Lance not a top athlete?

temp3st

Just read this interesting article - http://www.procycling.com/news.aspx?ID=360

Made me laugh anyway.

izzodesh

oh wow...
that guy is going to get a new asshole torn via his email...
what a fool..
bet he could beat lance too..

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WINGNUTT

Just sent to the author:

Mike,

Just read your article "Top Athletes Don't Ride Bicycles" and found it to be one of the most utterly ridiculous commentaries I have ever read. It is so obvious from your comments about Walter Payton and other NFL players being capable of winning the Tour de France, that you are completely uneducated with respect to the sport of cycling, human physiology, and even basic physical science. I respect that your column was an opinion column, but you should have respect for the athletes and fans of other sports to at least make some effort to educate yourself about the sport before bashing it - to write the unsupportable nonsense you wrote is simply offensive. Anyway, you (and the Daily Herald) are the loser here because you lost all of your credibility with this piece, if you had any to begin with.

Lastly, perhaps you should have somebody smarter than you proof read your work before publishing.

peddle (v):
1 : to travel about with wares for sale; broadly
2 : to be busy with trifles

pedal (v):
1 : to ride a bicycle
2 : to use or work a pedal

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary

http://www.dailyherald.com/search/m...?intID=38194111

wheresullrich?

This is so ridiculus its humerous

This guys gotta be jokin rite?

I can just see this williams guy keeping up with the peloton... not!

Anyone can hit or kick a ball whatever!(i have to say i wasnt paying that much attention reading it because its such utter rubish!) It's not hard so I'm sure lance could do it whatever it was i cant remember

This guy needs to go out and do some cycling obviously I vote we send him off to the pyrenees to show him what it's like along with his sort of peddles! See how far he gets!

jhuskey

Maybe this bozo could take up thinking and win an award for literature.
Yes too much to ask I know.I would challenge him to stay n my wheel for just 10 miles and I suck.

__________________
Whenever I can't get excited about riding I just fantasize about someone else's bike.

meehs

I read the article and sent an e-mail to the columnist too. Not as good as yours though but in the same vein. Nice job!

Here's what I sent him:

Your column stating that Lance Armstrong isn't a top athlete
(Top Athletes Don't Ride Bikes, July 26, 2004) is so
completely and utterly ridiculous and misinformed I
don't really even know where to begin. I was actually
laughing out loud while I read it.

Suffice to say that you or any of the athletes
mentioned in that column probably couldn't ride up Alp
d' Huez if you started right at the base of the
mountain with fresh legs. Let alone ride it at a near
record-setting pace after riding 120 miles a day for
two weeks. Stick to what you know (probably not much
judging by this article).

renoster

This guy is going to have a full inbox.

Amongst other outrageous statements he claims that Ricky Williams (retiring NFL running back) is a greater athlete than Lance Armstrong (as are many NFL players) and in his retirement could go and ride the TdF for fun - and win.

His e-mail address is mimrem@dailyherald.com if you wish to let him know what you think.

Here's what I wrote him:

Mike,

I read your article comparing Ricky Williams to Lance Armstrong and thought it was hilarious. You must surely have been joking, otherwise you should visit your optometrist immediately for treatment of that chronic myopia.

I have never played football, but played rugby for 20 years (where athletes actually run around the field for most of the game - not for a few seconds at a time.) Using the argument of Lance's potential success on the football field as an argument is like saying Muhammed Ali was an ordinary athlete because he would never have made the Olympics as a gymnast.

Lance Armstrong is not the most dominant athlete ever, heck, he is not even the most dominant cyclist ever. However, I put it to you that all 147 finishers at the Tour de France are as athletically gifted as any 147 players currently in the NFL. Kindly consider the effects of playing the entire NFL season over a period of just 3 weeks. How many players would be left in the third week?

I doubt that there is a player in the NFL today that would have remained in the Tour de France for the 2nd Stage. Their bodies are just not suited for success in the sport of cycling, just as Lance's body would not allow him to succeed at football, and not one football player would finish within 15 percent of the winning time for any stage. All finishers outside of this time are eliminated from the race. Images of Williams peddling (sic) the Tour de France would be funny if the thought was not so absurd.

