Discovery Team Thread

Hi Team Discovery! Here is the team Jersey for you to pledge your allegiance, post in logs or anything else!!!

Also attached to this post is the excel spreadsheet for tracking your team result, all commitments made by team members are included but you might want to check I have it right! 

don't forget your edam:

Discovery Channel

Monday July 2, 2007

Guardian

A digital television wasteland transmitting old documentaries, watched only by people too stoned to find the remote and turn over.

Tour heritage

Founded in 1995 as US Postal Service. Hired Lance Armstrong in 1998 and have never looked back, winning seven Tours on the trot and taking 26 stage wins. The post-Armstrong era is not as glittering, though - they had a disappointing 2006 and must deliver something spectacular. Discovery pull out at the end of the season and they won't want to end up with an even more low-rent TV sponsor such as QVC, Red Hot All Girl or Channel 4.

Past controversies

Hiring Ivan Basso last autumn seemed clever but it turned into an embarrassment when he confessed to storing his blood ahead of the 2006 Tour when racing with CSC.

In the coffers

£4m to prove they are not still walking with dinosaurs.

The boss

Johan Bruyneel won what was the fastest-ever Tour stage in 1993 but he's more famous for forgetting to steer round a mountain curve in 1996 and flying headlong into a ravine.

Team leader

Levi Leipheimer is strong but erratic; he always suffers a bad day somewhere on the Tour. That didn't stop his Butte, Montana hometown holding The Levi Leipheimer Appreciation Day, which featured a 15-minute speech followed by a brief multimedia presentation. They must love him dearly.

Wild man of the saddle

Sean Yates, who will be managing (ie screaming like a madman) from a team car, makes his charges seem like total softies. Yates is a legendary hard man with a penchant for ice-climbing, skiing, riding a tandem and screaming like a madman from a moving car.

They'll be happy with ...

With a sponsor to snag, it has to be a podium finish for Leipheimer or Alberto Contador, plus a major mountain-stage win.

Fans will paint on the road

"Levi has the best genes"; "We've been off the boil since Lance"

William Fotheringham predicts

Leipheimer is not consistent enough over three weeks, while Contador is too callow. A stage win and someone around sixth place.

If they were cheese... Edam

Enjoyed recent run of all-conquering success:yellow is very much the colour for this in-favour cheese. To get a sense of the success just look at those phenomenal numbers. And yet critics grumble at the lack of variety, giving rise to fears it might just be a bit of a one-trick pony. It can't be ... can it?

Based Austin, Texas, United States

Bike Trek frame, Bontrager wheels

Jerseys Nike

Team leader Levi Leipheimer (US, age 33. 5 Tours, 0 stage wins. Best 6th, 2006)

Climbers Alberto Contador (Sp, 24), José Luis Rubiera (Sp, 34)

Sprinter Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr, 27)

Time-triallists George Hincapie (US, 33), Benjamín Noval (Sp, 28), Pavel Padrnos (Cz, 36), Matt White (Aus, 33), Tomas Vaitkus (Lit, 25)

Puncheurs Janez Brajkovic (Slo, 23), Egoi Martínez (Spa, 29), Sérgio Paulinho (Por, 27)

Team manager Johan Bruyneel

Team founded 1995

Tours de France 10

Overall wins 7 (Lance Armstrong, 1999-2005)

Stage wins 26

King of Mountains 0

2006 best 19th, José Azevedo

2006 stage wins 1 (Popovych)

ProTour ranking 6th

Website teamdiscovery.com

I'm in for 11 stages. Yes it's on the low side, but we're on a camping trip from the 26th to the 29th.

I nominate Freckle Face for captain because "Captain Freckle Face" just sounds funny.

I'm in for 12 rides.  I figure at 23 days of the Tour, that's one every other day.    Now some of my rides are commutes so I have an a.m. ride and a p.m. ride, but I'm only counting that as one ride for the day (for whoever is keeping track).

GO TEAM DISCOVERY!!!!!!!!     

Diane

Hey team Discovery,

We just got in from an 18 mile mountain bike ride with the family in Boulder Junction,l Wisconsin.  Most of my rides will be on either an old antelope Trek Mountain Bike or my newer Greg LeMond LeTour Rode bike.  Put me down for riding at least 12 if not more than that. 

