from cyclingnews, today's TdF report... "Motivated perhaps by the chance to distance Floyd Landis, who Armstrong considered had made unsavoury comments about him in L'Equipe..."
After queries from readers wanting more details about comments made by Floyd Landis to L’Equipe that earned a rebuke from Lance Armstrong, here are the relevant sections of the story that appeared in yesterday morning’s paper:
“I will always remember the 2003 Tour, it was the only time that people thought he could lose. Everyone around him was concerned, even us, his team-mates. But the most surprising thing was that he didn’t show anything. I will always remember that he directed the other riders around like the boss of a company. For him, the race was business and he was the boss.
“In some teams they often talk about their friendship, but in a team like that with someone who behaves as if he really is the boss, I don’t think you can go that far in talking about friendship. In everyday life it’s hard to be friends with your boss. I don’t believe that Lance has ever had that kind of friendship with any of his team-mates, even with George Hincapie, whom he has known since he was 17. Friendship can’t exist when you give orders and direct others. It’s not necessarily a negative thing. It’s by acting in this way that Lance has been able to win the Tour so often.”
I just read this in L'Equipe, and it seems reasonable to me. After being under total Armstrong control it seems fair for Landis to express his mixed feelings. If Armstrong takes it badly, then it will just confirm that there is a problem. As was pointed out in the Playboy interview, Armstrong is not very graceful about his detractors. It reminds me of James Cameron's flame war with the film critic of the LA Times who gave a negative review of Titanic: You just made a billion won numerous Academy Awards, so why focus on a single negative point.
> After queries from readers wanting more details about comments made by > Floyd Landis to L?Equipe that earned a rebuke from Lance Armstrong, > here are the relevant sections of the story that appeared in yesterday > morning?s paper:
> ?I will always remember the 2003 Tour, it was the only time that people > thought he could lose. Everyone around him was concerned, even us, his > team-mates. But the most surprising thing was that he didn?t show > anything. I will always remember that he directed the other riders > around like the boss of a company. For him, the race was business and > he was the boss.
> ?In some teams they often talk about their friendship, but in a team > like that with someone who behaves as if he really is the boss, I don?t > think you can go that far in talking about friendship. In everyday life > it?s hard to be friends with your boss. I don?t believe that Lance has > ever had that kind of friendship with any of his team-mates, even with > George Hincapie, whom he has known since he was 17. Friendship can?t > exist when you give orders and direct others. It?s not necessarily a > negative thing. It?s by acting in this way that Lance has been able to > win the Tour so often.?
Anyone have any links to photos or videos of that moment? I don't think OLN caught it nor did they talk about it today. A friend who watches French TV said Lance was standing on his pedals yelling and gesturing while Floyd ignored him.
On the other hand, I was quite annoyed at the article that appeared right next to the Landis comments, and was very much insulting to Armstrong. It was about the Casartelli memorial service held on the rest day, and the author of the article makes it clear what he thinks about the fact that Armstrong wasn't there. In fact, the article is titled: "Absent aux ceremonies pour Casartelli". The person who wrote that deserves the full wrath of Armstrong, in my opinion. Just to show you that it isn't easy being him.
> from cyclingnews, today's TdF report... > "Motivated perhaps by the chance to distance Floyd Landis, who Armstrong > considered had made unsavoury comments about him in L'Equipe..."
> is titled: "Absent aux ceremonies pour Casartelli".
For those who don't speak French, the point is that only a single Tour rider went to the ceremony, but the word "Absent" in the title is singular, despite the 155 absentees.
It has bothered me how self-centered Lance has been over the years. Lance has this attitude of "your with me or your against me".
With so much talent on Discovery it will be hard for a new team captain to maintain this.
Personally I think the Look team and or Renault-Elf team promoted a more healthy racing attitude. Although Lance has seemed a bit more willing to let other members of Discovery win a stage now that is victory is fairly certain.
Dewey B <rubyd...@aol.com> wrote: > Anyone have any links to photos or videos of that moment? I don't > think OLN caught it nor did they talk about it today. A friend who > watches French TV said Lance was standing on his pedals yelling and > gesturing while Floyd ignored him.
nice, i'm bneginnig to like this Landis guy :)
Here is another story of something that happened during stage 9.
M.Rasmussen was in a brakeaway along with Cioni, while Vogt and Moreau chases them.
