25 thoughts on “Lance Armstrong, Tour Down Under + Tour De San Luis – The GCN Show Ep. 107”
A few years ago I felt anything but empathy towards Lance Armstrong,
however over time I’ve started to mellow a bit towards him. I’ve been
thinking what would i do in his situation and every other cyclist who doped
in that era?, i’d love to say i wouldn’t dope but i’m not so sure about
that. Why be cheated out of a career when you could just join in?
The flip side however is the fact that not everyone doped, some people rode
clean and this can’t be ignored. Its horrifying to imagine the bullying of
people like Bassons and Simeoni must have undergone in this era just
because they had the bravery to stand up. Also its unfair i think to say
“everyone doped” therefore it was fair. There is no way that doping has a
uniform effect on athlete’s and their performance as their are so many
variables.
The only thing cycling needs from Lance now is information, after the day
he testify’s he becomes irrelevant. Yet another however though is why
should he be made the scapegoat for all of cycling. He is stripped of his
tour de france titles but people who have confessed, zabel, riis, virenque,
ulrich (to a point) get to keeps theirs. I’m not really trying to stand up
for Lance but i think the punishment needs to handed equally.
My final point is why not allow him to run and ride charity events. Let him
raise money for cancer awareness i cant see any harm in that whatsoever.
Just keep him out of properly sanctioned events.
just my two penneth’
A suggestion for next week’s extreme corner, Richard Hammond crashing a
Pinarello Dogma in St. Petersburg on this weeks Top Gear. He fell while
crossing some tram tracks. He should have watched the “How to Bunny Hop
Like A Pro” video on GCN, or “How to Change Your Rear Derailleur” or ….
he should just subscribe to GCN.
Caption: “Even with this ice I’m still not as cool as Dan Lloyd” :'(
The GCN Show is here with all the latest from the Tour Down Under, Tour de
San Luis and the recent cyclocross World Cup.
We had a bit of a Stop! Press! moment yesterday after Lance Armstrong
appeared in the news again when he gave his first in-depth interview since
appearing on Oprah.
Let us know your thoughts on all the week’s events in the comments and
don’t forget to LIKE and SHARE this video!
Simon Richardson, so cool he tucks his hoodie into his jeans
The GCN Show is here with all the latest from the Tour Down Under, Tour de
San Luis and the recent cyclocross World Cup.
We had a bit of a Stop! Press! moment yesterday after Lance Armstrong
appeared in the news again when he gave his first in-depth interview since
appearing on Oprah.
Let us know your thoughts on all the week’s events in the comments and
don’t forget to LIKE and SHARE this video!
Lance Armstrong: I think they were all doing it back then, so i don’t
really think he was cheating compared to all of the others. I think he was
definitely the biggest a-hole of all of them though and that’s what pissed
everyone off. I think he’s being completely honest now when he says he
would probably do it again, if he was dropped back in time and I think that
proves how much of an a-hole he is because he knows that’s not what
everyone wants to hear… all of the people that have been “forgiven” have
said they were sorry and they thrown themselves on the mercy of the
people… he’s too much of an a-hole to realize that and he can’t bring
himself to say that.
A mix of really long San Remo distance followed by short 80-90k tour stages
would make some very interesting racing!
Regarding race lengths, I agree with Dan. I think it would add a great
dimension to the race to lengthen and shorten stages to see who can adapt
to them better. Nowadays, it’s really just “ride your bike in that
direction for 5 hours then stop”. It’s almost like watching a basketball
game, you only need to catch the last few minutes to see a really good
game. With exception to the Classics, I only really watch the last 20 Ks of
any race, because I’d be seeing the same thing on the next day/stage.
Do you guys have Instagram??? If you don’t get it
That Bontrager Ballista helmet looks the goods.
5:00 MISTAKE Si said me and Tom, not Tom and I
Seriously, if Simon is continuing wearing socks like this, you have to make
a video about how not to dress while cycling with featuring his socks :D
This is a complaint about saddle bags.
I hate saddle bags!
Why?
1) They make my bike look ugly
2) They’re super mega annoying when bunny hopping (seriously, they make
bizarre noises against the saddle)
3) And my particular model (a specialized with velcro straps) keeps falling
off even after going ten times to my local bike shop and asking why
What do I have in my saddle bag?
