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2004-07-23 -Short Attention Span Theater-
True caption for Lance Armstrong photo-A Rantburg Exclusive
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Posted by Atomic Conspiracy 2004-07-23 12:11:49 AM|| || Front Page|| [3 views since 2007-05-07]  Top

#1 LOL! Excellent job!
Posted by Steve White  2004-07-23 12:13:42 AM||   2004-07-23 12:13:42 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 Tour director says fans spat at Armstrong
That's what I like about the Euros, such classy losers. Well losers anyway.
Posted by ed 2004-07-23 12:22:12 AM||   2004-07-23 12:22:12 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 Now Al Reuters is characterizing Armstrong as "ruthless" for not throwing the home team a bone on today's stage.
The U.S. Postal team leader, impressive in his time-trial at l'Alpe d'Huez Wednesday, could have been expected to let his rivals grab a consolation victory in the race's last mountain stage.

Expected by whom, you sniveling Axis sycophants? No mercy for Euros.
Pour it on, Lance, they'll talk about this for a hundred years.
Posted by Atomic Conspiracy 2004-07-23 12:42:10 AM||   2004-07-23 12:42:10 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 Wasn't there a story awhile back about the French Press trying to get to his hotel room to [plant] find some drugs in order to disqualify him?
Posted by CrazyFool  2004-07-23 1:05:35 AM||   2004-07-23 1:05:35 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 CF,
Yep. Here is the new meme.
Six and out for Armstrong?
In a story that will also appear in tomorrow's New York Times, Samuel Abt quotes an unnamed Tour official that Lance Armstrong will NOT return to the Tour de France next year.

If he wins for a record sixth consecutive time, as seems certain, Armstrong will not return next year, the official said, but will focus instead on at least one of the two other big Tours, the Giro d'Italia in May and the Vuelta a España in September, plus many one-day classics.

Will not return or not welcome to return?
Posted by ed 2004-07-23 1:33:24 AM||   2004-07-23 1:33:24 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 The guy could win the rest of this tour on a unicycle. Such is the immense power of Lance Armstrong.

As for the orange-clad folks rooting for a Basque team... I thought orange was pretty much the Dutch colors. Do the Basques turn out in orange, too?
Posted by eLarson 2004-07-23 2:17:14 AM||   2004-07-23 2:17:14 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 Euro trash, same ol crap. Merkx got his by goons too. Hand it to Armstrong, a class act. It's great that so many have been intriged by this years Tour. It's a big deal.

If you saw todays stage, with le Lances chase to the line, you saw history. Like the Babes called shot, Rose's head first slide, the emaculate reception. The Tour is now bigger than ever. Lance knows whats up. I think he thrives on it.

If anybody noticed, prolly already commented on, but did you notice the Texas flag painted on the road when Lance caught Basso on the Le Alp de Huez TT. Don't mess...

The gods must have been amused or Lance told his bros that he would be there at that point in time. Hey the Babe called his shot, no!

People are people. Yes Lance is God being a bicycle racer, or not. But what the guy has done between the lines has been an inspiration to many, and may God bless him.
Posted by Lucky 2004-07-23 2:29:56 AM||   2004-07-23 2:29:56 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 eLarson: the guy behind the squatting gimp character, also wearing orange, has the basque flag draped over his shoulders.
Posted by Bulldog  2004-07-23 5:14:42 AM||   2004-07-23 5:14:42 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 Much as I despise Eurotrash, I have to note that a few of the folks in the picture appear to be cheering Lance. And sports fans behave despicably everywhere. Americans may not be as bad as European hooligans but we're not always about good times and tailgate parties either. I'd rather bash the Yuurpeen intellectuals(sic) than their rambunctious sports fans.
Posted by John in Tokyo 2004-07-23 5:14:50 AM||   2004-07-23 5:14:50 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 I wondered about that, John, but it seems to me the guy with the flag is looking at the rider behind Armstrong. I'll give the rest of them benefit of the doubt, but gimp-boy's just sent the Basques down in my estimation.
Posted by Bulldog  2004-07-23 5:25:26 AM||   2004-07-23 5:25:26 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 Not as bad as European hooligans? Name one riot that resulted in death in America...

