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Lance is amazing. I watched the race this morning and Zabriskie had the advantage of the wind behind him when he raced earlier in the morning. Lance was able to pass Ulrich and put up a minute lead over his main rivals, and finish 2 second off the lead well ahead of the rest of the pack.
I think it's also good that Lance didn't receive the yellow jersey quite yet. Wait for the first climb. That's where Lance can build his lead up. Meanwhile, let the "blue train" control the peloton.
Armstrong grabs yellow jersey as Zabriskie crashes
BLOIS, France (AP) -- Lance Armstrong's Discovery Channel squad won the team time trial of the Tour de France on Tuesday, handing the six-time champion the yellow jersey as overall race leader.
The 33-year-old Texan led his squad to victory for the third straight year in the time trial, clocking 1 hour, 10 minutes, 40 seconds for the 41.85-mile trek from Tours to Blois. Team CSC was second.
I just like to watch foreigners move through France without resistance. It's like watching a live history re-enactment.
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I watched the Tour last year also and again this year. Lance & his team will hang with the peloton, pending any serious breakaways. He will also hang with the leaders up the mountains and probably set the pace.
Lance will also win the final time trial. I just don't see anybody beating Lance, unless there is a crash or something unfortunate. What you may see, though, is a series of breakaways as some of the rivals try to make up more time. Problem is that the Discovery team is so strong they will chase down any serious threats and they work together so well. Lance is a great cyclist, but his teammates are also so strong and they have the best equipment and technology in the world. In a way, they are like the New York Yankees of cycling.
What was amazing during today's team time trial was that not only did the Discovery team and Lance Armstrong win by 2 seconds, but the entire team rode together from start to finish, not losing a single member. Many other teams lost members as they only needed the top 5 to set the team time.
Last edited by Scott MS; July 5th, 2005 at 03:52 PM.
That's not fair. Might as well say all of baseball is joke also. Wait football is a joke too thanks to steroids in the 90s. Maybe they should just ban all sports because they're all rigged with cheaters and we can just get back to golf and chess.
Don't forget it's the media (and the do-gooders on Capitol Hill) making judgement against the roid atheletes. Most people don't really care. We ALL know Bonds is juicing but we'll still watch him hit 750 home runs.
There were reporters breaking into hotel rooms to find evidence and even books written to try to prove Lance Armstrong was doping. Regardless, most of those guys do something, but yet they never get caught. There was a random test on Friday and the Tour de France "randomly" picked Lance and he was tested.
I'm no expert, but I wouldn't say he's on roids. He actually needs a very lean body frame and roids don't seem to be the answer for the type of body condition he needs (he's not a shot putter or baseball slugger).
We're not talking about strength, but endurance. Most athletes in cycling meddle with blood doping where they can increase blood cell counts and endure longer.
Most cyclists use EPO (erythropoietin) or amphetamines or do blood doping. Erythropoietin (EPO) is a hormone produced by the kidney that promotes the formation of red blood cells by the bone marrow.
Last edited by Scott MS; July 5th, 2005 at 06:20 PM.
I personally think Lance took so many drugs during his battle with cancer that it has somewhat modified his chemical balance in a way that is advantageous in cycling.
I personally think Lance took so many drugs during his battle with cancer that it has somewhat modified his chemical balance in a way that is advantageous in cycling.
He seems to feel no pain.
He's actually one of the few cyclists who admits to using steroids, during his recovery from cancer of course.
My take was Lance was either going to test positive, crash and burn, or I'd owe him a big apology. Lance pulled out of the Olympics and 2 other races post olympics after they announced the newer standard of drug testing(that involved both urine and blood tests (in advance and after competing). That change is what caused so many athletes to pull out of the Olympics and accounted for more getting caught. It also has been catching athletes in track meets and cycling events.
As I understand it, the TDF is using that standard this year, and it's the first time in lance's career he's competed in an event that used that. So if he gets through all this without testing positive, it'll finally be some proof that maybe he hasn't been cheating all along as I always assumed he was. Or that he figured out precisely when to quit.
My problem has always been the NBC report where a bunch of his former postal service teammates came out and admitted they got shots of all kinds of illegal things while on the team, Lance got them too, several of them were suffering from mysterious ailments including I think 2 guys with cancer(remember these are HIGHLY conditioned athletes in their primes). If I remember correctly Lance was the THIRD member of that team to come down with cancer in his 20's, not impossible but pretty implausible.
Most cyclists use EPO (erythropoietin) or amphetamines or do blood doping. Erythropoietin (EPO) is a hormone produced by the kidney that promotes the formation of red blood cells by the bone marrow.
EPO (actually an artificial hormone that duplicates what the kidney produces) - the world supply is all cloned from cells originally taken from the ovaries of a single Siberian Hamster, all stored in huge vats in California - is tested for, and very dangerous to use - several cyclists have died using it.
There was a special on television last week re: Lance and the Discovery team. One comment of note: it has been determined that Armstrong's heart is 1/3 larger than normal for his body size. Additionally it is a fact that he metabolizes oxygen at a rate that far exceeds even other top atheletes.
Considering these factors and his being a cancer survivor I don't think Armstrong feels fatigue and pain to near the extent that others do; he is simply able to drive his body harder and farther.
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Last edited by CardLogic; July 8th, 2005 at 12:12 PM.
Congratulations Lance. I actually watched all 21 stages and was impressed how the Discovery team really controlled the entire race to the point that nobody was able to challenge Armstrong.
Many have called this year's Tour boring and it kind of was due to the non-stop "prevent defense" they ran in every stage.
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