Lancing Armstrong

The Rumours are flying around that the horse has got away ! Yes the Tour de France has become the sideshow for the USADA tilt at gaining notoriety , as it endeavors to find traction and thus credibility,  in it's quest to destroy the efforts of a whole generation of US Cycle Racers ! Lance is the target , but any US Racer that was on his teams , are getting besmirched and splattered with flying DUNG !

In an effort to pursue Lance , it appears that USADA , is prepared to make the USA Cycling scene look like a cheating circus ! Take a good look at the offering above ! Needs little effort , to put names to the characatures  depicted !

What has brought this sideshow into the open ?

Speculation is rife that Lance or his supporters leaked to a variety of newspapers the speculation that a number of ex team mates were granted " Suspended Sanctions" for stepping up and giving evidence against guess WHO ? Seems there is nothing that the USADA will not do , to achieve their sole goal , of removing the " Armstrong Era " from the record books !  Remember Bjarne Riis made an admission of " Doping " some years ago ,  " ASO " removed him from their " Le Tour "records for a while , then backtracked and reinstated him  . Regardless of the result of USADA 's efforts can anyone imagine " Le Tour " records NOT showing Lance as the winner of 1999 through 2005 ?

New York Times printed the following report , after the Principle story appeared on Thursday in Madrid , Spain , Italy and Amsredam story :

 " Tygart said that no individual cyclists had yet been punished in connection with the Armstrong case, contrary to a report Thursday in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. That report said that Hincapie, Leipheimer, Vande Velde, Zabriskie and Jonathan Vaughters, a former Armstrong teammate who now runs the Garmin-Sharp team, arranged a deal with the antidoping agency to serve six-month suspensions for their own doping in connection with a suspected conspiracy. Those suspensions would begin in September, the newspaper said.

  "  The Garmin-Sharp team, which is known for its stalwart stance on antidoping, said in a statement that “reports of suspensions are untrue.” "


As you will recall i follow the CyclingNews forum as a source of info as well as of amusement , one of those subscribers has acted like the " dutch boy with his finger in the dyke " , good on him !

his comment :

 " can´t imagine anything will happen to Lance. He won´t be punished for anything, it all will lead to nothing at all.

I personally would have seen VandeVelde, Leipheimer and Hincapie as non-clean riders before, and Zabriskie as non-clean rider who rides non-clean only occassionally.

Tour-wise, mid 90ies to mid 00s have been the USPS/Telekom years. Telekom has been outed officially, so outing USPS is just fair, nothing more.

Lance is and stays the biggest rider of the Tour in history. Media had to write, the winners had to celebrate, fans had to cheer. The only ones who were cheated were the few clean guys. Look at Moncoutie, lokk at the 12 names who did better than him in the 2002 Tour, and you know who has reason to be angry.

Lance´s USADA case won´t change cycling, it will stay like it has always been. Cycling on world class level stays a battle of 98 % of guys on PEDs against 2 % on bread and water. Professional bodybuilding is 100 % - 0%, professional athletics maybe 90%-10%, tennis 70-30%, soccer 50-50, and so on. I can´t see anything can be changed or improved there; it´s good as it is in the moment.
I don´t like Francesco Mosers demand on legalizing PEDs, because then we have nearly 100-0 in cycling.

I have respect for Lance, I have also, and maybe even more, respect for Moncoutie. "

This guy deserves praise , as i had made a comment elsewhere , Thursday , after reading something which alerted me to the breaking story !

My comment :

Originally Posted by skippy

Seems that " Anything Goes " with this USADA publicity stunt , from " tainted personalities " to review what they had already decided were " Facts " , thru to " witnesses " WHOM YOU , THE FORUM , ALREADY HAD ACCUSED OF BEING USERS being granted " suspended sentences "!

Will even 1% believe that Lance was treated in a fair manner Or give a monkeys for anything that the usada slide under the radar whilst the USA are busy electing the next President ?

Perhaps there should be a subsection of the forum called " THE GLEE CLUB "!

Since then there are a couple of new threads on Lance and his behaviours !

In the TRi World there is a thread discussing his situation and asking for a straight " Yes " or " No "!

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=4028556;page=1;mh=-1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC

Lance is quite right with his assertion that USADA are continually moving the " goalposts "! In all other recent " doping cases " , sanctions start immediately BUT here these Five US Racers continue at the " Money Spinning Tour de France " as if nothing has happened ! Indeed JV says " THERE IS NO DEAL "! 