P.S. Eurotrash does not have the meaning that you're using. It typically means upper-class art dilettantes.
Posted by Gromky 2004-07-23 7:16:45 AM||   2004-07-23 7:16:45 AM|| Front Page Top

#12 I would rather get flipped off than spit on and Lance and others riders have been spit on by German fans. It has even been noted by the head race offical. I am staying up for the race. :D
Last AM's race was a classic mountain race ALL these guys still in the race are tough and these fans as long as they are not in the way don't even come in to play unto the race is over.
That picture must be from the mountain time trial.
there was no place yesterday were Armstrong and the pack he was in were seperated by very much until the last 100 meters.
Posted by FlameBait93268 2004-07-23 7:21:59 AM||   2004-07-23 7:21:59 AM|| Front Page Top

#13 All the kings whores and all the kings "men" couldn't catch up to Lance if they tried. Hahaha. The dirty frogs beaten at their own game.....by a cowboy!!! Ah sweet revenge. Much like the feeling when Hitler was forced to watch a black athlete wipe the stadium with his "superior" Kraut nazi arian fucks.
Posted by Victory Now Please 2004-07-23 8:03:25 AM||   2004-07-23 8:03:25 AM|| Front Page Top

#14 Excellent job AC.

This seems a fairly reasonable response for Western Europe. As they watch American exceptionalism blow past them, the only response they can muster is an impish and impotant middle finger and spit. Such a response only confirms our beliefs that these are a people in decline and they have lost the fire in thier bellies.

They can no longer fight. They are left only to flounder on the sidelines to mock a superior icon of strength and determination. We will see this scene played out for years to come. But in the next few years, it will not be a bike race.
Posted by Dragon Fly  2004-07-23 8:39:17 AM||   2004-07-23 8:39:17 AM|| Front Page Top

#15 as fello austinite of em armstrong ima thinking them ut fans. hook em horns! or something like that. im not follow ut sports. am still californian on sports but am thinking them schoolmates of em bush girls. armstrong in like hometown hero here.
Posted by muck4doo 2004-07-23 9:38:57 AM|| [http://www.meatismurder.blogspot.com]  2004-07-23 9:38:57 AM|| Front Page Top

#16 AC (#3) -- LOL! Great find! What a joke! Just like our education system, it's not about who wins--it's about self-esteem for the losers!
Posted by Dar  2004-07-23 10:20:37 AM||   2004-07-23 10:20:37 AM|| Front Page Top

#17 #11 In September of last year "an altercation between fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants ended in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium with a man shot dead." The man's name was Mark Antenocruz. Although an "altercation" probably meant a fight, not a riot. Still.

As for throwing the Europeans a bone, "No gifts this year for stage wins," said the American. "The Tour is too special for me." Though he did want to give a teammate a win:

The last climb, the Croix de Fry, looked like a lap of honor for the 2004 Tour, with the top-four riders overall -- Armstrong, Basso, Kloeden and Ullrich -- in front, with Armstrong's team mate Floyd Landis opening the way for them.


Armstrong obviously wanted Landis to win but they were taken off guard when Kloeden surged in the last 1,968 feet but Armstrong refused to allow the German the victory and mercilessly rode him down in the final few meters.

Posted by growler 2004-07-23 10:30:38 AM||   2004-07-23 10:30:38 AM|| Front Page Top

#18 dodgers suck.
Posted by muck4doo 2004-07-23 10:48:38 AM|| [http://www.meatismurder.blogspot.com]  2004-07-23 10:48:38 AM|| Front Page Top

#19 "Armstrong refused to allow the German the victory and mercilessly rode him down in the final few meters."

-nice, kind of like a cheetah pouncing on a gazelle.
Posted by Jarhead 2004-07-23 11:05:25 AM||   2004-07-23 11:05:25 AM|| Front Page Top

#20 Out of curiosity, where's the damned security? Why are those idiots allowed to be close in like that?

That guy with the middle fingers up, he needs his ass beat up to the point of being unable to control his bladder.
Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2004-07-23 11:47:59 AM||   2004-07-23 11:47:59 AM|| Front Page Top

#21 Americans may not be as bad as European hooligans but we're not always about good times and tailgate parties either. I'd rather bash the Yuurpeen intellectuals(sic) than their rambunctious sports fans.

You all ought to be in a bar on Saturday in Oklahoma City when OU is playing. They make the Basques fellas look like Martha Stewart. Euros like the Basques and the the Brit soccer fellas got nothing on Sooner fans. Sooner fans walk into all bars packing a full load of assholery, and just to make certain the rest of us know it, they add alchohol.

