Lance in the Mountains

T-Mobile ganged up on Lance, thinking they'd drop his team and then
humiliate him.

The joke's on them.

Lance is giving it his all.

Dare I say, Ball to the Wall?

"Bob the Cow" wrote in message
...
T-Mobile ganged up on Lance, thinking they'd drop his team and then
humiliate him.

The joke's on them.

Lance is giving it his all.

Dare I say, Ball to the Wall?


Lance is very impressive, but I think his ability to recover from day to day
is his most impressive attribute. Look at Rasmussen today. He suffered while
Lance seemingly shows no effects from the previous day's efforts. Armstrong
is a genetic freak. :-)

Gooserider wrote:
"Bob the Cow" wrote in message
...

T-Mobile ganged up on Lance, thinking they'd drop his team and then
humiliate him.

The joke's on them.

Lance is giving it his all.

Dare I say, Ball to the Wall?



Lance is very impressive, but I think his ability to recover from day to day
is his most impressive attribute. Look at Rasmussen today. He suffered while
Lance seemingly shows no effects from the previous day's efforts. Armstrong
is a genetic freak. :-)


Or you can chalk it up to his training, which I'm sure is very tough.

Oh, and don't forget that he has an entire team behind him whose sole
purpose is to help him win, millions of dollars to spend and hire the
best engineers and mechanics to make his bike perfect (though I doubt he
spends a nickle). And, of course, the question about
performance-enhancing drugs that people have discussed by those who knew
him and rode with him.

Not to take away from his accomplishments, but I think it's much easier
to win a second TdF than the first. Success seems to breed success in
just about every endeavor.

-Bill H.

"Bill Henry" wrote in message
...
Gooserider wrote:
"Bob the Cow" wrote in message
...


Oh, and don't forget that he has an entire team behind him whose sole
purpose is to help him win,

His team was fairly useless today.

Not to take away from his accomplishments, but I think it's much easier to
win a second TdF than the first.

Tell that to Jan Ullrich.

Bob the Cow wrote:
T-Mobile ganged up on Lance, thinking they'd drop his team and then
humiliate him.

The joke's on them.

Lance is giving it his all.

Dare I say, Ball to the Wall?

Which raises the question: how do you find out if Sheryl Crow is
ticklish?

Sorry, sometimes I can't help myself.


Bill


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| educate our children and, now, die, I think the Republicans have done |
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Bill Henry" wrote in message
...
Gooserider wrote:
"Bob the Cow" wrote in message
...

T-Mobile ganged up on Lance, thinking they'd drop his team and then
humiliate him.

The joke's on them.

Lance is giving it his all.

Dare I say, Ball to the Wall?



Lance is very impressive, but I think his ability to recover from day to
day is his most impressive attribute. Look at Rasmussen today. He
suffered while Lance seemingly shows no effects from the previous day's
efforts. Armstrong is a genetic freak. :-)


Or you can chalk it up to his training, which I'm sure is very tough.

Oh, and don't forget that he has an entire team behind him whose sole
purpose is to help him win, millions of dollars to spend and hire the best
engineers and mechanics to make his bike perfect (though I doubt he spends
a nickle). And, of course, the question about performance-enhancing drugs
that people have discussed by those who knew him and rode with him.

Not to take away from his accomplishments, but I think it's much easier to
win a second TdF than the first. Success seems to breed success in just
about every endeavor.

-Bill H.

And NONE of what you wrote negates the fact that he is a genetic freak.
Bigger lungs, more efficient oxygen utilization, less lactic acid
production, resting heart rate of 32 with a max of 185---the guy is elite in
all his physical attributes. Yes, he trains hard, and has excellent
equipment, but his body does things that the other racers' can't.

Gooserider wrote:
"Bill Henry" wrote in message
...

Gooserider wrote:

"Bob the Cow" wrote in message
...


T-Mobile ganged up on Lance, thinking they'd drop his team and then
humiliate him.

The joke's on them.

Lance is giving it his all.

Dare I say, Ball to the Wall?



Lance is very impressive, but I think his ability to recover from day to
day is his most impressive attribute. Look at Rasmussen today. He
suffered while Lance seemingly shows no effects from the previous day's
efforts. Armstrong is a genetic freak. :-)


Or you can chalk it up to his training, which I'm sure is very tough.

