According to Kazakhstan’s cycling federation deputy president Nikolai Proskurin, Astana have won the race to sign Lance Armstrong. The move was widely expected in cycling circles because of Armstrong’s close ties to Astana team boss Johan Bruyneel who managed him to seven Tour de France victories. There could be some fireworks in Spain though Armstrong’s first race will be the Tour Down Under in January – which he will ride as part of his build up to winning an eigth Tour de France in July all of which is part of his greater goal of raising cancer awareness. Of Armstrong’s return, Bruyneel has said that it is unthinkable that he could ride for another team and that he would find it impossiblle to leave him out of his team – a factor which clearly unsettled Contador. Speaking to the BBC Mr Proskurin acknowledged that accommodating both men in the same team was going to be difficult – perhaps not surprisingly though Astana are going to try. Mr Proskurin aid that Armstrong would share the leadership in the team with the current leader, Spaniard Alberto Contador, the 2007 Tour de France winner who has won the Tour of Spain and Giro d’Italia this season. "Currently there’s certain tension in the team but I hope we are capable of keeping the situation under control," Proskurin said. "Armstrong will not be the only star, he will be one of the team’s leaders." In other Armstrong-related news, Tour of Britain organisers today officially invited Lance and the Astana team to take part in the 2009 event. This year’s race drew record crowds and the organisers are confident that next year’s race will top that – particularly as the final stage will be run on the central London street circuit that proved so popular in 2008. Armstrong’s presence would add even more to the crowds. It would certainly help with his bid to publicise the fight against cancer, partiuclarly if he rode as winner of the 2009 Tour de France.
Armstrong joins Astana (gets ToB invite) … over to you Alberto
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40% of fatal road incidents (70 deaths p.a.) in Ireland involve excess alcohol. Pass a law mandating compulsory alcohol interlocks for all motor vehicles and see what that does for road safety first.
@mitsky I didn't say it was applicable in this case or that I thought it should be, I was simply answering your question as to whether anyone had ever shot someone and been charged with anything other than murder or attempted murder, to which the answer is yes.
@perce The new troll, my friend, is solely piss and wind, the new troll is solely piss and wind.
Very correct price for a basic, no-frills frameset. Older and wiser -after a warranty case on a '100 year' Ti frameset that lasted 5 years before a drive side chain stay weld said sayonara- I'll never again purchase a really high cost Ti frame. If the replacement -3999 Euro at retail but I paid 800, which is what it took for them to +- honour the warranty- fails, I'm done. Firstly because they do fail. Titanium is very finicky where welding conditions are concerned and good luck with that warranty, better read the wording very carefully. Secondly, often the price is justified with 'it's a frame for life'. Errrr....yes, unless you decide you want something different after 5 years, it breaks or technology evolves to a point where your frameset becomes aa anachronism and after 10 years you can start hunting for spares(UDH and disc brakes, anyone?). Third: I'm getting a bit tired reading about these so-called 'magical' properties of Ti. The only magical thing about it is the corrosion resistance. All that absorbing of vibrations etc is mainly function of frame design/geometry. If you want vibration damping: larger tires, lower pressure, done.
True,but I can't count thé number of times I've seen him on TV as an invited expert for comments since
"...there was enough suspicion to warrant an out-of-hours knock on the door for the Tour’s then-top two." A generic statement that sounds like a cover-your-arse mumbling. Can they be more specific? Nope. Good to see Vaughters join Lefevere to add up some controversy to the very politically correct pro peloton. In the late 1990s and early noughties, when cycling was becoming a global phenomenom, officials, race organisers and team managers turned a blind eye on doping. Nobody wanted to slay the goose with golden eggs.
Am I missing something. Pogacar would be firm favourite no matter what you did unless you made it a very flat edition which no one would want. Outside of Pogacar its all up for grabs. You can't build a good multi-week race with Pogacar in the form he is in. Take Pogacar out and this would be fine.
Sounds a little like a pissed off driver decided to teach a cyclist a lesson by brake checking them after overtaking them. I hope I am wrong.
Moronic coppers seize and destroy third-party property without notifying the actual owners. Not to worry, compensation to be paid by public money, i.e. the taxpayer. When did the Police openly become the English people's enemy?
@jackcycles What a coincidence! I was at my local bike shop only last week, a Tuesday I think it was. I'd been watching my tomato plants not growing all morning so I said to my pal "it ain't no use to sit and wonder why Dave" and off I went. On the way back two cyclists were approaching and the wind began to howl. I'd seen them earlier knocking on Evans's door so I invited them in to take shelter from the storm. After the idiot wind had subsided and one more cup of coffee they were on their way again.Anyway, I don't think I saw any e-bikes at all, just a bloke on his way to a cello class. I'll tell you what though - I ain't buying any plants from Maggies farm no more. No sirree Bob.