if Lance wins 5 and 6

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

Quoted message said:

1st timer here ,,,, i read in the dallas time paper(usa) that if

lance

Quoted message said:

was to win # 5 he should quite. It went on to say if he won # 6 he would be TDF best but
that really

is

Quoted message said:

not true. I am puzzled if he or anyone won it 6 time why wouldn't that mean

the

Quoted message said:

person is the best,,, Would he have to win it 7 or 8 times to b the best

Sounds like it was written by some football announcer.

In article said:

1st timer here ,,,, i read in the dallas time paper(usa) that if lance was to win # 5 he should
quite. It went on to say if he won # 6 he would be TDF best but that really is not true. I am
puzzled if he or anyone won it 6 time why wouldn't that mean the person is the best,,, Would he
have to win it 7 or 8 times to b the best thx 4 ya'll input zilla

Welcome to the group.

I hardly ever engage in spelling/grammar/usage flames, but this is so bad in so many ways that you
look like an inebriated AIM'er. Please stop it!

To answer your question, I have no idea why they think he should quit at 5, unless they are big fans
of Ullrich and think he needs some help with his comeback.

As for who is the best, the record books show Miguel Indurain as the only winner of 5 consecutive
TdFs, though several others have won 5. In many people's eyes, Mercx (Eddy, not Axel) will always be
the best TdF rider, and perhaps the best overall rider (it is true that Lance and other recent Tour
winners focus much more single-mindedly on the Tour these days than Mercx did, but that's just how
the sport has evolved).

If Lance takes 6, and especially 6 consecutive tours, he will be at the top of the record books,
and I daresay for a long time. Even if he stays at four (and interestingly, he is the only 4-time
winner; every rider who has won four Tours managed a fifth), he will still be one of the great
TdF riders.

What impresses people right now is that Armstrong's Tour victories have been so powerful and
routine-looking. I don't know a lot of Tour history, but some who know better than I claim that
Lance is more of a complete threat than any other rider. He has proven a dominant rider both in TTs
and in the mountains, a remarkable achievement. About the worst you can say about him is that he has
the support of a very, very strong team.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousineOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

<< Sounds like it was written by some football announcer. >>

Or someone who thinks that Lance winning six TdFs while focusing on them almost exclusively doesn't
make him better than Eddie Merckx winning 5 while also winning almost everything else all season
long, too.

Bob C.

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

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

1st timer here ,,,, i read in the dallas time paper(usa) that if

lance

Quoted message said:

was to win # 5 he should quite. It went on to say if he won # 6 he would be TDF best but that
really

is

Quoted message said:

not true. I am puzzled if he or anyone won it 6 time why wouldn't that mean

the

Quoted message said:

person is the best,,, Would he have to win it 7 or 8 times to b the best

Sounds like it was written by some football announcer.

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

Quoted message said:

<< Sounds like it was written by some football announcer. >>

Or someone who thinks that Lance winning six TdFs while focusing on them almost exclusively
doesn't make him better than Eddie Merckx winning 5

while

Quoted message said:

also winning almost everything else all season long, too.

Bob C.

Well, sure, but I think Merckx was carried by his teammate in the track wins in the winter...

--
Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on two wheels...

psycholist said:

Or someone who thinks that Lance winning six TdFs while focusing on them almost exclusively
doesn't make him better than Eddie Merckx winning 5 while also winning almost everything else all
season long, too.

Yeah, and since Lance focuses only on the TdF, he should at least be able to win all three jerseys
like Eddy did in 1969.

Art

Merckx was a complete rider as well. Hinault was a complete rider. Indurain was a complete rider.
Anquetil was a TT specialist who could hold on in the mountains. They were all great racers but
Eddy Merckx stands head and shoulders above everyone else in the sheer ability to win anywhere and
at any time.

That doesn't make Lance hamburger though.

