Tuggo,

I am assuming you know how to use the internet­ since you made it to this site. Do a Yahoo or Bing­ search for Eddy and Doping and you can find it for­ yourself. Wikipedia has a whole section on doping­ under his name. He tested positive three times, one of­ which he admitted he took the drug and should not have­ trusted a doctor in 1975. 15 others were found taking­ the same drug at that race. If he got cheatting once­ (or three times) how many times did he cheat and not­ get caught?

After LA finishes in 2nd after the time­ trials and his team is right behind him I think the­ next couple of stages are going to dictate who they­ back as the leader of the team. Anything can happen in­ the race and one fall or one breakaway could change­ everything.

To Byrdmano267, please enlighten me as to all the­ illegal drugs Eddy took. I can remember one accusation­ only.Also please tell me when he admitted taking­ something.
Eddy won the Milan san Remo when he was only­ 20 and went on from there.

I am a true enthusiast and­ saw Eddy race at Eastway in East London probably about­ 1975ish. There is no one to compare to him.
There is­ just something fishy about Lance, It is a gut feeling­ but he just makes me cringe somehow.

I find most of these comments to be either for or­ against LA, what about AC what has he shown in this­ race. That little mistake wont cost AC the race. We­ all know that we can talk and talk about LA AND all the­ other racers, but its the mountains that will make boys­ be boys and the men be men. The mountains will be­ where we can see who has the legs and who has the heart­ and who makes that little mistake. I think it would be­ great if LA won the whole thing again but I love­ watching AC float up those mountains. So I ask­ everyone to relax sit back open your favorite drink and­ watch the race, enjoy it because this is history in the­ making reguardless of who wins.

Armstrong giving it all for Contador? ASTANA should­ have known that was never gonna happen. it was clear­ that Armstrong was dreaming of an 8th Tour victory. and­ to expect him to throw away his dream to work for­ Contador? ridiculous. he LIVES for the Tour. he sees­ himself as THE natural leader, no matter what the team­ boss might say. and after his dominant performance of­ today, in his head he knows he can go all the­ way.

just hope this doesn't split ASTANA.­ we'll see how Contador takes this. but i doubt­ he'll be too happy at being replaced as Team­ leader.

im not a big la fan i like him in 1993 then met him and­ was not impressed. anyone who knows cycling know Eddy­ Merckx is the best and until someone wins more than 525­ races, which wont happen in our lifetime, then they can­ take over his spot. see now a days racing cyclist dont­ compete in more than a hand full of races, but back in­ the 60's and 70's you could compete in all the­ races. plus getting that 1m dollar sponsorship didnt­ happen until Lemond.

The sport has changed it has alot more to do with the­ team members around the team leaders than it does about­ the individuals. As for the idea that the TDF is more­ interesting with LA in it sorry, but who cares?­ It's a more interesting race without LA in it . If­ it's only interesting to you bcos of LA then the­ chances are you don't even ride a bike last year­ was a great race going down to the last couple of days.­ In recent TDF history watching LA come out of the­ mountains and have his team surrounding him for a week­ could hardly be called interesting. The same people­ that watch the TDF bcos of LA are the same people that­ watch golf bcos of Tiger Woods, you couldn't care­ less about the sport you just cheer for someone bcos­ they are a proven winner and somehow it validates your­ pathetic little existence.

Astana will pay for it. Anyone remember McClaren's­ Alonso and Hamilton? It ended the team empty-handed.

As for this attempt to win the Tour at 37...?! The­ oldest TdF winner ever was 36, and two others won it at­ 34. All of those wins were before 1948. The next oldest­ winner was LA in 2005. Is Astana really expected to­ dedicate precious manpower to protect a guy who is­ "over the hill" based on conventional wisdom?­ It's a mistake and it will cost Astana the Tour if­ they pursue it.

And this whole argument about­ "he's won 7 TdFs, he's earned the right to­ be a co-leader." Complete and utter rubbish! No­ one is talking about Indurain, Merckx, or Hinault­ riding as a co-leader based on their 5 wins.

Even if­ he earns the yellow jersey today, Contador is still the­ logical leader of Astana. Lots of domestiques and­ water-carriers have worn the maillot jeune in the first­ week of the Tour. It means nothing.

On the other hand,­ what Lance is trying to do at 37 is monumental. If­ he's successful, it would force a lot of people to­ rethink what they know about what the human body is­ capable of. Maybe not Roger Bannister and the 4 minute­ mile, but it would be astounding.

It goes against the­ establishment. And if you're trying to go against­ the establishment, you can't ask it to assist in­ destroying itself.

For tuggo

If you think Eddy­ Merxck was the best of­ all time with all the positive tests for illegal­ substances then you are not a true enthusiast of the­ sport. LA has never tested positive and had it stick. ­ Eddy even admitted that he took an illegal substance­ during his cycling days. You even mentioned that Lance­ was lucky to never have a fall. First he has had a­ fall and second you make your own luck. Some crashes­ can not be avoided, but if you are at the front all the­ time you are less likely to be involved in the majority­ of them.

Now for the 09 LA and the TDF...

I hope he­ has enough in the tanks to do it all again, but think­ it is a tall order. If anyone could do it, and do it­ clean it would be LA!

JUST READ 76 ENUFF SAID.....

Much talk of drugs, is he clean ...who's doing it­ this tour....... lets not forget not all riders are at­ it and some like the great Tyler Hamalton ex us postal­ spend they're own entire wealth to prove they are­ CLEAN, more than some do.
Us postal.....great days­ great team
Go for it lance

1. No-one will be the equivalent to Eddie Mercx just­ like no-one will be the equivalent to Lance Armstrong.­ Why do they have to be compared?
2. Saying cancer­ treatment enhances sporting performance is ridiculous.­ LA came back stronger because of a strong positive­ attitude about life and the fact that he lost so much­ weight during rehab.
3. Where is Boonen? And why didnt­ they just let Allan Davis have a crack?

Dear oh dear ladies but we are in a tizz aren't we.­ Armstrong was a good tour rider Merckx still is by­ far and away the best racing cyclist ever bar­ none.

Armstrong will ride a good tour, will not win it­ and will not get on the podium. At the end of the day­ he will be the divisive element in the Astana team,­ jeopardising Contador's chances. He can't­ dominate the time trial like he used to or climb­ anywhere near as well as he used to.............having­ said that he's still a million times better than me

Armstong is a competitor and despite what he's said­ in the past, he didn't come into this Tour de­ France to play 2nd fiddle to Cantador. He came to win­ and is doing what he needs to do to make that happen.

The proof is in the pudding as they say....look at the­ amount of intrest and we are only on day 4....if Lance­ not in this position or on the tour then all the talk­ would be of Boonen and drugs again?????
Whilst everyone­ has a right to choose there "greatest" rider­ of all time on TdF i never remember any of ex winners­ retiring and coming back to be in contention for a poss­ malliot jaune....hes helped bring cycling back to the­ masses, the TdF back to the masses whether you like it­ or not!!!Lance has character, determination and­ class......aswell as natural ability....
That said i­ would love him to win it again....but i dont think that­ will happen ....will it???????
They all have Lance to­ aim to beat know....Rogers , Contrador, Cancellera,­ Sastre to name a few contenders... lets hope its as­ exciting in the coming weeks!!!!