Triumph of the American Spirit - 3 cheers for Floyd Landis!

Let's not argue and bicker over who killed who....


Me thinks Tristram might have been trolling.
 
Nicely put dantzk8. :thumbup:

Coop
 
While I can't say I've been following Le Tour, it amazes me that this Landis fella is even competing, much less kickin' some major butt with his hip condition. I know exactly how much pain he must be in, I had a hip replaced after it came to be bone on bone. The amount of constant and often excruciating pain can be literally enough to confine you to the couch, pumped full of pain pills, and feeling mean enough to sandpaper a rabid bobcat's butt in a telephone booth!:eek: This guy's pain tolerance must be immeasurable.
 
I watched last night too. Landis was eating and drinking the whole time. He wasn't about to bonk like the previous ride. Anyone who's done hard cycling knows the bonk. You just totally run out of energy. It's all you can do to keep your legs moving at all. Talk about agony! Then the next stage to put out 350 watts for that long continuously is nothing short of incredible. It was one of the great rides in history.

I used to make titanium bike components and had some of those guys including LeMond riding my stuff. :) It was quite a thrill to get to meet those guys at the shows and events.
 
Landis takes command again in the time trial. He finished third, but with enough cushion to wear the yellow jersey tomorrow, the last day. From what I understand there is very little possibility for him to lose it tomorrow. (Who the heck is Honchar who finished first by over a minute???? :eek: :thumbup: )

Peirera deserves second place also. An underated champion no longer!
 
SharpByCoop said:
(Who the heck is Honchar who finished first by over a minute????
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Honcha is a great time trialist who couldn't hope win the tour and didn't take initiatives in the mountain waiting for a win in this time trial. Landis is the true winner of this time trial, no matters the stage, the yellow jersey is on his back! Tomorrow nothing will change, Landis has won.

dantzk.
 
But how is that? Isn't tomorrow another race, too? Why is it a given? Will there be no chance for a breakaway?

Not that I don't wish anything BUT Landis to win, but the process is odd. I don't fully understand this sport. ;)

Coop
 
The long standing tradition is that there are no attacks on the Yellow Jersey on the final day, which is essentially a victory parade. There will be a sprint finish as the sprint champion (the green jersey) is to be decided.

The race seems confusing, but it really isn't. The Yellow Jersey (The Maillot Jaune) is awarded to the rider who completes the entire course in the shortest elapsed time. It's possible to win the "overall" or "general classification" without ever winning an individual stage. However, it is thought that to win "properly", a rider must win at least one stage, as Landis most convincingly did.

The other jerseys, the green sprinter's jersey, the polka-dot "king of the mountains" jersey, and a couple of others, are awarded according to a complex point system involving placing well in on-the-course "field sprints" and of course, the final sprint to the finish during the flat stages.
There is a white jersey awarded to the most promising young rider as well.
 
Thanks for this. It is making more and more sense to me. Good clear explanations.

Coop
 
mwerner well explained the point. There is no difficulty in the last stage, so the yellow jersy team (it's a team sport) can easily control the race. The last stage is reserved to the sprinters who have succeeded to cross the mountains (not easy for them) and the win of the stage is prestigious. Of course if there were few time beetween the first and the second it would be something else but i don't remember it has yet happened, except in '86 for Greg Lemond and Laurent Fignon, but at that time the last stage was a time trial. It's a sport a bit difficult to understand, strategy is very important. Legs are not enough, a brain is needed to win.

dantzk.
 
It is a race, and unforseen things can happen. In one famous (or infamous!) incident, a French Gendarme stepped out in front of the oncoming riders with a camera, evidently hoping for a nice action shot. He got one, as one of the riders plowed into him, breaking the frame of his bike and preventing him from finishing.
The Gendarme was fired....
 
Tis done! Floyd is the man! To win The Tour it takes teamwork, stamina, skill, and tactics. Landis and Team Phonak had it all - Good job!




Now if he can just work on that drinkin' while bikin' issue......

oly_full.getty-cycling-tdf2006-landis_10_16_54_am.jpg



:D
 
Well, now that Floyd has won the Tour, some bashing seems to have set in. One fellow named Bayless on ESPN made a statement similar to "Anyone who rides a bicycle can't be considered a great athlete." I wonder if Mr. Bayless has ever tried riding a bicycle for 125 miles at an average speed of 26 mph. - or one mile at an average speed of 26 mph, for that matter.

And Dantzk, I agree with you. Actually Spaniard Oscar Pereiro, who finished second in the Tour, did an amazing solo ride in the Pyrenees in which he gained a half hour over the peleton. Apparently, the peleton didn't give him enough respect to shut him down. They certainly respect him now. Danish rider Michael Rasmussen won the the KOM jersey by managing an incredible solo effort during the first stage of the Alps - the same stage during which Landis bonked. Early in the Tour Australian Robbie McEwen won several stages thanks to his world class cycle sprinting ability. He finished the Tour with the green jersey in the points classification. The UIC riders are the best cyclists in the World. Any of them could win a given race on a given day.

It is right and proper for us to be proud of Floyd. He performed like a superstar. We should also give repect and congratulations to some of the other pro cyclists who also performed like superstars. They weren't Americans but they were spectacular performers and deserve our respect and congratulations as well.
 
Anyone who finishes Le Tour is a remarkable athlete. Every once in a while you get that "bike racers aren't athletes" nonsense; the individuals saying such thus displaying their utter ignorance of the sport.

Even experienced recreational riders are dismayed at the prospect of a "century" or hundred-mile ride.
The Tour consists of three weeks of 100+ mile stages over all sorts of terrain, from windblown flats to ungodly mountain passes.

The last year Lance rode, the average speed on most flat stages was nearly 30MPH. And the sprinters hit 45+ at the end...
 
God! I hope not. The sport is so tainted as it is. I can't watch a great performance without wondering if the rider is a doper.
 
If the story turns out to be true, well, America will suffer another glaring Black Eye...

Jeezus, it makes ya wonder; "WTF was he thinking???!!!"

:grumpy:
 
joeshredd said:
If the story turns out to be true, well, America will suffer another glaring Black Eye...

Jeezus, it makes ya wonder; "WTF was he thinking???!!!"

:grumpy:
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No kidding! More ammo for the French media...way to go Floyd. And here I was thinking we had something to be proud of....damn it.
 
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