So who thinks Lance can beat the Hour ?

[Laz]

A lot of interesting developments lately....but what are your thoughts on
his chances ? No snide remarks on doping- I don't think anyone will sanction
an Hour that is obtained by cheating. Personally, I think Lance does possess
a work-ethic that even if he could do it by cheating he wouldn't - but that
is only my opinion.

He is getting up there in age, but I think he is getting spiritually worn by
all this endless training for the Tour, the Hour is like a one shot deal, do
it and you are done. So I think this is his motivation. I think that his
career shows that he is more physically capable than Chris Boardman; and
where Boardman gave up and went home during the Tour, Lance stuck it out and
suffered more- so he is mentally stronger too. His training techniques will
have advanced where Peter Keens left off; and where corporate support and
development goes; 100% guaranteed Trek is going to give him every advantage
he needs to succeed. All he needs to do, is do it.

Laz

 

[RonSonic]

On Wed, 9 Feb 2005 01:40:54 -0500, "Laz" <[email protected]> wrote:

>A lot of interesting developments lately....but what are your thoughts on
>his chances ? No snide remarks on doping- I don't think anyone will sanction
>an Hour that is obtained by cheating. Personally, I think Lance does possess
>a work-ethic that even if he could do it by cheating he wouldn't - but that
>is only my opinion.
>
>He is getting up there in age, but I think he is getting spiritually worn by
>all this endless training for the Tour, the Hour is like a one shot deal, do
>it and you are done. So I think this is his motivation. I think that his
>career shows that he is more physically capable than Chris Boardman; and
>where Boardman gave up and went home during the Tour, Lance stuck it out and
>suffered more- so he is mentally stronger too. His training techniques will
>have advanced where Peter Keens left off; and where corporate support and
>development goes; 100% guaranteed Trek is going to give him every advantage
>he needs to succeed. All he needs to do, is do it.

The only question is how purist he'll be.

Ron

 

[[email protected]]

LA

 

[[email protected]]

Doping questions aside, then sure, why not?

But do not use his tour wins as evidence of being "tougher" than the
others. Lance will need to be able to ride at 34 miles per hour for a
full hour. That's a lot of lightbulbs.

 

[Dave H]

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Doping questions aside, then sure, why not?
>
> But do not use his tour wins as evidence of being "tougher" than the
> others. Lance will need to be able to ride at 34 miles per hour for a
> full hour. That's a lot of lightbulbs.
>

I personally would rather see him go for the "Ultimate Hour" or whatever it
is called, where he can ride a full aero bike etc etc
Dave

 

[Bryan]

"Laz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
<snip>

> Trek is going to give him every advantage
> he needs to succeed. All he needs to do, is do it.

Wouldn't that be his Nike sponsorship - Just do it?

 

[Laz]

"Dave H" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Doping questions aside, then sure, why not?
> >
> > But do not use his tour wins as evidence of being "tougher" than the
> > others. Lance will need to be able to ride at 34 miles per hour for a
> > full hour. That's a lot of lightbulbs.
> >
>
Agreed. It's not going to be easy, and I know the Tour is not the Hour (
and vice versa ), but I think there is an indication of the mental toughness
needed to suceed at either. There is a point where the pain is so great that
you choose to give up- and it always is a choice. Given that Lance has the
reasonable physical capacity to to launch an attempt at the Hour, it does
largly boil down to mental toughness. I seem to recall reading in Cycling
Weekly about 10years ago desribing Chris Boardmans ( or was it Rominger ?)
sucessful attempt showed how he was losing lap times before the halfway
point, but turned it up and stuck it out to blow away the old record. The
bar is set so high now that almost certainly there will come a lull during
an attempt where the gain will turn to loss-limiting- to lose ground and yet
perserve will require an enormous will and resolve. I was just pointing out
where the current Hour holder gave up and went home, Lance stayed.