Oh, and don't forget that he has an entire team behind him whose sole
purpose is to help him win, millions of dollars to spend and hire the best
engineers and mechanics to make his bike perfect (though I doubt he spends
a nickle). And, of course, the question about performance-enhancing drugs
that people have discussed by those who knew him and rode with him.

Not to take away from his accomplishments, but I think it's much easier to
win a second TdF than the first. Success seems to breed success in just
about every endeavor.

-Bill H.


And NONE of what you wrote negates the fact that he is a genetic freak.
Bigger lungs, more efficient oxygen utilization, less lactic acid
production, resting heart rate of 32 with a max of 185---the guy is elite in
all his physical attributes. Yes, he trains hard, and has excellent
equipment, but his body does things that the other racers' can't.


I wasn't trying to negate the claim of his genetics. I was just
offering other possible explanations for his continued success. He
could be a genetic freak all he likes, but if he doesn't train, he's not
going to win. I think his success is more "nurture" than "nature".

"Bill Henry" wrote in message
...
Gooserider wrote:
"Bill Henry" wrote in message
...

Gooserider wrote:

"Bob the Cow" wrote in message
...


T-Mobile ganged up on Lance, thinking they'd drop his team and then
humiliate him.

The joke's on them.

Lance is giving it his all.

Dare I say, Ball to the Wall?



Lance is very impressive, but I think his ability to recover from day to
day is his most impressive attribute. Look at Rasmussen today. He
suffered while Lance seemingly shows no effects from the previous day's
efforts. Armstrong is a genetic freak. :-)


Or you can chalk it up to his training, which I'm sure is very tough.

Oh, and don't forget that he has an entire team behind him whose sole
purpose is to help him win, millions of dollars to spend and hire the
best engineers and mechanics to make his bike perfect (though I doubt he
spends a nickle). And, of course, the question about
performance-enhancing drugs that people have discussed by those who knew
him and rode with him.

Not to take away from his accomplishments, but I think it's much easier
to win a second TdF than the first. Success seems to breed success in
just about every endeavor.

-Bill H.


And NONE of what you wrote negates the fact that he is a genetic freak.
Bigger lungs, more efficient oxygen utilization, less lactic acid
production, resting heart rate of 32 with a max of 185---the guy is elite
in all his physical attributes. Yes, he trains hard, and has excellent
equipment, but his body does things that the other racers' can't.


I wasn't trying to negate the claim of his genetics. I was just offering
other possible explanations for his continued success. He could be a
genetic freak all he likes, but if he doesn't train, he's not going to
win. I think his success is more "nurture" than "nature".

And I believe that other racers could have his training and equipment and
not do as well. :-)

On Mon, 18 Jul 2005 01:51:44 GMT, "Gooserider"
wrote:





I wasn't trying to negate the claim of his genetics. I was just offering
other possible explanations for his continued success. He could be a
genetic freak all he likes, but if he doesn't train, he's not going to
win. I think his success is more "nurture" than "nature".

And I believe that other racers could have his training and equipment and
not do as well. :-)

-----------------------------------------------------
From what I have read, Lance does train harder than anyone else on the
circuit, but... if other riders tried to train as hard they would
break.
Sure, Lance has the best bikes, best scientists etc. behind him that
money can buy. Just like the best jockeys get the best horses. The
problem is first you have to become the best.

Idle curiosity. I have to wonder how many people in the world were
born with the same genetic gift but decided to become an account
instead of an athlete? think it is 1 in a million?

David Hamilton wrote:
Idle curiosity. I have to wonder how many people in the world were
born with the same genetic gift but decided to become an account
instead of an athlete? think it is 1 in a million?

I don't know where Lance is on a percentile scale, but if we suppose
that 1 in a million people are born with his combination of genetic
traits, that means there are roughly 6,000 people wandering the planet
who have the same potential. Of those, about 60% would have been born
in severely impoverished regions (according to World Bank statistics)
where they'd never have the opportunities Lance had as a child. Of the
remaining ~2400, probably half would get a chance to try racing bikes
at some point.

Then consider what proportion would choose cycling over running,
triathlons, swimming, X/C skiing, mountaineering, etc. And of those,
how many would pursue cycling enthusiastically? How many would choose
pro sports over a conventional career? And on and on.

Lance strikes me as a rare combination of genetics, luck and personal
choices. I'd be interested to know how Eddy Merckx's physiology
compares. I never got to see Eddy Merckx ride, so although I find this
year's Tour a bit too predictable, I feel fortunate that over the past
6 years I've been able to watch one of the sport's greatest athletes in
action.


-JR