I really don't know what Lance Armstrong's personal life has to do with the Tour de France. His athletic talent and his personal life are two different things.

I have read that the "new" time trial rules were used before in 1984.
My sense is that the governing body of the Tour is not necessarily out to get any one rider; but they want to make the race as competitive as possible. If there is a sense that one rider, such as Armstrong, is surrounded by a team that is the equivalent of the New York Yankees of cycling, then the tour will try to negate the "free spending" American team to make sure that the team time trial wont be the determing factor.
The rule may also recognize that US Postal is built for one specific tour, while the other teams are obligated to perform well at the other grand tours and also at the classics.

Giro:To all the other teams(european)this is their national sport.They have access to as much money &technology or more than U.S.Postal. They are just getting beat and are trying to prevent an American from setting a record for the ages.

If Lance and team take home the trophy again, hopefully "going postal" will take on a new, more positive meaning!

BT, not for long. This is USPostals last year of sponsorship. Next year the lead sponsor will be the Discovery Network.

mgmargate - where do you get the idea that cycling is the "national sport" of european countries.

I'm trying desperately hard to think of one but I think, without exception, the national sport of all european countries is football.

Cycling has to compete in a very crowded sporting sponsorship market over here just as in the US.

That's not to say the USPostal team has any advantage - I doubt whether it does - but I strongly doubt that this year's rule change has anything to do with Lance Armstrong and a sixth yellow jersey win. That just sounds like so much American paranoia and does LA a disservice.

Dr D.

It was wonderful to see Chartres from an aerial view.

Mimi, Isn't it great? It's so much fun watching the scenery.

Dr: Soccer and biking are the 2 most popular sports in western Europe and biking is surely the most popular sport in France.It is like trying to choose between football and baseball in the U.S.. As far as the new rule this year COME ON,it is aimed directly at Lance.To deny this is partisan.

Ciga: If you haven't seen Chartre in person it is even better up close. The stained glass is really something.If you've been there than you know what I mean.

Whether or not the ruling is aimed at Lance, he and Postal are up to the greater challenge it might present. And no matter what more Americans are taking interest in this exciting and challenging sport. I have been into it for the last 6 years due to my husband's obsession and half the fun has been watching this international sport grow here in the states both due to our own competitions and those abroad.

Thanks I have seen it,mgm,and know what you mean.
Sauterelle, wish we were there.

We got hooked on bicycle racing from watching the scenery on last year's Tour. That's all it took. I just wish there was a little more note taken of some of the spectacular areas and buildings shown so we don't have to guess.

On the BBC today I heard an American reporter interviewing a tailor-to-the-presidents. The tailor's name is Georges de Paris, and the journalist pronounded the "de" just the way Bob Roll does with Tour DAY France.

Mimi, I'll be in Paris next week! Shall I bring you anything?

Oh, I hope you'll bring me news that you fell in love with a Frenchman.
Have a wonderful trip. We are not going to Paris but to France in August

mgmgarate: I rest on my previous posting. if it sooo important to you that an American beats the Europeans at their own game then that is your deficiency! (I hardly would characterize it as patriotism!).

I say, let's appreciate the best man to win honstly in all sports all over the world. Let us all be good sports, right giro?

giro: You don't get it.It has nothing to do with me .It is about integrity and sportsmanship.It appears very important to you that we believe there is nothing phony about the rules change.If anyone is being partisan try looking in the mirror.What is important in my life is family. And in business it is absolute integrity and straight talk,not politically correct nonsense.

VIVA LA LANCE!!!!

The rules are the rules! The rules were set before the tour. If you don't like the rules, don't play! Integrity is important and that is why the rules were set BEFORE the tour and not in the middle of it. So let's be sports and see who wins WITHIN the rules.

Do you mean the long standing RULES that that were changed right before the Tour,that appear to target the top rider in the world.

If you check your history, the team time trial is not always a part of every tour. The fact that they are using Alpes d'huez as a time trial favors Mayo over Armstrong and his strong team. I think the organizers have a right to "toughen" the tour to make sure that a six time winner is well deserving.
It is similar to the USGA making an open course much more difficult than a typical course to ensure that the winner is a true champion...at least in the eyes of the USGA.

What the change allows is the other top riders can sit back and conserve energy knowing they will be saved from losing the actual time they were beat by.That's real fair right?

I'm all for LA, but have to disagree on the reason for the rule change, mgmargate. As it was, top riders on top teams benefitted from the strength of their teams, whereas a top rider on a weak team was disadvantaged. The rule change mitigates that disadvantage, which I think is fair, since the race is won by an individual, not a team.

Beachbum:So does that mean that all previous Tours were unfair?

Goodness. The tour reintroduced the team time trial during the reign of Armstrong and US Postal has always dominated it since then. Exactly as the tour introduced this event, the team time trial could be dropped if anyone really wanted to hurt Armstrong. But as a matter of fact, Armstrong didn't win the Tour in the last years because of winning the team time trial nor will he win or lose it this year because of it.

<i>does that mean that all previous Tours were unfair?</i>

No, it means those Tours were different. It's called the Tour de <b>France</b>. So they get to make the rules. I've listened to Lance talk about the rule change. I've listened to Chris Carmichael, and the other coachs talking about the rule change. They have all dealt with it. We need to as well!

There are so many factors that impact a team; technology, team development, and crashes! Can't we just enjoy this spectacle without paranoid politics entering into it?

I wouldn't say &quot;unfair&quot; and I certainly wouldn't discount any of LA's previous wins. In fact, he may have been disadvantaged by a weak time in earlier races. My point is that, in a race with an individual winner, other than maybe from strategy, no single rider should benefit from the relative strength of his &quot;team.&quot;

Er, that should be, &quot;...disadvantaged by a weak team in earlier races.&quot;

Hans:Postal has not dominated during Lances run.They only won the time trial starting 2 years ago.Before that the trials were dominated by the Stronger teams ie:not Postal.They didn't change the rules then to help Lance and other riders on Weaker teams.

Is it possible that this time it's a vast Left Wing conspiracy?Instead of the other way around.