''Ain't that a sha-ame ...''
Posted on 07/20/2005 7:58:43 PM PDT by Dolphan
REVEL, France - (KRT) - Lance Armstrong is counting down the days now, and the rest of international cycling is counting right along with him.
"It's been great, but it's time to do something else," Armstrong said as he approaches Sunday's finish line of his seventh straight Tour de France victory.
He doesn't get any argument from the other riders who have tired of chasing the Texan for all these miles over all these years.
The American domination has become something of a sore subject, particularly in France. It is one thing for the French to be second-best to Italy, Spain or Germany - all great cycling nations - but to constantly finish behind a rider from America, where cycling is about as popular and well-understood as team handball, well, that is something else.
The French newspaper L'Equipe cattily noted the other day that if you combined the times of the top five U.S. riders in the Tour and the times of the top five French riders, the American were 3 hours, 24 minutes faster. In the interest of completeness, the paper pointed out that the home team was also behind Spain, Italy, Germany, and the states of the former Soviet Union.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
One bloody revolution, followed by Napoleonic Wars, and the mindless tactics of World War I basicly eliminated the tall and strong Gallic gene from France's male population.
It is the difference between free cycling and socialized cycling. Plus, the French pedal backward.
Just wait 'til the U.S. wins the soccer World Cup someday (soon maybe), a sport that's almost a religion in the rest of the world but one most of the U.S. couldn't care less about. Then you'll really see Europe and the rest of the world go ballistic.
I can't wait. :-)
Maybe their bikes are from Franss, long known for its engineering prowess.
''Ain't that a sha-ame ...''
Le Frogs...(le croak...le croak)
Those who spat upon Lance were Basques.
They were mad because the Basque team of Euskatel-Euskadi were doing horribly.
Can't wait to see Lance up on that podium in Paris on Sunday for the seventh time... ;-)
Maybe you can't be competitive when you ride with your hands in the air...
I can't stop laughing! 
Okay, Bender, I see it is funny, but why so funny?
They surrendered to Lrrr in 2109...
It was terrible! How do you clean a Frenchman?
You can't clean a Frenchman! You can only bury him and hope for the best...
Try this link to get into the article: MercuryNews.com or go to bugmenot.com
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my Tour de France 2005 list.
"When the muslims introduce Sharia rule, the only sport you'll get is polo with a sheep's head."
Wrong. It will be polo with a infidels head.
Maybe you can't be competitive when you ride with your hands in the air...
LOL! ;-D
It's gotten to the point that Lance has all but given up on Basso, Ullrich, etc. and is letting the Disco boys have some glory.
It's gotta' hurt that the winner of the Giro also won a stage today for Discovery. Which wipes out all the excuses for Basso being worn out.
I found it interesting when I went to the World Wrestling Championships for Wrestling in 1995 the way the Iranian contigent cheered. When Dave Schultz (you may remember him as the wrestler John Dupont shot) wrestled they would cheer for him as if he were one of their own. When Terry and Tom Brands wrestled the Iranians would boo them the entire match. My dad asked them why and they said Schultz won like a man and lost like a man, the Brands brothers did not. It seemed amazing to me that people could put aside political differences to respect those atheletes who were deserving.
"Hehe, love to stick it in the eyes of Le Frogs."
For some strange reason I envision a frenchman with frog legs pedaling a bike until he croaks. The French are hoppin' mad.
tant piss...
The American domination has become something of a sore subject, particularly in France.
La vie est pleine des déceptions, ceci est l'une d'entre elles. AFFAIRE AVEC ELLE
Life is full of disappointments, this is one of them. DEAL WITH IT
The French are inconsequential and have small.....appendages.
I hope an American wins, so long as it isn't Lance Armstrong.
I am so tired of him. There is NO WAY he is winning this race, after testicular cancer, without the use of some kind of drugs.
NO WAY.
And, after his wife seeing him through the cancer, he drops her and ends up with a loser like Sheryl Crowe! Yuck!
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