On a purely physical level, how many NFL players would come close to generating the power output produced by any of the top 10 riders in the Tour de France for a sustained period of one hour - let alone the three or four hours that some riders spent on breakaway attempts. I suspect the answer would be 0.

On a skill level, try riding six inches or less behind the wheel of another rider for an hour without crashing. Now realize that these guys do it for five hours per day over three weeks.

Let's examine courage. Ever tried riding a bicycle down a mountain pass with twisting roads and no side barriers at 70 miles per hour on a 15-pound frame between your legs wearing nothing but a thin shirt and shorts and a very lightweight helmet?

How about versatlility? Lance Armstrong won a sprint finish, time trials and mountain stages against world rated competitors in each of those disciplines. How would Ricky Williams perform in the NFL as a lineman, a quarterback or a kicker?

Lance Armstrong has become a household name and has come to dominate the premier event in a worldwide sport that until recently received little public attention and few resources in the country in which he grew up. He has succeeded in an arena where most of the participants have had a strong national interest in seeing that the American fails. He has single-handedly done more for his sport and for raising money and public awareness for his charitable cause than entire NFL teams.

I know that pre-season training camps in the NFL are extremely tough and know that a small fraction of the earth's population would last through a day. However, I suspect that Lance, and several other top cyclists, would not only survive the fitness training of an NFL pre-season training camp rather comfortably, but would add a 5-hour bike ride each day to get a real workout.

jhuskey

I have considered this journalist position and opinion. He may have one good valid opinion. Lance Armstrong could not possibly decend the Alps at 55 mph after inhaling as much "weed" as Williams does. Ricky would simply float down on "Gossamer Wings". Lance Armstrong love him or hate him, I chose to love him. In a manly sort of way of course!

__________________
Whenever I can't get excited about riding I just fantasize about someone else's bike.

Jakebrake

Ricky was dummer than a sack full of hammers when he went to school here, and judging by the decisions he has made during his short pro career, he's still a dim bulb. I love the way columnists are trying to make Ricky's decision to quit on his team some big philisophical truth seeking adventure. I have no problem with him wanting to retire. Fine and dandy. But to quit on your team a week before training camp opens, leaving the Dolphins high and dry after all the good free agent running backs were off the market, when he had been thinking about this for months, is very selfish and immature. Oh well, I guess he can go smoke his dope now and not have to worry about the things us peasants sweat over. You know, having a job, going to work on time, showing responsibility to the people you work with, things like that.

As far as Lance being able to take a hit, there are plenty of diminutive running backs and punt/kick returners that seem to fare well. It isn't about taking the hit, it's about making them miss.

limerickman

I know nothing about the guy (Williams) but to even contemplate going up against LA - well, that is ridiculous.

I go with the vote - put this Russell guy at the bottom of the Col De LaMadelaine (nice 20km climb !) with a bike and map, and let's see what month he arrives back home in !

birdman23

I'd like to see any athlete in any other sport do a nose dive on the Champs d'Elysses at 40+ mph and get back on the bike and finish the race. Cyclists are some of the toughest people in the world. That guy is an absolute idiot.

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steve

I like this bit


cheers

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Steve

CyclingForums.com

mitosis

Must be tonue in cheek. How can anyone who professes to know about sport be so ignorant?

mojomarc

Very amusing. The part that made me laugh was where he suggested Wayne Gretzky could win the Tour because he was thin. The guy was notoriously out of shape most of his career, and was routinely the worst-conditioned member of the Oilers teams that won the championship. It's one of the beautiful parts of playing hockey (and rugby, for that matter): if you know where the ball is going to go before it gets there, you don't have to run nearly so much (well, substitute puck and skate).

All I know is that I played ice hockey, which is a very thigh-intensive sport, and rugby, and there is no way I could generate the kind of wattage that Armstrong generates for even two minutes without collapsing. It may seem like a stroll with the kids in the park, but it's definitely no the same game.