I'm feeling really lazy tonight and think I will probably skip riding. No ambition to work up a sweat. I really should ride because I am feeling FAT. I'm not, but there is a some extra meat around my middle that feels huge even though it's not. Besides, I going out of town next week and will not be able to ride at all. Brilliant preparation for CX State Championships.
News Item of the Day: For the fifth time in six years, Lance Armstrong has won the prestigious Velo d'Or award from France's Velo Magazine. After his incredible comeback from testicular cancer, Armstrong placed third in 1998's Velo d'Or and since 1999, only Mario Cipollini has bested the Texan (2002) since Armstrong emerged as the dominant Grand Tour rider of his generation.
After winning an unprecedented sixth straight Tour last summer, the 33 year-old Armstrong has said he's not sure to be back for the Tour de France next season. For 2005 with his new Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team, Lance looks ready to embark on the pursuit of new challenges like a successful spring classics season and perhaps a shot at the Hour Record.
Runner-up to Armstrong in the Velo d'Or is emerging Italian star Damiano Cunego, who will lead the Lampre-Cafitta squad in 2005. Cunego paid homage to Big Tex from his second place, saying that "Armstrong is the top rider in the world and he certainly deserved the recognition of the Velo d'Or. Even I deserved to win, since I had a season beyond any expectation this year...but the fact that I'm ahead of riders like Bettini and Freire is a great satisfaction. I hope to win this next year."
Despite the historical accomplishment of six straight Tours by Armstrong, this hasn't convinced old school Euros like Eddy Merckx and Francesco Moser. Although they are old friends, Eddy never minced words when evaluating Armstrong's approach to racing. "Armstrong is a cannibal, but only at the Tour," said the man nicknamed The Cannibal for his ferocious appetite for victory. "If I raced with a medicine dropper like him, I'd have won the Tour for at least twenty years. I've always criticised Lance because he gives little back to cycling."
Evidently, Italian great Francesco Moser isn't very impressed with Armstrong's fifth Velo d'Or, saying, "(For me) Cunego in first place; I don't even consider Armstrong, even if he's really great in the Tour. If every rider (rode) like him, cycling would have to close up shop tomorrow." But the criticism of old-timers like Moser and Merckx has never had much impact on Armstrong, who's always admitted that the Tour De France is the only race he really cares about. Plus the American has shown how to succeed in the biggest bike race in the world in an cycling epoch that is much more about specialization and specific focus than back in the day when Moser and Merckx were doing over 100 races per season.
On Monday, November 30, Armstrong and his new Discovery Channel team will have their first training camp in Austin, Texas, slated until December 6.
Viewpoint: I have to agree with Moser. Cunego was most deserving for the award this year. I might even put Bettini above Lance for winning his 3rd straight World Cup and the Olympic RR. Overlooking six straight Tours is tough, though.
News Item of the Day: For the fifth time in six years, Lance Armstrong has won the prestigious Velo d'Or award from France's Velo Magazine. After his incredible comeback from testicular cancer, Armstrong placed third in 1998's Velo d'Or and since 1999, only Mario Cipollini has bested the Texan (2002) since Armstrong emerged as the dominant Grand Tour rider of his generation.
After winning an unprecedented sixth straight Tour last summer, the 33 year-old Armstrong has said he's not sure to be back for the Tour de France next season. For 2005 with his new Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team, Lance looks ready to embark on the pursuit of new challenges like a successful spring classics season and perhaps a shot at the Hour Record.
Runner-up to Armstrong in the Velo d'Or is emerging Italian star Damiano Cunego, who will lead the Lampre-Cafitta squad in 2005. Cunego paid homage to Big Tex from his second place, saying that "Armstrong is the top rider in the world and he certainly deserved the recognition of the Velo d'Or. Even I deserved to win, since I had a season beyond any expectation this year...but the fact that I'm ahead of riders like Bettini and Freire is a great satisfaction. I hope to win this next year."
Despite the historical accomplishment of six straight Tours by Armstrong, this hasn't convinced old school Euros like Eddy Merckx and Francesco Moser. Although they are old friends, Eddy never minced words when evaluating Armstrong's approach to racing. "Armstrong is a cannibal, but only at the Tour," said the man nicknamed The Cannibal for his ferocious appetite for victory. "If I raced with a medicine dropper like him, I'd have won the Tour for at least twenty years. I've always criticised Lance because he gives little back to cycling."
Evidently, Italian great Francesco Moser isn't very impressed with Armstrong's fifth Velo d'Or, saying, "(For me) Cunego in first place; I don't even consider Armstrong, even if he's really great in the Tour. If every rider (rode) like him, cycling would have to close up shop tomorrow." But the criticism of old-timers like Moser and Merckx has never had much impact on Armstrong, who's always admitted that the Tour De France is the only race he really cares about. Plus the American has shown how to succeed in the biggest bike race in the world in an cycling epoch that is much more about specialization and specific focus than back in the day when Moser and Merckx were doing over 100 races per season.
On Monday, November 30, Armstrong and his new Discovery Channel team will have their first training camp in Austin, Texas, slated until December 6.
Viewpoint: I have to agree with Moser. Cunego was most deserving for the award this year. I might even put Bettini above Lance for winning his 3rd straight World Cup and the Olympic RR. Overlooking six straight Tours is tough, though.
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