Lance Armstrong... greatest doper there was or ever will be

This is what Armstrong sees in his nightmares, big Greg fucking gunning for him.

You can say what you want about money, politics, motivation, attitude, personality, style; cycling (like just about every sport now) was more poetic **when people weren't dangling a big fuckoff bag of cash over the finish line, **where you'll be asked model for some god awful product that pollutes half the planet, paid to use some equipment made in some Eastern sweatshop by five year olds that have already lost half their limbs through industrial accidents, then whisked off on your first book signing tour before being forced to bribe your way round the sport to sustain your image.

You do realise that things like the Tour de France have been dangling a big fuckoff wad of cash over the finish line for over 100 years now, right?

"It was to have been a five-week race, from 1 June to 5 July, with an entry fee of 20 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_franc. These conditions attracted very few cyclists: one week before the race would start, only 15 competitors had signed up. Desgrange then rescheduled the race from 1 July to 19 July, increased the total prize money to 20,000 francs, reduced the entry fee to 10 francs and guaranteed at least five francs a day to the first 50 cyclists in the classification.[6] After that, 79 cyclists signed up for the race, of whom 60 actually started the race.[7]"

"With the prize money that he won in 1903, which totalled 6,075 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_franc"]francs[/ame],[[5]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1903_Tour_de_France#cite_note-mdc1903-640,000 in 2006 values[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1903_Tour_de_France#cite_note-Gann-4)) Garin later bought a gas station, where he worked for the rest of his life.[5]"

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1903_Tour_de_France[/ame]

This is what Armstrong sees in his nightmares, big Greg fucking gunning for him.

Yeah right, like he ever beat any riders of note. I mean, like, who's that loser in the green jersey? ;P

You do realise that things like the Tour de France have been dangling a big fuckoff wad of cash over the finish line for over 100 years now, right?

And today riders receive an actual salary from their team, the total prize money available is worth over $3 million, with how much else generated by endorsements etc? Don't think it compares-I mean a guy in 1903 near kills himself charging round France on a fixed gear for enough cash (a lot, yes-but just rewards in my book) to buy himself a fucking petrol station to earn a living. No pension, no team doctor, no book tour, nothing. Just a massive pair of balls-and a rickety heavy bike. I mean even the stages were longer than they are today, albeit fewer;

The 1903 Tour de France was run in six stages. Compared to modern stage races, the stages were extraordinarily long, with an average distance of over 400 km (250 mi), compared to the 171 km (106 mi) average stage length in the 2004 Tour de France;

this is apparently the breakdown of what happens to TdF prizemoney now

^^ the Part 8 "Liggett and Sherwen" link finally gives a decent answer to why S&S are seemingly so Lance obsessed; actually under main contract to US broadcaster who insist on Yankocentric commentary at all times whilst they are taking a feed.

^p&p?

To the surprise of no-one, the next round of allegations are set to hit the press tomorrow;

http://twitter.com/dimspace/status/17189846788

Will Armstrong start the Tour? I reckon it's 50/50 at the moment.

To the surprise of no-one, the next round of allegations are set to hit the press tomorrow;

http://twitter.com/dimspace/status/17189846788

Will Armstrong start the Tour? I reckon it's 50/50 at the moment.

He tweeted this today:

Last hard ride before the TdF. Test on the Col de la Madone. Record time? No. Close to it? Yes. I'm ready.
He's ready.

(who says shit like that outside of movies?)

Replying to Horatio. Let battle commence. We're both on a sinking ship. I smell a rat. Sniff.

He's ready.

(who says shit like that outside of movies?)

I'm sure he's ready, but if he's told he's not welcome by ASO then it's academic.

TdF soon. Last hard shopping trip. Booze? Yes. Crisps? Yes. Unhealthy takeaways? Not yet. Spectating? You bet.

^ Just anticipating future Twitters.

^ I mean 'Tweets'.

And I forgot to tweet about sweets. Chocolate? Yes.

Apple cake

You wanna see my hopes crumble? See me RRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUMMMMBBBBBLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

I don't think I've really got the hang of that heroic, matter-of-fact, man-of-action Tweetwittering thing just yet.

Twitter ye not Oliver.

I will be at the Prologue, looking forward to the meltdown!

Retirement number 2 announced. Pre-emptive?

So, this article... rumour? Can't find it.

Can I have his drugs?

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/this-years-tour-de-france-to-be-lances-last

Here's something in today's NYT which quotes WADA officials as saying they believe the case against Armstrong will be "fruitful."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/sports/cycling/29cycling.html

“But this is going to take some time because we’re not really talking about a simple antidoping case here. Remember the Balco case, how long that took? Well, we could be still talking about this one in 2016.”

...