The 100th anniversary Tour de France started today and there is a (very) slight possibility that three Americans could take the podium when the 23-day, 2140 mile race is over. Lance finished 7th in today's Prologue about seven seconds behind the winner Brad McGee (Australia). Most of the people who finished ahead of him have no chance to win the whole race, <i>however</i>, two guys, Tyler Hamilton (USA) and Jan Ullrich (Germany) did finish ahead of Lance and both are serious contenders for first place. Last years second place finisher, Joseba Beloki (Spain), finished 8th two seconds after Lance. From a strategy point of view, Lance not winning the Prologue makes sense as neither he nor his team will have to defend the Yellow Jersey for the next week or so (they can let another team set the pace) plus, Lance traditionally makes his mark in the mountain stages the first of which is in about 7 days. If he doesn't pull ahead then, the race will get really interesting. It's going to be a close and exciting tour. In case anyone is interested...
How sweet would that be to have three Americans on the podium in Paris???? That would really make the Frenchies upset.
I read an article somewhere today (chronicle maybe?) that there is some suspician that the Tour de France has been made a little easier this year so the other riders have a shot against Lance. Some of the most grueling and toughest mountain stages from the last few years (where Lance kills everybody) have been removed. Apparently its supposed to match the original course more closely, but some conspiracy theorists claim its France trying to keep Lance from dominating. I think their just doing an anniversary thing for the original course and Lance still has a good chance of winning. I don't even care about bike racing, but that guy just kicks a$$.
Well, to dispel the conspiracies, Lance likes the course, and that's all that matters. Plus, with the exception of Ullrich, all of Lance's main challengers thrive in the mountains moreso than time trials (and no, I'm not including Joseba Beloki as a challenger, as he has not proven himself to be a threat to overtake Lance). Taking away those mountains only hurts people like Gilberto Simoni and, in the past, Marco Pantani. Despite today's 7th place showing, I think Lance will take out #5. Good to see Ullrich up there, though - I don't like him, but I respect him and hopefully he's back on form.
So much for three Americans on the Podium when the tour finishes in Paris. There was a nasty crash at the end of today's stage involving a ton of riders including Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton and Levi Leipheimer of the U.S. Both Hamilton and Leipheimer are aparently out of the tour due to injuries incured during the crash. Armstrong has a bruised leg but is otherwise okay. http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2003/tour03/?id=results/stage1 "Today's stage ended in disaster for American Tyler Hamilton and his CSC team, as the Man from Marblehead crashed along with 30 other riders in the sprint with 500m to go, including Maillot Jaune Brad McGee, Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer. Although sometimes accused of being crash-prone, there was nothing that Hamilton could do to avoid it. The crash happened in the final kilometre as the peloton charged into a strangely placed left hand curve. Hamilton got up and finished the stage with his left arm hanging by his side, CSC team spokesperson Brian Nygaard explained that with Hamilton now out of the Tour, "this would be a catastrophe; he's our main guy for the Tour." Two time USPRO champ Fred Rodriguez (Vini Caldirola-So.Di) had hard words for the sketchy sprint. "I'd like to give kudos to (TDF boss) Leblanc for putting such a bad finish on the first stage of the Tour," said Fast Freddy. "I'm pulling at 60km/h...you know that the last kilometre is at 70km/h and to put a corner like that in the sprint (with 500m to go) is completely idiotic." Another victim of the mass pile-up was American Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank), who had a bad bruise on his left thigh and was taken to the Meaux hospital for X-rays. At press time, the news of a possible broken pelvis or coccyx for Levi Leipheimer emerged, but it still was not conclusive. Cyclingnews reached Rabobank's team director Theo De Rooy via mobile phone. A terribly disappointed De Rooij explained "Levi's gone, so..." De Rooij continued by explaining "maybe we've lost two guys since Marc Lotz crashed hard too." Four time Tour winner Lance Armstrong (USPS-Berry Floor) also went down but despite a bruise on his left thigh and a blown rear tire, he appears to be OK. Armstrong changed bikes with teammate Chechu Rubiera and finished the stage. He told Cyclingnews afterwards that "Hey, it's never good to crash; but it was nothing serious. I just fell over and got piled on top of. Today was a nervous stage, people were excited because it was the first day...there were lots of spectators and traffic islands along the road. But it's always good to get the first one over." "
What do you think makes Lance so much stronger than the others? What does he know that they don't? Or what does he have that they don't? I guess you could look at it like the Kenyans in marathons. They just have more stamina and speed. But geez. He's just blowing these other riders away. Nobody seems to be close to him.
Tyler Hamilton are still in the race, as he got on his bike today with a broken collarbone? So if he can stay with the pack while he heals up, he could still get that podium finish.
I think he is simply the rare athlete that is the best in his sport on a consistent basis. He knows how to train. He knows his strengths and plays to them. He stays with his strategy and has had a good amount of luck (e.g. being able to continue after yesterday's crash). He has overcome tremendous adversity.
