lance armstrong

Contador Gets Two Year Ban from Cycling While Armstrong Walks

Over the weekend, two conclusions to arguably two of the biggest stories in professional cycling doping scandals finally came to an end. Alberto Contador received a 2 year ban from cycling for his positive test for clenbuterol at the 2010 Tour de France and Lance Armstrong’s two year long investigation into doping was closed with no files charged.

Alberto Contador is No Longer 2010 Tour Champ

CAS announced on today that it had upheld the UCI and WADA’s joint appeal against the Spanish Cycling Federation’s (RFEC) decision not to suspend Contador. One, to try to blame the clenbuterol on meat with Contador was a joke at best. As much as the teams watch what these guys are taking into their bodies, I highly doubt they do not know the exact weight of every single scrap of food and where it came from. He got caught. He tried to weasel his way out of it and now it is over.

Contador will lose all results dating back to the 2010 Tour de France including his Giro d’Italia win. This means Andy Schleck is crowned winner of the 2010 Tour, but I highly doubt this is the way he wanted to grab that title.

Armstrong Federal Case Officially Closed

With Lance, the man behind the legend has been under investigation for 2 years pending fellow cyclists allegations of doping primarily started by everyone’s favorite cyclist, Floyd Landis. Although he was never positively tested, part of me looks back at those races and thinks that there is no possible way that he was dominating like he was without it. Everyone else was as we know now, so he was killing the pack free of any help? I would like to think that is true, but even if he was…he still beat everyone else that was too. The playing field was either level or extremely weighted to the competition and he won either way.

Lance might still not be out of the woods as this was the USADA might be looking to file doping charges of their own pending evidence found in the federal case. They are probably not going to find much there as the case was closed for a reason.

But…Why do I not care?

My thoughts? I don’t care. I am just glad it is over (although it could far from be actually over). The stain that these two cases have left on the sport of professional cycling is going to be difficult to recover from. In an age where the UCI is starting to look for outside funding for their complete lack of solid funding sources, big advertisers pulling support and the recent decrease of supported teams, the last thing the sport of professional cycling needs is more drama and bad press.

Some would argue that the recent issues outside of doping allegations is a direct effect of the scandals, but the reality is that cycling is getting more expensive and there is less money coming in. I also think people are sick and tired of hearing about it. While it may have caused a wave of increased viewers in the beginning, those same viewers are off to the next drama in some other professional arena.

It is time to get back to what the sport really is…bike racing around the world. The sport needs to get back to having hero’s and not “win at all cost” racers who cut corners and lie to get ahead. What happened to true spirit of bike racing? Was it never really there to begin with and the general public just didn’t know about it?

The big issue arises when these types of scandals make cyclists actually not want to watch…which is my feeling now. What good is it to watch the Grand Tours if the winner is just going to be stripped of the title years down the road because they cheated? Do you really think that doping is stopping just because they are watching it closer? It is just going further underground and they are finding new ways to get that artificial edge. The court cases didn’t change a thing. It just made them be even more careful.

As a viewer and cyclist, I just want exciting, competitive bike racing. I want riders that lead by example instead of ones that are looking to just not get caught. Is that too much to ask? It is looking that way lately, but I hold out hope. All the sport really needs is a clean rider with a successful track record to stand up and be the new face of professional cycling.

Who is that going to be? I am not sure…but it needs to happen soon.

Is Doping Killing The Sport Of Cycling?

Unless you have been living under a rock the past couple of years, doping has been at the center of the sport of cycling. From from the Floyd Landis drama with his own problems in 2006 Tour de France to his allegations and random press releases today…and fast forwarding to recent news of Alberto Contador getting stripped of his 2010 Tour de France victory with suspension from the sport for a year…has doping news taken over the sport of cycling and how does that affect us all?

Is Doping Killing The Sport Of Cycling?

Doping in professional sports is nothing new. With the pressure to perform at a level that is almost not human, today’s athletes are expected to put up bigger stats and faster times each and every year. You do not have to be a Harvard grad doctor to figure out that there has to be a limit to what the human body can accomplish without some kind of artificial enhancement. As the general public, owners, sponsors, etc. demands more and agencies crack down on illegal substances, teams and athletes just find better and smarter ways to hide the fact that their athlete is artificially enhanced.

I personally believe this is wrong, but it is the system we have setup over time and it is going to be a hard thing to break. As we clean up sports, stats and performances will fall and the fallout from that will not sit well with the stat hungry even if it is better in the long run for the sports and the athletes.

Let’s take a look at the three most high profile cases going on currently…

Floyd Landis – The Washed Up Has Been

Floyd Landis made history by getting his 2006 Tour de France victory stripped away from him for positive blood tests for an abnormally high T/E ratio. With his fans contributing millions to help in his court defense, Floyd kept to the story that he never doped…until recently. Now, in an attempt to keep the lime light for a little bit longer as a washed up cyclist, Floyd Landis is now admitting that he doped in an attempt to take down Lance Armstrong in the process.

In my opinion, Floyd Landis just needs to go away as he is doing more harm to the sport and the process of the cleanup than good. Floyd Landis is a douche-bag thief. He purposely stole money from his fans to aid in his defense that was a compete lie. Every time that guy gets up to talk about doping in the sport, his motives are not as pure as he claims. He is looking to be in front of a camera and take out a vendetta against Armstrong in the process.

No one is arguing that professional cycling needs to be cleaned up, but Floyd Landis is the last one that should be leading the charge. With zero credibility and his constant need to be in the news, Floyd Landis is the worst thing that has ever happened to the sport of professional cycling.

Lance Armstrong – The People’s Hero

With allegations flying from Landis and other areas of the world, Lance Armstrong and his 7 Tour victories are under fire. Lance Armstrong is the people’s hero as a cancer survivor and has brought more positive press to the sport of professional cycling than any other rider. You either love him or hate him but you can not deny what he has done for the sport.

