Abso-f'ing-lutely Hilarious!!

What are the chances Gerdemann gets off the front in any races with Astana this year?


Who the hell is Linus Gerdemann?

Recently, German rider Linus Gerdemann said that he was not pleased with Armstrong returning to the pro peloton and that Armstrong's generation and its propensity for drug use is better off out of the sport. "He's right, I am older. I raced with Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche, Miguel Indurain and Greg Lemond of all people. I have been around a long time and I don't know who the hell Linus Gerdemann is, but I know that when I rolled up in 1992, I started winning races. And when I roll up in 2009, I am gonna be winning races. He better hope he doesn't get in a breakaway with me because I can still ride hard," said the Texan.

That's who Linus Gerdemann is, Lance. And there's a whole new generation of Linuses. Better get used to it.

He is a rider who believes that races should be won by riders, not doctors.

While Lance was busy dating every girl in Hollywood who looks like his mom Linus was wearing the Yellow and White jerseys at the Tour.

Like he said, Kelly, Roche, Indurain and Lemond.
Does Linus have a beef with them too?
He will STFU after racing against Lance.

What, will he get Ekimov to spit on him?

It looks like Lance is going to have to organise a "believe in miracles" seminar for all these young whipper snappers who don't have a sense of the history of pro racing. Maybe bring in Ferrari (how to design a top notch training program) and Fuentes (better living through modern gynecology) as guest speakers. For evening activities there could be dart throwing at posters of Christophe Bassons and Filippo Simeoni, with extra credit for the session on how to improve the sport by donating to the UCI.

By the way, good to see you back Velo.

I prefer a quote like this !

You know that Gerdemann used to work with Cecchini........

So Lance has to get used to a whole new generation that worked with doctors as Andreas Schmid, Lothar Heinrich and Luigi Cecchini? Compared to that, working with Ferrari can be seen as working with mother Teresa.

You really don't know who Gerdemann is? What hole have you been living in? Personally, I'm bummed he left Columbia. Linus will be 27 or so next year -- entering his prime. Good things to come for him.

All of those doctors were active during Lance and co's time. None of them are now. I think that's the point.

So Gerdemanns past isn't a topic?

And based from what I know, Cecchini is defently in the game.

Who the hell is Linus Gerdemann?

the cutest girl in the peloton?

Heh - Linus sure has a knack for not making friends.

Like Ricco's??? Ricco is IIRC younger than Linus......

Never liked Linus, good that he left Columbia since I like that team.

Linus is of course falling right into the "screaming about how clean they are" set-up Lance laid out, and he stepped right into it.

Kinda funny.
He is brash and outspoken and calling out the number one rider in the world.
Balls or stupidity?
Is he "doing a Lance at age 21?"

But I think the bigger point here is what we don't need for the sport is the self-righteous self-appointed arbiters of purity, cleanliness, holier-than-thou attitude from anyone, certainly not the athletes. If Linus wants to speak out, maybe he should, as others here have pointed out, start in his own backyard, and the legacy of institutionalized doping in Germany and T-Mobile.

Throwing rocks Linus?
Not so smart if you live in a:

http://followalena.com/zenphoto/albums/Gla...20House%202.jpg

There will always be dopers, but in the new generation, the Ricco's of the peloton are (gradually) becoming the exception. In Lance's generation, they were not - they were the rule. Gerdemann's point is that having the primary emblem from that dirty era as the focal point of cycling again, in the present, is hardly good for the sport while it's trying to move on. He's right.

Horribly inaccurate statement.

By any measure, except this years UCI rankings, Armstrong is this era's number one rider.
Most famous? Check.

Most money? Check

Biggest wins? Check

Biggest winning streak ever? Check

Brought sport to another level of fame and viewers? Check

Stop nit picking.
Just like Popeye, he is what he is.
The fact you cant stand it is irrelevant.

What does Armstrong have to do in 2009 so that you acknowledge that he is probably riding clean? Regardless of what he might have done in the past, if he does what is expected now of clean riders, how can that be bad for the sport?

well said preptime.

Kohl is pretty young (about Linus' age), didn't stop him to dope........

Dude, tell me you didn't mean that.

I can kind of understand no one responding to a track world cup thread because team GB won practically every gong going including the bingo at half time, but what has your number one rider in the world won in the last three years? Some bum#### gentleman's TT in some hick backwater.

Big up Gerdemann. THere was a time when Indurain had never hard of Lance, but he would have said, "Who is he, I'd like to hear about him". Not so your buddy.

Right, so Lance won't race in France ecause they ahte him. He is doing himsel no favours now in Germany. Simeoni is Italian champion. Before long it will be him against Tyler in the Tou of the Quinghai Lake. Rackon they will wear masks?



Incorrect. Chris Hoy - nineteen straight Keirin victories

Next one - only in the old colonies. There is a world outside there and cycling existed before poster boy. Deal with it

Based on what Patrik Sinkewitz said, I suspect Linus talks out of both sides of his mouth.

