Anyone watching the Tour De France?

[asmith]

I am just curious if anyone on this board has been following the Tour De France? Did any of you see Lance Armstrong smack everyone around on L'Alp D'Huez, and then waste them all again in the uphill time trial yesterday? That was awsome. Now that the mountain stages have started we are going to see Lance do some incredible stuff.

Andrew

[Ltspd]

I have caught every stage, last week I was watching them live.

It was impressive what Lance did to Ulrich the past 2 days. I really enjoyed the stare, I am pretty sure he was playing with the whole telakom team Tues. I dont think he's done with Ulrich yet, I think the press has made the rivialery out for Page Ranking and thats about it. He would be in Yellow if they wouldnt have let the 30 min break go last week, but I still think he can pull it in.

I never like Lance before his cancer, he was a good single day racer but not a stage racer. But way to cockey for my taste. Cancer humbled him tremendoulsly, along with now having a family. He has become a insperation to a lot of cancer patients and others. Of course the athlete of the year will still go to Tiger, again. Cant say that Tiger is even close to the same class as Lance.

[Ltspd]

Another day another slap in Ulrich's face. Lance is VERY impresive.....

Andrew, I cant beleive you and I are the only ones watching.

[Biomanjcs72]

I've been following it on the web and in the news, Bike racing on TV is just too boring to me, but that's just me, (I'll watch almost any PGA event on TV, and most folks HATE watching golf). But yeah, I've been keeping up, and I think Lance will pull it out.

[saltjunkie]

I hope he does pull it out!!!!!! (no pun) I would like to see lance win again!

[ravenmore]

I'm from Austin (want to move back asap!). I've been checking the news daily to see how he was doing. Was worried at first but, wow he made up a lot of ground fast. He's pretty amazing. I think he won his first tour a year (maybe less) after his last cancer treatment. He trained between chemotherapy sessions!!!!! I THINK only a handfull of riders (maybe 4 or 5) have ever won the tour 3 times in a row. Hopefully he'll pull this one off. I heard about the "stare". Would've loved to have seen that.....

The Austin paper ran a special section on Lance right before the tour started and it gave some interesting facts about his body. According to the paper, his body:

-Produces much less lactic acid during strenous exercise than most folks.

-His heart is 40% bigger than most , meaning each heart beat pumps up to 80% more blood(that can't be right, can it?)

-His resting heart rate is somewhere between 30 and 40 beats per minute, compared to 60 to 70 beats/minute for the average Joe.....

A cycling machine......

-Mike

[Ltspd]

Mike,
I think it was over a year when he won the TDF the 1st time. He rode during his whole cancer ordeal, one that would have killed most people. Lance was very lucky. I would suggest reading his book, its a good book on dealing with cancer, not riding a bike.

Thats correct about the lactic acid, which means he recovers much quicker than the other cyclist. His VO2 max is also very high, which I think means he pulls more oxegen into his bloodstream with every breath. His resting heart is also low, but most endurance athleats have a resting heart rate in the low 40's to high 30's.

Lance's training is very specific towards the TDF. That is the only race he really trains for even though professional cycling runs almost year round. The average professional cyclist rides his bike somewhere around 30-40k a year, which is more than most of us put on our cars. They ride 6-8 hrs a day regardless of the weather. They race in weather conditions that change from 70 to 25 and snowy in the same day. One of the days in the pyrness will be just that condition.

Here is today's stage, which is suppose to be the hardest one of this years tour. This is almost 120miles today. Cat climbs are rated in a 1-4 scale with HC as beyond catagory. They will likely average 18-19 mph today.

[ravenmore]

Thanks Paul - wow, I can tell you're really into this stuff!!! I think the paper said his resting heart rate was in the low to mid 30's - that's just incredible to me. Mentioned his VO2 max also - forgot about that.

I used to ride a lot. Not to compete but just to ride. Usually between 25 and 50 miles at a time maybe 2 -3 times a week. This was all in Austin, probably on the same roads Lance trains on(only in good weather for me though). Up and down 360, and there's a hell of an incline nicknamed "tumbleweed hill" on 2222 (named for a restaurant that used to be at the top of it). Sorry, for those not from Austin I guess that won't mean anything. I took a nasty spill though that kept me from getting back into it. Sold my bikes. I'm kinda getting the bug again, esp. watching all this. Can't really afford a fancy bike right now though, esp. with my tanks sucking up my spare cash like this. I may just get a cheap bike somewhere - it's not about the bike anyway but getting out on it (so long as it doesn't fall apart around my ears ) I used to be fond of hunting around pawn shops, looking for something with a decent frame cheap, and then adding the components I wanted. If you have any suggestions, toss 'em my way.

Oh yeah, and go Lance go.....

-Mike

[Ltspd]

Lance did it again, another impresive stage win on a Mt top finsih.

Yes, Mike I am in to this stuff. Hence the meaning of Ltspd~Litespeed. Which is what I ride.

I able to get around 5-6k a year in, which is a lot with a family and a full time job ;) Never raced seriously, but spend 99% of my time riding with the local racers