Yesterday Tyler Hamilton fractured his collarbone in a 35+man collision at the end of the stage. It was reported that he'd be out of the tour. After all, how you can ride 2000+ miles through the Alps and Pyrenees Mountains with a broken collarbone? But apparently, Tyler is one tough mo fo. He showed up this morning and is going to try and finish the tour. It's doubtful he'll make the podium but, who knows?, he finished second in last years Tour of Italy with a hurt shoulder. Lance is not that much stronger then the others. He is strong but he's also very smart and he attacks the tour with, I think, an American mentality to win without being distracted by anything else. In a race like the tour there are three basic disciplines that are featured: 1. Individual Time Trials (a race by yourself against the clock - considered the hardest race to pull off as there are no other riders to pace yourself against nor anyone to draft. The Prolouge was a time trial and those guys averaged about 30 mph over the 4.7 mile course. Lance has averaged about 30 mph over a 30 miles time trial in the past). 2. Climbing 3. Sprinting Of those three things, Lance is VERY good at two of them. He's an excellent climber (but not the best) and he's an excellent time-trialist (but not the best). The thing is, the other riders who are good at climbing suck at the time trials and vice versa. Only a very few riders excell at both. Tyler Hamilton and Levi Leipheimer were two others who are good at both as well as German Jan Ullrich and Spanish rider Joseba Beloki. Jan Ullrich won the tour in 1998 (I think) and has come in second place every year since (exept last year when he didn't participate). Joseba Beloki has ridden in the tour three times and twice came in third (behind Lance and Jan) and last year came in second (when Jan didn't ride). Btw, Lance is not a very good sprinter. He almost never wins a stage where he has to sprint to the finish. Also, as others have said, he's probaby the most prepared rider with regards to tactics (how he and his team will attack a mountain stage, for example) to ensure that he's in a position to gain the time he needs. For example, a couple of years ago (2001 tour) the stage ended with a climb up L'Alpe d'Huez (a paricularly brutal mountain top finish). However, the race also included two other very difficult mountian climbs before the final one. Lance faked as if he was in trouble (making faces and acting as if he was in pain) because he knew the television cameras would show it. All the team's race directors have a television feed and they saw how much Lance was "suffering". So, Team Telekom with Lance's chief opponent, Jan Ullrich, decided to really hammer the stage in order to tire Lance out. Lance used them (Telekom) to push the race and do all the work at the front (remember, they were trying to tire him out because he looked to be suffering) so he and his team didn't have to do any work. Telekom dragged Postal up and over the first two climbs wearing themselvs out in the process. When the last climb arrived a fresh Armstong put the pedal to the metal and just blew away everyone else. It was pretty cool. Even the race commentators were saying that Lance just didn't have it in him this year and the whole time he was faking it. Brilliant. Of course, he'll never get away with that again!
There are physical differences that set Lance apart from the norm, a great deal is mental, but he does have some genetic advantages: Lance has massive lung capacity (most cyclists do), but his is way above what is normal for an athlete.
Yeah, his lung capacity is a huge advantage, however he has also said in the past that his bout with cancer has given him an incredibly high threshhold for pain/exhaustion. So, where he would have quit or reduced effort in the past he now can push past it.
Tyler Hamilton impress me. I wonder how he would do at full capacity as he is sort of following Lance and the pack even in the mountain stages with his injuries.
Anyone see that wreck yesterday? That was scary-- this has been a crazy tour, more crashes and protests today along with 115 degree temps.
The wreck was bad and it's a shame that Beloki is out as he was a main contender but did you see Lance's "mountain biking" excursion to avoid the crash? Pretty cool.
"I felt like I was pedaling backward.'' -- Armstrong, detailing how difficult he found the exhausting time trial. Ullrich wins stage in under hour, now second to Lance Associated Press CAP'DECOUVERTE, France -- An exhausted Lance Armstrong is the first to admit it: He's no longer the man to beat in the Tour de France. Parched and weak after a ride on a scorching day, the four-time champion ran out of energy -- and water -- on a key stage leading to the Pyrénées. Not since Armstrong overcame cancer to return to the Tour in 1999 has his grip on cycling's most prestigious race looked so tenuous. http://espn.go.com/oly/tdf2003/s/2003/0718/1582510.html Lance just doesn't seem like himself this year, I hope he can rebound, i'm not ready for him to lose yet.
Go Lance! Armstrong Recovers from Fall to Win 15th Stage LUZ-ARDIDEN, France (Reuters) - Lance Armstrong showed extraordinary determination to recover from a fall on the final climb of the 15th stage of the Tour de France Monday and seize back control of the race. The American, bidding for a record-equaling fifth Tour victory after dominating the last four years, appeared to get his brake lever snagged on a young spectator's bag as he dueled with German rival Jan Ullrich. Armstrong, and fellow faller Iban Mayo of Spain, quickly got back on their bikes as the peloton, in keeping with tradition, did not attack. Shortly afterwards, as he battled to recover his momentum, his shoe slipped out of a cleat, almost bringing him down again. It was the U.S. Postal rider's second fall of the Tour after he was involved in a mass pile-up on the first weekend of the three-week race. Many believed the Texan was no longer the force of old, but his reaction to his fall proved his courage is without question. Armstrong, who held a 15-second advantage over Ullrich before the stage, attacked immediately after his mishaps, leaving the German trailing as he headed for the finish at Luz-Ardiden. "After the crash, I had a big rush of adrenaline," Armstrong said. "I told myself 'Come on Lance, you must win the Tour today'," he said. "I think it was a spectator's bag. But it was also my fault for riding too close to the right side of the road." Long-term stage leader Sylvain Chavanel was eventually overhauled near the finish of the 99-mile stage, Armstrong graciously shaking hands with the exhausted Frenchman as he accelerated past. A struggling Ullrich crossed the finish line high in the Pyrenees in third place behind Mayo -- both 40 seconds behind. Ullrich now trails in the overall standings by one minute seven seconds before Tuesday's rest day. Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov remains in third place, but lost more time on Armstrong and trails by 2:45. The race finishes in Paris Sunday.
