distracted him too much.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

Well you know the the thing about the Tour de France isssssssssssssssssssss

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

Sorry I fell asleep in the middle of my thought.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

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Well you know the the thing about the Tour de France isssssssssssssssssssss

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The best thing about it is that there are suddenly all these people riding around town in those goofy outfits.

Hey what's with those pants anyway? Wouldn't it be easier to have a padded bicycle seat inctead of pants?

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

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I predict Lance won't win this one.

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I predict Lance will win this one.

Lance thinks so too, web page

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

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Well you know the the thing about the Tour de France isssssssssssssssssssss

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The best thing about the Tour de France is boozing it up during the OLNTV coverage.

Every time Phil and Paul use one of their patented cliches, you must drink, e.g. here.

I drink everything in the house if someone is "ticking over a massive gear" on a flat stage.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

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I predict Lance won't win this one.

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I predict Lance will win this one.

Lance thinks so too, web page

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Well hell! I'm convinced!

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

ive heard from people who know what theyre talking about that this one will be much harder for lance as he didnt start training until later than he has the last 6 years since he wasnt sure if he was going to do it.

lance drinking game is on.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

I'm poker-employed for the summer, so a long ass drinking binge is something I can do. What are the rules?

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

i dunno, im guessing drink a beer everytime...

cancer is mentioned
lances 6 titles are mentioned
some other cliche, need help on these

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

How about "diesel engine" in reference to Ullrich, or references to Lance's higher cadence which he picked up from Indurain. You could also drink every time Paul Sherwin refers to the bikes as machines. That'll get you drunk early and on your ass later.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

I'm really looking forward to it. I haven't followed cycling as closely this year as I have in the past due to studying for exams so I don't know much about the form of the riders. Based on what I've read Ullrich is very fit which has been a problem for him in the past. All the usual suspects are going to be in there so it should be more competitive as it was last year. As usual Lance's team is extremely strong, one thing that has changed is Ullrich's team has improved. If Oscar Sevilla and Vinokourov are riding for him he will be tough to beat as the Discovery Channel team may not be able to isolate Lance's foes in the mountains. They may not be though as both those guys could have personal ambitions.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

Was there and followed a few stages last year. Really incredible experience. Recommend it for everyone.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

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I predict Lance won't win this one.

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...plus they're keeping a closer eye on him so he won't be doping this year. [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

lance comes in 2nd in the opening trial, by 2 seconds. whips everyone who matters. wow. watching him pass ullrich was awesome.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

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lance comes in 2nd in the opening trial, by 2 seconds. whips everyone who matters. wow. watching him pass ullrich was awesome.

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I think Ullrich does not have the qualities needed to win TdF. His performances wary to much from day to day (he showed symptoms of that in Tour de Suisse too. Lance will win the whole thing if he does not encounter any problems or get some really bad days.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

I dont think he's doping. My rationale for thinking this way is because if he had doped in the past and got away with it and was still doping he wouldnt risk his reputation and record 6 in a row by getting caught now.

Sure he may figure that if he didnt get caught before he wouldnt get caught now, but there has to be at least a little fear. I just dont see getting a pointless 7th title would be worth the risk of tarnishing the 6 that matter.

rJ

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

As I've said before, I haven't followed cycling this year at all since I started studying for final exams and then my prelims basically from March on. Has Ullrich's weight fluctuated this year as in the past? I know he's had big problems with this and his weight going up and down will affect his consistency. He looks fit now but if he lost a lot of weight in the last couple months that can really affect his energy reserves I would think.

On another note, I hope they still show cycling on OLN after Lance quits. I suspect that they will since they show the Giro, Vuelta and classics which he doesn't enter. I think the performance of the US cyclists will help that, hopefully there is still an American team next year too though I'm not sure who they will get to captain it, maybe Levi Leipheimer? He had a pretty good ride today, only 5 seconds behind Ullrich.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

He has become more disciplined, so I guess he controls his weight better.

If they stop showing it, go there. Great experience, you won't believe how great it is until you are there (the bikers is only 10% of the experience).

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

Lance in France with Tight Pants

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Thats awesome!

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

Yeah, it's something I've wanted to do for awhile. I would also love to watch the Vuelta. I studied in Sevilla, Spain for a semester so it would be great to follow the vuelta for a few weeks. The tour may be better since it's in July instead of August or September though I prefer the Vuelta since it's in Spain and I like the race setup better.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

Armstrong takes the yellow jersey today and now has a 55 second overall lead.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

So far everything has gone perfectly for Lance.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

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Armstrong takes the yellow jersey today and now has a 55 second overall lead.

