Here He Comes…
SUCK IT, FRANCE!
My take on why Lance is going to win the Tour de France for the 8th time is really simple, he ran a lot.
As we all know, when Lance Armstong “retired” from cycling, he started to run marathons. He did quite well for someone who had not been training for very long as a runner. This not only kept him in incredible shape, but also gave him a break from the grind of cycling. From doing the same routine over and over again. He most likely improved his physical fitness, with increased bone density from running, and improved leg strength as well. It refreshed him from the monotonous training style he had been living for several years. However, the mountains were calling him. That is his passion, his drive. He wants to show the world he still has it, and show himself that he can still do it. Lance is on his way to an 8th Tour Title.
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LET THE JUICING RUMORS
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Don’t be so cynical Knightro. We’ve seen plenty of 40-something athletes put up astounding numbers without any type of juicing rumors. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens… wait, what?
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Big D – well played! I am actually an Armstrong fan. He has had the crap tested out of him and never came back positive. Until he does, he is THE MAN as far as I am concerned. I was lucky enough to be in Paris on the Champs Elysee when he won his 7th. Awesome moment! GO LANCE! USA! USA! USA!
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Big D- you think he doped?
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wow, tough to top that. then again, it was still france.
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And in continuing with the pro-USA sentiment…
Oguchi Onyewu (of the US Men’s soccer team) signed a 3 year deal to play for AC Milan in Italy’s Serie A (top league). Another US player in one of Europe’s top leagues is a good thing! (Hopefully he doesn’t pick up the Italian tradition of over-the-top flopping and drama on fouls!)
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I say just make doping legal for cycling. Anything goes.
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The French are the French…true enough. But they were good to me since I speak passable French (all those years taking French paid off). And of course the visit to the Crazy Horse was the other memorable bookend of that trip.
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He’s actually 37 I believe.
knightro–That must’ve been awesome being on the Champs-Elysees for the 7th…I would love to see that.
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I’m more jealous of Knightro’s trip to the Crazy Horse.
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anyone else singing Girls Girls Girls right now?
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It was awesome! I get goosebumps thinking about it.
It was awesome! I get goosebumps thinking about it.
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So what does it mean if Lance is ahead of “team leader” Contador. Do the support guys start riding to protect Lance, or keep riding for Contador? Should Lance have broken away in Stage 3 and leave his “team leader” behind?
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I think Lance should pedal faster.
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Fiesta–I believe they were sorta co-team leaders and the team would wind up supporting whoever has the best chance to win. Maybe they’ll push to keep them both at the top and then let them work together and duke it out on their own.
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OK, finally got a moment to chime in.
Armstrong’s teammate Contador is the best stage racer in the world right now – period. While we only follow the Tour de France in the US, the other two Grand tours are Spain and Italy. Astana wasn’t invited to France last year so the defending champ, Contador wasn’t invited so he just won Italy and Spain in his spare time.
Armstrong got beat in a short time trial by not only Contador but two of his other teammates as well. I don’t see him destroying the field in the mountains like he used to. When Contador goes up a steep mountain finish, Armstrong won’t be able to follow.
Then the team will have to ride for Contador.
Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see Lance (or teammate Levi Leipheimer from Montana) win it. It is simply not the most likely scenario.
Actually, Armstrong ran sub 7 minute miles in the marathon, the top guys run just a little over 5 minutes.
Running doesn’t rejuventate your body, it is brutal to your body. I started cycling when I was training for rugby and simply couldn’t run anymore because of all the damage I did to my knees and back.
So Sparty, I hope you are right and I am wrong but I see a top 5 finish for Armstrong. There are several precedents where teammates finished 1-2 in the Tour including Jan Ulrich finishing second to Bjarne Riis.
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To answer the question about how does it affect team dynamics as to who is the leader and who is not.
The leader never is asked to waste energy to go back and get bottles, chase down breaks or set the pace at the front in the wind. The point is to save the leader’s energy so he can ride the time trials and attack in the mountains where the race is won or lost. Teams often have more than one team leader (or GC guys which stands for general classification).
Teams have 9 riders each in this race. Having two leaders means one less guy to help out. If only Armstrong and Contador are left up a huge mountain and there are a couple of guys such as Sastre and Schleck left with them, the two can take turns attacking by going hard and trying to get a gap. The teammate never chases down his own teammate so the other guys are left to chase. If they catch the first guy, then the next guy takes off – assuming he can.
That is where it gets tricky with two leaders. If Contador takes off, then Armstrong will be stuck following the other guys and losing time himself when he may be the only other guy who could have kept up.
Will be interesting.
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I actually heard it on the radio about 15 minutes ago.
/cue the Twilight Zone theme
//or not
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