Tomorrow's Wall Street Journal
Comments
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BikingBernie wrote:
The sales figures on sites like Amazon.com clearly show that if you want to make money selling book about the like of Armstrong the way to do it is not to write a doping expose, but rather to write something to help all the fan-boys maintain their delusions...dennisn wrote:When I first heard about him it struck me that he was another writer making a living writing about the lives of big time celeb's. Which, by the way, holds about zero interest for me. Although as far as book sales go, it seems that bunches of people love that kind of stuff.
Bio's or autobio's. Just not my style of reading material.
I think LA is the kind of guy that is loved "over here" and the guy you love to hate "over there". So to speak.
Some of my friends, who know I read a lot, have asked me if I've read Lance's book.
When I say no they are very quick to point out how inspirational it was to them. And these
people are not cyclist's. Not sure what that means. I suppose I'll have to give it a shot one of these days. Maybe even Kimmages book. For comparison purposes only of course.0 -
dennisisn wrote:
Bio's or autobio's. Just not my style of reading material.
I think LA is the kind of guy that is loved "over here" and the guy you love to hate "over there". So to speak.
Some of my friends, who know I read a lot, have asked me if I've read Lance's book.
When I say no they are very quick to point out how inspirational it was to them. And these
people are not cyclist's. Not sure what that means. I suppose I'll have to give it a shot one of these days. Maybe even Kimmages book. For comparison purposes only of course.
You should have stopped at your last post :roll:
Your over here/over there thing is pure fantasy, I'm afraid. As you can tell from this very forum, he has an adoring public here. If you are unfortunate enough to spend time in the CN Forum Clinic, you'll see there are plenty of US "haters"
There are very clear reasons for the polarisation on this issue & they're not anything to do with nationality....
(& don't bother with the book BTW, it really is turgid & self-consciously "inspiring," there are endless "motivational speakers" who do the same thing much better & endless far better cycling books)0 -
Someone seems to be aware that something is about to break...
NO PRESS BRIEFING FOR RADIOSHACK
Lance Armstrong's team has decided not to have a formal press conference in the days leading up to the Tour de France. Many of the top teams - including Team Sky, HTC-Columbia, Cervélo and Quick Step - have scheduled short question and answer sessions for the press. But Armstrong seems reluctant to engage with the media - except in controlled circumstances. On Thursday night he apparently sat down with three hand-picked reporters presumably deemed suitably on-side to avoid asking any questions with the words 'Floyd Landis' or 'Food and Drug Administration' in them. As he came off the stage at the team presentation yesterday, a journalist from another title introduced himself and asked Armstrong if he could have a minute of his time. "Absolutely not," came the reply.
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/lat ... views.html0 -
The general opinion on LA over here is very positive amongst cyclists and the non-cycling public (when they know who he is). Actually it's also like this in France from my experience.Scottish and British...and a bit French0
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New chapter coming in Armstrong-Landis saga
It's one of the worst-kept secrets in cycling that The Wall Street Journal has been sitting on a big Floyd Landis story for more than a month, having helped relieve the 2006 Tour de France winner (title revoked) of the terrible burden of his own doping secrets.
Now it's official: the WSJ ran a half-page advertisement on page A9 of today's paper, hyping the newspaper's exclusive story that will run in this weekend's edition - just as the Tour de France kicks off in Rotterdam.
"Pro cyclist Floyd Landis saw his career and personal life all but destroyed after a failed drug test cost him his 2006 Tour de France crown," the ad reads under a copy of Landis and Lance Armstrong when they were teammates with the U.S. Postal Service cycling team. "Now, Mr. Landis gives The Wall Street Journal an exclusive tour through what he and others say was a culture of systematic doping in the sport."
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/iteam/ ... stron.html0 -
Can't see him going out with an illness, I'm guessing it'll be more spectacular than that.
He'll be attacked by a fan. With a knife. In the conservatory. And be carried off to hospital on a wave of sympathy and attention.0 -
I wonder how those people will feel when they at last come to the realisation that the whole 'Armstrong myth' was simply the biggest ever, doping-fuelled con-job in sport?dennisn wrote:Some of my friends, who know I read a lot, have asked me if I've read Lance's book. When I say no they are very quick to point out how inspirational it was to them.0 -
I don't want to think about it, Bernie. In fact, I boil with anger at the thought. I used to think that Armstrong's book was given to patients along with the little booklet on how to manage chemo related hair loss.
