Lance is presently + 100 at Oly and -103 at 5 Dimes , -120 at Jamaica.I haven't seen it elsewhere this morning but I would imagine it will be showing up this week as the race starts next Saturday, July 2Fishhead said:I believe most offshore outlets that are taking action on this have him as an underdog to do so if I am not mistaken.
Heard a few posters mention that earlier.
FH
He will do it IMO He is the greatest cylist ever and He will not want to go out with a loss. He was really awesome last year and I think + 100 is actually a steal for a person that has won 6 straight and won as easily as He did last year. Did you watch him in the steep mountain stages last year ? He simply blew by everyone leaving Ullrich gasping ! I actually think Basso is the only one that has any chance and He's 6/1Dante said:will be interesting to see this one , if he can do it IMO
kermit16 said:He will do it IMO He is the greatest cylist ever and He will not want to go out with a loss. He was really awesome last year and I think + 100 is actually a steal for a person that has won 6 straight and won as easily as He did last year. Did you watch him in the steep mountain stages last year ? He simply blew by everyone leaving Ullrich gasping ! I actually think Basso is the only one that has any chance and He's 6/1
Perhaps Merckx is the best ever but " Without a shred of doubt " might be a little too strong IMO Lance not only holds the record for the most Tour De France victories with 6 but He won the 6 all in succession. I feel confident He will extend the record to 7. Please note that I have also thought that nobody could have beaten Merckx in his prime but We will never know for sure ?Dr Rubberfunk said:Greatest cyclist ever? From the US without doubt. Armstrong is right up there but THE greatest cyclist ever to have ridden this planet is without a shred of doubt The Cannibal, Eddy Merckx.
kermit16 said:Perhaps Merckx is the best ever but " Without a shred of doubt " might be a little too strong IMO Lance not only holds the record for the most Tour De France victories with 6 but He won the 6 all in succession. I feel confident He will extend the record to 7. Please note that I have also thought that nobody could have beaten Merckx in his prime but We will never know for sure ?
Dr Rubberfunk said:I hear what you're saying. In terms of Le Tour, Lance is one of the best. His training schedule is insane. He is certainly one hell of a talented individual and has also been destined for greatness since leaving triathlons.
IMO Armstrong will win the 2005 edition but will only take control in the last 1/3 of the race overtaking Ullrich, who will be the leader from the 2nd week.
Kermit my point re "Without a shred of doubt" was that - realising one can't compare history - Merckx frequently took control of Le Tour and brutalised the field. Lance has done that to a lesser degree, and Indurain (I only ride for Le Tour) even less. Armstrong doesn't/hasn't needed to chase down breaks and bring riders back to the peleton, etc as Merckx had to, due to team strength difference. (Although I realise he has done this before). Don't get me wrong, I have huge respect for Armstrong. It's the old apples, apples, oranges scenario.
It sounds like We both are victims of wanting to see great Athletes of different times compete against each other but unfortunately it can't happen. It isn't just Cycling but almost any Sport. I would love to see Bonds or Babe try to hit against Koufax. The list of encounters would never end but they won't happen. I would just like to state that I seldon lose wagering on boxing and betting on The Tour has been easy $$ for me. I really expect Lance to win again this year and + 100 seems like a steal to me for a 6 time winner...all in a row ! I have closely analyzed the race outlay also and I agree with you that Lance will not be in early contention at all. The early part of race is the flat part with the Mountain stages coming in the latter 1/2 of the race. This might give us a chance to catch better odds 1/2 way thru the race ?
I think the + 110 I have already secured is a great bet but I will also be looking for a mistake midway thru the race. However the race opens with a short Time trial on Saturday in which I expect Lance to excell at so I choose to take the plus Money offered now and add to my risk later if odds improve. I know that in past races there were oppurtunities to get far better odds later in race but I believe that those informed and knowledgeable betters will not allow Lance's odds to rise unless He is in real trouble. In that case, I will probably not want to step up my risk either ! I am not sure if some of the Posters here have read about some of Lance's medical advantages that have almost nothing to do with Cycling. He has a heart that is 1/3 larger than the average person and his resting heartrate is 32 beats a minute but the study says He can increase it to over 200 beats a minutes during steep climbs which enables his heart to pump oxygen rich blood to his body.Dr Rubberfunk said:Kermit, that's what I'm looking at/"picking".:toast: