Probably the last time you will see Armstrong on the podium, as US Postal Service will no longer be the major sponsor of the team next year, and Armstrong has the urge to retire.
To admire Armstrong, you need to know his competitive cycling career from the very beginning.
He started out as a triathlete, but being a "try-hard athlete" was simply not satisfying enough.
Like most of them, he eventually shifted into cycling.
I remember watching the live coverage of world championship in 1993. It was a cold rainy day, most roadies dread for this kind of weather. Armstrong eventually crossed the finish line alone in first place. Many said the win was simply luck, as most major riders pulled out either due to poor weather condition or major crashes (there were several big crashes during that race).
That same year, he also won a stage in the TdF. Back then, he was more known as a single stage/one day road race rider/sprinter than a time trialist or a climber. To win the TdF or any other high profile stage race, you need to be a time trialist or a climber, as that's where you make up most of the overall time.
Back then Armstrong was young and arrogant at times. He was not well liked in the peloton. Many riders saw him as a stubborn young bloke who knew nothing. The French didn't like him either. Back here he wasn't very well known, as cycling was not that big at the time. He was involved in fist fights during a crash at one of the Tour, plus numerous Jerry Springer style debate off the race course.
The biggest blow during his career was when one of his teammate died in a crash during a descend in the Tour. Shortly after he was unable to perform in the mountains, forced to pull out from the race. He was then diagnosed with testicular cancer.
During his cancer treatment, most of us thought that was it. The news that came in each week was pretty grim. First the cancer was spread to the lungs, then they had to remove two tumors from the brain. Eventually no one paid attention, as we believed there would never be a comeback.
When he came back, he didn't just complete the race, but he won it! Ironically, the cancer trimmed him into a climber/time trialist that he needed to be. Before he was too big, there was too much weight. Stage sprinters rely on big muscles, but those big muscles are usually defeated by the body weight in the mountains. Lance lost a whole bunch of muscles, and became the skinny climber.
To understand how significant it is to win SIX Tour de France, you need to look at its history. The most Tours won by a single rider before Lance was five, and it was done by 5 (6?) people before him. The last one was Miguel Indurain, who was also incredible. This guy has a lung capacity bigger than most, and his resting heart rate is below 30 per minute. Miguel also went for the sixth, but pulled out during the race, just simply couldn't perform. Lance didn't only win six, but he won six in a row! That's one record sticking around for a long time.
Congrat Lance!
Author
Topic: In the bag for Lance? (Read 9875 times)