US Postal Cycling Squad (Was Sold Out)
 

Lance Armstrong may be in the best form of his career now...but even he is not confident and is aware that he is not invulnerable. Roberto Heras sold him out at the last moment with no direct communication other than through his attorney to extricate himself from the team as his contract stated. This forced US Postal Director Johan Bryneel to scramble for a new elite climber to compensate for this dramatic loss.

I think this will be an even sketchyer battle than last years dramas that unfolded. Personally, I don't think Armstrong will survive as a first place finisher. Not to take away from him....I hope he does it....but then again....the chess board has its rooks and knights poised in a manner that leave a ? to the imagination. Anything can happen this year.

Pom

still can't wait for this years tour (france). a mountain time trial! not sure if i like that idea or not but should be interesting. What a putz though did he give a reason for wanting to leave? or was he tired of being on a winning team?

Watch out for the automatic weapons everyone...

Uphill TT
 

Last year they had an uphill Time Trial. Lance had clip on aero bars on his climbing bike and ditched the helmet (really fairing) as soon as the road turned up.

I think he can do it. I sure as hell hope so, anyways. Hes in much better shape than he was last year, and despite some of the departures from the team, I really think he can break it out.

amazing athletes out there doing this... good luck to him.

Ay, thats true. I do a good bit of road riding, and lemme tell you... what these guys can do it *insane*. Imagine riding 100 miles a day at an *average* speed of 25mph (meaning that because climbs can be pretty slow, you are quite frequently doing a good bit faster than this). Then do it every day for 6 months. Most people cant ride 25 at all. I can get it and keep it there on a flat for about 5 minutes. Not for 4 hours. For comparison, I rode 30 miles this morning at an average speed of 18--and thats a damn good clip for me. I dont see how these guys do it. I seriously think it is the single most grueling sport in the world.

now try doing it on dirt
 

With no drafting, no resting, and constant battering on the body. Not to take away from the road riders, their fitness and skill are amazing, but even Lance himself claimed that a simple pro mountain bike race was the hardest thing he'd ever done. Now change that 25 miler into a 100 miler, or even better, 24 hour race, and you've got a grueling event!

Oh yeah--I mountain bike as well (thats actually where I started), and mile for mile, it is absolutely harder. We tend to divide our road miles by 2 or 3 to equate the equivalent mountain rides.

And yeah, those 24 hour deal are insane. Totally masochistic. I could never do one.

Im still not sure which is harder in the long run though--mountain races tend to be a good bit shorter, and there arent really any long stage races like there are with road racing. I dont know though, both can be damn hard.

It seems the hardest thing about stage racing is the ability to, after 10 days on the bike, not just say fuck it when someone else breaks away. Stamina, and recovery, are key. That said, yeah, the speeds those freaks maintain, drafting or no, is amazing. I road ride, although never race or even pace group, and twenty an hour on average is good!

Yeah, thats what makes it so heinous. OK, so people push themselves harder occasionally (think 24 hour deals), but never this hard for that long. It would be like running a marathon every day for three weeks.

I can't wait to watch! It will be a crazy race.

Postal team has a new sponsor for next year. And new doping alegations...

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/cycli...new-team_x.htm

Also, Alexandre Vinokourov, who was a serious challenger in last years tour crashed in the Tour de Suisse and probably won't ride the TDF. Too bad. He was a contender.

Yes. Its great they are going to be able to keep the team together.

Im getting excited about the Tour this year. Im hoping Lance has found his old legs and is going to whoop some ass for us--regardless, it should be a site to see.