2009 Amgen Tour of California.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Yellow Devil / Lance Armstrong push photos
The Yellow Devil harasses Lance Armstrong with a huge fake syringe and "Live Clean" jersey; Lance Armstrong pushes the Devil into the snow.
See the complete sequence of photos at photographer Tom de Waele's website. Props to Maglia Rosa and to Byron, who writes a little more about the Yellow Devil. The Yellow Devil also left a comment with Chris Jones' Diary.
2009 Amgen Tour of California.
2009 Amgen Tour of California.
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29 comments:
Those are hilarious photos.
Yellow Devil looks like he could use a little saddle time to get rid of his spare tire(s). These kind of people annoy the hell out of me though. Are they attention whores? Are they trying to make a statement?
The yellow devil could use a punch in the face.
I don't know if it's just me (it probably is)...but I feel like no matter what (unless the fan is clearly imposing on the cyclists and is a hazard to them), that a cyclist shouldn't lay a hand on them. If he would have stumbled into the snow, but fallen in the road and created a crash, it would have been a lot worse than just running along the side. I feel like if it was another cyclist that pushed him, they may have been fined or relegated for their actions, but it looks like Armstrong did not get anything for it.
The Yellow Devil is still an ass though. :-P
...yeah, I agree. It looks like there was plenty of room on the side to get by. and if he was to fall into the road...Bad...all Bad!
cool outfit though!
-D
...yeah, I agree. It looks like there was plenty of room on the side to get by. and if he was to fall into the road...Bad...all Bad!
cool outfit though!
-D
Yeah, that's called assault, and it's just another reason why I am completely over Lance Armstrong. The sooner he retires, the sooner we can get rid of the hordes of one-note fans who are screaming for lance while he's supporting his teammate. How many Armstrung-out fanatics even know the name Leipheimer?
I'm over it, and I hope someone kicks his ass if he races in France.
oh the whining American attitude,"That's called assualt" Call the Lawyers! No the guy that double the attendance for this event is sick of some fat ass getting in his face so he pushed him in the snow. Read the Yellow devils response, he claims to be a cyclist and a fan. We just need change. Spineless.
Armstrong, Bruyneel and Co. will and have done more for the sport than anyone, you should be happy about that. Is it not fair to say Armstong is the most tested athelete in the history of sports? It cant all be rigged. Noboby is that lucky or has had the secret that long. Livestrong!
I love it. Glad to see him eat snow. Hope Lance takes the TDF!
Mr. Yellow Devil:
We at levi and Goldbloom have been in touch with several of the other cyclist present at the time of the assualt. All of whom are willing to testify as to the severity and posible disruption of the race by Mr. Armstrongs actions.
If you could contact our office in Fresno Ca.(we have a staff member standing by the phone all weekend)
I will personally have Lance Armstrong arrested for assualt, photo's in hand, at the end of this so called race, with your cooperation. please feel free to call!
Stan levi, Esquire
Hover around me and insult me while I'm trying to work and might just push ya into some yellow snow, too! Ha! Go Lance!
Gregg,
Actually I'd say assault is a fairly popular past time of our great nation. Violence is very much in our blood.
But people in crazy costumes heckling and cheering the racers is a tradition that predates Lance. Should I follow that you are in favor of NBA players who've leapt into the stands to assault hecklers? The guy wasn't posing any more or less danger to the riders than the other whacky runners do. It was what he was saying that resulted in the shove.
Face it, there are countless stories about all the people Lance has let down with his self important attitude. Some fans are gluttons for punishment. I'm just not the kind of person who'll put up with being anybody's bitch, whether they're the best at what they do or not.
And that attitude makes me want somebody to put him in his place where it matters, on the road on a set of slicks.
Whatever though. This tour was great for California and great for the sport, and if Armstrong's star power brought more people to the event so be it.
I just don't like the guy. ;)
...bullshit:- 'there was plenty of room on the side' of the road...if you believe that, you are clue nada...
...you are talking about professional cyclists, men who earn their living & provide for their families by racing bicycles...(nice work if you can get it) but the truth is, the open road is their office, their workspace...
...are you telling me some fucking clown w/ an agenda (& not just this one) running that close does not create anxiety & constantly jeopardize that livelihood ???...
...frankie andreu commented today on the fact that in europe even the rabid tifosi are there to show respect to the sport but that here in america these costumed idiots (my word) are just looking to get their faces on tv...
...sorry about the language, fritz but these morons piss me off !!!...