1 spare inner tube
1 tire leaver
1 pump
2 CO2 cans
1 very light multitool
& parktool patches
Are the stuff in my saddle bag too heavy for it?
I have no idea
What other options do I have?
1) Change saddle bag (yes but no because I hate saddle bags)
2) Put only the spare inner tube + tire leaver + pump + 1 CO2 can in my
back pocket (yes maybe for short rides but for longer ones I find it too
heavy and what if I get two punctures? haha fucked.)
Suggestions and thoughts are more than welcomed!
+Global Cycling Network Jens had a totally different for his hour record
Not to get all Descartes-y on everyone, but we are all (myself included),
the root of the problem. No one wants Armstrong to just go away and slide
under a rock more than me, but the fact that we all (again, me included),
keep talking about him — even in reaction to some stupid, revenue
generating press coverage — does nothing but to feed his ego and fan the
flames of a continued dialog about that shithead. Success would be when the
stupid press prints an article about him or mentions him, NO ONE in the
global cycling community comments on it or Facebook “likes” it — we all
just say and do nothing. THEN, he might just go away.
That was a nice try guys! Yeowart is my surname and is pronounced Ya-wert
:-)
Not having Horner at the Tour of CA was a stupendously stupid decision. Of
course he’s a previous GC winner of the race…of course he’s the only
active US rider to win a grand tour. But, in and environment with
diminishing major name sponsors it was a huge management failure to exclude
a team with two big name sponsors (Safeway / Airgas) that are just entering
the pro cycling market. Put all this together and one has to seriously
question the race organizers priorities. What were they thinking?
Armstrong – People are being unfair to me, I can’t raise money for
charity, I tried to apologies but it’s their fault for not accepting my
apology. Yeah, I’d do it again. Shut up! I think the media should stop
giving him attention.
Short stages, fine, but dead stages? The final stage of a three week tour
is a procession and that’s fine but the final stage of the TDU was a waste
of time. You should be made to defend a 2 sec lead, there should be time
bonuses.
The dope side of l.a. I can deal with, that era was something else. I feel
there are still problems in the sport. I can deal with that. But the things
that self serving prick did to so many people for so long. Why would
anybody overlook that? I didn’t watch the vid. I wouldn’t lower myself. If
GCN is going to embrace that worthless bastard in hopes of increased views
and or viewers, you will have shown me that you’re not far removed from
him, and I sure as hell won’t subscribe. Did peek at Alberto’s Tarmac, very
nice (I have an 09). You have many good vids.
It’s not just that Lance doped but that he viciously destroyed the
reputations of others while he did it, very sociopathic. Most cyclist of
that era doped, and it was not a level playing field, the bigger, better
paid teams, got better doctors and better stuff; US Postal and Radio Shack
were the biggest, and Lance held the greatest sway on both teams! Doping,
can be forgiven, destroying others in the process, and, by inference, being
willing to do it again; given similar situations, this guy is beyond
redemption.
Lance is having a moral mental breakdown. He wants to shine the light to
the real public that everyone at that level is on the gear. Yeah go tell me
how im not as good as them thats why i pull the doping card but its true.
ACtually its not even unfair because everyone at that level is doping
anyway, everyone in the sport knows it, only the general public that only
watches cycling in TDF season when theres nothing else on the teli. It’s a
business. They will do anything they can to have an edge and make the
money. The same people saying those pros dont dope also say that USA went
to the middle east ‘for peace’ and not oil. They are consumed with medias
lies.
+Global Cycling Network Hey guys! A while back you showcased a cool tech of
the week – a bike clamp that you just bolted to the wall. Can’t seem to
remember the name of the damn thing though… Think you can help out? :)
+Global Cycling Network Any word on which GCN presenters will be at the
Tour of California?
Armstrong? Ego issues maybe. Doesn’t feel good if he remains unforgiven,
forgotten. Quite sad really, I for one wish he hadn’t doped, it made him
fall from huge hero to big zero; the lies, the deceit, the arrogance to be
so dishonest yet believe yourself to be right. Win the tour 7 times,
imagine if had done that and wasn’t doping. Many would like to know how
good was he really, could he have been good enough to win 7 if nobody was
doping.
