Armstrong at Annecy: "Never Forget Your Beginner's Spirit." [+Reminder of Monaco Prologue Results]

SHOOT:

Today is the 40.5km timetrial at Annecy in France, a place Lance describes as one of the most beautiful places in France, or anywhere. Weather is looking bleak, with heavy rain predicted.

Lancearmstrong: Good morning! Drinking coffee in the room and looking out over Lake Annecy. Overcast/windy/cool. Heavy showers expected 4 the race.

A crash could scupper the hopes and ambitions of a contender this late in the game.

Pictured above is the bike Lance will be riding. Below is the concept outlined in more detail.

Deceptively simple. Naive. Childlike. All words that might be used to describe the first look at Yoshitomo Nara's work. Inspection reveals a deeper truth — saws, knives, and sharp implements often grace the hands of his young subjects, who often possess a look of anger, cynicism, or concern.

One of Japan's most influential modern-art stars, Yoshitomo Nara creates deceptively simple images of children whose outwardly cute demeanor oftentimes belies more dark and brooding motivations. A deeply obsessed music fan, Nara's hardcore rock 'n' roll attitude in some way permeates all of his work, and it is this essential punk spirit that tinges his imagery with a palpable energy that brings his characters into an exciting new dimension.

To pay homage to Lance's renewed racing career, Nara embellished his Trek Speed Concept bike for the July 23rd Annecy Individual Time Trial with a cartoon motif of children in boxing gloves and flying UFOs, along with a LIVESTRONG logo written in bubbly cloud lettering. In a personal gesture, Nara also included a moving inspirational message handwritten across the top tube of the bike's frame, visible only when Armstrong's head is deep in an aerodynamic tuck: "Never Forget Your Beginner's Spirit."


SHOOT: Contador beat Lance by just 22 seconds, but over a much shorter course. Wiggins was 1 second behind Contador and then Kloden. The course at Annecy will suit the likes of Armstrong, Wiggins and Zabriskie. It has a short steep climb in the middle which will disrupt the rhythm of power riders like Cancellara.
Ride well today Lance, the hopes of millions will be breathing down your neck ;-)

ANNECY, France, July 23 (Reuters) - If Alberto Contador’s yellow jersey is unlikely to be threatened in Thursday’s time trial in Annecy, the battle for the podium places should heat up on the 40.5 kms of the 18th stage held around the town’s lake.

“It’s not a secret that we’re not great time trial specialists. But the time we’re going to lose, maybe we’ll take it back on the Ventoux (the final steep climb of stage 20),” said Frank Schleck after winning Wednesday’s 17th stage in Le Grand Bornand.

The Luxembourg rider and his younger brother Andy are currently third and second overall, 3:25 and 2:26 behind respectively but this unique feat may prove short-lived.

Three of the best time trial specialists in the world, American Lance Armstrong, Germany’s Andreas Kloeden and Briton Bradley Wiggins are on their heels, ready to compete for places in the top three.

Armstrong, who spent 13 days in the medal placings, is now 4th overall but the seven-times Tour champion will almost certainly cover his 30 seconds gap with Frank Schleck while Andy’s 1:19 advantage might not be good enough either.

“Second place (overall) is still my goal. I think it’s possible,” the American said.

Fifth overall, 4:44 behind Contador, Kloeden faces a harder task while Wiggins, for many the favourite to win the stage, lost considerable time in the gruelling climbs to Le Grand Bornand.

Alberto Contador, who has vastly improved in time trials and cannot be taken lightly either, made it clear Wiggins loss of time in Wednesday’s stage had been his main gain that day.

“Wiggins was probably the most dangerous opponent in tomorrow’s time trial. Now I believe he has lost too much time to be a threat,” he said.

The 40.5-kms course around Annecy feature a hard third category climb, Bluffy, towards the end, and could also favour other specialists no longer in overall contention such as Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, the first stage winner, or Briton David Millar.

Breaking news: Team Radio Shack to be Lance Armstrong's new team

Speculation is rampant regarding the name of the new American sponsor that Lance Armstrong has found for his team in 2010 and beyond. Armstrong is expected to announce the new partnership tomorrow, Thursday.

As we reported 9 days ago, Armstrong seemed to rule out the long-rumored Nike and Livestrong as title sponsors on French television, though they no doubt will be team partners in some capacity.

Among the other companies or brands thrown into the mix in the online world, some obviously in jest, some wishful thinking and with absolutely no supporting evidence: Oracle, Google, Apple, Twitter, FRS, Zappos/Amazon, Nutella. (I vote for Nutella!)

Now we can add another one to the list: Radio Shack