BTW to any OU fans or OKC residents reading this: I am a Pokes fan.
Posted by badanov  2004-07-23 12:20:57 PM|| [http://www.rkka.org]  2004-07-23 12:20:57 PM|| Front Page Top

#22 Hey BAR that's bike racin!

Posted by Shipman 2004-07-23 1:37:28 PM||   2004-07-23 1:37:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#23 So many comments...

#3 - Even Bernard Hinault's with Armstrong on that one. After that stage (Hinault puts the maillot jaune on the winner after every stage) he told Lance, 'Good going. No gifts.'

#4 - You're right; French journous freakin HAAAAAAATE Lance. Gotcha journalism at its worst.

#5 - HUGE grain of salt. Lance has one more year on his contract; he's practically bound to defend his title next year. He hasn't been in the Giro or the Vuelta since he's been on USPS. Plus I want to go over there next year, so he'd better!

#12 - No, it's from a Pyrneean stage, $10 says Plateau de Beille (Basso beat Lance the previous day at La Mongie).

Just remember, there have been only 40 Americans to enter the TdF; by Sunday we'll own 9 of the 94 - odd final yellow jerseys they've handed out.
Posted by Raj  2004-07-23 1:40:47 PM|| [http://angrycyclist.blogspot.com]  2004-07-23 1:40:47 PM|| Front Page Top

#24 Bulldog - I didn't notice the flag, or rather that the flag was draped around a guy with an orange hat on. Good eye! (Mine was a bit... well, let's just say, besotted at the time.)
Posted by eLarson 2004-07-23 3:13:48 PM||   2004-07-23 3:13:48 PM|| Front Page Top

#25 The Giro is a natural for US TeeeVeee
Posted by Shipman 2004-07-23 3:19:59 PM||   2004-07-23 3:19:59 PM|| Front Page Top

#26 #25-Served with a dollop of loog-ie condiment?
Is that GH-H-H-H-H-H-H-aute cuisine?
Posted by jules 187 2004-07-23 3:39:28 PM||   2004-07-23 3:39:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#27 The pic is from the time trial in the mountains. Sorry, I can't name the stages and am too lazy to go look.

My wife does not like Lance at all. He divorced his wife when he became a big shot, even though she stayed with him and supported him all through his illness. Sounds kinda low when you think about it. And there are much hotter chicks out there than Sheryl Crow. Great rider, not a great family man.
Posted by remote man 2004-07-23 3:39:42 PM||   2004-07-23 3:39:42 PM|| Front Page Top

#28 remote man - it's Plateau de Beille.

From www.letour.fr (today only, 2/3 down):

There was, however, another story of this stage. Lance Armstrong confirmed his position as The Boss of the bunch. The yellow jersey is yet again the dominant force of the Tour. With just three stages to race he held a lead over second place in the general classification of over four minutes. The Texan appears to be the likely candidate for success in the time trial in Besancon. And the next day he can enjoy the parade to Paris, the final circuits and, eventually, the moment that he is declared the first rider to win six titles of the world’s biggest bike race. But the parade had not yet begun… there was still a personal vendetta to settle.

As the escape began to become established, another rider decided that he should be part of it. Filippo Simeoni, a rider with the Domina Vacanze team, attempted to bridge the gap to Mercado’s crew. The Italian and the American have a colorful history and Lance decided that he ought to stamp his authority on the race… again. As if winning 22 stages and a sixth overall title wasn’t enough. In a curious display, Armstrong chased down the attack by Simeoni, marked him all the way to the lead group and then contributed to the pace of the escape for 10-odd kilometers. All the while the others in the escape knew that, with the yellow jersey in their midst, they had no hope of remaining ahead of the peloton.

Here's the summary of the 'personal animosity' between the two.
Posted by Raj  2004-07-23 3:45:57 PM|| [http://angrycyclist.blogspot.com]  2004-07-23 3:45:57 PM|| Front Page Top

#29 #13 Much like the feeling when Hitler was forced to watch a black athlete wipe the stadium with his "superior" Kraut nazi arian fucks.

Great call, VNP. I think Raj sums it up rather well:

Just remember, there have been only 40 Americans to enter the TdF; by Sunday we'll own 9 of the 94 - odd final yellow jerseys they've handed out.