Did Lance Armstrong dope during his Tour victories? We don’t really know. We do know that in his recent comeback he was the most tested rider in the Tour and all of those tests came up clean. Of course, he didn’t win those Tours but that could also be because of his age, so there isn’t any real, clean cut answer.

As a cyclist, I want the dream to be true. With one of the greatest comeback stories of all time (cancer to Tour winnings), Lance Armstrong has done more positive things for the sport of cycling than any other single rider. In the cycling world, he is Michael Jordan. If the allegations are true, it will put a huge stain on the sport for years to come, and that will be a difficult thing to come back from.

If he did…he does need to be caught. If he didn’t…this is a phishing expedition that is hurting the sport because of a few riders/coaches that just can’t let things go. Lance Armstrong continues to defend his victories and clean blood…I personally hope he is telling the truth as the fallout could be catastrophic for the sport of cycling.

Alberto Contador – The Natural Talent

Alberto Contador is not the most loved champion of the Tour de France or rider in professional cycling. Arguably the best natural talent that has ever hit the sport, Contador was recently suspended for one year and stripped of his 2010 Tour victory due to an increased amount of clenbuterol in his blood stream from a test done on July 21st during the Tour. Contador is claiming that the increased level was due to a piece of beef that was flown in from Spain and that was the source of the increased levels.

Do I think Contador was heavily doping during the 2010 Tour? Probably not…but he most likely looked for an edge over Andy Schleck and got caught. With modern techniques, teams are finding ways to get an edge over the competition that are getting even harder to trace. Alberto Contador is probably the best rider in professional cycling currently and that extra edge guaranteed his ability to ride away on the steep climbs of the Tour. There was a marked difference in performance ability between stages, so unless that was purely an act and a mind game…something had to be introduced that caused that big of a positive swing.

Since UCI can’t prove how the substance enter his system and since it was a low amount, they only suspended him for one year.

How Does This Affect Our Sport?

No good comes out of this for anyone involved. Young racers see doping as the only way to get the edge as pro’s continue to use banned substances to win and the outward appearance of professional cycling continues to get pulled through the mud much like the scandals that plagued baseball in the US for years.

The doping scandal in cycling that has been the dark cloud over the sport for years needs to go away for the health of the sport. Unfortunately, I believe there will not be clear skies for the foreseeable future. Instead of looking for ways to clean up the sport, everyone is focused on the blame game and teams are looking for ways to beat the system.

Are there good, fast and clean riders on the circuit? Absolutely…but tell me how much press they have gotten over the past couple of years. Are the Andy Schleck’s of the world getting all of the interviews and face time on the camera to put forth a better looking sport? No…the public’s need for increased drama is fueling a story that has no happy ending. Professional cycling needs to be cleaned up and there needs to be even competition between riders, but lately…there has been more money in the negative than the positive.

Professional cycling needs to get back to its core…it needs to get back to the ride.

Lance Armstrong Goes For It…and Fails – Stage 16 – Tour de France

Lance Armstrong set out on Stage 16 of the 2010 Tour de France with one goal in mind, a stage win. With seemingly the worst luck in Tour de France history, Lance Armstrong’s last stand at the Tour has been riddled with mechanicals and a series of wrecks that even baffled the 7 time winner who arguably has the most Tour experience in history. To try to regain composure and go out on a high note, Lance Armstrong wanted a stage win.

The 199.5km stage 16 from Bagneres-de-Luchon to Pau was going to be Armstong’s stage and he made this readily apparent by making the early breakaways. The Lance of old seemed to be in stage 16 as he joined an 8 man breakaway all competing for the win. It all came down to the last 500 meters, but the last push by Pierrick Fedrigo proved to be too much for the veteran and Armstrong will go this Tour without a stage win.

“It was a very, very beautiful day, one of the best,” said Fedrigo. “I can’t say much more. When the group of Contador almost came back to us I attacked because I knew it was my day.”

Lance on his performance on Stage 16:

“It was a tough day. I paid for it at the end,” Armstrong admitted. “I warmed up a little bit before the race and it went right at kilometre zero. 200km at the front took it out of me. I had a no sprint at the end. But I tried.”

“I had this day kind of dog-eared in the book but it was harder than I expected,” he admitted. “I guess I felt better as the race went on. It was tough day for all the peloton. It was hard…It’s been a while since I sprinted. We knew that Fédrigo was the fastest and then Cunego. We tried to catch his wheel. There were some questions whether or not we’d catch Barredo but I was just not quick enough.”

Despite not winning the stage, Armstrong was proud to have made one final flourish, one last show of pride. The attack also meant RadioShack kept the lead in the team classification ahead of Caisse d’Epargne.

“We did what we wanted to do: we tried to win the stage. We maintained team GC and Chris Horner had an amazing race. Caisse d’Epargne had two guys there but that means we’re equal on the day.”

When asked about the Tour de France and his professional cycling career, Lance simply said, “Lance Armstrong is over in about four or five days.”

So what now for Lance Armstrong?

With Andreas Kloden far off in the distance, Lance needs to take a more supportive role for Levi Lepheimer as the remaining days of the Tour de France unfold. That 3rd spot on the podium is still up for grabs, but it is going to take the team effort of Radio Shack to get Levi on the podium in Paris. Up until this point, it has appeared that Armstrong has been saving himself for a chance at winning stage 16. Now that it is over, it is time to put on the supportive role and really crank out a great Tour for Levi and the rest of the Radio Shack team.

If Lance falls to the back of the pack and just hangs out for the remaining stages, this LA supporter will be pretty disappointed.

