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2000 TDF
Last Post 02/13/2014 04:42 PM by stronzo nonfumare. 7 Replies.
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stronz

Posts:447

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02/12/2014 09:17 AM
on the trainer this morning watching dvd of 2000 tdf -- stage 11 I think to Hautacam.  I really have to say that the way riders attack has changed and I guess it is  a symptom of less rocket fuel in the blood.  But the throw down comes 10km from the summit when Zulle charges out of the pack then Pantani and Armstrong follow.  Armstrong basically went on a 10 km full on assault with very little respite.  He drops Zulle, then Pantani then bridges up to the Virenque, Jimenez, Beltran, Beloki group.  Promptly dispatches all of them save for poor Jimenez who sticks with LA for a good while.  Finally armstrong finished 40 seconds behind Ochoa who was on a monster solo attack all day and rightfully wins the day.

Point is you never see these whole mountain assaults by a team leader/GC contender anymore. (OK maybe Contador but less and less) Is it no more guts or just the gravitation back to real performance without PED?  It certainly was an impressive beatdown I have to say...especially if you assume that virtually everyone on the mountain that day was juiced.
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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02/12/2014 10:10 AM
I think it is a question of the GC guys not knowing how to race w/o the rocket fuel. Go back and watch the Tours from the late 80's and guys went on monster attacks, from WAY far out. No rocket fuel.....just balls of steel. (Not saying they were clean, but there is a difference between the low octane and high octane stuff re: performance).

The guys now don't really know how to race w/o the jet fule, so they are ultra-conservative, IMO.
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
79pmooney

Posts:3178

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02/12/2014 04:26 PM
Quintano maybe (and I hope)?

Ben
stronz

Posts:447

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02/13/2014 08:12 AM
funny how this article came out right after I started this thread -- a little but of perspective from LA. sifting through some of the crap Lance spews there is some new stuff in there.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/armstrong-if-i-was-the-carpenter-pantani-was-the-artist
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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02/13/2014 03:56 PM
I find that article disturbing....IMO, it is just another stop on the LA Self-Rehabilitation tour. I honestly find it difficult to take him at face value on anything. He has proven to be such a master manipulator in the past, that I think he will take any opportunity to play the "I wish I had done things differently" card.

Funny how he never felt that way until his world crashed down.

Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
longslowdistance

Posts:2881

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02/13/2014 04:16 PM
But of course it's because his world came crashing down that wishes he had done things differently.
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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02/13/2014 04:42 PM
But Pantani had little role (if any) in that....he had years to express lament over his relationship with Pantani and he never gave a schitt.

I just find this article to be self-serving. I don't believe it is genuine in the slightest. I hope I'm wrong.
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
stronz

Posts:447

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02/13/2014 04:42 PM
I know exactly what you mean CK. It is very hard to read anything of his without feeling he is being disingenuous. However I got a whiff of some introspection and at least theoretically his article raises some interesting ideas-- specifically:
1. Pantani is dead. I'm still alive but my world came crashing down. Whose legacy is more tarnished?
2. Riding up Hautacam that day we were both really at the very pinnacle of the sport. Could we have known where we both would be 14years down the road what would we have done differently (what would any of us do differently for that matter?)
3. I do appreciate his recognition of pantani as an equally, if not more so, badass mofo on the bike who personally didnt like his adversaries and fed off that dislike. --I kind of think LA sees a lot of his own qualities on Pantani. And I do think there is some truth in that
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