Why is LA better than me?

Is he physically superior? YES
Is he on drugs? Probably not
Is he more dedicated? Yes, and he makes more doing it too.
Does he have a higher pain threash hold? Certainly
Has he come up with a superior training theory? Than you? Certainly.
Is it his team? Of course
Is it his professionalism? Yes.

Without knowing anything about you I can answer fairly confidently as I did above, unless you are Jan Ulrich or Tyler Hamilton.

From Chris Carmichael on the LA FAQ:
Resting heart rate: 32-34
VO2ml/kg: 83.8
Max power at VO2: 600 watts
Max heart rate: 201
Lactate Threshold HR: 178
Time Trial HR: 188-192
Pedal rpm's during TT: 95-100
Climbing rpm's: 80-85, sometimes faster when attacking
Average HR during endurance rides (4-6 hrs): 124-128
Average watts during endurance rides: 245-280 watts
Training miles/hours, endurance rides: 5- 6 hrs / 100-130miles

Fixey said:

While reading a reply on another thread I came across this qoute

"If all people are created equal, why do we have athletic competetion? Jimmy Casper should be just as good as Lance Armstrong".

That got me thinking, why is LA the best TDF rider of his time?
Is he physically superior?
Is he on drugs?
Is he more dedicated?
Does he have a higher pain threash hold?
Has he came up with a superiour training theory?
Is it his team?
Is it his professionalism?

I would like to hear what people think on this.
I personally think it is mix of the lot. For instance, he has chosen a sport that suits his body, takes some drugs (Not all are illegal, eg Ephedra), is a truely dedicated man to the point of being fanatical, enjoys pain (He said so in his first book), has a training system that obviously works for him, has a great team and is very porfessional. I believe this to be true for one basic reason, most people consider (LA included) JU to be a superior cyclist in ability, but he his dedication is not close and his professionalism questionable.

Purely from a physiological point of view LA has most, if not all, of the cards in his favor. Then you just add dedication & stamina. What is Jan Ullrich's resting h/r ? Until someone else can match his vital stat's, he can't be compared w/ anyone else on an objective basis, do you agree ?

davidmc said:

Purely from a physiological point of view LA has most, if not all, of the cards in his favor. Then you just add dedication & stamina. What is Jan Ullrich's resting h/r ? Until someone else can match his vital stat's, he can't be compared w/ anyone else on an objective basis, do you agree ?

Almost agree, when Im fit I would beat his resting heart rate and VO2 max, many can. LA was qouted as saying that JU was the most talented cyclist in the world. The team Mobile manager was qouted saying if JU had the professionalism of Eric Z we would have the next Mercx.

Dont let the title of this thread fool ya, it was a tongue in cheek thing, what I am after is opinions as to why LA is better at the TDF than anyone else at the moment.

Fixey said:

Almost agree, when Im fit I would beat his resting heart rate and VO2 max, many can. LA was qouted as saying that JU was the most talented cyclist in the world. The team Mobile manager was qouted saying if JU had the professionalism of Eric Z we would have the next Mercx.

Dont let the title of this thread fool ya, it was a tongue in cheek thing, what I am after is opinions as to why LA is better at the TDF than anyone else at the moment.

Is he considerably younger than the others ? Also he does'nt beat his brains out w/ too many other races during the year, correct ? Other than that, I could'nt say. Incidentally, I rarely root for the reigning champ, in any sport.

davidmc said:

Is he considerably younger than the others ?

Are you referring to LA??????

Fixey, I don't know how well you train, so it would be hard to say why he is better than you...Perhaps he can spell without the use of a "spell checker"?... 🙂

But my opinion as to why he does so well in the tour is listed below:

Dedication. Having lived through a near fatal illness can motivate people to live life to the fullest more than any of us may be able to fathom unless we have lived through it ourselves..

Training. Superior training techniques and dedication to training..

Team. Surrounding oneself with a good team that is hand selected for varying strengths helps tremendously.

Brains..Being an American he naturally possesses superior intelligence.

Genetics....has a part to play in his success.

Luck. Plays a part in everything.

Equipment. Superior shimano components as opposed that campy [censored]....

Keeping his eye on the prize. Certainly concentrating on just the TDF does make him more likely to to well there.

