10 Questions For Lance Armstrong

.. and a lot about retiring.

Jason Spaceman said:

"The five-time Tour de France champ on his cancer crusade, his divorce and the French"

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J. Spaceman

I noticed that too, at least TWO ref. to retiring soon, but I personally don't see it before the end
of 2004, maybe even 2005.

"Dan Connelly" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

.. and a lot about retiring.

Jason Spaceman said:

"The five-time Tour de France champ on his cancer crusade, his divorce

and

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the French"

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J. Spaceman

I would bet at 2004 end -

TDF Olympics Worlds?

Good way to end, 6 times, a gold or two and a worlds TT or road title/

"metalleg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:U18cb.558823$YN5.383425@sccrnsc01...

Quoted message said:

I noticed that too, at least TWO ref. to retiring soon, but I personally don't see it before the
end of 2004, maybe even 2005.

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

Quoted message said:

.. and a lot about retiring.

Jason Spaceman said:

"The five-time Tour de France champ on his cancer crusade, his divorce

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the French"

time.com0,9171,1101030929 488805,00.htmlOpen ↗

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J. Spaceman

rope -- huh? said:

I would bet at 2004 end -

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TDF Olympics Worlds?

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Good way to end, 6 times, a gold or two and a worlds TT or road title/

He won't retire until he loses the Tour. I see him on an Indurain trajectory. Regardless of the Tour
result he'll shoot for a gold in the TT in Athens. If he does not hit 6 next summer he'll be gone
after that. Worlds is a been-there-done-that sort of thing for him.

I don't think anyone here, and certainly not the people that slam LANCE for not racing enough, have
a clue about the amount of stress associated with those three weeks in July and their toll over five
years. Both Indurain and LANCE are very strong men in any sense in which you would apply that word.
And both adopted very similar training schedules which are very light post-Tour. I do not think this
is chance.

Bob Schwartz [email hidden]

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

Quoted message said:

rope -- huh? said:

I would bet at 2004 end -

Quoted message said:

TDF Olympics Worlds?

Quoted message said:

Good way to end, 6 times, a gold or two and a worlds TT or road title/

He won't retire until he loses the Tour. I see him on an Indurain trajectory. Regardless of the
Tour result he'll shoot for a gold in the TT in Athens. If he does not hit 6 next summer he'll be
gone after that. Worlds is a been-there-done-that sort of thing for him.

I agree. I think it would have been also true any time after he got his third.

Quoted message said:

I don't think anyone here, and certainly not the people that slam LANCE for not racing enough,
have a clue about the amount of stress associated with those three weeks in July and their toll
over five years. Both Indurain and LANCE are very strong men in any sense in which you would apply
that word. And both adopted very similar training schedules which are very light post-Tour. I do
not think this is chance.

Bob Schwartz [email hidden]

In an interview with a french cycling magazine last year (sorry lost the reference) he said quite
clearly - two more TDFs and then he retires. i.e. 2004 is the last year, whether he gets the 6th win
or not. The time article seems to support that, and it makes sense - a realistic champion will want
to quite while he's on form, and whether he gets number 6 or not he won't want to ruin it by
endlessly trying to stage a comeback.

In article said:

.. and a lot about retiring.

Jason Spaceman said:

"The five-time Tour de France champ on his cancer crusade, his divorce and the French"

time.com0,9171,1101030929 488805,00.htmlOpen ↗

J. Spaceman

I'm going to go far out on a limb and make a prediction. Lance Armstrong will find by mid-May that
his body is aging and failing him. He will at that point retire rather than risk coming a certain
second or worse in the Tour.

That should stir the near off-season pot.

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

Quoted message said:

In an interview with a french cycling magazine last year (sorry lost the reference) he said quite
clearly - two more TDFs and then he retires. i.e. 2004 is the last year, whether he gets the 6th
win or not. The time article seems to support that, and it makes sense - a realistic champion will
want to quite while he's on form, and whether he gets number 6 or not he won't want to ruin it by
endlessly trying to stage a comeback.