Thanks,

Bookend

** causally walks in**

  Oh well hello there, name is dlaxman... dlaxman31 I ride a Trek 1000, (fairly basic nothing fancy) pictures of it are in the album section.  I have signed up for 12 stages, putting me at something attainable.  Starting 1/2 through the month to start training for the Baltimore 1/2 mary but figured kick my butt into bike shape now too. 

Anyone know how to make a little avatar thing that has all of our names on it with our team jersey?  Sorta like rick's aka Daremos?
 

Hey peeps!

I'm riding a Specialized Allez. Biking is my weakest leg of racing, so one of my goals has been to BIKES LOTS to get faster and stronger. This challenge is perfect for that! I just started my training plan for the Twin Cities Marathon, so I need something to keep me getting on my bike, too. I will ride 14 stages during the tour.

Hey everyone,

I am in for 10 rides for this challenge.  I ride a Giant OCR3 road bike that is Blue and Black, like our team colors.   Let's win that yellow jersey!!! 

Team Discovery

AZChica

Bookend

Drdi

Freckle Face

Marmadaddy

Dlaxman31

TexOma

Thought you guys might like this.  Let me know if there are any problems with any of it.  I'll try and fix it.  Trust me it took a while to make since I just copy and pasted it from another group  

Dlaxman,  that team banner is awesome. 

Just two more days till the start of TdF challenge.  Everyone getting their bikes ready? 

BTW, What's up with the cheese?  Is that supposed to distract us? 

Let's Go TEAM DISCOVERY!!  :-)

I'll be using my trusty steed: a vintage early 1990's Nashbar 6000T touring bike.  Hey it's the only bike I've got.  It's not fast, but it will go long with the utmost in comfort.  It looks like this one, only a dark forest green:

I'm going to try for a short ride on Saturday, but Sunday is my first metric century of the summer so that should get me off to a good start.  I'm hoping to start cranking out the miles to get ready for a full century ride later this summer.

GO US! 

LANCE? LANCE?! LANCE?!?

nah can't find him...

While you sissies were sleeping, looks like someone from barlo rode by and took a quick swim in your kiddie pool...

Oh, and by the way...

(good luck  getting your a$$ kicked in the challenge everyone).

I think this thing may be developing a life of its own! 

Hi!!

To get you really into the whole Team Discovery thing I thought I would give you a quick update on some of the riders and team line up etc before the prologue kicks off in less than 24 hours (although it feels weird telling americans abour Discovery because you probably know more than me!!!)

The official team line up for the tour (as of now) is:

· Alberto Contador (Spain)

· Vladimir Gusev (Russia)

· George Hincapie (USA)

· Levi Leipheimer (USA)

· Egoi Martinez (Spain)

· Benjamin Noval (Spain)

· Sergio Paulinho (Portugal)

· Yaroslav Popovych (Ukraine)

· Tomas Vaitkus (Lithuania)

Of these riders the team leader will be American Levi Leipheimer who has returned to Discovery this year after leaving to be leader of Gerolsteiner for previous Tours.

This year he won the Tour of California but in his teens we was in training to be a competitive skiier. This all changed when he started cycling as a form of cross training and switched to the sport, turning pro in 1997.

The team is quoted as saying it is returning to the 'Lance Strategy' this year with the focus 100% on taking the team leader to glory, controlling the peloton and weakening the competition by fielding an incredibly strong line up of riders

One of the most loved riders, George Hincapie will be riding for Lepheimer this year. He is the only rider to ride every single Tour with Lance Armstrong and has stayed loyal to the team since Armstrong departed. He is well loved so no mention of discovery should be without mentioning his strength and the stage win he claimed in the Tour at Pla d'Adet in 2005.

I hope this gives a bit of info on the team with the Prologue due to kick off in less than 24 hours. I will be watching the entire tour live (provided I can stay awake every night between 10p - 2/3am) and will let you know how the team is going (if you are interested - like I said its weird telling americans about the US team!! )

Have a great challenge!!

Cat

The team banner for our profiles is awesome, thanks!!!

I'm pumped for this challenge. Those other wanked out weenies can talk all they want but I think our riding will speak loud enough

very nice, i have no idea how people do this stuff, but that is awesome.

GO DISCOVERY!!!!!!