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6388. iiibbb - 7/24/2009 3:48:38 AM Well they're already saying Contador is cheating. 6389. alistairconnor - 7/24/2009 6:38:45 PM "They" is Greg Lemond.
Twice winner of the Tour, in the good old days of the eighties before EPO and blood doping. He has said similar things about Lance, any number of times.
The essence of his charge is that, judging by his performance of Contador at Verbier on Sunday, if he's not doping then he's the greatest athlete who ever lived.
Also pretty interesting that Contador replied "no comment" to questions about doping, and about his VO2max... 6390. iiibbb - 7/24/2009 7:19:16 PM Contador a champion, but no team player
So says Phil Liggett 6391. alistairConnor - 7/24/2009 8:47:35 PM No team player?
It was accepted by the team that he was the best rider, but the trifecta was still a possibility, until on the last Alpine climb of the Col de la Colombiere into the Grand Bornand on Wednesday saw Contador attack teammate Kloden and take with him the two most dangerous rivals he has had in this event, the brothers Andy and Frank Schleck.
That article is all screwy. Bear in mind that Contador was the acknowledged favourite at the start of the Tour. In any other team, that would have meant that all the other riders are at his service, and the strategy and tactics are all about him. With two other exceptional riders like Armstrong and Kloden on the team, they would have the right to take their chances too, but would not have any call on his services.
But with Johan Bruyneel's Astana, it was all about Lance, all the time. Thus, Contador is seen as some sort of rebel when he does what he has to do to win the race. The idea that he attacked Kloden is absurd. Kloden is there to help him as long as he can. He attacked the Shleck brothers. f he hadn't, they would have attacked him. Unfortunately they managed to follow him, all the way to the finish.
What Kloden does next is revealing. He's still in a very strong position, he can carry on and finish fourth, and save his place on the podium. That's good for his team! But no, he waits for Lance, and works for him, helping him limit his loss.
So when Contador is accused of not being a team player, he's accused of not working for Lance. Boo hoo.
Next year, Bruyneel and Lance will be working for Radio Shack. I'd be surprised if Contador was on the team. 6392. iiibbb - 7/24/2009 9:08:58 PM Kloden could have been in a stronger position if he'd not been attacked by Contador...
That's twice he's deviated from the plan... not that I blame him, because you're right that Lance could have been the favorite... however that doesn't explain the other day. What purpose did his attack serve? He's a better TT rider than the Shlecks... all he had to do was respond. Intentionally separating himself from his support is risky tactics, and it pretty much destroyed the chance that the team had to sweep the podium.
And really, it just means you're being inconsistent when you decide who's being an asshole. 6393. iiibbb - 7/24/2009 9:09:21 PM And Liggett has a tad more credibility. 6394. alistairConnor - 7/24/2009 9:47:20 PM It may have escaped you iii, Lance opened the hostilities on one of the early stages, making his team ride like hell when Contador was trapped in a second peloton.
Realistically, they were the principal favorites from the start, therefore necessarily rivals. And each has attacked the other at every opportunity. I think Contador probably feared Lance more than he feared the Schleck brothers. So in that respecthis tactics were correct.
And this stuff about not following the script. Spare me. Bruyneel writes the script, and he makes only the vaguest pretense of being impartial between his two leaders.
At the end, Contador is being criticised for not being at Lance's service. I can think of one example of a rider capable of winning who sacrificed his chances in order to help his ageing leader. It was Miguel Indurain, before he won his first Tour. Once in the Pyrenees, at the top of a pass, he actually turned and rode back to help his leader, Pedro Delgado. Now there's a team player. 6395. iiibbb - 7/24/2009 11:02:05 PM I'm just giving you a little shit Alistair 6396. alistairConnor - 7/25/2009 1:57:23 PM The Giant of Provence on the program today. Mont Ventoux, a legendary stage.
One has done it oneself, of course. It's a steep hill. Today the wind is blowing at 110 km/h at the summit, the guys will be head-on into it in the last kilometres.
For the moment, there's a group of 16 who have nine minutes on the pack. They're still in the rolling foothills, in half an hour or so they will start the climb.
I don't expect Contador to take any prisoners. Probably the Shleck brothers will go with him, and will be 2nd and 3rd overall tonight, and in Paris tomorrow.
Lance is frankly too old to develop the power required for a climb like that. We saw that the other day already. 6397. anomie - 7/27/2009 5:06:18 PM AC, I've been watching some of the bike race. I wish they would talk more about the equipment of the sport. I noticed time trial equipment looks much different. Why? Is it that they can use more combersome, but aerodynamic equipment when not jostling in the peloton? But the bike frames look thicker too.
And what is the purpose of that rear wheel spoke cover? I see it only on the time trial bikes?
Beautiful shots of the countryside throughout the race! 6398. anomie - 7/27/2009 5:07:05 PM cumbersome, for Pete's sake. 6399. alistairconnor - 7/27/2009 5:58:43 PM The big shots use carbon fibre frames for the time trials, several kilos lighter, but too expensive for everyday wear (possibly too fragile too).
The lenticular wheels are similarly specialised. They are more aerodynamic, unless there's a cross wind. 6400. anomie - 7/27/2009 8:51:31 PM Hmmm, I thought carbon fiber was fairly common on all the bikes, but that makes sense. I guess the long helmets with tails would be too unweildly when riding in large tight groups, but serve a purpose in reducing drag in the time trials. They look strange though. 6401. wabbit - 7/28/2009 4:17:45 PM It doesn't happen very often, but Michael Phelps actually looks vulnerable in one of his signature events. He'll dive in for the finals of the 200-meter freestyle at the world championships Tuesday against an up-and-coming German, a guy who's already shown he has no regard for the swimming elite. Paul Biedermann erased Ian Thorpe's name from the record book. Now he's ready to take on Phelps. Bring it on, Phelps replied.
