i hate him want a @#$%

i hate him want a @#$%

Armstrong just wants to compare notes with Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt about the latest in the field of Masking Agents and performance enhancing drugs !!

Florin K - only time will tell whos right here. But dont shy away when you realise you got carried away with Lance fever.

blimberb. The reason that Team GB did so well at Beijing was due to investment - lots and lots of it - better facilities, sports technology, trainers, doctors, nutritionists etc. The same for China - China is now a world superpower and poured billions into developing their team for their own Olympics. They wanted to show the world that there is a new boss in town. Using illegal drugs and being found out would have brought disgrace to China and tarnished the games irrevocably. So I disagree with your comments, dear blimberb.

The TdF is much better and more interesting since the end of the Armstrong era - that at least is in the past so let it be. I found him a most boring rider, little sense of drama and no joy in his winning - he was a mechanic.

We will probably never know if he was on drugs - all is suspicion and can hardly be anything else now. However a few thoughts:

1.Before his cancer he was a middling good rider, but did anyone look to him as a future T De F winner?

2.He can only be admired for the way he handled his cancer and came out the other side - and indeed for his
efforts on behalf of cancer sufferers since.

3.A point he made in his book was that he insisted in knowing every treatment detail - thus becoming well informed of drugs, etc, and their use.

4.He comes from the country that probably knows more about drugs,their use & hiding than most.

5. Didn't he receive advice from the same doctor as Pantani, who was exposed in the Giro the year of Armstrongs 1st TdF win. Co-incidence?

6.Many of his previous team mates have since been found out.

7.None of this proves that he was taking, nor does the 'most tested' claim prove that he was not. This applies to all riders.

I have little liking for him. That he won the TdF more times than any other does not make him the greatest cyclist ever - that title belongs to Merckz. Nor did he have the grace and the beauty on the mountains of say Pantani, or for my age group, Coppi - the pure climbers who could go out & win on their own. In one of his last TdF wins, he was left by his team alone amongst other riders,and went to pieces. The next day was another story, when he was led up the mountain by his team, doubtless following a reading of the riot act. Other events as when he cheated cutting out a corner come to mind.

No, I don't want to see him back.Time has moved on, let it be.

The past is a foreign country,they order things differently there. (Hartley)

mer_ma2030,

I don't think Lance is doing this to help Astana; Everyone knows that Contador can win the Tour with the team he has now. I think he's doing it to squelch all of the opinions that people have of him doping during his previous Tours. People still believe that Armstrong was a doper, so I hope this will finally put an end to all of the doping talk. More than ever, I hope he wins the next Tour. I'm probably one of Astana's and Contador's biggest fans; they don't need Armstrong to be successful because they already are. But since Contador has many years ahead of him, I would love to see Lance ride with Astana, pass along a lot of knowledge to the Astana riders and totally SMOKE the rest of the peloton to take his eighth Tour. Long Live Lance!

Lance took enough drugs in his life fighting off cancer, he doesnt need them to win a bike race! Its good talent and hard work, and if you think thats a drug you need your head examined. Armstrong is clean and will prove it once again as he gets blood tested more than any other rider so, GO LANCE

Just watch Armstrong prove his critics wrong, once again, he will win the tour and the only people that will crash and burn are the people that say he cant win it. GO LANCE

To Sarah com 79,u got it wrong..i am not American (thnx god).But i do want to be realistic..in fact i was wrong about chinese "medals",surely not 20 but as u said 32 golds in 2004,still 51 golds THIS year and 37 more medals IN TOTAL?!Same goes for USA of course,worst maybe,all time clasic doped athlets country..but i shall repeat u something u may cant understand.A human body can aford a LIMIT of constant and high preasure.If you pass that LIMIT,your body will colapse..And if you DONT want that to happen u have 2 dam choises. 1st: LEGAL DOPING.. 2nd: ILEGAL DOPING..THOSE ARE CHOISES FOR H I G H CLASS athlets Sarah,not just for anyone.Because when u play with SO,SO,SO much money dear Sarah,you have to FOLLOW those 2 CHOISES.

As much as I admire Lance Armstrong He should Stay Retired , you only have to look back at any sports person that comes out of retirement, and connot fullfill thier ambitions / obligations , thier career, fame Nosedives. Everybody is left with a sournote , He must remember he retired on top of his form , there is only one way from a pedastal Crash and Burn , I would rather remember him as the superb athlete he was , A figurehead for the sport and sports in general.

