Quote:

“Lance was an important story line and his story appealed to many people. No body will take over from Lance and the new riders need to find their own direction. There are many great riders here from climbers and general classification riders to sprinters but they have to have another side to their personality to sell to the public. That something is not going to be the same story Lance had it has to be another type of attraction. A great rider has to learn how to appeal to the people. It will be a while to recover from the Lance period just the same as it was for the cycling fans to recover from the Lemond period, he himself was a great rider with a great story. We need to remember that American cycling is growing more and more popular and riders are being noticed here.” 

- Phil Ligget Tour de France commentator comments on the replacement of Lance Armstrong-