Horner? Who? Oh, Horner…He’s done, isn’t he? Not yet, huh.
A few years ago I felt anything but empathy towards Lance Armstrong,
however over time I’ve started to mellow a bit towards him. I’ve been
thinking what would i do in his situation and every other cyclist who doped
in that era?, i’d love to say i wouldn’t dope but i’m not so sure about
that. Why be cheated out of a career when you could just join in?
The flip side however is the fact that not everyone doped, some people rode
clean and this can’t be ignored. Its horrifying to imagine the bullying of
people like Bassons and Simeoni must have undergone in this era just
because they had the bravery to stand up. Also its unfair i think to say
“everyone doped” therefore it was fair. There is no way that doping has a
uniform effect on athlete’s and their performance as their are so many
variables.
The only thing cycling needs from Lance now is information, after the day
he testify’s he becomes irrelevant. Yet another however though is why
should he be made the scapegoat for all of cycling. He is stripped of his
tour de france titles but people who have confessed, zabel, riis, virenque,
ulrich (to a point) get to keeps theirs. I’m not really trying to stand up
for Lance but i think the punishment needs to handed equally.
My final point is why not allow him to run and ride charity events. Let him
raise money for cancer awareness i cant see any harm in that whatsoever.
Just keep him out of properly sanctioned events.
just my two penneth’
A suggestion for next week’s extreme corner, Richard Hammond crashing a
Pinarello Dogma in St. Petersburg on this weeks Top Gear. He fell while
crossing some tram tracks. He should have watched the “How to Bunny Hop
Like A Pro” video on GCN, or “How to Change Your Rear Derailleur” or ….
he should just subscribe to GCN.
Caption: “Even with this ice I’m still not as cool as Dan Lloyd” :'(
The GCN Show is here with all the latest from the Tour Down Under, Tour de
San Luis and the recent cyclocross World Cup.
We had a bit of a Stop! Press! moment yesterday after Lance Armstrong
appeared in the news again when he gave his first in-depth interview since
appearing on Oprah.
Let us know your thoughts on all the week’s events in the comments and
don’t forget to LIKE and SHARE this video!
Simon Richardson, so cool he tucks his hoodie into his jeans
The GCN Show is here with all the latest from the Tour Down Under, Tour de
San Luis and the recent cyclocross World Cup.
We had a bit of a Stop! Press! moment yesterday after Lance Armstrong
appeared in the news again when he gave his first in-depth interview since
appearing on Oprah.
Let us know your thoughts on all the week’s events in the comments and
don’t forget to LIKE and SHARE this video!
Lance Armstrong: I think they were all doing it back then, so i don’t
really think he was cheating compared to all of the others. I think he was
definitely the biggest a-hole of all of them though and that’s what pissed
everyone off. I think he’s being completely honest now when he says he
would probably do it again, if he was dropped back in time and I think that
proves how much of an a-hole he is because he knows that’s not what
everyone wants to hear… all of the people that have been “forgiven” have
said they were sorry and they thrown themselves on the mercy of the
people… he’s too much of an a-hole to realize that and he can’t bring
himself to say that.
A mix of really long San Remo distance followed by short 80-90k tour stages
would make some very interesting racing!
Regarding race lengths, I agree with Dan. I think it would add a great
dimension to the race to lengthen and shorten stages to see who can adapt
to them better. Nowadays, it’s really just “ride your bike in that
direction for 5 hours then stop”. It’s almost like watching a basketball
game, you only need to catch the last few minutes to see a really good
game. With exception to the Classics, I only really watch the last 20 Ks of
any race, because I’d be seeing the same thing on the next day/stage.
Do you guys have Instagram??? If you don’t get it
That Bontrager Ballista helmet looks the goods.
5:00 MISTAKE Si said me and Tom, not Tom and I
Seriously, if Simon is continuing wearing socks like this, you have to make
a video about how not to dress while cycling with featuring his socks :D
This is a complaint about saddle bags.
I hate saddle bags!
Why?
1) They make my bike look ugly
2) They’re super mega annoying when bunny hopping (seriously, they make
bizarre noises against the saddle)
3) And my particular model (a specialized with velcro straps) keeps falling
off even after going ten times to my local bike shop and asking why
What do I have in my saddle bag?