Results: 2010 Tour de France – Stage 9 Morzine-Avoriaz – Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne

The 204.5km 9th stage of the 2010 Tour de France from Morzine-Avoriaz to Saint Jean de Maurienne marked one of the most exciting stage finishes outside of all out sprints. A breakaway containing Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Farnese Vini), Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux), Luis León Sanchez (Caisse d’Epargne) and Anthony Charteau (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) was almost assured a breakaway success with a run at the finish. Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck, however, had other plans. Closing a several minute gap coming out of the long Cat 1 climb and fast descent, the rival pair closed the gap through the flat finish and caught the lead pack with only a kilometer left to race.

Accomplished sprinter Sandy Casar came out with the stage win and Andy Schleck picked up the yellow jersey in a hair standing finish that had everyone on their toes. You could almost see the “holy s!#t!” look on the breakaway riders faces as Andy Schleck dove to the inside corner in that remaining kilometer.

The exciting end to Stage 9 was proceeded with a brutal climb up Col de la Madeleine where we got to watch the famous pair of climbers (Schleck and Contador) duke it out for this year’s Tour supremacy. The constant attacking back and forth lead to a break up of the overall pack and several chase groups all trying to not lose too much time on the two top contenders of the GC classification.

When the dust settled, Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador showed what it really looks like to have two climbing powerhouses but the hammer down.

“We’re both at about the same level, although now I have a lead of 41secs,” said Schleck, who won the stage to Morzine-Avoriaz on Sunday to close to within 20sec of Evans. “It’s now up to him (Contador) to attack in the Pyrenees.”

“I know what my aim is now, and which wheel I have to follow—Andy Schleck’s. I think he’s the most dangerous,” said Contador, who up until now has been largely unchallenged on the race’s tough climbs. “It was a really epic stage, and the very hard climb to the Madeleine left a lot of people struggling.”

Cadel Evans Loses Big

With Schleck and Contador attacking and then working together to catch the lead group, yellow jersey wearer Cadel Evans lost big. With a fracture elbow, the fast, attacking pace proved to be too much for the veteran and he lost 7:47 in the GC classification putting him out of contention for a win at this year’s Tour. Noticeably shaken and upset at the end of stage 9, Evans still did a great job of carrying the yellow jersey while blue tape held together a battered left arm.

“I’m not at my normal level, but when you’re in the yellow jersey at the Tour whether you’re good or not you have to be there,” said Evans. “I haven’t seen the results yet but I’m pretty sure it’s over for this year.”

Radio Shack Looking Good For High Placement

Levi Leipheimer had a great day in the mountains and was able to gain positioning in the GC standings to cement himself as a possible for the podium in Paris. Team partner, Lance Armstrong, also looked comfortable in stage 9 which begs the question, “Will Lance win a stage in his last Tour de France?”. With a strong showing and not having to worry about overall standings, it looks like Lance Armstrong has a serious ability to get on the top of the podium during a stage at this year’s Tour.

Final Results: Stage 9

1	Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux	5:38:10
2	Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
3	Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
4	Christophe Moreau (Fra) Caisse d’Epargne	0:00:02
5	Anthony Charteau (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
6	Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana
7	Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank
8	Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi	0:00:52
9	Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha	0:02:07
10	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack

GC Standings After Stage 9

1	Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank	43:35:41
2	Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana	0:00:41
3	Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi	0:02:45
4	Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank	0:02:58
5	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:03:31
6	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack	0:03:59
7	Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank	0:04:22
8	Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne	0:04:41
9	Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha	0:05:08
10	Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo	0:05:09

Results: 2010 Tour de France – Stage 8 – Station des Rousses – Morzine-Avoriaz

Stage 8 of this year’s Tour de France promised to be an exciting event. With the GC contenders taking it easy in Stage 7, the steeper slopes of Stage 8 and a rest day on Monday guaranteed that the riders looking for yellow in Paris were going to bring out their climbing legs and start attacking. With everyone betting on an Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong shootout, the day took a very different turn that resulted in a very confident Andy Schleck pulling out the stage win with a very different turn of events in the field.

The 189km stage from Station des Rousses to Marzine Avoriaz marks the first of the tough climbing stages. With climbing powerhouses like Andy Schleck, Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong, this was the first time we are able to see who really has the legs to win this years Tour. With Frank Schleck out of the running for team Saxo Bank with a broken collar bone as he fell victim to the cobblestones, his brother Andy is now picking up the responsibility for Saxo Bank to deliver yellow in Paris and slow down the climbing genius of Alberto Contador. After is strong win in stage 8, Andy Schleck is looking to be the front runner for this years Tour.

“I’m very happy to have won the stage, but we have a strategy and I wanted to stick with it. It’s not the time for experimenting,” said the Saxo Bank climbing specialist. “Maybe I would have taken the yellow jersey, but my aim is to have it when the race finishes in Paris. And to do that, we have to go step by step. It will come.”

“I was hoping it would be decisive, though I was quite nervous this morning,” he added. “I knew it would be a stage where whoever had the legs would be up front. It is in these types of stages that we see the real favorites, the contenders and the others who are struggling. I was right up there 100 percent, both physically and mentally. It’s a great victory for me, but now I’m taking aim at the yellow.”

Stage 8 Seals The Deal For Lance Armstrong

The 2010 Tour de France continues to unload back luck on Lance Armstrong’s last Tour appearance. What started off with a flat at a critical time in the cobblestones has turned into a time gap that can not be recovered after a crash in stage 8. Armstrong suffered from 3 crashes in stage 8 that spelled the end of his yellow jersey contention.

“I had a bad day,” Armstrong told French TV within seconds of crossing the line. “I came around one roundabout and my pedal touched [the curb], then my front tyre rolled off.

“It’s hard to recover from something like that,” he said. “They started the Ramaz pretty hard and I was already suffering. Then it went from bad to worse. It was a bad day. Now I’m going to hang in there and enjoy my last Tour.”

Schleck offered his sympathy to Armstrong. “Lance had a pretty bad crash – he crashed in front of me, and he could do nothing.

“I almost went down with him,” Schleck said. “He came back but he was pretty beaten up. On the [Ramaz], he lost contact with our group. I expected him to be up there in the front.

