Just in case anyone is interested.... Lance Armstrong won the Prologue in the Tour de France today. Since he won the Tour last year, Lance was the last cyclist to ride on the course today. He beat the next best rider by two seconds. The Prologue of the Tour was an individual time trial (ITT). In time trials, the riders race individually against the clock. In cycling a time trial is also known as the "Race of Truth" because you are all alone out there with no one to draft against and no team mates to push you. They are incredibly difficult because you have to have the mental discipline to push yourself 100% the entire length of the ride. To win, Lance rode the 7.3 Kilometer (4.5 mile) course in 9 minutes, 8 seconds. That comes to about 27.5 Miles per Hour average which is pretty amazing - but more so when you consider that the last third of the course was uphill, there were about 20 turns and part of the course was on cobblestones! If Lance wins this years tour, it will make four in a row and he will be the first US cyclist to do so. However, there are several non-US cyclists who have won 4 tours and a select few who have won 5 (not necessarily in a row). Greg Lemond, the only other US Tour winner, won three Tours, although they were not consecutive. However, the Tour is 20 stages over 22 days for a total of about 2033.3 miles so he still has a long way to go. Most of the stages are "normal" races where the entire field is on the course at the same time. Each stage averages over 100 miles. Imagine riding your bike as fast as you can for over 100 miles per day over 20 days with only two days of rest! There are also three more time trials. Two of them are individual time trials and one of them is a team time trial where the entire team races against the clock. The fifth rider over the finish line is the time the entire team gets. Probably the most difficult stages are the ones in the Pyrenees Mountains and the Alps. Imagine, once again, riding 100 miles in a single day but most of the race is up the side of a mountain! So, good luck to Lance for his attempt at four consecutive wins in what is probably the most grueling sporting event in the world! More info at http://velonews.com/tour2002/
i don't know much about cycling and don't care much about it...but i love this guy!!! i think it's hilarious how the french try to change the rules to keep this guy from winning...and after he beats their ass, they try to blame it on drugs, despite the fact they test these guys like crazy all the time. he's just a big bad american, i guess. Go Lance!!!
Normally the previous years winner of the tour would still wear his traditional yellow jersey on the first Prologue day, but not Lance. He said he felt wierd in it last year and thus wanted to earn it. Lance is a freakin' stud!
lance freakin' rules... i'm getting my cable upgraded so I can watch on OLN! this is how its done... steroid free!
Check it! It's the official unveiling of my Lance Armstrong: Tour de France 2002 Wallpaper! Click for 1028x764 image!
Nice wallpaper, rH! Nice little ride by Lance today...seemed like the smart riders held back over the descent to make up a lot of time on the uphill. It was also a nice performance by the USPS team as a whole, especially Heras and Hincapie. Lance hesitated a bit when asked if he would try to keep the jersey all the way to Paris, but then said it's likely they'd let it go until the team time trial - a smart move, in my estimation. The team is as strong as it's ever been, even after losing Hamilton, Leipheimer, and Livingston in the past couple of seasons, but it's better to wait until the tour will really be decided to use them.