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Zabriskie busted on a straightaway during the team time trial. It was really weird to see, because I have no idea why it happened.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

He touched wheels with the guy in front of him. At those speeds it's very easy to go down that way.

I don't think it'll matter but I think it would have been a bit better for Lance to have not gotten the yellow jersey until later. It's a big distraction and the team will be more tired defending it.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

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I don't think it'll matter but I think it would have been a bit better for Lance to have not gotten the yellow jersey until later. It's a big distraction and the team will be more tired defending it.

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I'd be surprised if they did defend it. If there's a breakaway of non-contenders from lesser teams, Discovery ought to let them go. Get a French rider out front and make his team do a lot of the work, just like last year.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

Lance has been saying all along that he wanted it, and there goal was to win the TTT. I don't think he minds having the yellow jersey so early.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

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As usual Lance's team is extremely strong, one thing that has changed is Ullrich's team has improved. If Oscar Sevilla and Vinokourov are riding for him he will be tough to beat as the Discovery Channel team may not be able to isolate Lance's foes in the mountains. They may not be though as both those guys could have personal ambitions.

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I don't think Ullrich is the top dog on that team anymore. He thinks he is but I think Vinokourov is a better overall rider. It will help Lance if they continue to support Ullrich and not Vinny.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

Armstrong apparently didn't think he deserved yellow today:
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This is the Tour de France and anything can happen. One thing is almost certain in July; Lance Armstrong will wear the yellow jersey. But this was something that almost didn’t happen today. In a sympathetic gesture for Dave Zabriskie, the rider who lost the overall lead because of a crash at the end of the team time trial, Armstrong refused to don the coveted jersey at the start of the stage.
He didn’t believe he’d earned the right to wear yellow because of the unfortunate circumstances that surrounded his inheritance. In the neutral zone, Lance wore his Discovery Channel jersey but the race organizers insisted that the peloton stop at the site of the official start. They had to coax Armstrong into yellow. He eventually succumbed to their wishes and racing got underway, albeit five minutes after the expected departure time.

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Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

I saw the interview this morning with Lance, he had said that out of respect for tradition and David Z he wasn't going to wear the yellow jersey, but if they kept it today that he would wear it tomorrow.

I also read that the race administrators threatened to DQ him if he didn't wear the jersey, that was how they had to "coax Armstrong into yellow."

I was kind of bummed when DZ fell yesterday because I was really interested in the finish. It would have been really close if he didn't fall.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

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I'd be surprised if they did defend it. If there's a breakaway of non-contenders from lesser teams, Discovery ought to let them go. Get a French rider out front and make his team do a lot of the work, just like last year.


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It appears that you're right. I figured due to lack of powerhouse sprinter team (see Fassa the last couple years) that the sprinters' teams wouldn't step up, looks like they're doing the job together though. I don't think Bruneel would mind Lance losing the jersey anyway if it's to a breakaway by a noncontender.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

I just wanted to say that I was watching the coverage of OLN and they showed Lance in the middle o the pack and when he noticed them filming he made a face and then said "Where's the sun?" in French.

I love this man.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

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As usual Lance's team is extremely strong, one thing that has changed is Ullrich's team has improved. If Oscar Sevilla and Vinokourov are riding for him he will be tough to beat as the Discovery Channel team may not be able to isolate Lance's foes in the mountains. They may not be though as both those guys could have personal ambitions.

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I don't think Ullrich is the top dog on that team anymore. He thinks he is but I think Vinokourov is a better overall rider. It will help Lance if they continue to support Ullrich and not Vinny.

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Today Vinokourov again showed that he has the capacity to accelerate fast with good timing, something Ullrich seems to lack.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

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I just wanted to say that I was watching the coverage of OLN and they showed Lance in the middle o the pack and when he noticed them filming he made a face and then said "Where's the sun?" in French.

I love this man.

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Ou est le soleil?

6 friggin years of French and I'm not even sure if that's right. What a waste.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

Did anyone else see that spectator moon the breakaway man on the last climb? gotta love the french sense of humor.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

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Did anyone else see that spectator moon the breakaway man on the last climb? gotta love the french sense of humor.

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Good thing it wasn't a fake moon. Big fines for that.

Re: *** OFFICIAL Lance in France with Tight Pants thread ***
 

Armstong still held onto his 1:00 overall lead although his discovery teammates fell behind and for some reason this is bad.