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Lance Armstrong


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Lance was in Portland over the weekend.

 

What do you guys think of Lance? Some see him as a sports God. Watching the tour, he was the guy I always cheered for, but that was basically because I didn't know any of the other rider's names Except maybe Jan Ulrich, or something like that.

 

Anyway, thoughts on Lance?

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Obviously he's an incredible athlete but I wish he proved himself the way the other greats did...they raced most of the season and tried to win other races(any race they entered)...Lance only does two smaller stage races before the tour(normally). Personally I think he could have done all the other races the other greats did and win but we'll never know because he was still developing when he last rode that way. As for drugs I doubt he was clean(possibly part of the reason why he got cancer especially since he says no comment when people ask him if he took drugs when he was younger but he vigorously denies taking them for his wins) but I don't hold that against him any more than the rest of them since if he were dirty he wouldn't be beating a bunch of clean riders.

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I think he rode clean, particularly after cancer. Doping controls can be beaten with masking agents, timing intake and the like, but there are a lot of things people forget. He has a very high lung capacity and I've read his ability (even without significant training) for his cardiovascular system to remove lactic acid from his muscles is phenomenal. On top of that, he works really hard and focused on so many details other cyclists took for granted.

 

He could have done stuff before the cancer, as he was a completely different (and more arrogant) rider outwardly. I believe, however, his Tour wins were the result of hard work. I still believe people should be innocent until proven guilty as well, and I don't have any doubt from the evidence presented so far that he did any of this during his reign.

 

I think the hard work, goal setting and tremendous focus and mental strength are overlooked as the key to his wins. He's still an inspiration to me as far as these factors go. He should be a role model for any athlete aspiring to be better.

 

Clean. Still in the sports God category in my book.

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I think he rode clean, particularly after cancer. Doping controls can be beaten with masking agents, timing intake and the like, but there are a lot of things people forget. He has a very high lung capacity and I've read his ability (even without significant training) for his cardiovascular system to remove lactic acid from his muscles is phenomenal. On top of that, he works really hard and focused on so many details other cyclists took for granted.

 

He could have done stuff before the cancer, as he was a completely different (and more arrogant) rider outwardly. I believe, however, his Tour wins were the result of hard work. I still believe people should be innocent until proven guilty as well, and I don't have any doubt from the evidence presented so far that he did any of this during his reign.

 

I think the hard work, goal setting and tremendous focus and mental strength are overlooked as the key to his wins. He's still an inspiration to me as far as these factors go. He should be a role model for any athlete aspiring to be better.

 

Clean. Still in the sports God category in my book.

 

 

Well put

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Surely his success is due to his extensive training but people also do drugs to

train harder. I don't see that much output being possible by most of the other cyclists that are obviously dirty(have been caught) and Lance can't be that much more of a natural athlete than the dirty people that are naturally gifted before drugs as well. He may just be superhuman but if he were I'd think he would have been better than he showed before he was diagnosed...not that he was a slouch or anything but there are new under 23yr old riders every year that are better than he was when he was that age.

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I'm wasn't expecting him to do so poorly. I know he runs more than most cyclist for cross training so I figured he could trot a marathon under 3hrs. Plus he was a really amazing triathlete when he was only 15. I would have also thought any top 5 tour de france rider could finish under 3 hrs as well. But I guess I was wrong...or Lance has really been sitting on his butt since his retirement. Surely he won't be able to live with that performance and he'll really get that time down.

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I think he really should be under 2:30 minutes...I know a few people that are just in really good shape(they don't wanna be super athletes and they just run for the love of running) that run under 2:35 so someone as gifted as Lance should surely be able to do it...maybe he just need more EPO

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Oh ...you are soooo

 

 

I think he really should be under 2:30 minutes...I know a few people that are just in really good shape(they don't wanna be super athletes and they just run for the love of running) that run under 2:35 so someone as gifted as Lance should surely be able to do it...maybe he just need more EPO
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He's dirty for sure...and if he wasn't his teammates already admitted to taking...which means everything...if Lance raced alone he'd be lucky to ever finish in the top 10. Teammates are everything and Lance's team really was Lance...all one cohesive being/unit. Kinda like only putting drugs in one part of your body.

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Landis had to have it put in his food without his knowledge...after all he's amish and until he went pro he was riding a bike metal bike with wooden wheels...all while reading his bible...not the druggy he's made out to be

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Ahhhh!! It is all clear to me now!

 

Landis had to have it put in his food without his knowledge...after all he's amish and until he went pro he was riding a bike metal bike with wooden wheels...all while reading his bible...not the druggy he's made out to be
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Running for sure...I can ride at a much higher volume than most cyclists can stand but I'm not even close when it comes to running but then again I haven't really been doing it seriously for very long

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Yeah...I'm not looking forward to it. I can make a 100mile bike ride pretty comfortable and I can make a 20 mile bike ride really painful but I doubt its even possible to make a marathon relaxing unless you can run 2:30 and do an easy +3hr run...if your any slower everything probably hurts

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You know, I'm convinced that long distance running is not meant for us big guys.

You get the odd genetic freak, but quite often they are people who had previously not been involved in athletics.

 

In retrospect, running longdistance was the worst thing I could have done for my legs.

 

Seems to be a limit to how much abuse you can heap on your body.

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Thats why a lot of bigger endurance guys swim...its not as bad but running is terribe...I think the advantage large guys have(that have never been involved in athletics) is that they haven't worn anything down.

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Totally agree!!

I don't think any of the larger guys I used to play soccer and volleyball with are still playing (other than me cuz I'm stubborn & stupid)

I tried organizing an alumni soccer team but nobody wanted to play due to injuries.

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I could still be doing track right now with my buddies that are still competative if I didn't have so many injuries but I'd be living in ibuprofen and steroids. Cycling is a much better way to maintain my intensity without hurting myself...although cars may do that for me

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