Of course Armstrong knows who Gerdemann is - he looks like half of his girlfriends, and anyone who obsessively trawls cycling sites on the internet can't fail to notice someone who wore the maillot jaune. He's just trying to trash-talk him - to hype up the Hombres of this world who can't get enough of it. Good for him.

Gerdemann's message is an apt one - whether he likes or not, Armstrong is the poster boy of the EPO era - the span of his career coincides with the rise of Cecchini and Ferrari to the advent of Operacion Puerto. But the fact that Gerdemann is the one singing the choirboy message shows just how conflicted everyone in cycling is.

I do hope they're both clean, this time.

Exactly. Check out this "self-righteous self-appointed arbiter of purity, cleanliness" with a "holier-than-thou attitude" telling everyone to believe in miracles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DxtxQQLkJ0

Oh "Dude" I did mean that. Deal with it.

How many keirins occur each year and how long does each one last?
Compared to the Tour de France.
That is a really inept comparison and uninformed and really just ignorant.

You say: Lance wont race in France because they hate him.
Funny, because if I say that I get censored and edited.

Lance's response about Gerdeman was very appropriate and went like this:
When I Lance showed up at age 21, I was winning right away. In fact I won the World Championships.
Linus Gerdeman is 27 and has done really almost exactly nothing in terms of major wins.
So, yes, lance probably factually knows who Linus is.
When he asks the question Who is Linus Gerdeman, it is...OK brace yourselves...I know its hard to understand...

a rhetorical question:

He is in essence asking:

Who is this kid who has won basically nothing, and was on the CSC 2005 team, and the T Mobile team in 2006 when multiple accusations and legal investigations have indicated that many of not the whole team was involved in blood doping, to cast aspersions on my record.

I think its a fair question.
Who IS Linus Gerdeman?
He is no where near the talent level of a Lance Armstrong, Bobby Julich, or Jens Voigt-his mentor at CSC.
Yet he feels the need to call out the most succesful rider of this generation.

Really? Trying to score points with the crowd in Germany perhaps.

Quod erat demonstrandum.

Hombre, Your ManCrush on Lance is impressive but don't let it get in the way of reality.

I am not sure if you know this but wearing the Yellow jersey at the Tour is a big deal in our sport. I would not qualify it as nothing.

And where do you think the 'Cancer Awareness Tour' will head next?

I am Lance! I am the greatest! If you don't listen to me, I will shout it louder!

I won every bike race and every Tour de France I ever entered!

I hate everyone! I never feel love for anyone! Not even for you Hombre!

I am cancer!

Dave.

What kind of name is Linus?

Anyway, LA will be under the same testing, and apparently more so, than the rest of the peloton. I don't get what all of you are scared of.

Could the reason be proving that he was the best on a level playing field, instead of conspiracy theories and directly proportional $/test evasion skills, proves each of you wrong?

It may be the wrong thread to ask you this Surftel, because everyone is all worked up about Lance on one side or the other, but I've been wondering for months now.

Honestly, as I read your posts I can't help but feel that you have something deeply personal against him. Is that the case, and in what capacity did, or do, you know him? Your posts have that whiff of a spurned employee, or teammate, or something. I'm honestly just curious. Maybe you have explained this before and I didn't read that post.

It really baffles me as to why so many people (in this thread and in general) get all emotional one way or the other about what Lance says or does--he obviously doesn't care at all about what anyone else thinks, unless it's to feed his sense of being wronged, and that just makes him faster. His presence as a topic we discuss in this forum has the power of making otherwise intelligent people, I presume, sound maniacal.

I am not sure if you know this but wearing the Yellow jersey at the Tour is a big deal in our sport.

two words.

alex stieda.

sometimes it's not so much of a big deal.



i'ld bet a case of 7.62 x 51 seirra match kings 98% couldn't recall him throwing a leg over. and alex actually did a few things linus girlymann hasn't yet accomplished. alex was, in his day, a very good racer. today...an answer to a trivia question.

and yeah...just what kind of name is 'linus'? dang, that's almost as bad as having a hyphenated name or a name with no vowels in it.

Call me ringard, but I remember Stieda in yellow. Didn't last longer than lunch in the local brasserie, but he got to keep the jersey and that's what counts.

A better question - just what kind of name is "Bob"?


Maybe it's because of my lack of religion, but I'm scared of more miracles.

Linus takes up the challenge:


Gerdemann said in a statement to Cyclingnews: "At the Team Milram press conference, I was asked whether I found Lance Armstrong's comeback good. I said that on the one hand it would surely draw more attention to cycling. On the other hand, in connection with the German media coverage, Lance Armstrong is virtually always connected to doping. I did not say anything about the riders of Lance's generation and certainly did not draw any conclusions about them."


THis gets even betterer!!

Gerdemann said in a statement to Cyclingnews: "At the Team Milram press conference, I was asked whether I found Lance Armstrong's comeback good. I said that on the one hand it would surely draw more attention to cycling. On the other hand, in connection with the German media coverage, Lance Armstrong is virtually always connected to doping. I did not say anything about the riders of Lance's generation and certainly did not draw any conclusions about them."


