Lance is about to finishe the TT, and looks like he might once again beat em all by at least 60 seconds!

61, actually. He almost caught Basso at the finish (again), but ended up a few seconds behind, even though they left 3 minutes apart. Amazing.

I knew he could win the Tour again this year, but I didnt think it would be the easiest one he has won thus far. Wow.

don't know about easy...he is just more prepared than everyone else. I doubt that other riders pre-road the mountain stage routes multiple times over the last few months.

He is no doubt a great rider, but would he have won without such a strong team dragging him halfway across France the first 10 stages or so? He did most of his work in the mountains and in the TT's. The rest was basically "keep up" with the peloton and follow his team members.
My point is only that he is a great rider, but would not necessarily win without their efforts and support.

I don't think anyone could win in the modern era without a very strong team. And if you asked Lance he'd say the same thing. Given that he has been one of the pricipal architects of the team, I'd say that just speaks even more towards his talent and understanding of the sport.

There is nothing easy about riding 120+ miles at 20+ mph average.

Armstrong averaged almost 15 mph going up L'Alpe d'Huez, 8-12% gradiant (3,350 feet) in a little under 40 min. But that was for "only" 10 miles. Unbelievable.

Sherwood

Yes, I think the thing that sets him apart is that not only is he a strong rider, and surrounded by a stong team, but he is also a great strategist and can really react to the flow of the race. Ullrich is a very strong rider, has a good team, but fails in the strategy department. If Ullrich or {insert name here} had the same quartebacking skills, thay might be much more threatening and the Race would be much closer.

Indurain had the Banesto squad and pretty much had the same results...so US Postal just took what worked and made it better. I was a up and coming road racer back in the early 90's and when I competed at the state championships/US Military championships I can tell you that I dominated the time trial, but could not get a win on the road or crit statges becuase it takes a team effort.

French bastards didn't show Lance cross the finish line. Goddammit that pisses me off. I better stop now before I really say something nasty...

Lance, is freggin' amazing.

All the OLN cameras were on the sprinters coming to the line, thats why you did not see Lance coming across the line.
Armstrong had a great ride, if he can keep his team together & focus like he did for TDF 6, he can win again next year !

The FRENCH control the race cameras.

OLN didnt have any cameras there except the ones filming paul sherwin, phil ligget and the rest of the OLN broadcast crew.

Sprinters or not, the guy that won the race should have been filmed finishing.

was there a situation with the fans at one point? yesterday, while doing other things, I barely caught a glimpse of the TV and saw debris getting flung across the track. thought it might have been from the wind, but then in a post-race intreview I overheard Lance say something about fans with a negative connotation. anyone know what that was all about?

That clip was wind.

However, they dont like him over there.

He gets spit on, jeered at, taunted. Watch a race and you'll see it happen, it happens throughout the whole tour. Year after year.

He said before the race this year that he was most afraid that someone was going to pull him off his bike. More afraid of that than the hills and competition.

After the stage win yesterday, he said something to the effect that people boo him and as he looks over they clap. He doesn't get it, neither do I.

Bastards.

Imagine how you would feel if somebody from France came over and won the NASCAR championship.

I wouldn't feel schit because I don't care about NASCAR.

However, even if I cared I certainly wouldn't spit in their face.

My parents/coaches taught me about class and sportsmanship. Without fierce competitors and fierce competition there are no champions.

Moreover, he hasn't been involved in doping (many cyclist have), he trains harder than most, and he is a damn good strategist. He deserves his success and legendary status.

Bastards.

Stop blaming the French, unless you can prove it. Most of the negative behaviour I've read bout has been from Germans.

They didn't show Lance crossing the finish because it doesn't matter - the sprint is interesting (and mattered for the Green Jersey), but Lance had already won with his pasting of the field (again) in the time trial. The Tour de France is more than just the Yellow Jersey (although that's easily the biggest part) - every stage is a competition, there are 4 jerseys and a team prize.

This made me laugh. Thanks.

Well ya, it's not just French spectators who spit and jeer. I've read about the germans also, but the germans weren't the ones who didn't cover the finish.

Oh well, I'm over it, let the bastards be bastards.

What colors does a Discovery Channel jersey have? :confused:

"Imagine how you would feel if somebody from France came over and won the NASCAR championship."

...or the Boston Marathon. As I remember, the last Americans to have won was Frank Shorter (?) and Joan Benoit, a pretty close comparison in terms of "seen better days".

I'm pretty sure spectators in Boston and NY are quite respectful of the Kenyons who kick ass every year. They deserve it.

Come to think of it, maybe a closer comparison would be if a European football team (pigskin type) came over and won the Super Bowl. How would US fans react? I would guess that in some parts of our country, some fans would act as poorly as some German fans evidently did on the tour.

Sherwood

Quoting Fox Sports:

Armstrong's average speed over the 3,391.1 kilometers (2,102.5 miles) raced was 40.533 kilometers per hour (25.13 miles per hour), second only to last year.

Now that is impressive, given the mountains and grueling schedule. No one denies Michael Jordon was a great basketball player, yet he wouldn't have dominated without a great team either. One thing both Lance and Jordon have in common is leadership skills, another is ability to not let injury stop them. Lance may not be the greatest cyclist ever (he's been criticized for not riding some of the other big races) but he certainly is the greatest TDF rider ever!