Thread: Say it ain't so Lance

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 straightrazorheaven

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

You may be right, I don't know anything about him or the sport of cycling, but many people in the media are saying that he is in for a financial battle due to his interview. People will want their money back.