Basso In and Flanked by DC Blue

musette

http://www.thepaceline.com/members/...ry.aspx?cid=182

http://www.thepaceline.com/members/...ry.aspx?cid=183

A couple of things evident in the pictures:

1) Basso is clearly the #1 rider (as he should be) on the team

-- Note all the shots highlighting Basso with either Bruyneel or LA, or both of them
-- Note all pics of Basso at the front of the group

2) Levi is not featured a lot

-- The write-up accompanying this on thepaceline also emphasizes Basso. If I were Levi, I'd feel pretty unhappy about this arrangement so far. There is a pic of Levi riding with LA, but compare that to all the close-ups and riding photos of LA with Basso.

3) LA can still ride, despite the leg injury he sustained in connection with running the NY Marathon

meandmybike

[QUOTE=musette]http://www.thepaceline.com/members/...ry.aspx?cid=182


2) Levi is not featured a lot

[QUOTE=musette]


Two reasons for that:

1) He's still contracted to Gerolsteiner, hence the Gerolsteiner kit. Why would Disco feature a rider not in their kit?

2) He hasn't got a cat in Hell's chance of winning the Tour so he'll get exactly the same publicity as all the other worker ants.

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'Voigt? Pfff. If they show that guy a parcours consisting of 200kms of sand he’d still give it the go-ahead.' Tom Boonen

Powerful Pete

Yup, what's the big deal. Until further notice Levi is lieutenant. Not captain.

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De Rosa Planet
Campagnolo Per Sempre!
PAOLO BETTINI CAMPIONE DEL MONDO x 2!

musette

Meanwhile, a little comic relief from Mr. Tommy D:

"TD: Obviously we are reading a lot about Ivan Basso coming to the team. For sure it’s great he is coming to the team and he is filling a need for the sponsors. He is a big name in cycling and there is sound reasoning behind it at the team level. With that said, I have my ultimate goal and I can’t have that change based on who is on the team and the changes that have been made. My goals are mine and that’s who I am! Just because people are saying this guy is the next TdF winner I can’t let that change what my goals are as an individual. Keeping that in mind I am going to train as hard as I can this winter and get to the highest level of conditioning I can for '07 and then we will see where I am at and decide what my roll will be. I am not going to sit here in November and read that people are talking about Basso this Basso that, and think, ok cool he is going to take up the slack on the team and I am going to go eat some more donuts and call it a season and hope '08 is for me. NO!NO! I have my time line and my goals and I am not going to let whoever is on the team dictate what my goals are as an individual. Then of course if he is much better than me then of course I am going to work for him as a team and give my best performance for the Team. But until then I am going to train for '07 to be the best racer I can be, bottom line!"

Umm, Tom, I think you misunderstand. The word I placed in bold above is not "if". It should be "because". Including because Bruyneel will say so, or you will not be on the TdF team. Hah Hah

Who knows who is going to improve from year to year you just can’t tell these days. It is funny to me how a lot of

Powerful Pete

LOL. Does anyone take TD seriously except himself?

__________________
De Rosa Planet
Campagnolo Per Sempre!
PAOLO BETTINI CAMPIONE DEL MONDO x 2!

limerickman

..............................Musette does.

She touted Tom Danielson to win the 2006 Giro!

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets" - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

musette

I didn't, and your repeated assertions in this regard (to the point where I offered bet on it and offered to search old threads, and you backed down -- whether because you were afraid or not, I cannot tell) aren't going to show anything other than the desperation in your losing arguments. Do you want to bet who said what, with the loser acknowledging they are a big loser who should put up or shut up on this board? I am not afraid to address that. If you take the bet, we shall see who gets that label.

Returning to the subject: "if he is much better than me". I like the word "much".

limerickman

You're in New York : so settling any proposed bet is impractical.

You touted Danielson to do great things in 2006 Giro : you posted that prediction here.
Needless to say that prediction was wrong as well.

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets" - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

musette

It's sad how self-delusional TD and certain relevant parties may be. For TD to think that he could even be "better" than Basso, let alone "much" "better", when the whole world knows who is better, is sad indeed.

wolfix

Please, let's not inject wurm's name in this part of the forum. He already has wrecked the Soapbox part of the forum.

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"I rule my world with a cellphone."

whiteboytrash

Oi ! Where did you come from ? Do you have a Google Alert for Tommy D related coversations ?

jhuskey

Basso is testing new time trial equipment in the wind tunnel. Photo below was taken by a covert spy that specializes in industrial espionage.

Attached Images

 

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Whenever I can't get excited about riding I just fantasize about someone else's bike.

musette

Here are lots of Basso pictures:

www.thepaceline.com

They are going to have fun like paint ball and go-karts, not go on freezing or otherwise physically treacherous treks that are supposedly character-building. They eat out at nice restaurants in Austin, and generally have a great time!

I love the observation LA had, when he told Basso that it's better late than never, with respect to joining DC.

musette

Settling a bet if one bets begin labelled a bumbling idiot forever on this board is not impracticable from a longer distance. We could bet that.