Team Radio Shack Developments (Ongoing Thread)

Lance Armstrong Foundation | July 23, 2009 | Various

[Ready4Freddy]

Jul 23 RadioShack Partners With Lance to Form New Cycling Team in 2010
by Brooke McMillan (LAF Staff)

RadioShack Corporation is proud to announce a partnership with seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong to form a new American Pro-Tour cycling team. Beginning in 2010, Lance Armstrong will compete for Team RadioShack as a cyclist, runner and triathlete in events around the world, including the 2010 Tour de France.

“This has been a great season so far – the response in the countries we’ve been to has been amazing and it’s clear now that this was the right choice. Utilizing the massive media attention that the sport receives has been the perfect vehicle to help spread the LIVESTRONG message around the world,” said Lance Armstrong. “To be able to compete for an American team comprised of the world’s top cyclists, supported by the best coaches and staff – I couldn’t be happier to partner with RadioShack, a truly iconic American brand,” said Lance Armstrong.

For more information about this partnership and to view a video message from Lance, please go to www.livestrong.com

[Mom MD]

thanks! Can’t wait to get ramped up this year.

[Sir_Ed]

Man, I would be heartbroken over this...Goerge has always been one of my cycling heroes, and to think that he. Lance and Johann Bruneel were involved in doping???

Yikes, I wonder what this will do to the TDF? It could be as bad as when Vino and others were kicked out.

Ed

[patriotspride]

” He has destroyed himself forever because he has now attacked the only community left to support him. WHAT A JERK! “

Agree. Wonder what pushed him over the edge....

[leilani]

As far as I'm concerned, George is innocent until proven guilty by somebody with a lot more credibility than a very broke, very desperate Floyd Landis who basically has nothing left to lose at this point. More stuff will be forthcoming from the other side - evidently Landis has been writing lotsa late night emails & texting to LOTSA folks over the past few months, making threats & such in order to be allowed to race.

A coupla excerpts from Lance's statement at Livestrong.com :

"In all honesty, this has been going on for a long time. The harassment and threats from Floyd started a few years ago and really, at that time, we largely ignored him. Johan can speak more to what Floyd exactly wanted from us and the team. A year ago, I told him, ‘listen, you do what you have to do.' We have nothing to say and nothing to hide."

"They started again with some consistency and with some energy about a month ago before this race when Floyd continued to email, text and harass myself, Johan, Dave Zabriskie, Levi (Leipheimer), Andrew Messick, the CEO of Amgen, right around the time that they were trying to get into this race. Floyd made pointed threats to Messick and to the leadership of Amgen that if he wasn’t let in the race he was going to say X, Y and Z about their product.

..."Ultimately all of the other emails that have been sent around will come out. The emails to myself will come out. All of the emails to Andrew Messick will come out, to John Burke from Trek. For someone that says he is here to clear his conscience, why are you sending emails to other people’s sponsors, other people’s partners, to the organizer of a race, to the sponsors of a race? That has nothing to do with your conscience."

If you saw the rest of the emails that we have it speaks volumes to his mental state, and, the time of the day that they were sent it.

It started a couple of years ago and as texts and I wrote him back after a while. Johan can speak more about what he wanted from the team but after a few of them they got to be so annoying that I wrote him back and said, ‘Floyd leave me alone. Do what you have to do, I’m going to be fine, don’t worry about me but you have to stop texting me, annoying me, you have to stop harassing me.’"

(Regarding racing with him at an event in April)" I saw him every day at the Tour of the Gila. Not one word was said. It was ironic because not one word would be said to any of us during the race. We heard stories about him talking to himself. But we would get home and all of a sudden we would have these emails from him at night. Strange."

More at the link above, read the whole thing.

