musette said:
-- LA developed a high cadence pedalling style, which is particuarly helpful in minimizing muscle fatigue and particularly wonderful in view of LA's particularly large heart (also demonstrated to people)
The same heart, same muscles, that failed to propel him to stage race victories, apart from the TDuPont in 1995/1996.
musette said:
-- LA metabolizes lactic acid particularly rapidly.
-- LA has a high VO2 something ratio.
He would have had these attributes during the 1992-1996 period too - yet he
still managed to finish only one TDF out of four starts and even when he did manage to finish it he was 1hr 30mins down on the overall winner.
These attributes were also insufficient to make him win a classement jersey within the TDF.
So you're saying that these attributes worked from 1999-onwards but did not
work between 1992-1996 ?
musette said:
-- LA weighed a lot less after his cancer than before.
-- Somebody who weighs less tends to climb better.
-- LA became mentally tougher as a result of his cancer.
Somebody who does weigh less does tend to climb more efficiently.
But he was unable to even finish the TDF, on three occasions between 1992-1996 because he was losing massive time in the mountains.
(if you want the footage, I'll send you a copy of the tapes).
I'll grant you that he did lose weight when he caught his cancer.
And then he came back and managed to outclimb, the greatest climbers of the day with ease.
Just a tad suspicious, non ?
I mean, a climbing nobody, loses some weight and then comes back and demolishes guys who have been destroying all opposition for years !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go on admit it - it is a bit fishy.
No one denies that LA was mentally strong.
1993 book "Inside the TDF" in an extensive interview with David Walsh, Lance tells us all about how hard he trained.
How he trained like never before.
How he found cycling much tougher than triathlon.
A whole chapter is devoted to LA entitled "Neopro" - where LA waxes lyrical
about his lifestyle, training, how hard the peloton is, how he had become toughened, how his life was 24/7 cycling.
22 years old, he was at the time.
Mentally tough - he was mentally very tough in 1993.
Still didn't propel him to win a TDF in that time period though, did it ?
Still didn't manage to outclimb Pantani & Co at the time, did it ?