I don't think one could single it out to one thing...More likely a combo of all.

zapper said:

Fixey, I don't know how well you train, so it would be hard to say why he is better than you...Perhaps he can spell without the use of a "spell checker"?... 🙂

But my opinion as to why he does so well in the tour is listed below:

Dedication. Having lived through a near fatal illness can motivate people to live life to the fullest more than any of us may be able to fathom unless we have lived through it ourselves..

Training. Superior training techniques and dedication to training..

Team. Surrounding oneself with a good team that is hand selected for varying strengths helps tremendously.

Brains..Being an American he naturally possesses superior intelligence.

Genetics....has a part to play in his success.

Luck. Plays a part in everything.

Equipment. Superior shimano components as opposed that campy [censored]....

Keeping his eye on the prize. Certainly concentrating on just the TDF does make him more likely to to well there.

I don't think one could single it out to one thing...More likely a combo of all.

Thank you for your imput Zap, I agree with some of what you say but once again you cant get past adding a load of [censored] to your post in order to ruin a thread. I no longer actually find you amusing anymore.

Fixey said:

Thank you for your imput Zap, I agree with some of what you say but once again you cant get past adding a load of [censored] to your post in order to ruin a thread. I no longer actually find you amusing anymore.

Ok, I'm sorry I made fun of Campy, I know you are a fan of that...stuff...Didn't mean to ruin your thread. I do humbly apologize.

There are many reasons as to why Armstrong is the most successful rider in the TDF since 1999 :

His being allowed to solely concentrate on doing the TDF to the exclusion of everything is part of it.

The ability of his team mates to suspend their own objectives in order to work for LA is another.

The ability of his management to focus all available resources to ensure TDF victory is also part of it.

And in fairness to Zapper he raises a good issue - luck has played a part in LA's success.
LA hasn't punctured at a crucial time in 6 T'sDF, for example.

Also the lack of depth in the opposition opposing LA is a factor as well.
The level of opposition is pretty weak.

The question is: Is Armstrong a genetic freak (as Schwarzennegger was) or does he just do a lot of things right?
As far as genetics goes, let me state not everybody can get a 52 inch chest and 22 inch biceps no matter how hard they work out of how much dianabol they ingest.
With cyclists the keys are having a large heart, big lungs and a low pulse rate. Physically they tend to be fairly lean.
Another point about Armstrong is this. Compare his stage wins with those of Eddy Merkcx. Merkcx won far more TDF stages per tour than Armstrong or Indurain.

Fixey said:

While reading a reply on another thread I came across this qoute

"If all people are created equal, why do we have athletic competetion? Jimmy Casper should be just as good as Lance Armstrong".

That got me thinking, why is LA the best TDF rider of his time?
Is he physically superior?
Is he on drugs?
Is he more dedicated?
Does he have a higher pain threash hold?
Has he came up with a superiour training theory?
Is it his team?
Is it his professionalism?

I would like to hear what people think on this.
I personally think it is mix of the lot. For instance, he has chosen a sport that suits his body, takes some drugs (Not all are illegal, eg Ephedra), is a truely dedicated man to the point of being fanatical, enjoys pain (He said so in his first book), has a training system that obviously works for him, has a great team and is very porfessional. I believe this to be true for one basic reason, most people consider (LA included) JU to be a superior cyclist in ability, but he his dedication is not close and his professionalism questionable.

limerickman said:

There are many reasons as to why Armstrong is the most successful rider in the TDF since 1999 :

His being allowed to solely concentrate on doing the TDF to the exclusion of everything is part of it.

The ability of his team mates to suspend their own objectives in order to work for LA is another.

The ability of his management to focus all available resources to ensure TDF victory is also part of it.

And in fairness to Zapper he raises a good issue - luck has played a part in LA's success.
LA hasn't punctured at a crucial time in 6 T'sDF, for example.

Also the lack of depth in the opposition opposing LA is a factor as well.
The level of opposition is pretty weak.

Good points. Also, has anyone mentioned the fact that his heart is 30% larger than the avg. individuals. He is a genetic anomoly. Carerra has pointed this out by mentioning stat's. I have also read where LA can ride a stationary bike at 32mph for an hour. Quite a feat. As Lim has pointed out, they can also devote a lions share of thier resources for the one race-tdf. Lastly, his nationality plays a part too. American's are known for thier tenaciousness.