“To be really honest, I’m a little sorry for him because he really wanted to be good in this last Tour. I think his morale is a little down now.”

A dissappointing end to a fantastic career, Armstrong now has to sit back and give support to his teammate, Levi Leipheimer who sits 8th in the overall GC standings.

After Stage 8, Cadel Evans (BMC) is in yellow.

Next Stage: 204.5km – Morzine-Avoriaz to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne

Stage 8 Final Results

1	Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank	4:54:11
2	Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
3	Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank	0:00:10
4	Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas-Doimo
5	Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana
6	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
7	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
8	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack
9	Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
10	Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank

GC Standings After Stage 8

1	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	37:57:09
2	Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank	0:00:20
3	Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana	0:01:01
4	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:01:03
5	Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank	0:01:10
6	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin – Transitions	0:01:11
7	Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas-Doimo	0:01:45
8	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack	0:02:14
9	Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi	0:02:15
10	Michael Rogers (Aus) Team HTC – Columbia	0:02:31

Results: 2010 Tour de France Stage 7 – Tournus to Station des Rousses

Stage 7 of the 2010 Tour de France marked the first of the climbing stages as the peloton headed into the Alps. What was supposed to be a calmer day of climbing was rocketed forward by team Bbox as they took control of the stage and brought up the average speed.

Things began to get interesting on the day’s penultimate climb, the 15.7km long category 2 Col de la Croix de la Serra, when a group split from the main peloton containing Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), Rafael Valls (Footon Servetto), Thomas Voeckler (Bbox Bouygues Telecom), Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Farnese Vini), Daniel Moreno (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Juan Manuel Garate (Rabobank) and Mathieu Perget (Caisse d’Epargne).

With one final attack, Sylvain Chavanel took control of the stage and put 57 seconds on second place Rafael Valls Ferri (Footon-Servetto) to take the stage victory (his 2nd of this years Tour) and retake the yellow jersey from Fabian Cancellara who lost the main peloton and a lot of time off the field.

“It’s a nice revenge for me,” said Chavanel. “When I won (on Monday) the peloton sat up. People were telling me this morning that I had a good chance of being in the yellow jersey again today, but I didn’t really believe them.”

“In the final my legs were on fire, but I just told myself to keep going,” added Chavanel.

“These kinds of small climbs suit me perfectly, and when I caught up with Jerome he encouraged me to keep going.”

Most of the main contenders for the General Classification held tight in the peloton in preparation for tomorrow’s steep climbs followed by a rest day. Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador held in at the front of the pack and both look rested and ready for tomorrows peak finish.

Tomorrow’s stage (Stage 8) is where we are going to see where the GC contenders really stand. I would expect to see Contador attack and attack hard as the Alps start to get steep. He is going to want to take control of this year’s Tour early and the steep climbs of the Alps is where is climbing ability really shines. Can Armstrong and the rest of the GC contenders match? We’ll have to wait and see…

Next Stage: Stage 8 - Station des Rousses to Morzine-Avoria – 189km

Stage 7 Results

1	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step	4:22:52
2	Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Footon-Servetto	0:00:57
3	Juan Manuel Gárate Cepa (Spa) Rabobank	0:01:27
4	Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	0:01:40
5	Mathieu Perget (Fra) Caisse d’Epargne
6	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Omega Pharma-Lotto
7	Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	0:01:47
8	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin – Transitions
9	Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
10	Eros Capecchi (Ita) Footon-Servetto

General Classification After Stage 7

1	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step	33:01:23
2	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:01:25
3	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin – Transitions	0:01:32
4	Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank	0:01:55
5	Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana	0:02:17
6	Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana	0:02:26
7	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:02:28
8	Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
9	Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin – Transitions	0:02:33
10	Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank	0:02:35

Results: 2010 Tour de France – Stage 3 – Wanze – Arenberg Porte du Hainaut

Stage 3 of the 2010 Tour de France was marked by rough cobblestone that comprised of 13 km of the 207 km stage. With a rough ride ahead and many riders beat up from the slick beginning 2 stages of this years Tour, Stage 3 was primed to separate the men from the boys. Who ended up on top after today’s stage? Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara regained the race leader’s yellow jersey after the third stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday won by Norwegian Thor Hushovd, riding for the Cervelo team.

Much like Stage 2, an early breakaway led by teve Cummings (Team Sky), Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Transitions), Pavel Brutt (Katusha), Pierre Rolland (Bbox Bouygues Telecom), Roger Kluge (Milram), Stéphane Auge (Cofidis) and Imanol Erviti (Caisse d’Epargne) zipped off the front in a speedy opening to the day. Like Stage 2, the breakaway was caught and a split up peloton finished amongst several wrecks on the cobblestone.

One of the biggest time loses in serious GC contention was held by 7 time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong as the rough Stage 3 came right after a hard fall in Stage 2. Finishing in 32th and losing 2:30 off yellow jersey holder Fabian Cancellara after a puncture in Stage 3, Armstrong now has a hard pull to get back up to the front. With the climbing sections of the Tour on the horizon, Lance Armstrong has to hope that his time trial efforts can overcome Alberto Contador’s domination in the mountains if he hopes to have a chance at winning his last Tour de France effort. Armstrong now sits in 18th overall as we head to Stage 4.

The biggest hit of the day still goes to the Saxo Bank team as they lost Frank Schlek to a broken collar bone in Stage 3. Having finished 5th in last years Tour de France, Frank was one of the GC’s top contenters in the 2010 Tour.