But this isn't just Phelps vs. Biedermann. You see, at a record-breaking meet that is as much about what everyone is wearing as it is about the swimmers, the German will dive into the water in an Arena X-Glide, a polyurethane suit that is generally considered faster than Speedo's once-revolutionary LZR Racer. Acknowledging the disadvantage, Speedo gave all its swimmers a chance to switch to another suit if they felt it would improve their chances. But that wasn't really an option for Phelps, who's been sponsored by the company since he was a teenager and earns millions for wearing its suits. Biedermann believes the Arena suit improves his times by as much as two seconds, a staggering edge in a sport often decided by hundredths of a second.
The door is ajar for Michael Vick to return to the NFL. Only Vick, and any team willing to sign him, can open it fully.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reinstated Vick on Monday, with conditions. Free after serving 18 months in prison for running a dogfighting ring, Vick could participate in regular-season games as early as October. Vick can immediately take part in preseason practices, workouts and meetings and can play in the final two preseason games — if he can find a team. A number of clubs have already said they are not interested. Once the season begins, Vick may participate in all team activities except games, and Goodell said he would consider Vick for full reinstatement by Week 6 (Oct. 18-19) at the latest.
I'd still like to feed him to the tigers at the San Franscisco zoo, then reinstate him, but that's just me.6402. wabbit - 7/28/2009 4:18:03 PM Formula One driver Felipe Massa was awake and talking to family members Monday, making significant improvement after his high-speed crash two days earlier. The chief surgeon at AEK hospital said Massa is now breathing unassisted and moving his limbs. In addition, a drain from his skull wound was removed. Chief surgeon Lajos Zsiros said the 28-year-old Brazilian is groggy but able to answer questions. Zsiros says further improvement can be expected. Zsiros said Massa didn't have a fever and remained in stable condition in the military hospital's intensive care unit alongside family members, including wife Anna Rafaela.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday that was overshadowed by the absence of Felipe Massa. Massa crashed into a tire barrier at 120 mph Saturday during qualifying and was near death for two days.
Former boxing champion Vernon Forrest exchanged gunfire with robbery suspects before being shot to death, Atlanta police said Monday. The 38-year-old former two-division champion, who gained notoriety when he became the first boxer to defeat Shane Mosley, was killed Saturday night. Investigators believe between 20 and 24 shots were fired from two guns, said Lt. Keith Meadows. Police recovered Forrest's gun and one shell casing belonging to that gun, he said. Forrest was putting air in his car tires at a gas station when a man asked for money, his manager Charles Watson said. When he pulled his wallet out, the man snatched it and started running, and Forrest took off after him, Watson said.
This is the third high-profile death of a boxing champion in recent weeks. Hall of Famer Alexis Arguello, the mayor of Managua, Nicaragua, was found dead at his home on July 1 in an apparent suicide. Two weeks ago, popular brawler Arturo Gatti was found dead in a condominium in Brazil. Gatti's wife remains the prime suspect in that case.6403. iiibbb - 7/29/2009 8:41:57 PM So they should ban running shoes?
If you ask me, technology is part of sports. I think they only requirement should be that any technology introduced to international sport be made available to all competitors.
In small sailing competition they've standardized everything, and have even made certain movements on a boat illegal (certain kinds of rocking during tacks and jibes) because they've been shown to add thrust. The competitors run the ragged edge on this rule. If you ask me, if there's a way to make the boat come off a turn faster, that's part of sailing.
Besides, people like records to be broken, now that they've banned these suits, are they going to rescind the records? The genie is out of the bottle.
6404. alistairconnor - 7/29/2009 10:32:55 PM As I recall they rescinded one cycling record, the one-hour distance mark, in the 90s, because they determined the device used was not a bicycle. Sure looked like one to me.
Logically, that record could be pulverised with a recumbent bike, because it's more efficient. But the record wouldn't be validated. Silly.
What I don't understand is how those swimsuits make you go faster. Would it work for me? 6405. iiibbb - 7/29/2009 11:27:24 PM They use low drag materials and stiff materials to prevent the suit from pulling away from the swimmers skin. All the more reason I think they should be allowed. It's only an unfair advantage if, say, only one country had them. If they are freely available it should be allowed.
The cycling comparison is a very good one too. They are very rigid about what constitutes a bicycle. It would be interesting as heck if they let recumbents in a major tour. 6406. wabbit - 7/30/2009 3:00:25 PM The problem is the sponsorship deals. If Phelps wasn't obligated to Speedo, there is no way he would not have worn The Arena suit and the field would be level. 6407. wabbit - 8/1/2009 12:39:57 AM OMG, I hope Belichick can pony up the stones to just say no: New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick won't rule out the chance that the team will sign quarterback Michael Vick.
But he won't rule it in, either, at least not publicly.
Asked again about Vick on Friday, Belichick repeated his Thursday comment. He said he's concerned about the players the Patriots have in camp, not ones they might acquire.
But Belichick also said any player who isn't in camp has the potential to be in camp at some point.
Vick served 18 months in prison in connection with a dogfighting ring he was running. He was conditionally reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday.
Many NFL teams have said they won't consider signing the former Atlanta quarterback. I seriously don't want to see the Pats pissing money away down this hole.
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