re: 2018 Tour de France thread: Thomas wins!

Greipel tweet. About 10hrs prior to stage finish:
"My apology go out to @ArnaudDemare and @GroupamaFDJ as I have had not the right to make that tweet based on GPS time, which can be wrong, plus I got the incorrect times he lost on the last hill. I’m sorry. Lesson learned: don’t tweet about sth you are not part off."
10:43 PM - 25 Jul 2018

Well he got fricked by Lance for telling the truth. Also he was robbed of 1 probably 2 more TDF wins. He is just now really rebuilding his brand over the past 5 years

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Well he got fricked by Lance for telling the truth.

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That was a bad deal all around. But Lemond looked sketchy in his time as well. The vitamin shots, coming into form incredibly quickly...Came along at a time when EPO was emerging but no test for it.

Listening to Lance tell his story about how he and others were pretty clean with everything, then presented with the reality that doping was rampant, and they made the decision to get on the same level...I find it implausible that the same calculus didn't apply to Lemond. I don't know about the Post-Lance era, but from his time and before, I'm of the opinion that the Top 10 at least were doping.

But with Lemond, I'm not sure if he went through that calculus and decided to dope, or if his team doc made the decision for him. Either way, I think he doped. But part of me feels his team doc may have been playing with the vitamin and iron shots without Lemond's knowledge - and that would explain why Lemond is so self-righteous. But some of his other antics make it appear he's just jealous.

Thing is - I don't care. I wouldn't care if Lemond came clean about doping. The others were doping too. He won his titles and nothing will take that away. I feel the same about Armstrong's titles.

Lance was 100% wrong for going after people personally. That said, the way Lance has been treated is unfair as well. He's been purged from the books while others that admitted to doping more, having a more sophisticated protocol for it etc, they somehow remain. Those people even came in hot on tests, but that is something Lance never did. WADA's report and conclusions about Lance made no sense - that he was prompting young boys around the world to dope and similar claims from WADA - just nonsense.

But Lemond made it seem personal as well and it especially looks bad when you factor in his bitching about his line of bikes and that nonsense. His line was absorbed by Trek and he ended up making money as a result of Lance and Postal's accomplishments. But he really made an arse of himself there.

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Also he was robbed of 1 probably 2 more TDF wins. He is just not really rebuilding his brand over the past 5 years

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He needs to make nice with Lance. They should be the icons of American cycling. Lemond doesn't have to admit doping or anything else. He should just recognize he went after Lance when he knew (we all knew) Lance's main rivals were doped like crazy, and he should give credit to Lance for winning.

Lance's brand is really coming back. People are coming around to the real truth about doping in cycling and the fact that he won those races. Seven in a row is stupid amazing. There probably would not have been much American interest or even USPS involvement, if not for the work Lemond did. Both guys are legends. Can you imagine the numbers if they were to make nice and do some of Lance's podcasts together, for the TDF? That kind of stuff would bring Lemond back into the picture and things would take off from there.

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it was more LeMond's aerodynamic (and at the time... controversial) handlebars that actually won him that time trial

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Yep, I noticed the clip-on aerobars and the aero helmet.

Funny that the only people I see running clip-on aerobars now (besides collegiate triathletes, who run those "shorty" aerobars in their ITU races) are freds and wannabe triathletes who combine the clip ons with the least aero position imaginable on their bikes.

Landa has 3 minutes. He looks strong and is in a group of truly elite climbers.

Looks like online Sagan in trouble and Allaphillipe went big over the Tourmalet

Roglic going...Trying to get rid of Froomedog for a podium spot

Bernal. Jesus man

Primooooz

Was my dark horse for this year. Dude has been killing it