Next Stage: Stage 4 – Cambrai Reims 150KM

STAGE 3 RESULTS

1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team
2 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
4 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin – Transitions
5 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank
6 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank
7 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin – Transitions	0:00:53
8 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team
9 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
10 Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana
General classification after stage 3
1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank	14:54:00
2 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:00:23
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:00:39
4 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin – Transitions	0:00:46
5 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step	0:01:01
6 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank	0:01:09
7 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team	0:01:19
8 Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana	0:01:31
9 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana	0:01:40
10 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:01:42

Results: 2010 Tour de France – Stage 2 – Brussels to Spa

It was another wreck filled day for stage 2 of the 2010 Tour de France as many of the big name contenders met the pavement. Lance Armstrong and Andy Schleck both met pavement on the historic hills and descents of the Liege-Bastogne-Liege classics. Armstrong was able to eventually catch back up to the main peloton that called it quits with 15km left in the stage while yellow jersey wearer Fabian Cancellara called it quits after his Saxo Bank teammate Andy Schlek took his dive. Sylvaiin Chavanel went on to take the stage victory while also taking control of the yellow jersey.

With one of the most hair raising and crash filled stages of the Tour in recent memory, the 2010 Tour de France is shaping up to be a nail biter to the very end. On paper, Monday’s hilly, 201-kilometer stage from Brussels to Spa offered a perfect opportunity for riders to gain time as the final 30 km was peppered with hills. Instead, the many in the peloton, including overall contender Andy Schleck, struggled simply not to lose time in the countless crashes on these rain-slicked roads and technical descents.

Lance Armstrong said afterwards it was like there was something in the road. When riders hit the ground they just kept sliding. “It was a bit surreal. Never seen anything like this. It’s funny I had a stange feeling when I woke up today. In moments like this I wonder why I came off the beach.”

“It was impressive,” said Yvon Sanquer, manager of Alberto Contador’s Astana team. “There were bikes, there were motos, a bit of everything, every which way. I saw bikes in one place and their riders in another. Alberto told me that once he fell, he slid for quite awhile just on his glove.”

While Armstrong and Contador both suffered road rash, neither was concerned that it would affect their performance in days to come.

“It was just impossible not to fall,” said Contador. “I went down at about 60 kilometers an hour, just when I thought I might make it past a crash. But I saw riders on the ground at every turn and knew it would be impossible.”

One of the team’s most heavily hit was the American Garmin-Transitions team. Dave Millar crashed three times, Tyler Farrar two times, Robbie Hunter two times, and Christian Vande Velde once.

Next Stage: Wanze – Arenberg Porte du Hainaut (Cobblestone) 207 km

Stage 2 Results

1. Sylvain Chavanel (FRA/QST) (average: 42.9 km/h) 4hr4 0min 48sec

2. Maxime Bouet (FRA/ALM) at 3:56.

3. Fabian Wegmann (GER/MRM) 3:56.

4. Robbie McEwen (AUS/KAT) 3:56.

5. Christian Knees (GER/MRM) 3:56.

6. Jurgen Roelandts (BEL/OLO) 3:56.

7. Thor Hushovd (NOR/CTT) 3:56.

8. Linus Gerdemann (GER/MRM) 3:56.

9. Matthieu Ladagnous (FRA/FDJ) 3:56.

10. Bernhard Eisel (AUT/THR) 3:56.

GC After Stage 2

1. Sylvain Chavanel (FRA/QST) 10hr 01min 25sec

2. Fabian Cancellara (SUI/SAX) at 2:57.

3. Tony Martin (GER/THR) 3:07.

4. David Millar (GBR/GRM) 3:17.

5. Lance Armstrong (USA/RSH) 3:19.

6. Geraint Thomas (GBR/SKY) 3:20.

7. Alberto Contador (ESP/AST) 3:24.

8. Levi Leipheimer (USA/RSH) 3:25.

9. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR/SKY) 3:29.

10. Linus Gerdemann (GER/MRM) 3:32.

2010 Tour de France – Day 1 – Prologue – Rotterdam Time Trial Results

Day 1 of the 2010 Tour de France is complete. With the strongest riders in the world ready for a 3 week fight, the Prologue time trial at Rotterdam gives us a glimpse of what is to come for the 2010 Tour de France.

With wet weather setting in, riders that had hoped for better riding conditions were surprised early with wet roads that started to dry out over the course of the day. Early runner Tony Martin held onto his lead for a full 3 hours before Fabian Cancellara blasted by the finish line with a 10 second advantage putting Martin in 2nd.

While Cancellara and Martin put on fantastic time trials, all of the talk was centered around Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador to see who would hold the mental advantage at the start of the 2010 Tour de France. Coming out on top and finishing 4th overall, Lance Armstrong showed he is ready for the fight. Finishing 6th, Alberto Contador lost the beginning mental advantage and you can be sure he is coming to the road looking to regain that precious time loss.

A fantastic start to the Tour. Next stage – STAGE 1 – Rotterdam Bruxelles 223.5 km

Standings After Day 1 – PROLOGUE – Rotterdam

Total distance covered: 8.9 km

1.	CANCELLARA Fabian	13	TEAM SAXO BANK	10′ 00″
2.	MARTIN Tony	115	TEAM HTC – COLUMBIA	10′ 10″	+ 00′ 10″
3.	MILLAR David	57	GARMIN – TRANSITIONS	10′ 20″	+ 00′ 20″
4.	ARMSTRONG Lance	21	TEAM RADIOSHACK	10′ 22″	+ 00′ 22″
5.	THOMAS Geraint	39	SKY PRO CYCLING	10′ 23″	+ 00′ 23″
6.	CONTADOR Alberto	1	ASTANA	10′ 27″	+ 00′ 27″
7.	FARRAR Tyler	53	GARMIN – TRANSITIONS	10′ 28″	+ 00′ 28″
8.	LEIPHEIMER Levi	25	TEAM RADIOSHACK	10′ 28″	+ 00′ 28″
9.	BOASSON HAGEN Edvald	36	SKY PRO CYCLING	10′ 32″	+ 00′ 32″
10.	GERDEMANN Linus	141	TEAM MILRAM	10′ 35″	+ 00′ 35″

2010 Tour de France Coverage on Bike198

The 2010 Tour de France is shaping up to be an exciting hammer through the streets of France. With Lance Armstrong riding in his last Tour, Alberto Contador chasing his 3rd Tour victory, Andy Schlek looking to take Contador off the podium and exciting finishes that will be shaken up by Mark Cavendish’s crash at the Swiss Tour…there is plenty of drama to unfold before the tires even hit blacktop.