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

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, gentolm

<[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

1st timer here ,,,, i read in the dallas time paper(usa) that if

lance

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

was to win # 5 he should quite. It went on to say if he won # 6 he would be TDF best but that

really is

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

not true. I am puzzled if he or anyone won it 6 time why wouldn't that mean

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

person is the best,,, Would he have to win it 7 or 8 times to b the best thx 4 ya'll input zilla

Welcome to the group.

I hardly ever engage in spelling/grammar/usage flames, but this is

so

Quoted message said:

bad in so many ways that you look like an inebriated AIM'er. Please

stop

Quoted message said:

it!

To answer your question, I have no idea why they think he should

quit at

Quoted message said:

5, unless they are big fans of Ullrich and think he needs some help

with

Quoted message said:

his comeback.

As for who is the best, the record books show Miguel Indurain as the only winner of 5 consecutive
TdFs, though several others have won 5.

In

Quoted message said:

many people's eyes, Mercx (Eddy, not Axel) will always be the best

TdF

Quoted message said:

rider, and perhaps the best overall rider (it is true that Lance and other recent Tour winners
focus much more single-mindedly on the

Tour

Quoted message said:

these days than Mercx did, but that's just how the sport has

evolved).

Quoted message said:

If Lance takes 6, and especially 6 consecutive tours, he will be at

the

Quoted message said:

top of the record books, and I daresay for a long time. Even if he

stays

Quoted message said:

at four (and interestingly, he is the only 4-time winner; every

rider

Quoted message said:

who has won four Tours managed a fifth), he will still be one of the great TdF riders.

What impresses people right now is that Armstrong's Tour victories

have

Quoted message said:

been so powerful and routine-looking. I don't know a lot of Tour history, but some who know better
than I claim that Lance is more of

a

Quoted message said:

complete threat than any other rider. He has proven a dominant rider both in TTs and in the
mountains, a remarkable achievement. About

the

Quoted message said:

worst you can say about him is that he has the support of a very,

very

Quoted message said:

strong team.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousineOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

Eddy Merckx was riding against guys who were riding all season as well. Lance is riding against
other Tour specialists.

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

Quoted message said:

<< Sounds like it was written by some football announcer. >>

Or someone who thinks that Lance winning six TdFs while focusing on

them

Quoted message said:

almost exclusively doesn't make him better than Eddie Merckx winning

5 while

Quoted message said:

also winning almost everything else all season long, too.

Bob C.

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

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

1st timer here ,,,, i read in the dallas time paper(usa) that if

lance

Quoted message said:

was to win # 5 he should quite. It went on to say if he won # 6 he would be TDF best but that

really

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

is

Quoted message said:

not true. I am puzzled if he or anyone won it 6 time why wouldn't that

mean

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the

Quoted message said:

person is the best,,, Would he have to win it 7 or 8 times to b the best

Sounds like it was written by some football announcer.

In article said:

psycholist said:

Or someone who thinks that Lance winning six TdFs while focusing on them almost exclusively
doesn't make him better than Eddie Merckx winning 5 while also winning almost everything else
all season long, too.

Yeah, and since Lance focuses only on the TdF, he should at least be able to win all three jerseys
like Eddy did in 1969.

Art

Heh. Nothing will take away from Merckx's record of achievement, ever. It's like saying that Gordie
Howe or Babe Ruth are no longer among the best at their sport, because they have been surpassed in
the record books. They were the best in their eras, and more dominant in their eras than any other
competitors in their respective sports. In baseball, you might talk about Ted Williams, DiMaggio, or
some modern star as being a similarly powerful figure. In cycling, we must now speak of Merckx and
Indurain as Tour greats. Lance is up there, since he has shown no signs of weakness, there is a
chance he will pull off some unprecedented achievements (6 wins, mainly).

Armstrong rides in a world where there is a lot more money in cycling, and where there is only one
race that really matters at the peak, and where guys like Jalabert train for the polka dots, and
then deliberately drop off GC pace to ensure they don't get chased down by the USPS Blue Meanies.
Basically, everyone is a specialist, be they a classics specialist, a world championship contender,
a track rider, a Vuelta rider (Heras, to pick one), or a Tour de France rider.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousineOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club