[concentric circles]

Cyclist Lance Armstrong, bleeding from a cut under his left eye, is helped up after crashing during the fifth stage of the Tour of California cycling race in the outskirts of Visalia, Calif., Thursday, May 20, 2010. (Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Lance Armstrong crashes in Stage 5 of Tour of California, taken to hospital

Fans out to witness legendary cyclist Lance Armstrong cruise by during Stage 5 of the Amgen Tour of California were disappointed Thursday when the rider was involved in a crash and taken off the course.

The Associated Press reported that Armstrong was going to the hospital for X-rays after crashing Thursday morning during the race.

Armstrong's longtime coach Johan Bruyneel tweeted Thursday that Armstrong was involved in a "huge" crash and "had to abandon and is going to the hospital for Xrays." ("Sorry to report there was a huge crash, with Chechu and Lance involved. Lance had to abandon and is going to the hospital for Xrays.")

Armstrong was reportedly outside Visalia only a few miles into Stage 5 when one of the riders in the group hit some gravel and fell. On a two-lane road, the domino effect ensued, tumbling several riders to the pavement, including Armstrong.

Armstrong sat bewildered before being helped. His face was bloodied up and he had a swollen right eye.

The extent of his injuries are yet to be reported, but his exit from the race clear as Armstrong got in the RadioShack lead team car, according to tracker updates posted at 11:23 and 11:24 a.m.

Lance on Twitter - "I'm alive. Fell face first and banged elbow pretty good. Xrays on the elbow were neg. Extremely disappointed not to be able 2 continue."

Via Twitter: "Just when I thought I couldn't get any uglier."

Tomorrow is a huge stage in the Amgen Tour of California. Stage 6, up the San Gabriel Mountains, through Wrightwood, back down to the high desert and right back up the San Bernardino Mountains to Rim of the World Highway and a finish at Big Bear Lake, 135 miles from 3,200 feet elevation to a high point of 8,000 feet. Armstrong teammate Levi Leipheimer is currently third overall, behind Mick Rogers and Dave Zabriskie. Live video online via tour tracker at the Amgen Tour link above and at Versus sports network.

[SouthTexas]

Sounds pretty weird so far.

[Sir_Ed]

WOW!

Thanks for sending us that link...it makes me doubt him and his statements.

By the way, with Oregon’s Chris Horner on RS, does that mean he will ride the TDF, or is only a selection of team members chosen?

Thanks,

Ed

[leilani]

Teams usually don't pick who'll ride in the TdF or any race for that matter until close to the event because so many variables are at play: how well they've been training & racing recently, plus injuries can happen at any time & are always a big factor when finalizing the roster.

But Chris has been racing in The Tour of California, which Versus has been covering. See concentric circle's post above. Here in TX it comes on at 4-6 PM. Today's stage is the climb up to Big Bear so I'm recording that one.

Here's Chris Horner's ATOC Diary where he talks about the big crash yesterday which knocked Lance out.

[green iguana]

Thanks for the ping R4F.

Today’s Austin American Statesman had an interesting comment on one of Floyd’s accusations:

“Landis said Armstrong had a positive drug test during the 2002 Tour of Switzerland, but the International Cycling Union had covered up the results after Armstrong paid to have it done. Armstrong didn’t compete in the Tour of Switzerland in 2002.”

Now maybe he got the date wrong, but... I’ll stick with the benefit of the doubt.

[Sir_Ed]

Thanks, Lelaini for that explanation.

I loved Chris’ blog!

Ed

[Ready4Freddy]

NYT - Cycling Doping Inquiry May Broaden

By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and JULIET MACUR
Published: May 25, 2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/sports/cycling/26cycling.html?ref=sports

Federal authorities investigating allegations that Lance Armstrong and other top cyclists engaged in doping are considering whether they can expand the investigation beyond traditional drug distribution charges to include ones involving fraud and conspiracy, according to two people briefed on the investigation.

The authorities, who are in the early stages of their investigation, are seeking to determine whether Armstrong, the owners and managers of his former cycling teams and his teammates conspired to defraud their sponsors by doping to improve their performances and garner more money and prizes, one of the people said.