To stay on top of what is happening in France for this year’s 2010 Tour de France, we are covering the action over at Road.Bike198.com.

To start things off, check out these articles:

• Can Lance Really Win This Year’s Tour?
• Who Should You Be Watching During the 2010 Tour?

To stay up to date, subscribe to the Road.Bike198.com RSS feed through your feed reader or have the articles sent to your email inbox.

Day One: Tour de France Hits the Road – Who Should You Be Watching?

Today marks the first day of the Tour de France. Tensions are high as the road racers hit the pavement for the most important race of the year through the mountains of France. Before the riders pedal off and the teams start formulating their plans, who should you be watching as the Tour moves forward?

#1 – Alberto Contador – Astana

Alberto Contador is the odds-on favorite to take his third Tour de France title this year-his first riding against Lance Armstrong and several other former teammates. While Contador’s “new” Astana team might lack some firepower from last year’s squad, he certainly won’t miss the drama that came with sharing team leadership with Armstrong. Following a second-place finish in June’s Critérium du Dauphiné—a key Tour de France warm-up event—Contador has spent his time training in the Pyrenees, acquainting himself with the key mountain stages on-tap in the Tour’s decisive third week. If Contador and his team make it through the Tour’s tense and frenetic first week unscathed, look for him to use his exceptional mix of climbing and time trialing ability to repeat his win from last year, confirming himself as the world’s undisputed number one Grand Tour rider.

#2 – Andy Schleck – Saxo Bank

Andy Schleck would have probably won a Tour de France title by now if it weren’t for Alberto Contador. Perhaps the race’s best pure climber, Schleck’s unafraid to attack when the road heads into the high mountains. Unfortunately for Schleck, Contador is as good or better of a climber and an even better time trialist. If Schleck can limit his losses against the clock, he should once again find himself in a position to challenge everyone in the mountains. Winless so far this season, Schleck’s been content to help his Saxo Bank teammates-especially his older brother, Frank-take important wins while slowly improving fitness. Schleck is a real contender to bring the Yellow Jersey back to Luxembourg.

#3 – Lance Armstrong – RadioShack

Team RadioShack’s leader has not enjoyed his usual painless build-up to the Tour de France. Sickness, crashes and scandals have partly derailed his plans for an historic eighth Tour title. Armstrong crashed out of the Tour of California and dealt with allegations by Floyd Landis that he used performing-enhancing drugs during his career. But with podium finishes in the Tour of Luxembourg and the Tour of Switzerland, Lance is beginning to show glimpses of the form that saw him win seven-consecutive Tours from 1999 to 2005. He’ll have the strongest team in the race—Andreas Kloden, Levi Leipheimer, Chris Horner, and Dauphiné-winner Janez Brajkovic join him-as well as the sport’s most accomplished director supporting him. Everything appears to be in place, will Lance have the luck to match his unwavering determination and self-confidence?

#4 – Bradley Wiggins – Team Sky

Riding for Garmin-Slipstream last year at the Tour, Bradley Wiggins burst onto the scene with a surprising fourth-place finish. Known more for his exploits against the clock and on the track, the British rider proved to be quite an adept climber as well. This year he leads the upstart Team Sky, a big-budget British squad hoping to make a splash at the Tour. Wiggins chose to repeat his Tour de France preparation from last year, riding the Tour of Italy for race miles and his final pre-Tour competition. Wiggins and his new sponsors hope the time spent training and scouting the Tour’s key mountain stages will reap dividends when the race heats up during it’s tough second and third weeks. If Wiggins handles the pressure of the Tour’s spotlight, he might deliver his home fans in England their best Tour finish to date.

#5 – Jurgen Van Den Broeck – Omega Pharma-Lotto

Want to impress your friends on your next group ride? Tell them to watch-out for Jurgen Van Den Broeck at the 2010 Tour de France. A talented climber and an accomplished time trialist, this young Belgian finished last year’s Tour (his first) in 15th place overall—and he wasn’t even the leader of his team. He returns to this year’s Tour with a team dedicated to helping him score an even higher finish by the time the race hits Paris. Van Den Broeck finished fourth in this season’s Dauphiné with an impressive performance against several of the men expected to be some of the Tour’s key protagonists. If his team of climbers and rouleurs can deliver him to the Alps feeling fresh and confident at the end of the first week, Belgium just might find its first legitimate Tour contender in 20 years.

#6 – Cadel Evans – BMC Racing

With multiple top-five finishes in all three Grand Tours, Evans is without a doubt the most successful modern tour rider never to have tasted overall victory. The Australian has ridden every Grand Tour since last year’s disappointing misfire at the Tour de France. His second place in the Tour of Spain and fifth place in the Tour of Italy speak more to the current World Champ’s talents. Eager to prove that his improved BMC team deserves its invitation, look for Evans to go on the attack early, not waiting to let others dictate the overall battle for the Yellow. Among the GC favorites, Evans is also one of the better time trialists.

#7 – Ivan Basso – Liquigas

The last person to win the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in the same year was Italian Marco Pantani in 1998. Basso hopes to emulate that achievement this July. At one time, Basso appeared to be the heir-apparent to Lance Armstrong; he’s completed the Tour de France four times, finishing 11th, seventh, third, and second. Back to racing last season after a two-year suspension for blood doping, this will be his first Tour de France of the second half of his career. Of the major contenders, Basso’s one of the more complete riders, improving his time trialing over the years to match his skills as a climber. He also has one of the strongest teams in the race with riders like Roman Kreuziger and Peter Sagan on board. Will Basso’s newfound confidence give him a mental edge in the race he once seemed destined to win? Or did the Giro effort leave him too tired and deflated to launch a serious challenge in France?