> I personally would rather see him go for the "Ultimate Hour" or whatever
it
> is called, where he can ride a full aero bike etc etc
> Dave
>
>
I wouldn't be interested in an Ultimate Hour on a recumbent or some
freakish "bicycle"-thing fairings and all.

Laz

 

[Callistus Valerius]

> But do not use his tour wins as evidence of being "tougher" than the
> others. Lance will need to be able to ride at 34 miles per hour for a
> full hour. That's a lot of lightbulbs.


Is that all? Oh, I forgot, I was drafting when I did that. Why even
try, the cycling community has already made up it's mind that the Cannibal
was the best that there was and ever will be. They still rank Lance 3rd or
4th best tour de France rider. Let's say Lance doubles the distance
traveled in an hour. RBR would be shouting with their caps, LANCE ON DOPE.
Not possible that he could be that much better than Eddy, search his hotel
room. Every rider will ride in the shadow of Eddy, regardless of their
accomplishments. So Lance should do what I do, chug a beer, curse the
Cannibal and give them all the finger.

 

[[email protected]]

Of course try...Just don't think it will be a slam dunk.

And Merckx rode his races with way more risk and initiative. He dared
to attack, and tried to win stages. All kinds of stages. Lance's
winning strategy is to hire strong guys who'll ride in front of him and
protect his HR fluxuations from enemies. He's a boring winner.

 

[Dave H]

"Laz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Dave H" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>>
>> <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>> > Doping questions aside, then sure, why not?
>> >
>> > But do not use his tour wins as evidence of being "tougher" than the
>> > others. Lance will need to be able to ride at 34 miles per hour for a
>> > full hour. That's a lot of lightbulbs.
>> >
>>
> Agreed. It's not going to be easy, and I know the Tour is not the Hour (
> and vice versa ), but I think there is an indication of the mental
> toughness
> needed to suceed at either. There is a point where the pain is so great
> that
> you choose to give up- and it always is a choice. Given that Lance has the
> reasonable physical capacity to to launch an attempt at the Hour, it does
> largly boil down to mental toughness. I seem to recall reading in Cycling
> Weekly about 10years ago desribing Chris Boardmans ( or was it Rominger ?)
> sucessful attempt showed how he was losing lap times before the halfway
> point, but turned it up and stuck it out to blow away the old record. The
> bar is set so high now that almost certainly there will come a lull during
> an attempt where the gain will turn to loss-limiting- to lose ground and
> yet
> perserve will require an enormous will and resolve. I was just pointing
> out
> where the current Hour holder gave up and went home, Lance stayed.
>
>> I personally would rather see him go for the "Ultimate Hour" or whatever
> it
>> is called, where he can ride a full aero bike etc etc
>> Dave
>>
>>
> I wouldn't be interested in an Ultimate Hour on a recumbent or some
> freakish "bicycle"-thing fairings and all.
>
> Laz



Nipplehead,

I hate redundants I was speaking of something along the lines of his Trek
TT bike
Dave

 

[Callistus Valerius]

<> And Merckx rode his races with way more risk and initiative. He dared
> to attack, and tried to win stages. All kinds of stages. Lance's
> winning strategy is to hire strong guys who'll ride in front of him and
> protect his HR fluxuations from enemies. He's a boring winner.
>

see what I mean, it's already beginning ***burp***

 

[amit]

[email protected] wrote:
> Of course try...Just don't think it will be a slam dunk.
>
> And Merckx rode his races with way more risk and initiative. He dared
> to attack, and tried to win stages. All kinds of stages. Lance's
> winning strategy is to hire strong guys who'll ride in front of him
and
> protect his HR fluxuations from enemies. He's a boring winner.

dumbass,

i predict LANCE will break the hour record during the tour, perhaps the
evening of the prologue or the morning before a mountain stage and not
only that, he will SMASH it. since it only takes an hour, he may break
it a few times in july when he's not busy winning the tour. he will
probably also break the kilo world record during the first 1000m of the
ride.