In particular, the authorities want to know whether money from the United States Postal Service, the main sponsor of Armstrong’s team from 1996 to 2004, was used to buy performance-enhancing drugs, one of the people said. Fraud charges can carry longer sentences than charges of drug distribution.

...more...

[Mr. Blonde]

At this point, if Floyd Landis is their ace in the hole, they don’t have much going for them. What are they going to uncover at this point?

[whattajoke]

I”m a lifelong fan and cyclist. I’ve been up and down the doping rollercoaster since the Festina Affair.

At this point, I’m apt to say that limited EPO usage is okay, up to a certain hemocrit level; say, 52%. I’m convinced they all do it with such precision now as to stay at their max hemocrit level allowed by their bio passports. So it’s an even playing field.

Add to that the fact that you can raise red blood cell levels via altitude training and/or Oxygen tenting, resulting in the same improved efficiencies. I’d wager almolst all endurance athletes are doing the same.

So yes, keep all the steroids, testosterones and that crap illegal. CERA and EPO and self transfusions may become a necessary part of riding 2000+ miles over mountains and cobblestones every few weeks for 10 months/year.

(I don’t really believe all this, but I’m getting there.)

[Ready4Freddy]

What are they going to uncover at this point?

Good point, Mr. B. Although, my first thought when I saw the NYT article was of Al Capone.

[Ready4Freddy]

(I don’t really believe all this, but I’m getting there.)

I know exactly what you mean, waj.

Would you like to be added to the TdF ping list?

[Vision]

Let the truth come out whatever it is and then move forward.

[leilani]

whattajoke has been on the TdF list since...forever I think. Maybe you should check the list on my Home Page to see if there's anybody else you need to add to yours since you are the keeper of the flame now?

And I'm going to second (third?) whattajoke's comment. At this point I'm pretty inured to the charges, especially ones that are as vague as this. And ya gotta wonder what the motive for leaking the feds leaking 'news' absent any news whatsoever of their investigation to the NYT right now. There's not a shred of anything in there except dark implication so what was the point? I'm not impugning Juliet for going with the story at all; she absolutely should have written it if the feds are feeding her whispers, even if it is only will-o-the-wispish as what's here. That in & of itself is a story.

Somedays I'd be hard pressed to say who is more cyncially self-serving: athletes who dope or the anti-doping authorities who don't exactly cover themselves with glory with their own conduct.

Whether it's the French doping lab staff who leak confidential info to L'Equipe (in exchange for cash and/or to manipulate the betting odds over in Europe) or federal investigators here who leak nothing substantive, only prejudicial & attempt to polish their badges by smearing others' names by inuendo - which is impossible to defend against.

I mean, come on, even if they're guilty as sin, why is it US athletes merit less concern for their rights from government investigators than the Times Square bomber does?

[Ready4Freddy]

Ooops, whatajoke is on the list, guess I missed it with a quick scan.

The list I'm using started with yours, leilani. Baynative also has one that may have a few differences.

[Mr. Blonde]

Video of Johann Bruyneel announcing the TdF team

Lance Armstrong
Andreas Kloden
Levi Leipheimer
Chris Horner
Jani Brajkovic
Sergio Paulinho
Yaroslav Popovych
Gregory Rast
Dmitriy Muravyev

Lance finished well at the Suisse. I was also happy to see the Schlecks riding well. If Lance doesn't win, I hope it is either of them.

What is the plan for the tour this year on FR? Hopefully everyone is on the same page and it is drama free (only on FR of course, I'm hoping for lots of drama in FRA). I'm more than happy to help anyway I can, other than the 4th I imagine I will be near the computer the entire tour.

[Ready4Freddy]

Thanks Mr. Blonde.

I've pulled all the stage graphics (course, profile, etc) off the official TdF site to use as the start of each stage.

Any problems with doing it like we did last year, one ongoing live thread? That did seem to work OK after we got things, errrr ...., uhhhhh ..., sorted out. Grumblebunny buttmuch is no longer with us, so I think we'll be safe.