#8 – Denis Menchov – Rabobank

It will be the last time he’s mentioned as a Tour de France contender if Rabobank’s Menchov doesn’t deliver the goods. With two top-five Tour finishes on his record and wins in both the Tour of Italy and the Tour of Spain, this is the only Grand Tour title that’s eluded the Russian. Menchov’s been rather anonymous in his build-up to this year’s race, skipping the Tour of Italy to focus exclusively on a top result in France. He started the Criterium du Dauphiné with fine performance in the opening time trial, a result which had several pundits wondering if this would indeed be Menchov’s year—and then he lost several minutes on the climb to Alpe d’Huez, rekindling the doubt in everyone’s minds. Menchov’s most difficult rival might just be his teammate, Robert Gesink, a talented Grand Tour rider in his own right. If Menchov shows any signs of weakness when the Tour first hits the mountains, Rabobank’s Dutch sponsors-and fans-will begin lobbying for Gesink to be handed the reins of the team.

#9 – Samuel Sanchez – Euskaltel

Known more for his results in hilly one-day races, Samuel Sanchez—the reigning Olympic road race champion—is looking to improve upon his seventh-place finish from 2008. The runner-up to Alejandro Valverde in last year’s Vuelta a Espana, Sanchez has also finished 10th, sixth and third in his national tour. Sanchez needs to perform well in the Tour de France’s time trials in order to have a shot at the podium in Paris. But for a man who has won Grand Tour time trials in the past, that’s a manageable task. Look for Sanchez and his orange-clad Euskaltel teammates to target the Tour’s Pyrenean stages-the backyard for many of the Basque team’s most rabid fans. As the race progresses, it will be interesting to see if Sanchez decides to sacrifice a lower top-10 placing for a stage win-perhaps on the Tourmalet?

#10 – Roman Kreuziger – Liquigas

This young talent is one of a handful of riders whose fathers raced with Lance Armstrong. But don’t let that stop you from taking Kreuziger seriously. He finished 13th in his first Tour de France in 2008 at the age of 22. Last year he improved upon his initial result, finishing just inside the top 10. This year he joins Ivan Basso as co-captain of team Liquigas; together they’ll form what is arguably the most potent one-two punch in the race. Kreuziger seemed to peak a bit too early last year—his youthful exuberance may have gotten the best of him. But this season he seems to have raced a bit more conservatively, choosing his efforts and riding within himself so as to arrive at his top fitness level just when he needs to be. If he and Basso can avoid stepping on one another’s toes, a top-five result is well within the young Czech’s grasp.

Teams and Riders

Some of the teams have shaken up, but the riders are the same. This years Tour is going to end up being just as exciting as the last. Hold on tight…things are about to explode on the streets of France.

Source: Bicycling Magazine

2010 Tour de France – Lance Armstrong’s Last Stand

With the drama of Team Astana and the 2009 Tour all but a memory, we look forward to the 2010 Tour de France tomorrow with hopeful eyes and eager anticipation as the events that will unfold over the coming weeks will be an exciting, fast paced hammer through the mountains of France. With Lance Armstrong promising this is his last adventure through the historic roads of France (of course…we have heard that before) and Alberto Contador chasing that illustrious 3rd Tour victory, this year’s Tour de France is looking to be even more chair gripping than the last.

But…the big question on everyone’s mind is an easy one…

Can Lance Armstrong Really Win? Bill Strickland Explains

In an editorial on Bicycling.com, Bill Strickland explores the possibility of a Lance Armstrong victory. Are the odds stacked against him? Absolutely. While Lance is the best mind in cycling, he has stiff competition from strong riders with age on their side.

Bill Strickland’s Article on Bicycling.com (link credit)

From his first, unprecedented Tour de France victory in 1999 just three years after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, the seven-time champion’s ability to confound expectations has become legendary among the public and his fellow racers. On his way to a third victory in 2001, he used the now-famous “bluff” to trick his rivals into thinking he was weak and about to fall behind. Then at the base of the final climb, he exploded out of the pack to win the stage atop Alpe d’Huez. In 2003, Armstrong was the least prepared he’d been for any of this Tour wins, and was under the fiercest pressure yet from the other contenders when Joseba Beloki crashed in front of him on a high-speed mountain descent; Armstrong swerved off the road, bumped over a grassy field, dismounted and hopped a drainage ditch then neatly rejoined the pack on the road below the site of the carnage. Later that same year, knocked down on a climb when a spectator’s bag snagged his handlebar, Armstrong remounted then powered up Luz Ardiden to not only catch his rivals but win the stage-on a snapped bike frame.

In 2009, over the course of writing Tour de Lance: The Extraordinary Story of Lance Armstrong’s Fight to Reclaim the Tour de France, I witnessed his latest improbable comeback. Armstrong had unretired and returned to the Tour after four years off, to try to become its oldest champion at age 37. After a spotty early season, few people believed he could win the race. Even his team director and longtime friend, Johan Bruyneel, told me in confidence during the middle of the Tour that, “You can’t suddenly ride away from the best if you were unable to keep up with them a month earlier. I anticipated the most he could hope for was to keep up with the best.” As the race wore on and it was clear that even climbing onto the podium would be a victory of sorts, most close followers of the sport began to believe even that wouldn’t happen. By the final time trial, which occurred in Stage 18 out of 21, I compared Armstrong to his younger competitors, Alberto Contador (the eventual winner), Andy Schleck (who took second) and his brother Frank (fifth), and Bradley Wiggins (fourth). “Armstrong looks old and tired,” I observed as I watched him at the team bus after the time trial. “He came into the Tour de France as lean as his younger competitors. But instead of riding himself into the silvery, translucent spectral state in which everything is stripped from the body except the resilience at its core, he somewhere slipped into the plain state of being tired. He’s a had a horrible day at work and his kids are running around screaming, and for the first time since I’ve known him he seems just flat worn out the way I sometimes am, the way sometimes all of my friends are. He seems like one of us.”