Carrera said:

The question is: Is Armstrong a genetic freak .

yes, he is a genetic freak in my opinion...

obviously a freak in a very good way...'an awesome individual' as Blair would say..'period'

yes, its probaby something out of his control...a champion from the day he was born...

like Schumacher, Ali and Pele....

Even Lance doesn't have robot Big Mig's 28 beats a minute resting pulse. Neither does Lance have lungs the same size as Mig's - so big there was hardly space in his torso for them - like huge bellows.
But Lance is very professional, still genetically gifted and very calculating and precise. He deserves his victories as no other rider prepares so carefully. He knows exactly when to peak and he knows exactly what his precise gearing needs to be for every point of a climb.
So, he'll be remembered as the all time great TDF rider, same as Arnie in bodybuilding with his 7 Mr Olympia victories.

davidmc said:

Good points. Also, has anyone mentioned the fact that his heart is 30% larger than the avg. individuals. He is a genetic anomoly. Carerra has pointed this out by mentioning stat's. I have also read where LA can ride a stationary bike at 32mph for an hour. Quite a feat. As Lim has pointed out, they can also devote a lions share of thier resources for the one race-tdf. Lastly, his nationality plays a part too. American's are known for thier tenaciousness.

davidmc said:

Good points. Also, has anyone mentioned the fact that his heart is 30% larger than the avg. individuals. He is a genetic anomoly. Carerra has pointed this out by mentioning stat's. I have also read where LA can ride a stationary bike at 32mph for an hour. Quite a feat. As Lim has pointed out, they can also devote a lions share of thier resources for the one race-tdf. Lastly, his nationality plays a part too. American's are known for thier tenaciousness.

Since when was Armstrong an American idigenous name?

Carrera said:

Even Lance doesn't have robot Big Mig's 28 beats a minute resting pulse. Neither does Lance have lungs the same size as Mig's - so big there was hardly space in his torso for them - like huge bellows.
But Lance is very professional, still genetically gifted and very calculating and precise. He deserves his victories as no other rider prepares so carefully. He knows exactly when to peak and he knows exactly what his precise gearing needs to be for every point of a climb.
So, he'll be remembered as the all time great TDF rider, same as Arnie in bodybuilding with his 7 Mr Olympia victories.

And he does 600/700 miles a week training in the run up to the TDF. He's not a juicer like Arnie.

wadoflove said:

Does he have a higher pain threash hold? Certainly

I won't pick on anything else contained in this thread, but I hate it when I see stuff like this. Does anyone really believe his opponents don't push as hard because "it hurts too much" 🙄 .

Fact is anyone who is competitive as hell will kill themselves to do the best. Lance doesn't have a higher pain threshold than I do, nor does he try harder. We both give it 100% (and so does most everyone else that competes), difference is his 100% effort gives better results than yours or my 100% efforts (for some of the other reasons already stated).

FredC said:

Since when was Armstrong an American idigenous name?

True, he's a "Texican" 🙄 of N. Carolinian descent(?). That reinforces my argument. These people are fiercely competitive. "Remember the Alamo." 😉 I'm not a big fan of his, one way or the other, I ride mtn & bmx bikes.

wilmar13 said:

I won't pick on anything else contained in this thread, but I hate it when I see stuff like this. Does anyone really believe his opponents don't push as hard because "it hurts too much" 🙄 .

Fact is anyone who is competitive as hell will kill themselves to do the best. Lance doesn't have a higher pain threshold than I do, nor does he try harder. We both give it 100% (and so does most everyone else that competes), difference is his 100% effort gives better results than yours or my 100% efforts (for some of the other reasons already stated).

You may have spoken a little too soon my friend. Did he have to have chemo-therapy 😕 If, in fact, he did, his pain thresh hold would be heightened considerably.

davidmc said:

True, he's a "Texican" 🙄 of N. Carolinian descent(?). That reinforces my argument. These people are fiercely competitive. "Remember the Alamo." 😉 I'm not a big fan of his, one way or the other, I ride mtn & bmx bikes.

Dave, Fred was poiting to the fact that Armstrong is a Scottish name and you cannot say that his genetic pedigree is down to just being American.

I am not saying he is of Scottish descent but his name does imply that. That explains why he is such an awesome athlete...😄

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