Armstrongs's is beginning to worry because he dosen't know who M.Rasmussen is, and seeks out Bogerd in the peloton to ask him: "This Rasmussen, who is he? And what is he doing out there?", Bogerd answars: "Don't worry about him, he's just collecting points, once he has passed all the climbs he will stop". An anoid Armstrong says to Bogerd as he rides back to his team "whatever... i don't care about him anyway." An hour or two later when M.Rasmussssen has passed all the climbs and has'nt stoped, Armstrong seeks out Bogerd again and asks him "Hey, didn't you say that he would stop, once he had passed the climbs? and Bogerds answers him: "Didn't you say that you didn't care about him?"
Morten Reippuert Knudsen wrote: > Dewey B <rubyd...@aol.com> wrote: > > Anyone have any links to photos or videos of that moment? I don't > > think OLN caught it nor did they talk about it today. A friend who > > watches French TV said Lance was standing on his pedals yelling and > > gesturing while Floyd ignored him.
> nice, i'm bneginnig to like this Landis guy :)
> Here is another story of something that happened during stage 9.
> M.Rasmussen was in a brakeaway along with Cioni, while Vogt and Moreau > chases them.
> Armstrongs's is beginning to worry because he dosen't know who > M.Rasmussen is, and seeks out Bogerd in the peloton to ask him: "This > Rasmussen, who is he? And what is he doing out there?", Bogerd > answars: "Don't worry about him, he's just collecting points, once he > has passed all the climbs he will stop". An anoid Armstrong says to > Bogerd as he rides back to his team "whatever... i don't care about > him anyway." An hour or two later when M.Rasmussssen has passed all the > climbs and has'nt stoped, Armstrong seeks out Bogerd again and asks > him "Hey, didn't you say that he would stop, once he had passed the > climbs? and Bogerds answers him: "Didn't you say that you didn't > care about him?"
Jim Flom wrote: > "Tim Lines" <linest253CLOT...@yahoo.com> wrote ...
>>HE BEAT LANDIS UP? Right in the middle of a stage?!?
> How do you know this? "In his post-race comments, however, Armstrong did > not allude to any desire to turn the screws on his former teammate. "
Um, I don't. Unfortunately, you trimmed the bit I was responding to. Drew says:
> Lance's thuggish antics always draw interest.
I'm thinking that Lance talking to Landis while they're riding a stage hardly qualifies as "thuggish". When 2 people don't see eye to eye on a subject and they speak to each other about it, it is unreasonable to describe that as "thuggish". For Lance to have behaved thuggishly, he would have had to break Landis' kneecaps or something.
What I'm saying here is that Drew is guilty of genocide. See?
In article <1121890921.187520.136...@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
hizar...@yahoo.com wrote: > It has bothered me how self-centered Lance has been over the years. > Lance has this attitude of "your with me or your against me".
> Jim Flom wrote: >> "Tim Lines" <linest253CLOT...@yahoo.com> wrote ...
>>>HE BEAT LANDIS UP? Right in the middle of a stage?!?
>> How do you know this? "In his post-race comments, however, Armstrong did >> not allude to any desire to turn the screws on his former teammate. " > Um, I don't. Unfortunately, you trimmed the bit I was responding to. Drew > says: >> Lance's thuggish antics always draw interest.
> I'm thinking that Lance talking to Landis while they're riding a stage > hardly qualifies as "thuggish". When 2 people don't see eye to eye on a > subject and they speak to each other about it, it is unreasonable to > describe that as "thuggish". For Lance to have behaved thuggishly, he > would have had to break Landis' kneecaps or something.
> What I'm saying here is that Drew is guilty of genocide. See?
It would be reasonable to invoke the Patriot Act, and Rumsfeld can detain him as an enemy combatant, and hold him indefinitely without charges since there's already a prima facie case against him.
Knudsen<s...@reippuert.dk> wrote: >Here is another story of something that happened during stage 9.
>M.Rasmussen was in a brakeaway along with Cioni, while Vogt and Moreau >chases them.
>Armstrongs's is beginning to worry because he dosen't know who >M.Rasmussen is, and seeks out Bogerd in the peloton to ask him: "This >Rasmussen, who is he? And what is he doing out there?", Bogerd >answars: "Don't worry about him, he's just collecting points, once he >has passed all the climbs he will stop". An anoid Armstrong says to >Bogerd as he rides back to his team "whatever... i don't care about >him anyway." An hour or two later when M.Rasmussssen has passed all the >climbs and has'nt stoped, Armstrong seeks out Bogerd again and asks >him "Hey, didn't you say that he would stop, once he had passed the >climbs? and Bogerds answers him: "Didn't you say that you didn't >care about him?"