I feel a rant coming on, I've posted about this before. So I'll shut up. I've just managed to erase several paragraphs of carefully typed drivel seconds before I hit 'post', you'll be relieved to know.
What I do need to know, is what the h*ll I'm going to say to the 35 year old lady with weeks to live, who's presently reading everything he's ever written because she finds him inspiring? And who's excited because she's going to watch her hero in the Tour for the very first time, propped up in her armchair, drinks to sip at her side and liable to be on a morphine pump by the time the Tour hits the third week. She's never heard of Astana, couldn't tell Contador from Cancellara and thinks Chris Hoy should have been picked by 'the British Team'. But she's following every move LA makes.
And I am dreading walking into her house one morning to find that she's just heard he's been arrested/charged or whatever form his fall from grace is going to take.0 -
And whilst I was writing that, this came through on my phone via the comic's twitter-
"If/when you log on tomorrow, be sure to check the Wall Street Journal. Then go out on your bike and remember what a great sport cycling is."
Which is simultaneously ominous yet poignant.0 -
Tusher wrote:Can't see him going out with an illness, I'm guessing it'll be more spectacular than that.
He'll be attacked by a fan. With a knife. In the conservatory. And be carried off to hospital on a wave of sympathy and attention.
I think Chef Duffy might have accidentally used old eggs , hence the probable withdrawing...
(kidding)
I don't think anything will come out of this, UCI will bend every rule there is to protect LA, as they have have done in the past.0 -
I know, Armstrong has a lot to answer for. The way he has split the sport apart in the name of serving his own hate-filled ego is probably the least of his 'sins'...Tusher wrote:I don't want to think about it, Bernie. In fact, I boil with anger at the thought. I used to think that Armstrong's book was given to patients along with the little booklet on how to manage chemo related hair loss.0 -
Tusher wrote:
What I do need to know, is what the h*ll I'm going to say to the 35 year old lady with weeks to live, who's presently reading everything he's ever written because she finds him inspiring? And who's excited because she's going to watch her hero in the Tour for the very first time, propped up in her armchair, drinks to sip at her side and liable to be on a morphine pump by the time the Tour hits the third week. She's never heard of Astana, couldn't tell Contador from Cancellara and thinks Chris Hoy should have been picked by 'the British Team'. But she's following every move LA makes.
And I am dreading walking into her house one morning to find that she's just heard he's been arrested/charged or whatever form his fall from grace is going to take.
Just tell her what a corrupt sport cycling is/was (depending on your opinion), and if LA hadn't won those Tours then they would have gone to the likes of Ullrich, Vino, Mayo or Basso.
Or just tell her that it's all a French conspiracy against him.
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Arkibal wrote:Tusher wrote:Can't see him going out with an illness, I'm guessing it'll be more spectacular than that.
He'll be attacked by a fan. With a knife. In the conservatory. And be carried off to hospital on a wave of sympathy and attention.
I think Chef Duffy might have accidentally used old eggs , hence the probable withdrawing...
(kidding)
I don't think anything will come out of this, UCI will bend every rule there is to protect LA, as they have have done in the past.
The law might not, though.0 -
Fantastically put. I work with people in a similar position (albeit nowhere near as acute) & part of me wishes for Omerta to avoid the car crash that's going to happen. It's just that the rest of me knows that this will just repeat and repeat and repeat until there is a train wreck....Tusher wrote:I don't want to think about it, Bernie. In fact, I boil with anger at the thought. I used to think that Armstrong's book was given to patients along with the little booklet on how to manage chemo related hair loss.
I feel a rant coming on, I've posted about this before. So I'll shut up. I've just managed to erase several paragraphs of carefully typed drivel seconds before I hit 'post', you'll be relieved to know.
What I do need to know, is what the h*ll I'm going to say to the 35 year old lady with weeks to live, who's presently reading everything he's ever written because she finds him inspiring? And who's excited because she's going to watch her hero in the Tour for the very first time, propped up in her armchair, drinks to sip at her side and liable to be on a morphine pump by the time the Tour hits the third week. She's never heard of Astana, couldn't tell Contador from Cancellara and thinks Chris Hoy should have been picked by 'the British Team'. But she's following every move LA makes.
