Ivor the Armstrong one is yours(it's a twin DVD thingie), I'll deliver it with the tyres
.
Adam (brace yourself, get a cuppa etc
) - It's not the Basso thing with the CSC film, Hollentour is following T-Mobile through the 2003 Tour specifically Zabel and Aldag (but the also have Vino and Kloden in the team). I just found Overcoming very antiseptic in feel and atmosphere, a bit like Riis himself. It came across like a management training film at times to me. Hollentour is by a German film maker (Hollentour meaning Hell on Wheels which is what it is sold as in the UK, I have the German original but you need the subtitles switched on anyway so it makes no difference). The quality of the film making is superb cinematically, but I think it also a very good film the way the action and behind the scenes (team and tour itself) pieces are interwoven. By following two of the older racers it has a lot more power to it as they say what hurts, how much it hurts, how bad they feel, whether they thought they were going to miss the cut etc. I think with younger riders there is still a lot of bravado which masks the truth and doesn't make the film as good.
My dislike for Armstrong has always stemmed from the way he handled himself and his team, and the way he and they treated others. The best thing about cycling is its personal touch, the closeness to the fans etc. His very American way of being "bigger than you" upset a lot of people and rather than being approachable him and the team seemed to try and piss off as many people as possible. The way they locked themselves up in their coaches until the last minute and treated the fans almost with disdain when requesting autographs when the others are far more relaxed. That has nothing to do with leading a race and all to do with arrogance and a complete lack of manners and class. I'm sure the problem he has with the French press isn't because he kept winning their race but the way
he behaved towards them. Indurain, as far as I can remember, never had the same problem (certainly not to the same extent) with the French yet he was a foreigner dominating their race in what could be argued a boring manner. I appreciate that he has got a lot of people in to cycling who weren't aware of it before but the attitude he brought to it is appalling. The way he treated other races (the vast majority of the time) also showed a lack of respect to them and their history.
I'm hoping that things are changing around a bit which seemed to be happening last year, where teams have realised that putting all your eggs in one basket is a risky strategy and were starting to move back towards having 2 or 3 options on the team, a sprinter, a climber, a GC rather than just one GC man and 8 robots who aren't allowed to think or show any imagination or initiative.
Apologies to anyone who's been dragged in to my spleen venting
.