(Additional editorial assistance by Susan Westemeyer.)


I agree.

Sheesh, Tick--are you trying to get Linus' a$$ kicked for him?

Lance is mentally tough, but he's not unique. Gerdemann was on the verge of taking the lead at Tireno-Adriatico this year when he crashed in the final kilometers of the TT -- broken femur, blew out his knee. He got back on the bike & finished the TT, placing 8th. That's guts. After rehabbing all summer, he won three races even though he was not up to full strength. That's guts too.

Hombre, you left out this part: "Cyclingnews apologises to Linus Gerdemann for misrepresenting his views..."
So did Gerdemann really dis LA, or did Cyclingnews mangle his original statements to make them sound like he was dissing LA?

Call me ringard,

ok. you're a ringard. now...wth is a 'ringard'???

thank god for google...it's french for "corny, rinky-dink, old-fashioned".

damn. and here i thought it was an ethnic slur defining the parentage of cheese-eaters.

but I remember Stieda in yellow.

so do at least 8 canadians and a wino from south jersey...after the hangover passes. the point is stieda, framed jersey aside, is a footnote in cycling history. lance is chapter and verse. now, please open your hymnals and sing with the choir, "thine is the power and the glory".

Didn't last longer than lunch in the local brasserie,

hey, i had a snack in a brassiere once, myself. tasty stuff!

but he got to keep the jersey and that's what counts.

they still keep score. one home run against hank aaron's 755 or barry bonds (your asterisk may vary) 762 is...uh...well, of less significance than the gnat on an elephant's arse.

alex's one shirt vs. lance's housefull? sorry. linus needs some more lipstick to dance in the lance-league. to be the fanboy, ya got to beat the fanboy. woooooooo!

A better question - just what kind of name is "Bob"?

it's engrish; short for robert...which is an engrish transliteration of a germanic derivative meaning 'bright fame'. and i might add that my somewhat insignificant 'bright fame' as been accomplished entirely without the use of performance enhancing drugs. i am the most tested bob in the history of roberts. see...i'm multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and diverse in name. huzzah. by my royal decree, let the tolerance for all cultures, no matter how stupid and moronic begin immediately.

longest streak - so where does that leave Miguel Indurain and his 5 straight Tours including 2 Tour/Giro doubles? Or Sean Kelly's 7 straight Paris-Nice wins + Classics. Not to get into the relative paucity of Armstrong's palmares in comparison to other multiple GT winners or anything.

Who is Linus Gerdemann? He's a rider who said something that wasn't entirely adulatory of Lance Armstrong. Thus, like Lemond, Walsh, etc etc, he must be ridiculed. That's who Linus Gerdemann is. Of course, that always says a lot more about the fanboys.

ridicule girlymann???



never!

Case in point. Campy's Lance mancrush must be defended.

linus...first we go to shpain und zen to freiberg, zen i show you how to train to beat dat mean lance harmstrong. you jest need der diesel motoren juice and mirror shades to reflect 'the look'® back into his eyes.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Nb0DKXYvKKQ/RWRPGS0z...emann_TM601.jpg

thank god linus never rode for yohan and the dirty dozen.

Another thread where the usual suspects blather about the end justifying the means. My guy won a lot, so everything he does is OK and your guy hasn't, so he's wrong about everything.

Fanboys all. Logic enters not.

Hey girlymann, I will take a two-pack of your cases, thanks.






3x Funny! Very funny!

Dave.

Hey girlymann, I will take a two-pack of your cases, thanks.

just to make sure i got the shipping address correct...

1234 lancelovers lane
skid row
nutley,nj

i'll throw in a bottle of ripple for ya!

Has nothing to do with whether or not Armstrong is riding clean in 2009 - I have little doubt that he will be. On the other hand, clearly he feels no remorse about cheating in the past, so what makes you think he'd feel any remorse about cheating again? As I've said before, if Lance came out and said, yep, I doped back then, but it was a different time, and now I want to see what I can do as a clean rider in a clean(er) peloton, I'd have no problem with him coming back. But as he chooses to continue to lie about the past, I see no particular reason to trust him in the future.
The ASO don't want him back. The French public don't want him back. ARD doesn't want to broadcast the Tour in Germany if Lance rides. Almost every article written about Lance in the non-cycling media includes the questions of whether or not he was doping in the past. Any of that sound good for the sport to you? Doesn't to me. Other than some renewed interest in cycling in the US, I haven't seen anything to indicate that his return has had any positive impact whatsoever.

Maybe the choice for some journalists is go negative or hold out a tin cup.

If you didn't get the positive impact LA had pre-retirement you won't get it post-retirement.

The French public don't want him back.

libertie! egalitie! fraternitie!

I thought you said you were a Bucktooth from Ohio? I'm not going to your NJ lovenest if I have to pick up in Ohio.

Now, which town was that - Ratsville, Hicksville, or Knockemstiff?

Dave.

east lanceville!

just north of gerdemann's folly. oddly, this afternoon's ride is going to take me thru paris!

In Greek mythology, Linus was the son of Apollo.