Jens Voigt doesn't believe that Lance Armstrong will actually start the Tour de France this year. "Basso can win the Tour. And especially because, I still don't believe that Lance Armstrong will participate," he told the Berliner Morgenpost. "Lance knows that his streak won't last forever. And he sure doesn't want to finish in second place. If he does start, then he will win the Tour again with five minutes advantage. But I just don't believe it."

Courtesy Susan Westemeyer

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2005/mar05/mar09news


Do ya think it's way too early to tell about LA, or judging from his 140th placing in the P-N prologue...?

Besides, what the heck does Jens Voigt know, right? ;)

I believe he's just using this as glorified training. If he were actually competitive I'd be surprised.

all LA needs is this kind of thing to stoke his fire

better answer - "Yes, he'll be ready, I'm not even going to train seriously for it as he's just going to kill everybody. I'll focus my season elsewhere"

all LA needs is this kind of thing to stoke his fire

better answer - "Yes, he'll be ready, I'm not even going to train seriously for it as he's just going to kill everybody. I'll focus my season elsewhere"

Yup. The last thing the competition wants or needs is a pissed off armstrong. Remember when he went down from the entanglement with the purse? Remember what happened afterwards?

There are a few axioms that come to mind.
Those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it.
After the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, their Admiral Yamamoto is quoted as saying something like: "I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve."
Don't pull on Superman's Cape.


Feel free to add as necessary

Armstrong is at Paris-Nice to ride witha peloton. That is it. The only person there with asperations of winning anything is their sprinters. Tour de Georgia will likely be the same thing. Lucky for Chris Horner! The first race I think you will see Armstrong pulling out the stops on this year will be the Team Time Trial in June. He found out in the last three tours how important that one stage can be, and will want his team firing on all cylinders by then. As for his poor early season form, just look back to the mountain time trial right before the Tour last year. Everyone saw Mayo and Hamilton blow him away. Certain people thought LA was cooked and wouldn't win. That didn't quite pan out did it. The lesson is not to judge Armstrong on anything but the Tour. I think he enjoys playing the poker face as much as he does winning.

i couldn't figure that one out either... i think jens alluded to lance just retiring from the TdF while on top... but isn't it now public that discovery's contract with lance calls for him to do one more TdF?! unless you don't believe that then lance must race. sure he doesn't need the money and can do whatever he wants, but i think we wants discovery to have a successful start.

i ran into jens a few times while watching the tour of med.... i must say that he is an extremely nice guy. he was signing autographs for kids and talking to them. he saw me with my dog and stopped to say that he also had a yellow lab. after these encounters, i ended up chatting with a CSC mechanic. i casually mentioned that jens seemed like a good guy, and the mechanic went on to tell me that he thought he was the friendiest, most down-to-earth guy on the team. he certainly deserves his recent and past successes!

i love it when nice guys finish first! go Jens!

i couldn't figure that one out either... i think jens alluded to lance just retiring from the TdF while on top... but isn't it now public that discovery's contract with lance calls for him to do one more TdF?! unless you don't believe that then lance must race. sure he doesn't need the money and can do whatever he wants, but i think we wants discovery to have a successful start.

i ran into jens a few times while watching the tour of med.... i must say that he is an extremely nice guy. he was signing autographs for kids and talking to them. he saw me with my dog and stopped to say that he also had a yellow lab. after these encounters, i ended up chatting with a CSC mechanic. i casually mentioned that jens seemed like a good guy, and the mechanic went on to tell me that he thought he was the friendiest, most down-to-earth guy on the team. he certainly deserves his recent and past successes!

i love it when nice guys finish first! go Jens!

I think he said that Armstrong won't start the Tour this year, because he thinks that he won't. I believe he also went on to say that if he did start the Tour, he would be looking for victory in it, and would probably succeed. I don't think Jens was talking smack.

I think he said that Armstrong won't start the Tour this year, because he thinks that he won't. I believe he also went on to say that if he did start the Tour, he would be looking for victory in it, and would probably succeed. I don't think Jens was talking smack.

That's right. My bringing it up was to see who agrees/disagrees with Voigt.

I think he said that Armstrong won't start the Tour this year, because he thinks that he won't.

That wouldn't seem to make much sense unless he is going to largely write-off this year. He clearly isn't in any kind of form to win something this spring.

I think he enjoys playing the poker face as much as he does winning.

So you think the only thing stopping Armstrong from having a good ride at P-N is a lack of desire rather than the fact that he simply isn't in good shape at this time?

of the Paris-Nice just to let everyone know he is still the Boss. It will probably be the last stage with those 3 big climbs.

strikes me there's a grain of truth in what Voigt says - Armstrong won 't turn up to 'his' race if he's going to lose - far better to withdraw and cast doubt on the validity of whoever does win ('oh he wouldn't have won if Armstrong had been there') - then come back next year, gassed up again by Dr Ferrari (who'll have finished his ban by then) and win it one more time...

of the Paris-Nice just to let everyone know he is still the Boss. It will probably be the last stage with those 3 big climbs.

Define "flex his muscle".

Since he's probably going to lose big time on the Mount Faron finish, will trying to get in a break to take a stage win qualify as flexing his muscle?

It would certainly be out of character. As best as I can recall he usually just rides these early season races without any aspirations, unless there is a time-trial he can target.

I am just predicting based on Lance's past that he usually takes some segments in his prep races and puts his energy into them. I think he is sitting back getting his legs and by the time stage 7 comes along he is going to test himself. Maybe not go for the stage win but exert himself on the 3 climbs.

then come back next year, gassed up again by Dr Ferrari (who'll have finished his ban by then) and win it one more time...

Have some responsibility with your accusations. What you are uttering is slander without proof.

Have some responsibility with your accusations. What you are uttering is slander without proof.

best is to Ignore the Lance haters....you'd have a better discussion with a toad

Read th news guys, he pulled out of the race today already and headed back to Girona with a sore throat.

Of course he didn't show up here to win, it's a training race for him. He won't hit his peak until June if he's planning on another TdF win.

I thought his point to riding Pari-Nice was to;

1) Ride with what could be his TDF team and see how everyone got along

2)Get what was suppose to be some good training in but turned out to be a crap race and the reason he and Johan added another race at the end fo March to his Sched

3) Because if he is serious about attempting the hour record peaking 3x in one year is really tough to do on the level Lance does. His peaks are tremendous and if he wants to contest the Hour you won't see him flex anything in FLanders either. But he will in the Libere which he plans to ride I read somewhere

His peaks are tremendous and if he wants to contest the Hour you won't see him flex anything in FLanders either.

Seems doubtful to me that in a mere 3 weeks he could get into the kind of form necessary to ride at the front of classic whether he was targeting it or not. I wouldn't be surprised to see him pull out as the race approaches.