“The Texan With The Iron Legs To Match His Will”. (At first I thought they were talking about Chris Shugart…oh well! LOL!)
Robin Williams joked that the French wanted him disqualified, because having one ball made him more aerodynamic…"…if not…ze French Team will cut off BOTH dair balls! VIVA 'LA FRANCE!!!
Cynics have said it’s everything from drugs, to “illegal alloys” to a team that is only there to serve him. He’s been accused of “unfair” tactics (whatever those are!), and “bullying” other riders.
Bullshit…the guy is just plain amazing…and forget trying to define the “why”…I gave up with his second win of “The Tour”…
Well…this seems like a yearly ritual…asking my “Testosterone” family (both cynics and fans alike)the simple question: "How Does this 30y.o., sickly looking, cancer survivor continue to win the most grueling bike race in the world?
He has the will/heart, is an amazing athlete, and as he has said repeatedly, he has the best team in the world. The next two tours should be very interesting.
Why is everybody so damned sure he’s doping? He’s never failed a drug test and repeated, malignant inquiries have failed to produce ANYTHING to the contrary. There’s healthy skepticism, then’s there’s being cynical to a fault. Unless you have some intimate knowledge of the situation, you’re in no position to judge one way or the other.
Look, folks…let’s face it…all the Epogen, Steriods and auto-transfusions in the WORLD can’t even BEGIN to explain what this guy has been able to accomplish…
I doubt he’s juicing. He’s had such severe health problems that he would be an idiot to start injecting himself with anything. The guy has talent, drive and a great team.
The Tour is 100% a team event, and the low guys on the team all work to make Lance win. I read an article about one of the guys on Lance's team (in a past tour), when Lance ran out of water the guy dropped back out the race, got water for the lead guys on the team and sprinted his way to the front to deliver it. This all happened in the middle of one of the longer stages. You can bet he was done for the day from simple exaustion... and Lance and the other leads had their water.
Let’s remember there are dozens of performance enhancing drugs out there that are not steroids. Read Charlie Francis’ articles at T-mag. Yes, they test for EPO, but the top endurance athletes had already switched to HumoPure by then, which can’t be detected. I’m not saying Lance doesn’t deserve props or that the drugs are the reason he wins. Not true at all. He’s incredible. But to say the top athlete in a sport with a rep for huge amounts of drug use isn’t using is naive. Reminds me of those teens who defend their favorite pro bodybuilder and say he doesn’t use roids “'cause he said so!” This is not a good guy-bad guy arguement. Many of our athlete heroes use. They may still be good, inspirational people. I think too many people look at it as a black and white issue and it isn’t.
Well, Lance DOES use a hypoxic chamber to simulate high altitude. What does that do? Same thing as EPO, but without the negatve effects (it increases bood VOLUME as well as hemoglobin). Also, Lance’s cancer did a lot to eliminate the unnecessary upper body mass that has put his climbing to another level (look at pictures of him from his earlier days vs. now). And his mental toughness is off the charts. The question always comes up “Is Lance clean?” Wrong question. Should be “Is Lance using something illegal?” The answer to that question is no. Is he using performance enhancers? Most definitely. Depends on your particular ethics as to whether that’s clean or not.
Personally, I’d like to see Lance win 6 in a row. That would put up a record that would take DECADES to surpass. A handful of riders have won 5 Tours. Only Miguel Indurain (spaniard) won 5 in a row. Lemond only won 3. To put up 6 consecutive victories would be almost inhuman, and with the state of the sport, would be near impossible to surpass.
I am in such awe of Lance Armstrong. Amazing athlete - such will, such tenacity, such heart. And he seems like such a great person to boot. Wow. Yeah, long may he reign! Go Lance!
He is some kind of cross between Steve Prefontaine and a Rocket Scientist. It is not often you see that kind of brains accompanied by such drive. He is the perfect Alpha Male. He just won’t lose.
He wins because he is an American. As Patton says, “We Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. When you were young you admired the champion ballplayer…”
The post-1940 French are threatened by winners. They immediately capitulate and then start back-stabbing.
Not to take anything away from his skill, training and drive. He’s also a physiological phreak. Barely produces lactic acid and has a VO2 Max off the charts.
Some one told me that he goes into more detail on this in his book. Anyone reccommend his book? (I’ve avoided it, because too often you get these “Oprah-ish” treatises on the Human Spirit, survival, etc.) BEFORE I GET FLAMED, these things are fine, and certainly have their place…but not when I want to learn about diet and training.