 

[Laz]

That's exactly what they said about Indurain. Pity, his achievements amount
to limited respect.

Laz
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Of course try...Just don't think it will be a slam dunk.
>
> And Merckx rode his races with way more risk and initiative. He dared
> to attack, and tried to win stages. All kinds of stages. Lance's
> winning strategy is to hire strong guys who'll ride in front of him and
> protect his HR fluxuations from enemies. He's a boring winner.
>

 

[Van Hoorebeeck Bart]

[email protected] schreef:

>
> No pure sprints, and Merckx didn't "do" those either.
>

occasionally, just to show he wasn't the cannibal he could have been:

http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1974_1983/tdf1974_7.php
http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1974_1983/tdf1974_22.php

and several wins from a 12-20-ish group after a selective stage.

 

[Steven L. Sheffield]

On 02/10/2005 08:41 AM, in article [email protected], "Van
Hoorebeeck Bart" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>
> [email protected] schreef:
>
>>
>> No pure sprints, and Merckx didn't "do" those either.
>>
>
> occasionally, just to show he wasn't the cannibal he could have been:
>
> http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1974_1983/tdf1974_7.php


"* temps pris à l'entrée du circuit. Merckx bien qu'ayant le même temps,
gagne avec une centaine de mètres d'avance."

Doesn't that mean that the time that was given was when they entered the
circuit, and that Merckx, while being given the same time, won with at least
a 100-metre lead?

That's not a bunch sprint.


> http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1974_1983/tdf1974_22.php
>
> and several wins from a 12-20-ish group after a selective stage.
>

--
Steven L. Sheffield
stevens at veloworks dot com
veloworks at worldnet dot ay tea tee dot net
bellum pax est libertas servitus est ignoratio vis est
ess ay ell tea ell ay kay ee sea eye tee why you ti ay aitch
aitch tee tea pea colon [for word] slash [four ward] slash double-you
double-yew double-ewe dot veloworks dot com [foreword] slash

 

[[email protected]]

Google reply, let's see how this goes:

(I wrote):
> No pure sprints, and Merckx didn't "do" those either.

(Bart VH replied):

occasionally, just to show he wasn't the cannibal he could have been:
(link to Merckx finish info snipped)

Qualifiers omitted (some): "usually" "by choice" "as a specialty", etc.
There are some quotes from EM inre bunch sprints (as in "flat" stages
where a few or several teams are setting up leadouts) the gist of which
is "leave those to the sprinters". His only notable gap in palmares is
Paris-Tours, which I understand was a "sprinters' race" in those days.
Well, if you can get away and stay away, including with small groups,
you don't _have_ to sprint in the bunch. Better. --TP

 

[stig]

> And Merckx rode his races with way more risk and initiative. He dared
> to attack, and tried to win stages. All kinds of stages. Lance's
> winning strategy is to hire strong guys who'll ride in front of him and
> protect his HR fluxuations from enemies. He's a boring winner.


Wow. If you think Armstrong is boring you must have been absent for
the Indurain Era. What a snoozefest!

 

[Laz]

"stig" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > And Merckx rode his races with way more risk and initiative. He dared
> > to attack, and tried to win stages. All kinds of stages. Lance's
> > winning strategy is to hire strong guys who'll ride in front of him and
> > protect his HR fluxuations from enemies. He's a boring winner.
>
>
> Wow. If you think Armstrong is boring you must have been absent for
> the Indurain Era. What a snoozefest!

The only coverage I could get was via cycling magazines, ( cycling weekly,
cycle sport etc.) so I could not condemn Indurain as boring. He won, and he
won, and yet again. 5 times practically killing Rominger in the process.
That wasn't boring; it was domination.

We saw the coverage on oln and yes, me my wife and my 20 month old son were
screaming when Lance attacked- how the hell can you call Lance a boring
winner ?

Laz