But on the final mountain stage, which concluded with the horrendous 21-kilometer climb to the top of the 1,912-meter Mont Ventoux, Armstrong found enough of his old miracle-making to stay with the leaders and preserve his third-place podium spot. Trying to explain it to me afterward, Bruyneel could only say, “He was riding like . . . like . . . He was riding like Lance Armstrong.”

This time around in 2010, Armstrong is just a year older, while his competitors are still young enough to be considered a year more experienced. And even though he didn’t break his collarbone as he did last season, his initial lead-up to this year’s Tour looked equally bleak: In January he opened the season with an innocuous 25th place in Australia’s six-stage Tour Down Under. At the two-day Criterium International in March, he got dropped by the leaders on the final climb. In April he finished 27th in the Tour of Flanders then caught a stomach virus that kept him from racing again until May. His return came in New Mexico’s Tour of the Gila, a five-day race contested mostly by domestic American teams instead of top pro squads. Last year Armstrong finished second to his teammate Levi Leipheimer; this year he was 17th. In May, in the wake of Floyd Landis’s allegations of widespread and systematic dope use by Armstrong and other pros during their careers, Armstrong abandoned the Tour California after a crash. He required X-rays on his elbow (which ended up being negative) and six or seven stitches near one of his eyes. With six weeks remaining to the Tour, most experts began writing obituaries for Armstrong’s 2010 podium hopes.

But in the five-day Tour of Luxembourg in early June, Armstrong placed third. Then in mid-June at the Tour of Switzerland, he finished second overall. More significantly, in the final big mountain stage of the 9-day race, he rode at the front of the main pack of leaders, which had dropped such marquee stars as super-climber Andy Schleck.

Armstrong had risen from the ashes of his early season.

“What no one understands,” his longtime teammate and trusted lieutenant Chechu Rubiera told me for Tour de Lance, “except us who ride with him, is that improvements that take us two weeks, three weeks of training, he does in nine days. It has always been this way.”

We now know that Armstrong is ready for the 2010 Tour de France. What we will find out in the next month is if, at age 38, being ready is enough to win. It probably isn’t.

Even Armstrong admits that last year’s winner, two-time Tour champion Alberto Contador, is in another class. “He’s the biggest and best talent on the bike,” Armstrong told me for the book. “Maybe the best ever.” What’s more, Contador is riding this year for an Astana team that, instead of being split between himself and Armstrong, should unite and ride fully in support of its sole leader. There’s also the returning Andy Schleck, the gifted climber from Luxembourg who, at the end of June, won his country’s national time-trial championship, perhaps demonstrating his own readiness with an improved ability in the TT (always a factor in the Tour). Cadel Evans-an all-arounder who can TT and climb, and finished second at the Tour twice before stumbling badly last year-seems to have revitalized his career. He is wearing the rainbow stripes of the World Champion, won the early-season Classic race Fleche Wallonne, wore the pink leader’s jersey for a day in the Giro d’Italia in May, and for the first time in years will ride the Tour with the support of a team designed for stage racing. (His previous teams were established more for competing in intense, one-day races rather than the endurance-oriented stage races.)

Unless the Landis allegations or other breaking news result in a last-minute exclusion from the Tour (which has happened for other racers in the past, most notably the 2006 exclusion of favorites such as Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich due to the Operacion Puerto investigation into performance-enhancing drugs and blood-doping), the controversy probably won’t negatively affect Armstrong. In fact, Armstrong uses resentment and anger to fuel his performance, a personality trait he often publicly disavows but is aware of and welcomes as motivation. About Contador, who disobeyed team orders during the 2009 Tour and angered Armstrong to the point that the two nearly got into a fistfight, Armstrong told me, “I couldn’t dislike the guy any more.” And “I can’t wait for July. I’m serious. I’m . . . man . . . I want to fucking . . . I want to beat him.”)

The layout of this year’s Tour favors an Armstrong miracle. Early in the race, the riders will be taken across 13.2 kilometers of bone-jarring, eye-shaking, crash-inducing cobblestone roads during Stage 3-a day that probably favors Armstrong’s heavier build and race experience over Contador’s lightness and youth. It could lead to a time gap similar to last year’s split in Stage 3, when Armstrong anticipated a change in headwind that Contador didn’t and finished in a group 41 seconds ahead. Besides the short, 8km prologue, which likely won’t impact the final standings, there’s only one time trial, the 52-km Stage 19. Both the lack of other time trials and this one’s late appearance favor Armstrong. He’s not as strong against the clock as Contador, and he tends to become stronger and fitter as the Tour goes on. Similarly, the key stages of the Tour are expected to come in the third and final week, starting on July 19 in the 15th stage, when the race enters the Pyrenees for three back-breaking days.

With my intimate relationship to last year’s race and front row seat to Armstrong’s comeback-I was able to ride in the team car during several races, including the Tour-I clearly understood then, as I do now, that Contador should win. I wanted him to win. He was, as Armstrong described him to me, “spectacular,” and deserved the victory. But I also found myself believing that, one more time, Armstrong would somehow find a way to win. I don’t believe that now. But sometime in July, I will.

Bill Strickland is the editor-at-large of Bicycling magazine and the author of Tour de Lance: The Extraordinary Story of Lance Armstrong’s Fight to Reclaim the Tour de France. He also writes a weekly blog about riding on Bicycling.com called Sitting In.

Do I think Lance can win? Honestly…not really. I think he is going to put on a fantastic showing and he will be able to leave the Tour on a high note, but the amount of speed that is hot on his tail can not be denied. However, you will not find me betting against him at Vegas…