And I am dreading walking into her house one morning to find that she's just heard he's been arrested/charged or whatever form his fall from grace is going to take.
As ever, the real price won't be paid by those who set the thing in motion & profited from it...
I hope your patient gets to enjoy the tour.0 -
It might not be all that. And, LA's got through tough times before, us lot remember it all but not everyone does.0
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BikingBernie wrote:
I wonder how those people will feel when they at last come to the realisation that the whole 'Armstrong myth' was simply the biggest ever, doping-fuelled con-job in sport?dennisn wrote:Some of my friends, who know I read a lot, have asked me if I've read Lance's book. When I say no they are very quick to point out how inspirational it was to them.
Probably about the same as anyone who puts someone on a pedestal only to find out they are, in reality, ONLY human. Much like I'm sure some people on this forum have experienced with various riders.0 -
What a flop then, last year, or a big con. I rode most of the two stages around the Vosges last Tour (eariler the day they rode into Colmar and then part of the day after) and didn’t notice even one inspirational message on the road – admittedly in rained the first day, but not the following day.sagalout wrote:
They did this last year too - it's not newknedlicky wrote:
Nike are also offering a service whereby you can send in a message of hope or inspiration and they will have a machine write it in yellow chalk on the road somewhere along the Tour route and let you know by email the GPS coordinates of where they have written your text. They hope to receive, then write 100,000 texts.whiteboytrash wrote:http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/06/28/daily30.html
Cyclist Lance Armstrong's philanthropic product line— made famous by the iconic, yellow Livestrong bracelets — will hit stores outside of the U.S., U.K., France and Canada Thursday.
If Nike printed on the road as many inspirational messages last year as they hope for this year (100,000), there should have been 30 or so per km, so one every 30 metres!
I think if I lived in some French village through which the Tour later that day passed, and where one morning I just wanted to go to the bakers’ a mile away to buy a couple of baguettes but was confronted with 50 messages written on the road (so as above, one every 30 metres), saying from “All roads that lead to God are good.“ to “Pain is temporary; quitting lasts forever” (Armstrong quote), and both most likely in (to me as a Frenchman) a foreign language (English), I think I’d be fairly annoyed, even though (or maybe because) I don’t understand what the messages say, and even though, if it rains, these ‘foreign’ texts will fortunately be gone in a day or two.
Maybe the annoyance I express is exaggerated and a real Frenchman might have more 'laissez-faire', but somehow I feel an international company doing what it wants and when it wants through my local area is an infringement and a sign of disrespect.0 -
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Wail! It's coming up as unavailable- and I'm too mean to pay.
I've waited up for this as well.0 -
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... oyd+landis
try this
Just basically a rehash of all the leaked emails and other things Landis has come out with. No hard evidence and no one willing to corroborate it seems.
"Chad Gerlach, who rode with the U.S. Postal team before Messrs. Armstrong and Landis were on it, said he's inclined to believe Mr. Landis's account of widespread doping based on what he saw during his own career. "I believe it because I have seen it personally," he said. "I am not ready to out my friends or provide names. I just saw it. It's just a systematic thing."
"Three other former U.S. Postal riders told the Journal in interviews that there was doping on the team during the time Mr. Armstrong was its lead rider, and one of them admitted that he himself had doped. Several other riders said they had never observed such activity during their time with the team."
Interesting about the Trek bikes being sold for cash to fund the doping program though...0 -
Thanks, Joc.
I am oddly relieved that Christian VandeVelde is not mentioned and JV advised Landis to come clean after his positive test.
Hincapie must be worried this time. He must be. He has to be.
Away to read it again.0 -
It's a bit of a damp squib really, almost all rehashed from the original story. The selling bikes thing is very weak, though interesting they got someone from Trek to comment.
The only quote of relevance was "Three other former U.S. Postal riders told the Journal in interviews that there was doping on the team during the time Mr. Armstrong was its lead rider". Safe to assume Frankie Andreu was one.0 -
Mmmmmm. A disappointment, although it is a slow speed train crash and there'll doubtless be more to come.
