Lance interview in Feb Procycling

pinerellopaul

Thanks Procycling for not quivering and taking the easy option with the interview and letting lance do a PR piece as it seems cycle sport did last month

and sorry Lance but the Forum world is very much the REAL WORLD not the tightly controlled media world you would obviously prefer

colint

Pretty good article I think, fair play to PC for putting the questions, which must have been a bit uncomfortable. LA only really seemed to start squirming on the Caitlin question, but overall come over pretty well I'd say

dave_1

I ca't get cycle mags at the moment, far off the beaten track...but what was LA's explanation of the Don Caitlin testing that has not happend...he's appearing to have used the guy caitlin for PR and then not started what he promised

colint

didn't answer the question basically, pm me your email and I'll scan it over

iainf72

colint wrote:

Pretty good article I think, fair play to PC for putting the questions, which must have been a bit uncomfortable. LA only really seemed to start squirming on the Caitlin question, but overall come over pretty well I'd say

Oh, what was the question? I always have to wait for PC as I buy it in Smiths to read on the train.

Merry Xmas all. I bagged that Bobet book among my lovely gifts.

le_patron

The question was "Why should I take the relationship with Don Catlin seriously, when at the time I'm writing this question you have no legal agreement in place with him ?"

Lance basically says there is no point sitting down with Procycling in if this is the type of question their readers ask....and then rambles on about the blacklist.

Doesn't answer it at all, dismisses it as a 'forum question' and Pete Cossins moves on pretty quickly.

Seemed a pretty reasonable question to me, especially in the light of early days comeback comments about transparency etc.

iainf72

Cheers Patron.

Surely you'd bat away a question like that by saying "oh, I know, my bad, I need to get a sit down with Don, but Damsgaard and the UCI are testing me loads already"

Quite looking forward to reading it now.

colint

It was the one point in the interview were, even as a self confessed lance fan, you start to feel really uncomfortable. He defends as "Ok, enough of the drug questions", but he could have handled it way better

campagchris

I think he threw the toys out of the pram

andyp

He threw his toys ouf of the pram after Iain's question. Luckily for you Iain you're described as coming from London so he's got a lot of work to do before he can track you down.

I like to think his mood had changed after my question which preceeded Iain's. LA won't be consulting with Michele Ferrari. Which begs the question, why not? If he is such a great coach then surely you'd want him advising you. Unless of course you only did so previously to enhance your performance illegally.

andyp

P.S. We're all clueless apparently and know nothing about cycling.

colint

didn't he say he wouldn't deal with him again after the conviction ?

iainf72

andyp wrote:

He threw his toys ouf of the pram after Iain's question. Luckily for you Iain you're described as coming from London so he's got a lot of work to do before he can track you down.

Would it be madness after I read the magazine to contact him via Twitter and ask why he didn't answer my question?

colint

yes, but too tempting not too

iainf72

andyp wrote:

P.S. We're all clueless apparently and know nothing about cycling.

I reckon most of the regulars here could take him in a cycling quiz.

Mind you, it was only 6 or 7 months ago when he "wasn't engaged" about cycling, eh?

blazing_saddles

I think there is one aspect of this cycling lark, he's got us stumped on. :roll:

andrewgturnbull

iainf72 wrote:

andyp wrote:

He threw his toys ouf of the pram after Iain's question. Luckily for you Iain you're described as coming from London so he's got a lot of work to do before he can track you down.

Would it be madness after I read the magazine to contact him via Twitter and ask why he didn't answer my question?

Sorry Iain, I think you've been blacklisted!

dave_1

I was fascinated in places by his comments...and IMO he does read what is written on this forum the "this is the shit they sling during the night" is a comment on this forum. I'll enjoy his come back and the trouble his ego will lead him into...also...did you see Contador stood at the side like some grateful domestique in the Astana pic......this is the 3 time grand tour winner of 07-08 and LA is center of the pic...Contador should be center not LA....this is hierarchy in the making..the Chinese would read lots into this formation and who has influence. he also says Contador has some issues over the laws of team work...

il ciclone rosso

As ususal, LA's ego takes center stage. I'm all for a fellow American cleaning up in Europe, but the "cycling world must revolve around me" attitude really wore on my nerves after a while. We all know when someone startes winning a lot, the "Boo's" are sure to start because people naturally like the underdog. However, the attitude of the winner plays a large role in this.
My predictions based on past knowledge and what I've seen/heard:
1. LA will do whatever he feels is in HIS best interest regarding the the blood doping monitoring. Anything's possible at this point.
2. He WILL call the shots at Astana. If he is not the leader for a given race, it will be because HE doesn't feel in form. When he's feeling froggy, he WILL be the leader. What Al, Levi, Andreas & Co. think won't matter.
3. If he isn't the leader, he won't do the race. When's the last time LA finished a race he came to win, but where he ended up not being the strongest rider?
4. If the dominating wins don't come after the first few races, he will hang it up claiming he's too old/didn't have time to get into proper form/lost motivation/whatever and that will be that. Remember, it's all about him winning in dominating fashion. Of course, since the peloton is now cleaner (we're told) than in his heyday, the wins should still be there and maybe by an even bigger margin.

