Hi folks,

just before the TDF started i heard a rumour that the riders were going to stop and pay respects to a memorial of Marco Pantani...or something like that, i dont know if this is in the form of a 1 minute silence or something to do with alpe d'huez..

was there any form of tribute to this little guy by the riders or organisers during the tour coz i never seen it despite watching 70% of it live on Eurosport..

Lance allowed Pantani's record ascent of alpe d'huez to stand by one second, does that count?

BTW, check out the ads by Google on the sidebar. There's one now that reads:
"There is no evidence Lance has ever used Virgin Cola." from virgincolas.com. Funny, but kinda scary how accurately they have us pegged, huh?

PS: mostly kidding with that first statement, just trying to provide some fodder for the Lance-o-phobes so they don't have to scrounge so desperately. I did find it surprising though that a few years later the best riders in the world couldn't even TT up le alpe faster than Pantani climbed it at the end of a stage.

Thanks for your reply..

i actually have a piece in the official tour de france guide that says there will be some kind of tribute laid on by the organisers...perhaps the LA media circus somehow put a stop to that..

as for lance-o-phobes, well i am not american so i dont have this inexplicable lance-love installed as standard...i certainly dont hate lance in anyway, man i was glad he won this years tour..(i was actually routing for hamilon and backtsted at the start)...he deserves the win and i hope he goes on to win next year too...

i dont like lances attitude though and the way he was covered by the media to the exlusion of all others in the tour this year was very off putting...

my favourite rider of all time was Marco Pantani, i was gutted when he died and i cant believe there was no tribute to him at this years tour...i imagine if Lance wasnt riding this year they would have stopped at the summit of alpe d'huez to pay respect....something thats been sadly lacking in recent years tours.....

years ago they used to stop almost every year for some form of respectful salute...not anymore..

progress i suppose..

Do you not live in America or are you just not American by birth? OLN was definitely over the top with its coverage of Lance, but this was to be expected since they were catering to an American audience, and moreover were sponsoring him! From what I gathered coverage abroad tends to be more well rounded though, so I was surprised to hear you say Lance was covered at the exclusion of others. I suppose the first six time winner warrants some serious airtime in any case, but much of it tends to be redundant after five years of hearing about his high cadence, preparation, etc.

I hadn't heard anything about a tribute to Pantani, but with the swirling drug allegations it makes you wonder if the tour was purposefully distancing itself from him.

I too would have been thrilled to see Tyler win; he and his team both seemed ready to mount a serious challenge. Backsted though? I can only imagine you were hoping for a stage win or two and not a top placing in the G.C. Being large (well, not in his division, but by tour standards anyway) and of Swedish descent myself I was keenly interested in seeing how he would do.

Do you not live in America or are you just not American by birth? OLN was definitely over the top with its coverage of Lance, but this was to be expected since they were catering to an American audience, and moreover were sponsoring him! From what I gathered coverage abroad tends to be more well rounded though, so I was surprised to hear you say Lance was covered at the exclusion of others. I suppose the first six time winner warrants some serious airtime in any case, but much of it tends to be redundant after five years of hearing about his high cadence, preparation, etc.

I hadn't heard anything about a tribute to Pantani, but with the swirling drug allegations it makes you wonder if the tour was purposefully distancing itself from him.

I too would have been thrilled to see Tyler win; he and his team both seemed ready to mount a serious challenge. Backsted though? I can only imagine you were hoping for a stage win or two and not a top placing in the G.C. Being large (well, not in his division, but by tour standards anyway) and of Swedish descent myself I was keenly interested in seeing how he would do.

I am Scottish 100% and have no American connection. I watched the coverage mostly on British Eurosport and ITV with Paul and Phil and yes, it was very much geared towards Lances media showcase. I would have prefered to see a less biased coverage, i am a fan of Virenque and Vockler and Ullrich but i do like USPS too, i have no reason for deliberately disliking Armstrong and its true that he is one awesome bike rider but man, please lets see how Virenque did on the alpe 'dhuez TT...sure its so easy to focus on the big riders and the winners but it gets boring to watch after a while...

i would just like a more balanced view of the tour and i would also like to see Lance undertake the Giro, Vuelta and one day classics AS WELL as le tour...a lot of people lose respect for him for that reason...

i understand what you mean about the drug allegations and Pantani, but still, respect is due and we will never know exactly who on the tour is taking drugs...

as for Backstedt, well he is Swedish but he is based in the UK and i have followed him for a while...since David Millar was kicked out of the tour Backstedt is the closest thing we have to a Brit in this years tour...pretty sad really...

cheers

just to put an end to this rumour,

the Alpe D'Huez TT stage this year was dedicated to the memory of Marco Pantani...

thats official from the Official Guide.

as for Backstedt, well he is Swedish but he is based in the UK and i have followed him for a while...since David Millar was kicked out of the tour Backstedt is the closest thing we have to a Brit in this years tour...pretty sad really...

cheers


I was probably rooting for Backstedt more than anyone. Very disappointing when he abandoned. I don't know if he could have realistically taken the points jersey this year, but anyone his size who can make it over the mountains of the tour is worthy of my respect. He has done it in the past, even if not this year. And you just can't beat a name like Magnus Backstedt. :)

how could you not pull for Magnus! I was stoked when he won P-R, especially as I made bets that he would win the sprint if it came down to that at the Velo. So if we're giving time bonus' for 'losing' in the TTT why not time bonus' based on rider weight in the mountain stages? ;o) GO MAGNUS!!! plus he's a great rider, his reports rule.

ps MAgnus if you're reading this, I'll take one of your leftover rides, it should fit me perfectly!!!!