To: superdrap: Superdrap you got a lot fantasies! Where you get them? huh? Astana doesn't need all that just to get in to TDF. They already showed that they are the better theam out there. Contador will kick @#$% and should (and will) win the tour. Lance will do good for sure, but not enough to win - lets be realistic. And Lance only wants it because he got tired of not having challenges for 2 years.

stephen
I am a fan of Lance Armstrong like you, but I am not so happy about this coming back. Armstrong is a human being like you and me, he is not made of an iron. Yes, he did great things and he is a living legend. Not only that, he gave hope to a lot of victims of cancer, he motivated ppl in every part of the world, he helped a lot of ppl wt his fame. Yes he is a hero to all kind of ppl in all continents.
But remember Lance will be 37. 34 is kinda old for TDF let alone 37. Even if he can do it , he has thousands of enemies out there. There are people out there, who want to make him look like a doper. Every thing he puts in his mouth, every bottle he gets need to be watched carefully. There are lot of ppl who work for a team during TDF, one of them would be willing to say stuff that is not true. Even your own relatives/family would sell you for $1000,000. Eddie merckx lost TDF cuz one angry french guy decided to push him. So, dude, you must think before saying stuff.

stephen900, you make me laugh when saying "... we MUST accept that his wins were clean". be happy and rest in peace with your beliefs. lance is a only a cheater that was not yet found pozitive, probably because he used some undetectable drugs. i hope that if he will return to the tour, he will run clean and fail miserably or will run as usually and he will be found positive !!

stephen900, you make me laugh when saying "... we MUST accept that his wins were clean". be happy and rest in peace with your beliefs. lance is a only a cheater that was not yet found pozitive, probably because he used some "special" drugs.

Since he retired in 2005, i always knew he would come back. Personally i think without exception that he will win the tour, itl be close but i just dnt think that anyone can live with him. For all the doubters Armstrong never tested positive, and despite what the world and his dog thinks we MUST accept that his wins were clean. Now here in lies the edge to this saga- the doping controls have changed dramaticly in the threes years he has been away and with Lance himself giving the media and the anti doping authorities a complete unrestricted access to his traing and preperation, finally he will proove that he as always been a clean rider. For me today is one of the gretest days of my life, one which will see me forfill an abition of seeing Lance blast his rivals apart on the alpine passes of the french alp's. Vive le tour and vive la lance!!

"I suspect that other riders will be watching him and waiting for him to crack."

That's right, they will watch he's back until he arrives in Paris in yellow. :-))

Armstrong has been through a lot and managed to pull through. See TdF 2003. Dehydrated, fell. And what did he do? Went across the field when Beloki fell 2 meters in front of him. Got up and climbed Luz Ardiden like a possessed man. He wanted that victory and he got it. So don't tell me the little boys from today can put up such a challenge to him.

In 2004, when he took victory from Kloden, 1 meter from the finish line... In Paris, Kloden bowed in the knees in front of him. He just knew how good Armstrong is.

In 2005, on the big slopes, he was going up and down, checking and tauting everyone. Like saying: "WTF guys, this is easy." And no one dared to attack him. So yeah ...

I think you under-estimate the other riders. Armstrong wouldnt't eat Contador alive in the TT and I doubt Contador is afraid of challenging anyone in the mountains. It questionable whether Lance would have a Psychological advantage - I suspect that other riders will be watching him and waiting for him to crack. It would be one hellova comeback for LA to win but I reckon its fairytale stuff.

"i just hope he can cut it with the new 'big boys'. Contador and Andy Schlek look formidable."

You kidding me? The King will eat them alive in the TT.
Valverde is awful. The rest will be on King's team, working for him.
He has such a huge psychological advantage. No one will even dare to attack him in the mountains. He has huge experience and knows how to optimize his effort in order to win. One good mountain stage and 2 TT and that's it. You know they all started to tremble when they heard the news. Ha Ha. I think the French are pissed beyond words. The King is back! All hail the King!

Though, if Armstrong returns and rides not for Astana, it means that he won't have to compete against Contador (as Astana won't be allowed to start) and then it is quite a reasonable move.