Thread: Say it ain't so Lance

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I looked up to Lance. I greatly admired him. I wonder if young kids looked up to him ? Is the sport of cycling as noticed by youngsters ? Anyway, I believed him all these years. I thought the French were out to get him and if they hadn't been able to prove it in 7 tours .......

Guys would argue with me but I always said that Eddy Merckx is the greatest cyclist of all time. He didn't use performance enhancing drugs and he not only won 6 tours but also all of the other big races throughout Europe.

Jimmy how do you feel about Lance now?

Originally Posted by Martin103

Other then a time trial race, witch is a speed race short distance, but in most tours race is full of stategy, tactics skills, endurance, wit, teams tactics and stategy plays a large part of their success or failure. Its not about jumping on the bike and go as fast as you can till the finish line thats been proven many times to fail. But ultimaltely it doesnt justify to make yourself better with performance enhancers.

Plus one.

Strategy even comes into time trials (my preferred discipline). TTs are fairly basic, but one must strategize for the course layout, wind conditions and dynamics of the day. I have been in events where guys I normally beat by MINUTES were within seconds of my time because they got an early start before the wind peaked (during my run time). Obviously humidity and precipitation can be a factor (often beyond the riders control) but knowledge is power and the big money guys can afford the gadgets to give them this data (not to mention the aerodynamics that may be developed by people with agendas...and made unavailable to certain competitors). What I hope to convey is that there are tactics on and off the race course

In mass start races tactics can and often do result in the fastest rider NOT winning. It is hard to understand for some, but there is FAR more skill to bike racing than pedaling hard and not crashing.

I remember one tour where lance personally made sure another riders breakaway failed.

The rider in question had accused him of doping iirc.

Michael

Follow the money.

Will Thomas Weisel, Who Owns Lance Armstrong's U.S. Postal Team, Get Charged with Fraud? - Businessweek

Originally Posted by mjsorkin

I remember one tour where lance personally made sure another riders breakaway failed.

The rider in question had accused him of doping iirc.

Michael

What does that mean?
Is a "breakaway" a piece of equipment or a tactic?

Originally Posted by Hirlau

What does that mean?
Is a "breakaway" a piece of equipment or a tactic?

Its a tactic, as in breaking away from the pack, taking off.

Team riding is like a flock of geese flying in a vee formation. In a line of riders the lead rider encounters the most wind resistance. The riders behind him work a little less in keeping up because they are riding in the turbulence, drafting him and a higher pace can be kept up. After a mile or 2, the lead rider drops drops to the back of the pack and a fresher rider moves up in line to set the pace. All this is done wheel to wheel at 25mph or 30mph or more depending on terrain and weather. The leader of the team is kept in the middle of the pack to keep him fresh until the finish and to protect him during crashes.

A breakaway is a group of riders breaking away from their teams, attempting to set a higher pace than the peleton in order to pick up team or personal points by hitting additional goals along the route, points for sprints, mountains, young riders, etc. Most of the time the the breakaway fails and gets picked back up in the peleton.

Honestly, I don't believe he used performance enhancing substances. I believe that he has "admitted" to it because he is done. He has maintained for so long that he never used, and yet he gives up now ... why? Some things aren't worth fighting for, he tried to maintain his image (and failed) for a very long time. So, what changed. He is getting older, tired of the negative publicity he has had to put up with.

So in "admitting" his guilt, what has he really done? Got the press to leave him alone! He will have to answer to them for a short while, but his image couldn't be ruined anymore than it already was. In my opinion, he has done this to earn some peace. They will leave him alone in a couple of weeks.

The explanations he has given all along, regarding altitude training and his extreme physiological abnormalities, all explained his superb performances. I believe that if he was doping, he would have won much more convincingly, and looked a hell of a lot less fatigued at the end of his races... JMHO

Originally Posted by mjsorkin

I remember one tour where lance personally made sure another riders breakaway failed.

The rider in question had accused him of doping iirc.

Michael

And when one of his team member
got caught doping, Lance felt so betrayed, and was shocked of their findings...........

And many Legal problems he is now facing, http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/...rt-cases-await