Would very much have liked to know the names of the three riders.
But then we can all guess.0 -
I'm going to record my views as I read it, flipping between the article and the posting box:
Nice evocative start
Hidden cameras? If you're that paranoid find a broom cupboard (like Boris Becker )
Regardless, I still like Hincapie - those shorts are horrible though
"an operative posing as an autograph-seeking fan to deliver a bag of blood to a rider after a race" - how on earth does that work? Who was the 'fan', David Blaine?
Red Light Jumping - don't do it kids
Don King. Not the boxing guy, surely?
Strippers and coke - I'm not one to cast the first stone
I always read Tim Herman as Tim Henman
WSJ are very formal. Mr This, Mr That
I've stuck patches on my stomach - I'm still smoking though
Andy Rihs looks like Santa gone bad
Armstrong had an apartment in St Moritz - that's new, I think.
Half a litre - that's almost an arm-full
"an eight-day race in France in early March" - why not just say Paris-Nice as well?
"Mr. Landis said, he was in position to win the sixth stage when his carbon-fiber bike frame snapped, nearly sending him over the handlebars." - Maybe French Fighter is right about Treks
"About 60 bikes were not accounted for" - Paul Cuthbert is hoarding them
Don't all teams sell their used bikes?
Landis isn't too good with team banter
Benches on a team bus. Sky would go on strike.
"Phonak, didn't have a doping program" - that goes against internet wisdom
Couldn't you store blood in a tomato juice carton and carry it around in an eski? I'm drinking Bloody Marys ATM
$10,000 for two deliveries? Where do I sign? I used to deliver pizzas for £3 an hour (plus desperate MILF perks - it really does happen)
He's still not explained what happened between stages 16 and 17 in 2006.( However, power data has shown that what he did that day wasn't particularly exceptional).
Vaughters acting as a good friend there IMO.
""If there was ever a time to drink in the morning," he said, "that was it."" - Hockey tours are another one
"With the iconic purple chalice in hand, he walked onto the balcony overlooking his driveway, hoisted the trophy over his head and threw it as hard as he could. It hit the pavement and shattered into hundreds of pieces." - Has he not heard of e-Bay?
"Later, he fell off a ladder while painting his house and injured his leg" - Where there's a blame there's a claim. Contact www.ambulancechasers.com. No Win, No Fee!
"Mr. Landis sat on the deck of a small cabin in the San Jacinto Mountains" - Floyd Landis is the Unabomber.
mmm, Omlette....
So in summary, some meat on the bones but no smoking gun revelations. Armstrong will be able to ride this one out for a while.
I thought the piece was a little low on quotes form Landis - quotes make stories.
I was glad to see there wasn't anything about Barry, White and Zabriskie, who I like and I think have moved on to a better way. And again absolutely nothing about CVV - maybe clean all along.
I can almost taste the disappointment from the CN forum.Twitter: @RichN950 -
What's interesting is that he claims he placed 2nd in the Dauphine without ever doping in his entire life. (And also, that his training with Lance for just "weeks" while drug free is what enabled him to improve enough to place 2nd in the Dauphine as a young pro. just a few weeks and that much improvement drug free and he still was eager (his description) to dope?!0
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Trek accused Lemond of bringing them into disrepute by reselling bikes yet condone the same practice at USPS? I wonder if diverted funds from the sale of brand new team Treks is something Lemond knows about and would have used?0
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Interesting but not the "bomb" IMO. Probably more to come. The "other riders confirmed it" was almost glanced over....
I see a member of the McQuaid clan has one of the bikes.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/spo ... 61694.htmlFckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
Given how quickly BMC suspended Ballan and Santambroggio, I'd say Big George is currently the more likely not to start or finish the Tour, than the Texas mafia.
Is the bike selling a further case of fraud?
One happy owner.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/spo ... 61694.html"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
Blazing Saddles wrote:
Is the bike selling a further case of fraud?
Depends. But what it does do is give a clue for the money trail. 60 bikes would probably bring in about a quarter of a million $'s. It would've been kept off book though so....
But like the man Novitzky said in Balco. it's amazing what people will leave lying around when they think they're untouchableFckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0