In article <[email hidden]>, Dan Connelly

Quoted message said:

.. and a lot about retiring.

Jason Spaceman said:

"The five-time Tour de France champ on his cancer crusade, his divorce

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the French"

time.com0,9171,1101030929 488805,00.htmlOpen ↗

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J. Spaceman

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

Quoted message said:

I'm going to go far out on a limb and make a prediction. Lance Armstrong will find by mid-May that
his body is aging and failing him. He will at that point retire rather than risk coming a certain
second or worse in the Tour.

Would you be willing to put $$ on that?

Kurgan Gringioni said:

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

Quoted message said:

I'm going to go far out on a limb and make a prediction. Lance Armstrong will find by mid-May
that his body is aging and failing him. He will at that point retire rather than risk coming a
certain second or worse in the Tour.

Would you be willing to put $$ on that?

Yeah, that's a silly prediction.

I hope that when the time comes, he retires based on the fact that his body is aging, and not based
on an arbitrary line he drew on the number of wins. If he comes back next year and kicks tail again,
why should he retire?

Shayne Wissler

"Kurgan Gringioni" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

"B. Lafferty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

I'm going to go far out on a limb and make a prediction. Lance

Armstrong

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

will find by mid-May that his body is aging and failing him. He will at that point retire rather
than risk coming a certain second or worse in

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Tour.

Would you be willing to put $$ on that?

I would, but I would expect odds. That is about a 10 to 1, in that realm. Too many details to risk
on a straight bet.

"Nick Burns" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

I'm going to go far out on a limb and make a prediction. Lance

Armstrong

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

will find by mid-May that his body is aging and failing him. He will

at

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

that point retire rather than risk coming a certain second or worse in

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Tour.

Would you be willing to put $$ on that?

I would, but I would expect odds. That is about a 10 to 1, in that realm. Too many details to risk
on a straight bet.

Nick, where do you reside? This could be worth an ale bet. I'd bet with Henry, but I have no desire
to drink with him under any circumstances.

"B. Lafferty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

"Nick Burns" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

"B. Lafferty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
> I'm going to go far out on a limb and make a prediction. Lance

Armstrong

Quoted message said:

> will find by mid-May that his body is aging and failing him. He

will

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at

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> that point retire rather than risk coming a certain second or worse

in

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the

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> Tour.

Would you be willing to put $$ on that?

I would, but I would expect odds. That is about a 10 to 1, in that

realm.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Too many details to risk on a straight bet.

Nick, where do you reside? This could be worth an ale bet. I'd bet with Henry, but I have no
desire to drink with him under any circumstances.

I live in Ca, but we can have a gentlemen's bet (can't do that one with Hank either...).

"B. Lafferty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

"B. Lafferty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
> I'm going to go far out on a limb and make a prediction. Lance

Armstrong

Quoted message said:

> will find by mid-May that his body is aging and failing him. He will

at

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Quoted message said:

> that point retire rather than risk coming a certain second or worse

in

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the

Quoted message said:

> Tour.

Would you be willing to put $$ on that?

I would, but I would expect odds. That is about a 10 to 1, in that realm. Too many details to
risk on a straight bet.

Nick, where do you reside? This could be worth an ale bet. I'd bet with Henry, but I have no
desire to drink with him under any circumstances.

Dumbass -

The reason I think your prediction is stupid is that the limiting factor in stage racing as one gets
older is the ability to recover day to day. That can't be tested until actually doing the race (in
this case, the TdF). Additionally, if a rider isn't doing well in May, it doesn't necessarily follow
that they will be going poorly in July. Lemond in '89 is a good example of that. Conversely, Simoni
of '03 is the inverse.

The above reasons is why we never see Tour riders retiring in May. They retire *after* the race, not
before it.

Older riders can still compete in one day races (no need for next-day recovery) - the old guys do
very well in the Cobbled Classics for instance.