Lance Armstrong!

[PuroEsq]

I believe there was a poll here a couple of days ago and that was not the most popular selection.

Hey who cares . . . 5 seconds, 5 minutes, 5 hours the man is just amazing. If he was not retireing he could probably make it 8 next year.

 

[Nathan Rahl]

Yeah, it sucks that he is retiring. He could definitely make it 8, but 7 is something to be very proud off. That record won't be broken for quite a while I think.

edit::sentence sounded wierd, changed it.

 

[cigarsarge]

He should go for ten is he stays healthy. Talk about a dynasty. :thumbs:

 

[CalixEros]

They had something in the paper or espn.com showing his winning margins and the overall time since he started winning. Last year he only won by a minute something (compared to around 6 minutes in all his previous wins). This year he stands to win around 5 minutes, and the pace of the Tour keeps picking up year after year. I know he's an amazing rider and athlete and am not trying to take anything away from him, but his support team deserves a share of the title too.

 

[Castaway]

It was pretty boring once he got the lead and all he had to do was keep up with the guys closest to him. Kinda like before they had the shot clock in basketball...

 

[AVB]

As one who has ridden in competition I am amazed at his level of consistency. I had the opportunity to ride with the 1980 Olympic team once on a century ride. For them it was just a ride in the country. For me it was a supreme effort just to keep at the tail end. Riding at that level for that long is probably the greatest endurance test in modern sports.

BTW, I was one who said less than 5 minutes.

 

[psyktek]

I know he's an amazing rider and athlete and am not trying to take anything away from him, but his support team deserves a share of the title too.

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I absolutely agree with this. Lance is an amazing athlete, given what he's recovered from. But his team has always been there to support him and follow his strategy.

If you want an example of terrible team discipline, George Hincapie's abandonment by his team when he crashed is a perfect example. In all the years I've followed the tour, going back to Greg Lemond, I never saw a time when a rider who crashed wasn't towed back to the peloton, if possible, by another team member. Phil Liggett described this as demoralizing, and I can't think of a better word for it.

I think one of the great moments of the Tour was when George Hincapie took a stage win. He's always been a staunch domestique, and to see his face when he crossed the finish line was just incredible.

 

[wam79]

He looks comfortable with ending competition.
He must miss a lot of time with his wife and kids training etc...
It's cool he will go out on top
What an outstanding achievment :thumbs:


Bill

 

[grand cru no 2]

I said under 5 minutes. Official time was 4:40.

In response to his retirment:

"At some point you turn 34, or you turn 35, the others make a big step up, and when your age catches up, you take a big step down," he said Saturday after he won the final time trial, his only stage victory this year. "So next could be the year if I continued that I lose that five minutes. We are never going to know."

"What he did was sensational" - Jan Ullrich ('97 Winner)

My thoughts exactly. Way to go Lance! :thumbs:

 

[Lopaka]

Still is impressive!

 

[sack]

fantastic achievement, but how the hell can he walk after sitting in that seat all day long? ???

 

[Lumberg]

  I know he's an amazing rider and athlete and am not trying to take anything away from him, but his support team deserves a share of the title too.

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I absolutely agree with this. Lance is an amazing athlete, given what he's recovered from. But his team has always been there to support him and follow his strategy.

If you want an example of terrible team discipline, George Hincapie's abandonment by his team when he crashed is a perfect example. In all the years I've followed the tour, going back to Greg Lemond, I never saw a time when a rider who crashed wasn't towed back to the peloton, if possible, by another team member. Phil Liggett described this as demoralizing, and I can't think of a better word for it.

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When did this happen?

I have heard that Lance is retiring from Le Tour, but I think I remember his saying he may compete in some other races, such as the Giro or the Vuelta.

I also said under 5.

 

[vewyphishy]

He looks comfortable with ending competition.
He must miss a lot of time with his wife and kids training etc...
It's cool he will go out on top
What an outstanding achievment :thumbs:


Bill

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No wife... just Sheryl Crow. Boo hoo.