On 12 Jan 2005 14:01:10 GMT, adspam (Wesley Best) wrote:

If he only makes the podium, then he'd come back with a vengeance next
year. He wants to go out in grand style, as a winner - smart - and not just
fade away.

IMHO, I think that's true but with basically a little different twist on it:
It seems that there might be a little bit of something in the back of his head
that makes him want to silence the folks that say he's a great TDF rider but
that's all.
He seems to be giving strong consideration to proving them wrong.
My guess is that his program right now is geared towards the classics but that
he and Carmichael, et al will look at how that progresses and if the
physiological indicators say he's not going to do it well, he'll turn towards
the Tour again.
Just my prognostication...
Wes

Had you seen the interview with Mart Smeets, you might not feel that way,
though fair point. LA says point blank that there will never be another
rider that can ride the Giro, Flanders, the Word's, and the hour record
plus the Tour like Merckx did - all in the same year.

So there's absolutely no point in him trying to 'silence the critics' he
says. He'll be doing those purely for his own benefit - his still liking to
ride and suffer. I could quote the interview if you're interested, or you
can dl it from ED's site.

Still doesn't mean he won't do what you suggest but maybe for different
reasons.

Because he's got the six, it takes the pressure off of him to be in shape
and be at the Tour in July, with few injuries. Should he do Flanders but
have a crash, no big deal in the big picture...but nobody's gonna televise
Flanders except maybe an hour's synopsis on OLN. So it brings nothing to
Discovery....OTOH, maybe, if OLN still has the TdF broadcast rights,
Discovery will snag the Flanders broadcast rights? Still haven't seen
anything from either of them on who will broadcast what.

My feeling? He'll figure out when to do the hour record, find a site, build
a Velo, and do it, then do the Tour. Maybe race some minor races like Tour
of Georgia like he did last year to get in racing shape. Next year he'll do
Flanders and the Tour (maybe). If he wins seven and is still healthy and
the new team shows their ability, then he'll do the Tour in 06 and at the
end of that win or lose, retire at 34, having the distinction of being the
oldest rider to win 5, yada, yada...

jj