1 spare inner tube
1 tire leaver
1 pump
2 CO2 cans
1 very light multitool
& parktool patches
Are the stuff in my saddle bag too heavy for it?
I have no idea
What other options do I have?
1) Change saddle bag (yes but no because I hate saddle bags)
2) Put only the spare inner tube + tire leaver + pump + 1 CO2 can in my
back pocket (yes maybe for short rides but for longer ones I find it too
heavy and what if I get two punctures? haha fucked.)
Suggestions and thoughts are more than welcomed!
+Global Cycling Network Jens had a totally different for his hour record
Not to get all Descartes-y on everyone, but we are all (myself included),
the root of the problem. No one wants Armstrong to just go away and slide
under a rock more than me, but the fact that we all (again, me included),
keep talking about him — even in reaction to some stupid, revenue
generating press coverage — does nothing but to feed his ego and fan the
flames of a continued dialog about that shithead. Success would be when the
stupid press prints an article about him or mentions him, NO ONE in the
global cycling community comments on it or Facebook “likes” it — we all
just say and do nothing. THEN, he might just go away.
That was a nice try guys! Yeowart is my surname and is pronounced Ya-wert
:-)
Not having Horner at the Tour of CA was a stupendously stupid decision. Of
course he’s a previous GC winner of the race…of course he’s the only
active US rider to win a grand tour. But, in and environment with
diminishing major name sponsors it was a huge management failure to exclude
a team with two big name sponsors (Safeway / Airgas) that are just entering
the pro cycling market. Put all this together and one has to seriously
question the race organizers priorities. What were they thinking?
Armstrong – People are being unfair to me, I can’t raise money for
charity, I tried to apologies but it’s their fault for not accepting my
apology. Yeah, I’d do it again. Shut up! I think the media should stop
giving him attention.
Short stages, fine, but dead stages? The final stage of a three week tour
is a procession and that’s fine but the final stage of the TDU was a waste
of time. You should be made to defend a 2 sec lead, there should be time
bonuses.
The dope side of l.a. I can deal with, that era was something else. I feel
there are still problems in the sport. I can deal with that. But the things
that self serving prick did to so many people for so long. Why would
anybody overlook that? I didn’t watch the vid. I wouldn’t lower myself. If
GCN is going to embrace that worthless bastard in hopes of increased views
and or viewers, you will have shown me that you’re not far removed from
him, and I sure as hell won’t subscribe. Did peek at Alberto’s Tarmac, very
nice (I have an 09). You have many good vids.
It’s not just that Lance doped but that he viciously destroyed the
reputations of others while he did it, very sociopathic. Most cyclist of
that era doped, and it was not a level playing field, the bigger, better
paid teams, got better doctors and better stuff; US Postal and Radio Shack
were the biggest, and Lance held the greatest sway on both teams! Doping,
can be forgiven, destroying others in the process, and, by inference, being
willing to do it again; given similar situations, this guy is beyond
redemption.
Lance is having a moral mental breakdown. He wants to shine the light to
the real public that everyone at that level is on the gear. Yeah go tell me
how im not as good as them thats why i pull the doping card but its true.
ACtually its not even unfair because everyone at that level is doping
anyway, everyone in the sport knows it, only the general public that only
watches cycling in TDF season when theres nothing else on the teli. It’s a
business. They will do anything they can to have an edge and make the
money. The same people saying those pros dont dope also say that USA went
to the middle east ‘for peace’ and not oil. They are consumed with medias
lies.
+Global Cycling Network Hey guys! A while back you showcased a cool tech of
the week – a bike clamp that you just bolted to the wall. Can’t seem to
remember the name of the damn thing though… Think you can help out? :)
+Global Cycling Network Any word on which GCN presenters will be at the
Tour of California?
Armstrong? Ego issues maybe. Doesn’t feel good if he remains unforgiven,
forgotten. Quite sad really, I for one wish he hadn’t doped, it made him
fall from huge hero to big zero; the lies, the deceit, the arrogance to be
so dishonest yet believe yourself to be right. Win the tour 7 times,
imagine if had done that and wasn’t doping. Many would like to know how
good was he really, could he have been good enough to win 7 if nobody was
doping.
Horner? Who? Oh, Horner…He’s done, isn’t he? Not yet, huh.