I actually do respect LA for his TDF wins and also his classics wins. However, IMO, it's not only how often you win, but also the manner (and attitude) in which you do it.

On the positive side, he has raised cycling awareness, increased its popularity (in the US) and done good things for cancer - and I applaud him for that. I also like the busy race schedule he has put together for '09. One of the biggest complaints was that you only saw him race a few weeks a year. This schedule makes him much more visible, and if he does well in the races (not necessarily wins them all, but does well) it will go a long way towards getting respect from the people comparing him to Merckx, Hinault, etc.
I hope Lance proves my predictions wrong; if he does, not only I but a large portion of the cycling community will respect him much more as a result.

Moomaloid

What annoys me the most about his disregarding of Iain's question and comments about us on this forum is that what he needs to realize is, we are the true, some might say 'hardcore' fans that really care about our sport enough to discuss it on forums. I certainly don't wanna spend hours on my computer discussing doping etc, but I do expect someone of his stature to answer a question like that. Jeez can u imagine if he'd been asked to answer some of Iain's other questions! LOL

And this is where Lance fails in a major way. His attitude towards the true/hardcore cycling fan, that dares to question, stinks. We are the people that lend our support to the professional side of the sport, at a time when not many people would. We were still here when he left, and we'll still be here when he's gone again, and his comments, for me are hard to swallow. Those rose tinted specs of his must be huge...

iainf72

Does Lance think Pete Cossins just turned up with any and all questions? No, he edited them down and I would suspect he considered the questions he asked valid.

The interview took place in Tenerife, no? My question was about Catlin. During the same time period it's reported he avoided a drug test.

I think we should claim it as a victory. And he was beaten by a fat bloke.

dave_1

iainf72 wrote:

Does Lance think Pete Cossins just turned up with any and all questions? No, he edited them down and I would suspect he considered the questions he asked valid.

The interview took place in Tenerife, no? My question was about Catlin. During the same time period it's reported he avoided a drug test.

I think we should claim it as a victory. And he was beaten by a fat bloke.

the source for this avoided test is ...well...where else has it been reported? your question to LA was good but ...a slighty softer version would also have done as we still don't have a clue why he is not working with Caitlin...but your question needed asked...but LA shut it down...confontational after a softer question would have been perhaps a better way to get an answer

iainf72

Do we really care what hethinks anymore?

He's clearly not open or transparent. Lance v3 is the same as Lance v2. Maybe even worse.

dave_1

iainf72 wrote:

Do we really care what hethinks anymore?

He's clearly not open or transparent. Lance v3 is the same as Lance v2. Maybe even worse.

Would still have been good to trap him.....you have changed... forgiving of Tyler some years back and lBasso ...LA not. I can't stand LA now

edit-but look forward to great batttles he will be in during 09

blazing_saddles

If he can disregard Don Catlin's questions, then Iain is in good company.
I don't give a rats ass if he reads this forum.
He's clearly obssessed with what people think about him, but has no intention of changing anything.
So, what's the point?
He's big enough to massage his own ego, without needing an anal kissing from the cynics, here.

I haven't seen another source besides La Marca, on his dodging of Don, either.
Yet, if he wants to have good things said about him, here, he knows what he has to do.

pb21

A quote from http://www.dickipedia.org/dick.php?titl ... _Armstrong

'cycling is arguably the world’s gayest sport, evinced by the vast quantity of Spandex and the fact that so many French people love it'

moray_gub

Moomaloid wrote:

What annoys me the most about his disregarding of Iain's question and comments about us on this forum is that what he needs to realize is, we are the true, ..

I think Lance will get along just fine without realizing that YOU are a true hardcore fan ..........whatever that is.


MG

moray_gub

iainf72 wrote:

Do we really care what hethinks anymore?
e.

I think you do care in fact i think you care to a great degree, after all you said you were finished with posting here when he announced his return. Now you and others positively foam at the mouth when Lance and his comments or lack of them are the subject matter.

MG

Kléber

Iain seems to have asked a reasonable question. Armstrong seems to have ducked it.

Since we're talking about a forum member and the most recognisable name in road cycling, it would be fair for people on this cycling forum to debate it. Or at least I'd like to hope so...

iainf72

Moray Gub wrote:

I think you do care in fact i think you care to a great degree, after all you said you were finished with posting here when he announced his return. Now you and others positively foam at the mouth when Lance and his comments or lack of them are the subject matter.

Don't his actions seem to be at odds with his words? He's not transparent or available. I posed a very reasonable question and he refused to answer it calling me and my kind sad losers (that may not be true, I've not seen the article)

I don't care what he says now to be honest however I will continue pointing out the nonsense and spin coming from his camp. People can make up their own minds. But in my mind, I can't see how even the most supportive Lance fan can look at a situation where Lance said Catlin would prove how credible he was yet he had not entered into a formal agreement with him as acceptable.

YMMV.

iainf72

Does my question get me some kind of special BR title?

iainf72- Angered Lance with a keyboard