If you look at the photos closely this guy is very close to LA. If you've also seen more than a couple of grand tours then you'll know that this is not the 1st time a fan running alongside riders has been pushed. As a rider who has experienced this stuff, I can say this is scary... As an American, I was a bit embarrassed watching all the "Crazy" fans at the ToC. We seemed to take this costume biz to the next level.
But the smiles were priceless. Hopefully the snow was soft.
For the record, I think the yellow devil is a whack job.
Anyway, I saw a fan actually collide with a rider last year in Europe. Maybe they're all about the sport there, but it doesn't make much difference to the danger factor.
All I'm saying is Lance is a douche. I know three separate people who have had firsthand experiences, and they all tell the same story.
I'm not advocating dressing in tights and heckling him. ;)
Yellow Devil shouldn't have been there, agreed. But Lance shouldn't have pushed him, if only because it put other riders in even more risk. If a fat guy running on the edge of the peloton is risky, a fat guy rolling, legs flailing, through the middle of the peloton is a whole lot worse.
...every year it gets worse...time to get a clue before a situation occurs...in litigious america, some selfish idiot will get hurt “showing off” & then sue the race organizers for his own stupidity...
...he won’t win his case but it will create liability issues for the sport here...
...how about a little common sense & self-policing ???...
Thats awesome, what an ass. The guy thought he'd be a smart ass and he got called out. If you look at the photos, there is no way he isn't in the guys way. They have to ride around him. On top of that, he has a sign that says liveclean, but he must not be talking about his diet. Nobody is saying you can show up and dress like a ass, but if you get in riders way, and heckle them to boot, you might get pushed.
Right/wrong, I dont know. Just dont act suprised.
.... What a fool to run along side the riders and endanger them on an already slippery roadside. Why would you do such a thing, I know to show the world how stupid you really are. Ah yes that's it.
LANCEAGAIN!
Dear yellow devil:
[Thou art] a wretch whose natural gifts were poor.
[Thine] horrid image doth unfix my hair.
You suck.
Lance Pharmstrong shows his true colors... yellow. Why was he the only rider who felt it necessary to push this guy? There were fans in strange costumes all over Palomar, running right alongside the riders and no one else was assaulted. Lance simply didn't like the point the LiveStrong Devil was making. What a pussy...
I was at a few of the climbs for this years tour. There were two sides to the road.The side the devil was on had no shoulder and was right in the line the cyclists were taking up the hill.I'm sorry but on a climb like that any turn of the wheel can make you loose your cadence and momentum.The guy deserved to be pushed out of the way.Assault?Get over yourself you self-righteous bastard.YOU WERE IN THE WAY!
how can anyone side with this douche? He was clearly trying to agitate Lance with the bastardization of the livestrong foundation..for that alone I would have given him more than a shove. If any of you look at more than this photo you'll see that the fat ass idiot was running in like a 2'wide strip of asphalt between the show and the peleton. Maybe he was looking for a lawsuit? Either way all of these idiots need to get the hell out of the way and stop trying to get on tv to embarrass themselves and their mothers at the risk of hurting someone and perhaps ruining the race!
its funny until somebody get hurt.
if your a biker you will understand the dangers of this type of behavior.
*the yellow devil is soo outa shape that he looks like can slip on his own fart and take half the field with him..not to mention he was runnin on snow.
-jef
roadie/fan
Maybe the solution for all to enjoy these events is a special lane for the doofuseseses to run along in that is fenced off from the riders. Perhaps even two fences, so there is a no man's land? It could be mined with explosive bank dye packs and patrolled by hantavirus infected squirrels...
CACKE
What do you call 1000 lawyers at the bottom of the sea?
A good start!
Dear Mr. Levi,
I have discussed this my closest friends and family. I do believe you are right, and we do have a case.
I will be contacting your office if your offer is still good.
-D
What most people seem to have missed is that Lance was coming up on the guy from behind, with the guy running along the side of the road with this potential weapon in his hand. Lance must have known that the guy's protest was with him. Who knew what the guy would do as Lance rode by him? Would he jab at Lance with his spear? Perhaps screw up and end up taking Lance down? Look at the photos and you'll see that Lance didn't leave the group to get to this guy, he was just that close, certainly close enough to do damage. Lance may have been just being proactive, shoving an obvious threat out of his way so he could get on with the race.
It's interesting that so many people who have no experience with what it takes to ride and win like Lance hate him because he doesn't behave the way they think they would if they were him. Ever consider that perhaps that's what it takes to be that kind of winner? Maybe that's why you're typing while he's racing!
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