Armstrong bailing on '05 TdF to take Hour Record?

Blair P. Houghton Wrote:
MelloBoy wrote:
Blair P. Houghton Wrote:
At this point Lance's contract almost certainly says things
like "Mr. Armstrong has sole discretion as to when and
where he will appear" and the Trek suits just drool and nod.

normally i'd agree with you, but with the potential for lawsuits if
lance doesn't race, unless there were some sort of solid comment from
lance, it would be a HUGE gamble for Trek Travel.

It's possible they'll sue, but in the presence of a
contract, the exact nature of the relationship is defined
under the law, and Lance almost certainly knows whether
he's okay bailing on the TdF or not. They won't be able
to sue if he's got the right to bail, even if they go out
of business over it. Speaking of which, what the hell is
Trek doing in the travel business?


No no,
i meant the people who signed up for the TdF '05 trip suing trek travel
because Lance doesn't race and their sole purpose of signing up for the
trip was so they could see lance live on one or more of the stages.
There's absolutely no disclaimer on their site, that i have found,
indicating that Lance may or may not race blah blah blah. Trek's just
offering cycling vacation packages to those that want to cycle in
exotic and not-so-exotic places where 95% of everything is all
inclusive.

melloboy


--
MelloBoy

Blair P. Houghton Wrote:
No no,
i meant the people who signed up for the TdF '05 trip suing trek travel
because Lance doesn't race and their sole purpose of signing up for the
trip was so they could see lance live on one or more of the stages.
There's absolutely no disclaimer on their site, that i have found,
indicating that Lance may or may not race blah blah blah. Trek's just
offering cycling vacation packages to those that want to cycle in
exotic and not-so-exotic places where 95% of everything is all
inclusive.

melloboy

Anyone signing up for that trip will certainly have to sign a contract,
which will include language to the effect that "Trek does not guarantee
the appearance of any particular rider in the 2005 tour..." or whatever
the lawyers decide they have to put in there. Once you sign the contract,
the language on the web page becomes irrelevant. Trek tours will lose some
business if Lance bails, but they will make the best of it one way or the
other.

Most TdF tour operators would indeed have a big problem if it was June 15,
they had signed up thousands of participants based on the expectation of
Lance's appearance, and then LA were to drop the bomb. In fact, this is
probably why he's making these noises in November, well before most 2005
tour bookings are arranged. He is well aware of the potential economic
impact of his defection from the tour. Noblesse oblige.

Timing is everything, in publicity as well as racing...

AMG

"Gooserider" wrote in message
...

"Blair P. Houghton" wrote in message
...

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...g_armstrong_dc

--Blair
"Tell me he said *that* in June."

Giro, Giro, Giro. He needs to win another classic to prove he's not just a
one race cyclist. The last guy to win the Giro and Tour was Pantani, and
you
know that has to eat at Lance.



I doubt there's any way Lance will be stepping foot in Italy anytime soon.
He could end up sharing jailhouse cuisine reviews with Martha.

Lance had WAY too much fun on the cobblestones of the Tour. He was really
jazzed about that stage. Pix I saw of him, he was practically grinning
ear-to-ear. You can google search it and see that I predicted back at the
end of the Tour that Lance would do Paris-Roubaix and/or Flanders in 2005.
It sounds now like that's exactly what he has in mind. I feel a little
sorry for George in that he'll be racing those events for his boss instead
of for himself. But maybe he'll learn something for 2006.

As for the 2005 tour, if Lance isn't there, there'll certainly be a new
champion. And then if Lance comes back in 2006 to go for 7, the drama will
be ... well ... dramatic. It'll be Lance vs. the defending champion. I
just hope that won't be Ullrich. I hope it'll be some new blood like Cunego
or Basso.

Bob C.

MelloBoy wrote:
Blair P. Houghton Wrote:
MelloBoy wrote:
Blair P. Houghton Wrote:
At this point Lance's contract almost certainly says things
like "Mr. Armstrong has sole discretion as to when and
where he will appear" and the Trek suits just drool and nod.

normally i'd agree with you, but with the potential for lawsuits if
lance doesn't race, unless there were some sort of solid comment from
lance, it would be a HUGE gamble for Trek Travel.

It's possible they'll sue, but in the presence of a
contract, the exact nature of the relationship is defined

No no,
i meant the people who signed up for the TdF '05 trip suing trek travel
because Lance doesn't race and their sole purpose of signing up for the
trip was so they could see lance live on one or more of the stages.

Ah. Yes.

But, like I said, Trek Travel was jumping the gun.

They probably had no right to promise anyone's
participation.

And, as always, the real fine print won't show up until
you're excited to finally be getting to the point where
you're signing your contract to pay for the trip, and
in no mood to read disclaimers.

--Blair
"Besides. Cycling is inherently dangerous."

"psycholist" wrote in message
...

"Gooserider" wrote in message
...

"Blair P. Houghton" wrote in message
...


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...g_armstrong_dc

--Blair
"Tell me he said *that* in June."

Giro, Giro, Giro. He needs to win another classic to prove he's not just
a
one race cyclist. The last guy to win the Giro and Tour was Pantani, and
you
know that has to eat at Lance.



I doubt there's any way Lance will be stepping foot in Italy anytime soon.
He could end up sharing jailhouse cuisine reviews with Martha.

Lance had WAY too much fun on the cobblestones of the Tour. He was really
jazzed about that stage. Pix I saw of him, he was practically grinning
ear-to-ear. You can google search it and see that I predicted back at the
end of the Tour that Lance would do Paris-Roubaix and/or Flanders in 2005.
It sounds now like that's exactly what he has in mind. I feel a little
sorry for George in that he'll be racing those events for his boss instead
of for himself. But maybe he'll learn something for 2006.

As for the 2005 tour, if Lance isn't there, there'll certainly be a new
champion. And then if Lance comes back in 2006 to go for 7, the drama
will
be ... well ... dramatic. It'll be Lance vs. the defending champion. I
just hope that won't be Ullrich. I hope it'll be some new blood like
Cunego
or Basso.

Bob C.


Maybe the Vuelta, then? Giro, Vuelta, Tour---those are the big 3. The hour
record would be great, and would be a huge moneymaker(PPV, especially), but
winning another Classic would do wonders for his legend.