Armstrongs weight

[mitosis]

Is Armstrong lighter this year than last? His face seems drawn and in the view from behind in the prologue he looked thin.

 

[Ted B]

Originally posted by mitosis
Is Armstrong lighter this year than last? His face seems drawn and in the view from behind in the prologue he looked thin.

Don't know, Armstrong's face always looks drawn to me at competition time. If anyone's weight (or rather a lack thereof) caught my attention, it was Ullrich and his very skinny arms.

 

[SLS]

Armstrong - 2003 & 2004 as shown on OLN & Le Tours website
Born in 18/09/1971
Height : 1.77 m
Weight : 75.0 kg
(read somewhere else he bounces between 71 - 75kg)
5ft 10 - 156.5 lbs to 165

Ullrich - 2003 & 2004 as shown on OLN & Le Tours website
Born in 02/12/1973
Height : 1.83 m
Weight : 73.0 kg
6ft - 161 lbs
add in the 10 kg's on average he has to lose each season before & during the tour = 183 lbs

I have to wonder if they actually weigh these guys or do they just use what is stated?

 

[mitosis]

Yeah, their publicity machines probably don't keep up day to day. It would also be interesting to see their weight before and after a long stage.

Ullrich does look lighter too - promise of some serious action in the hills?

 

[gntlmn]

Armstrong looked lighter last year to me. He had the stomach flu before last year's Tour which he had picked up from his kids. He wasn't feeling quite normal until about that time when he fell going up the mountain.

 

[Cam the Ram]

Well hopefully Ullrich lost a little weight to help him climb in the mountains. I wish Ullrich would start attacking in these early stages!

 

[gntlmn]

I'm surprised that they keep calling Ullrich the Big German. He's 6 feet tall, but he only weighs around 160 lbs, about the same as Lance who is 2 inches shorter.

I think the mountains are going to be blown wide open this year with Mayo not a contender anymore. He'll be gunning for stage wins. This will provide Tour leaders the means to open a big gap by getting on Mayo's wheels. It will be fun to watch this action as the Tour begins to ascend. It won't get serious until about next Wednesday.

 

[mitosis]

Originally posted by gntlmn
I'm surprised that they keep calling Ullrich the Big German. He's 6 feet tall, but he only weighs around 160 lbs, about the same as Lance who is 2 inches shorter.

That's because he usually is big - like 85 kilos (180 pounds plus). He's only that light at TdeF time.

 

[gntlmn]

Originally posted by mitosis
That's because he usually is big - like 85 kilos (180 pounds plus). He's only that light at TdeF time.

Heh heh. You got that right. Funny now to look at his cheeks. I was kind of getting used to that full cheek hamster appearance.

 

[mitosis]

Now Backstedt is big. 95Kg.

 

[gntlmn]

Originally posted by mitosis
Now Backstedt is big. 95Kg.

If I had my druthers, I'd rather be riding behind a Backstedt, with a monster draft, than say a Heras, with a baby draft, on the flats. These giants might not be very good in the hills, but they sure block a lot of wind on the flats.

 

[mitosis]

Originally posted by gntlmn
If I had my druthers, I'd rather be riding behind a Backstedt, with a monster draft, than say a Heras, with a baby draft, on the flats. These giants might not be very good in the hills, but they sure block a lot of wind on the flats.

Yeah, its not much fun trying to get a draught from a skinny short guy. Imagine trying to follow Mayo into the wind.

I thing that's why Robbie McKewan is a sprinter - he'd not be much good as a lead out man.

 

[gntlmn]

Originally posted by mitosis
Yeah, its not much fun trying to get a draught from a skinny short guy. Imagine trying to follow Mayo into the wind.

I thing that's why Robbie McKewan is a sprinter - he'd not be much good as a lead out man.

Aha! I didn't think of that aspect--that McKewan can more easily break away in a sprint because he doesn't leave as big of a wake in his path. Interesting...

 

[tcklyde]

Originally posted by Cam the Ram
Well hopefully Ullrich lost a little weight to help him climb in the mountains. I wish Ullrich would start attacking in these early stages!

I'm surprised I keep hearing this sentiment. Postal, Rabobank, Phonak, etc. all would certainly immediately reel him in. T-Mobile doesn't have the strength vs. the rest of the GC contenders to give Ullrich any meaningful time on the flat stages.

Look what T-Mobile did to Hincapie when he tried to get with the break in Stage 5. Ain't gonna happen until the mountains.

 

[gntlmn]

And every time they break away and get reeled back in, the breakaway group suffers much more than the peloton.

Jan is waiting like a big, fat fish for the right bait to come along. He'll strike eventually. Maybe it will be in the Pyrenees. If he gets lucky, he might end up in a lead group while Lance & company gets blocked. It's just kind of hard to imagine at the moment.