Do you know what Tuggo means in English cycling­ expressions?

Tuggo---talk about childish take a look at the screen­ name you hide behind.

Chad. That is such a childish and outdated ­ expression " get a life".
Can you not think­ of something else?

I see all the usual cry baby little snively haters are­ writing in such as fotodelicto and Maxx92. Why­ don't you 2 get a life and find something positive­ to talk about or Maybe you two igdas could hook up and­ make each other miserable.

What about Sungard taking over as a main sponsor, think­ that was announced mid may???

Not really. Just that Bjarne Riis said In Ekstra­ Bladet that he was going to make an announcement during­ the Tour.

@ acloudnobiggerthanamanshand/#30. You got some news­ about a sponsor for Saxo?

@ Maxx92/#25. Typical Saxo, riding strong & riding­ to win all season long. Every season! With ENOUGH­ young/"old" rider balance, experiance &­ respect for races & a great view on pro racing.­ Many worthwhile causes & neo pro objectives. Not­ shouting about any charities supported.­ "Plain", "simple", pure class &­ quality team. Lets hope a sponsor has signed & Riis­ IS waiting till July to announce. (As with CSC to­ Saxo.) I'm sure all the riders know of any sponsors­ good news by now... otherwise they've made up minds­ already. If a team like this can't find support,­ and with all the mud in Lance/Postal/etc's face­ (LandisGate) its not looking good??? As for R-shack­ & the Tour?Sure! When it come to these sort of­ teams/sponsors, a cycling season isn't important.­ Media exposure/money is. = only to ride the TOUR. VIVA­ SAXO, VIVA!

@Chris, they all go in RS for two reasons, 1st is money­ 2nd is secure future in new team (no body know what is­ going to be in Astana team).

One is sure, RS is­ stronger team then Astana, but Astana got best leader­ and strong rider.

"I'm shocked at the lack of­ a sponsor next­ year for Bjarne Riis. Maybe they're­ waiting for a­ mid tour announcement."

Bjarne Riis said exactly­ that on June 4th.

"And I thought that having a team full of­­ "slaves" was the whole idea behind the team­­ structure for all teams. At least that's what­­ everyone was commenting on last year when Astana had­­ all that turmoil. Why weren't they riding for­­ Contador?"

True to a certain point, but the US­ Postal team took it to an extreme in terms of the whole­ cycling calendar and year were set up with one race in­ mind only.

As for Astana, clearly Armstrong expected­ everyone in the team to be at his beck and call as he­ was used to for years. Except Contador didn't bend­ to his will and was therefore ostrasized and stabbed in­ the back. Glad he won though - one up on the bullies of­ the peloton.

You guys are barking up the wrong tree if you want­ Eurosport to provide any kind of real cycling coverage.­ They are only a relay point for Reuters. You get very­ limited race coverage and there are no articles about­ all of the trade rumors prior to the start of the TDF,­ very interesting stuff.

As far as LA doing well in­ the TDF being a "travesty for the sport" of­ cycling, the Organizers are loving the fact that he is­ there. Attendance was up last year and so were the­ viewing figures. That all translates into money for­ everyone involved. And if you are using this site as a­ measure for LA coverage, than you only need to look­ elsewhere to see more varied coverage of the cycling­ season. And I thought that having a team full of­ "slaves" was the whole idea behind the team­ structure for all teams. At least that's what­ everyone was commenting on last year when Astana had­ all that turmoil. Why weren't they riding for­ Contador?

Nice one for Schleck Sr. and Saxo Bank. All things are­ seting up just fine for them and for the tour. For­ RadioShack too. Liquigas looks strong with Nibali in­ Slovenia, and Astana weeks before. Regarding LA-mania,­ except Thomas-who is always sharp and precise­ commenting specific items-every other one on this forum­ is speaking pro or against LA. Can't believe, this­ TV is LA oriented-so what-guy is paying for that,­ nothing wrong in it. You want to comment youg riders-so­ welcome, why are you wasting time and space justifying­ or attacking guy's legacy? He won what he­ won-congratulations, got a 2nd place in Suisse-ok, what­ about Cancelara?-or Andy, or ???They are not in the­ article, so why don't youwrite something about­ them.

It's nice to see the reporters get it right and­ actually include the winner's name in the­ headlines. And above LA's! That some feat compared­ to the Eurosport love-fest with Lance during the Tour­ of Luxembourg. (Lance lovers lighten up. Even all but­ the most hard-core of you must have been somewhat­ appalled by the Blog equivalent of self-sexting that­ happened during that race. It trivialized the sport for­ the equivalent of a 'Hollywood Extra' Lance­ special expose). Starting this week and coming in July,­ we're going to see LA's name in the headlines­ for the right reasons. Looks like he will be a­ legitimate podium or overall contendor.

The strength of Saxo Bank has been visible all year­ long, but Radio Shack is starting to show up at races­ since the tour is near. I'm shocked at the lack of­ a sponsor next year for Bjarne Riis. Maybe they're­ waiting for a mid tour announcement. But this is when­ contracts for next year get signed so something has to­ happen soon. As far as Radio Shack, being a US brand,­ the Tour is probably all they signed on for. It appears­ their gamble is paying off with Kloeden, Leipheimer and­ Armstrong all finishing well. I think being ahead of­ his teammates was very important for LA to establish­ leadership on his team. Had he not beaten them there­ might have been questions, especially with reporters­ looking for controversies in the calm before the tour­ starts. Were there team orders not to beat Lance to­ keep the Tour preparations for the team going well?

fotodelicto: You must have a real hard-on for LA­ don't you? and you never stop talking about the TTT­ geez.

"I'm sure that LA is realistic­ about his­ chances in the TDF"

well at least this year he­ doesn't have to belittle and backstab his own team­ mate since he has built another team of slaves to do­ his bidding. But without his usual advantage in the TTT­ I can't see him winning. Thank goodness.

If Armstrong does well at the TdF it will be a travesty­ for the sport - that he can come in a yet again throw­ his weight around would not be a good thing. It's­ also freakin tiresome all the coverage that he gets at­ the cost of other deserving riders.

Let's hope­ this years race throws up some new exciting riders.

chem452002 makes some great points. I wonder if­ accidents could play a part in this yrs TdF, i really­ hope not. I think Contador will be too strong for­ everyone altho i hope not. Would love to see­ Armstrong win it, this year will see him give it is­ all....his prep has been good so there are no excuses.­ Wiggo, hope he's on the podium but he'll be­ more of a marked man now, and not sure about his form.­ I for one, cannot wait as it could be 1 of about 5­ riders!

Franck Schleck wins a stage race in the final TT? Have­ we all just entered the twilight zone? Still not­ convinced the guy who finished 2nd will be a threat at­ the Tour, but who knows