Lance in the Mountains

"Bob the Cow" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

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 said:

"Bob the Cow" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

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" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Gooserider said:

"Bob the Cow" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

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.

Quoted message said:

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.

On Sun, 17 Jul 2005 00:00:53 -0500, Bill Henry <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

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

Who, for the second time this tour, took a vacation.

Lance is beyond a legend.

Bob the Cow said:

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

Quoted message said:

The joke's on them.

Quoted message said:

Lance is giving it his all.

Quoted message said:

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| Other than telling us how to live, think, marry, pray, vote, invest, |
| educate our children and, now, die, I think the Republicans have done |
| a fine job of getting government out of our personal lives." |
| --Craig Carter |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Bill Henry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Gooserider said:

"Bob the Cow" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

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 said:

"Bill Henry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Gooserider said:

"Bob the Cow" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

>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" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Gooserider said:

"Bill Henry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Gooserider wrote:

>"Bob the Cow" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
>news:[email hidden]...
>
>
>>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. :-)

Gooserider said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>>

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 said:

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

(Bob the Cow) said:

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

Quoted message said:

The joke's on them.

Quoted message said:

Lance is giving it his all.

Quoted message said:

Dare I say, Ball to the Wall?

<GROAN> Does this group have a corner we can make him go sit it??

- -

"May you have the winds at your back,
And a really low gear for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

Chris'Z Corner
http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

I'm probably going to regret this, but OK, I'll bite.

How DO you tell if Sheryl Crow is ticklish?

- -

"May you have the winds at your back,
And a really low gear for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

Chris'Z Corner
http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

Bill Henry said:

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".

Basically nature gives us the tools and nurture keeps them sharp.

--
Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry [email hidden]
http://home.comcast.net/~ncherry/ (Text only)
http://hcs.sourceforge.net/ (HCS II)
http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog

Quoted message said:

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

Test tickles?

"David Hamilton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

<snip good "chicken or egg" stuff about being the best and having the best
support>

Quoted message said:

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 too wonder about this daily David.

I don't claim to be a Lance but when I did a VO2 max test when I was
training in high school, I had the highest measured volume in our school of
1200 students (those who tested). 15 years of having "office jobs" and
letting my health slip and I struggle to do 10km but I'm working on that to
see just how far I can take my riding. 🙂

I agree with you on numbers though, at least in terms of "order of
magnitude." I suspect there are millions of people out there who have Lance
potential but don't do anything with it.

Great movie on that subject: "Gattaca."

Treading water in the middle of a lake...
"How are you doing this Vincent?"
"...I didn't save anything for the swim back."

😉

Gooserider said:

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

Lance Armstrong neither has the lowest pulse or biggest lung capacity
of all the riders in the tour. you didn't say that he did, but the lowest
heart rate in the tour is not 32 but 35 (forgot the name).
It doesn't matter does it, he's strong backed up by a very good team and
excellent strategy, though the question remains - why only the tour?

--
You will be successful in love.

"dirk dierickx" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Gooserider said:

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

Lance Armstrong neither has the lowest pulse or biggest lung capacity
of all the riders in the tour. you didn't say that he did, but the lowest
heart rate in the tour is not 32 but 35 (forgot the name).
It doesn't matter does it, he's strong backed up by a very good team and
excellent strategy, though the question remains - why only the tour?

--

Because the TdF is the highest profile and most important race.