This is giving me an itch to dust off my Milan-built 1961 Bianchi Specialissima with Campagnolo gear and inflate its silk sew-ups for a spin around the neighborhood.
Posted by Zenster 2004-07-23 4:14:06 PM||   2004-07-23 4:14:06 PM|| Front Page Top

#30 I was talking about This article titled "Armstrong slams press treatment at Tour" with such tidbits as:

Armstrong said a French TV station tried to get into his hotel room in hopes of finding evidence of doping, and three-time Tour winner Greg Lemond voiced doubts that his fellow American is clean.
"The scary thing is, if they don't find anything and get frustrated after a couple of months ... well, who's to say they won't put something there and say, 'Look what we've found,' " Armstrong said. "They see the sport as a target, an easy target."
The France 3 reporter, Hugues Huet, said he went to the hotel to do interviews about Armstrong's teammates and that he chatted to the hotel manager for a few minutes. But he denied that he had sought access to the Armstrong's room.
"It's completely ridiculous," Mr. Huet said. "We do have ethics and we don't do just anything. ... If I played around by searching his room like that, I would be breaking the limits."
Posted by CrazyFool  2004-07-23 4:34:24 PM||   2004-07-23 4:34:24 PM|| Front Page Top

#31 Sew-ups? Man, that's old school. Probably has Campy Delta brakes, too...
Posted by Raj  2004-07-23 4:54:36 PM|| [http://angrycyclist.blogspot.com]  2004-07-23 4:54:36 PM|| Front Page Top

#32 Old silk sew-ups? Twenty bucks says they don't make it to 50 PSI before blowing up.

Got wristband?---> http://www.livestrong.org/laf/wearyellow/wearyellow_p.html
Posted by Parabellum 2004-07-23 7:00:59 PM|| [http://www.livestrong.org/laf/wearyellow/wearyellow_p.html]  2004-07-23 7:00:59 PM|| Front Page Top

#33 Old silk sew-ups?

Ummm ... no, but nice try, Parabellum. Mint condition Clemente Campionado del Mundos that were kept fresh in a slit truck tire inner tube for a decade or two before I bought them. They go to well over 100 PSI.

Raj, the brakes are Universal center pulls. The only non-Campy components on the bike.
Posted by Zenster 2004-07-23 11:27:18 PM||   2004-07-23 11:27:18 PM|| Front Page Top

#34 What a great thread.

Raj thanks for the link, I only saw the break sans Armstrong. Very cool.

Zenster, I've got a mid sixties Legnano (Coppi's ride) that a friend and myself are doing up. Everything is nearly complete. Also has Universal Centerpulls. We're short correct levers so period Campags will have to do, although I have NOS gum hoods, in the box, once we come accros the correct levers. Also we want white cloth tape which is like not around. Remember Clemente Paris-Rabouix silks.

Man this bike is so diferent from what goes down now. The seat post is a steal, one piece unit, eight inches long with about four inches showing. Steel Campag Record derailures, stock. High Flange record hubs laced to 32 hole Ambrosio Tubs.

Silver with red panels. Thought you would like to know.
Posted by Lucky 2004-07-24 12:34:00 AM||   2004-07-24 12:34:00 AM|| Front Page Top

#35 That's a nice ride you're working on, Lucky. I have a traditional lime green Legnano downstairs waiting to be fixed up. I too managed to find a stash of gum rubber brake lever hoods for my Universals and have those bagged and sealed awaiting further disposition.

Here's a link you're sure to enjoy. I ran across a chap riding what appeared to be a showroom fresh Masi Criterium and asked him where he got such a mint condition vintage bike. The man mentioned CyclArt in Vista, California. The Masi was nothing short of a museum quality restoration. My Bianchi will run about $1,000 for a similar treatment. When the owner heard of my rare large-frame Bianchi he asked me for a price on it. I could hear him drooling in the background. Check out these folks for any parts you need. They are the pros. I'm going to need them to repair one of the rivets in my glove-soft Brooks saddle.

The 60s-70s Italian road bikes were pure and simple art. The craftsmanship that went into the Masi, Cinelli, Pogliaghi and Bianchi frames will never again be matched. My own ride was probably built by all of three people. One who brazed the frame, another who detailed it and the person who hung the components on it. When you tap it with your pocket comb, the down tube ring rings like a bell.
Posted by Zenster 2004-07-24 3:20:26 AM||   2004-07-24 3:20:26 AM|| Front Page Top

#36 Very cool Zenster.
Posted by Lucky 2004-07-24 12:39:46 PM||   2004-07-24 12:39:46 PM|| Front Page Top

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