Who to believe ?


http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/06/lance-armstrong-rips-deal-with-accusers-in-doping-case-as-vendetta.htmlhttp://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/06/lance-armstrong-rips-deal-with-accusers-in-doping-case-as-vendetta.html

Reading elsewhere i found this story on a Journo :

http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/news/15052/everyone-loves-raymond


Regardless of what is appearing in the media , there are some " Journos " who still have an open mind on the Lance story !

Lancing Armstrong

RUDY SAVES LIVES !

Rudy Barbazza was a man with ambition when he started out 27 years ago to revolutionize the “ Sports Glasses “ and “ Sports Helmet “ business !   Introducing new business and communication practices in the sports world he employed “ Celebrity Endorsement “ as an on going strategy to market his products !

Quoting his words from the company’s “ La Storia “ , published to mark their 25th year ,

IT IS EASY TO SEE WHY THIS MAN IS THOUGHT OF AS A “ GURU “!

“ Travelling opens horizons and boundaries through which the mind can wander and then create . Travel multiplies relationships . Relationships will always encourage new opportunities for professional , personal and social development “ .

The unquestionable excellence of the “ Rudy Project “ line of products is the result of the desire and intuition to continuously create and implement new ideas . An ongoing and rigorous programme of experimentation and testing together with research and quality control ensure the recipients of the finished product enjoy astonishing results . The combination of Design ,  Professionalism , Aesthetics and Materials are a winning Mix !

Enough of the “ Guru “ !

I came on the scene at the 1999 Giro d’Italia in Agrigento , Sicily , when Ivany , who works as the Teams Rudy contact , presented me with the first of many sets of “ RUDY PROJECT “ Glasses  prior to the Grand Depart .

The following season i was given and started to wear the “ Rudy Project “ helmets and you will never find a photo of me on a bike since , without a helmet in place !

Quite frankly , I went through a period when I would not ride with those who were not wearing a helmet . I thought then , and still do , that anyone who chooses not to wear their helmet , risks spoiling the day for their companions , let alone risking their lives or serious injury ! Too often I come across those who have facial and head injuries but the helmet is undamaged , as it was strapped to the handlebars !

Riding 20k km each year I have had countless misfortunes , some through a combination of bad luck or others’ thoughtlessness ! So many helmets have been broken that I have lost count and if called to describe the situation I would be hard pressed to recount the details . 

Suffice to say that Francesco Moser has seen me spill some years ago , on Train lines , during the Giro TTT etappe , Cremona to Piacenza .   The GreenEdge Team have seen my recent spill near Verona .     Someone there was quick enough to photo me with their mobile , but so far i have not found the photo that was uploaded to the Web ! Each time i crashed , there were multiple breaks in the helmet , and whilst I got up each time , the head took a battering , with no damage other than to the helmet !

When helmets are so light , it is easy to forget that you are wearing them and i have seen several people take their helmet off put them down on the table and on resuming the ride almost forget to pick up the helmet . It surprises me to hear the excuses that people offer for not wearing their helmets , heat and weight just are not acceptable excuses these days .     Fact is I find that my helmets have kept me cooler than most other forms of head wear . Anyone thinking that a helmet spoils their hair needs to remember that kissing the pavement will lead to a much worse appearance !

During the Giro and other events , I have come across people who bring their helmet with them though they have to go out and hire a bike or other equipment ! They should be congratulated for their good sense . There is always a second helmet in my car , like “ insurance “ , better to be prepared !

As American Express says “ Don’t leave home without it “ !

Before getting on the bike , make sure the helmet strap is fastened . Had to remind Gianni Motta , an International Champion , that the straps go under the chin , not over the top of the helmet , recently at the partenza village of the Giro d'Italia in Limone .

RUDY SAVES LIVES !

recanati

So i took a ride with Gianni Motta this morning since the injuries from tuesday?s crash in front of the GreenEDGE Squad  caused me to struggle through the climbs  particarly the " Mur "|! Having broken the helmet in three places that day i am lucky not to have lost more than skin !

Those who know the personalities will realise the second photo is of Francesco Moser who also leads a group of Banka Med clients .



 Following photos are of the clients as they followed Gianno^s direction through the local countryside .

Above photo is Gianni providing a " photo Op " after buying coffee espresso for all , i went for a capacinno .

Following photos are of the Depart from Recanati , but whilst i shook hands and congratulated Malouri for winning the " Maglia Rose " the person taking the photo , " Stuffed it " , not only that but we missed Maurizio Fondriest who was in the same shot !

More photos to facebook , if i can organise !

recanati