I submit that this man is not only arguably the best cyclist in the world but is also the best conditioned athlete in the world.
Today in the Tour de France, , he merely rode, alone, up a mountain for nearly ten miles, and beat the next best time by over a full minute while lapping the No. 2 rider who started two minutes ahead of him and finished 30 seconds behind.
AWESOME!
WHOOHOOO!!!
Go Lance!
(and the spectators today have absolutely NO class!!)
Damn, I missed it! 
Chuck, you are correct: Lance is, the most well conditioned athlete on the planet at the moment, bar none. Almost makes you feel sorry for the other cyclists…well, not really 
I should think he has now earned the title “The Greatist Cyclist in history.” Step aside Mercx, stand back Hinault, and step off the podium Indurain, Lance has topped you all.
Personally I think he could win the tour at least two more times (in a row), if he’s up for it mentally, a record unlikely to ever be broken. It certainly will be interesting to see how many more years Lance chooses to ride the tour.
Loren
Let us not forget “The Blue Train”. The USP team
has done another fantastic job this year.
Proud to be a fellow Texan…and cyclist too !
Lance Armstong is truly a miracle, a Texan who speaks fluent French and can also ride a bicycle.
It was I think either 1991 or 1992 when I attended a criterium here in Fort Smith. I was among many who stood along the route waiting for the final race.
I saw the pack of ten or so riders come off the line, ride past, and turn the corner. A minute or two later, the first lap was done, and there was one young rider who was way ahead of the pack. By the second lap, it was obvious who would take first place. By the third lap, all of the other riders began just riding for premes. Who was this great young cyclist?
At the end of the race, the announcer’s voice revealed his name. It was…
OK, you know who it was! Just look at the subject line!
I would like to know if anyone has released the results of Lance’s, I think it was race 10, experience? Hopefully you all know the one I am talking about.
Unfortunately, just like Barry Bonds, this title would have a little “*” placed next to it. That is unless the answer to my question above was a big ol’ negative. It is a shame that not only other athletes get jealous of greater athletes, but the press feels the need to crucify them in the press as well.
Such a shame.
LOL!!!
Robin
If you’re talking about the doping allegations, they’re just that - unsubstantiated trash! NOT ONE test has ever proved positive, NOT ONE credible witness has ever come forward. Just before the start of this year’s race, it came up agaiin, this time in a book by a Brit and Frenchman who have not only carried on a vendetta against him but who, IMHO, were also trying to upset him and make him blow the race so that he wouldn’t surpass their precious Euros. It is nothing but a rehash of the old allegations, presented without proof or evidence.
Save the asterisk for when someone actually proves anything. Until then, it’s just a bunch of jackals nipping at a great champion’s heels.
I don’t disagree with you Chuck, not one bit. I am NOT the one putting up the asterisk. The facts are, people have a tendency to believe things like this.
Do you know if the results of the stage 10 tests have come back yet? IF negative that should put it to bed.
I believe that the Tour tests the top three finishers of all stages, plus random testing. As Lance puts it: I have been tested more than any athlete in history and have never tested positive.
My opinions: Whatever he is doing is legal. Whatever he is using, every other cyclist has access to the same. There are very few secrets in cycling. If there were some magic pill that escapes testing, you can bet it is widely circulated. Conditioning and living like a monk for nine months of the year is by far the more likely scenario than magic pills. Other competitors find it difficult to maintain that focus of diet and training during the offseason. Lance typically takes maybe two weeks off then goes back on the super-strict regimen. Lance’s main rival during his run, Jan Ullrich, has some unflattering nicknames with fattening foods in the monikers.
As far as being the best of all time, I think it is primarily Americans that have that viewpoint. Those that know the sport, concede that Lance prepares for one race a year. He is not competitive in other races, nor does he see any problem with that. However, this narrow focus is like a tennis player only preparing for Wimbeldon, or a golfer only preparing for the Master’s. Given that, it is hard to put Armstrong above the other all time greats who dominated the sport the entire season not just for three weeks in July.
Tell me honestly: if Armstrong wasn’t American, none of you guys would even notice (except perhaps Loren: he can almost spell Eddie Merckx’ name 
).
Nope. I’ve followed the Tour for years even though I admit its a lot easier with OLN providing full coverage - and that is o doubt partly due to Armstrong being an American. I still identify myself as a cyclist, even though my legs are so far gone that I can’t manage a single turn of the pedals before falling. I still try at intervals.
Yeah!!! Go Lance!!!
Oh - and Bloomy, yeah, I’d still follow no matter what country he was from. Ex is a ultra-marathoner / triathelete and oldest rides time trials (besides running Cross Country and Track).
I, on the other hand, am a pro at holding sweats!!!
Missy
I heard on 1010 WINS (all news, all the time!) that Armstrong has just hired bodyguards, due to getting abuse from European race fans. Is this true?
Hey, cut me a break man, I’m typing with one eye tied behind my back, so to speak - my other eye suffered a corneal laceration on tuesday, so I can’t see jack. Heck, I can barely cross the street without getting run over, let alone proof read my stinkin’ posts!
Sure Bill, you have a point, however the sport has changed over the years, most of the top riders now all focus on the tour, although perhaps not as single mindedly as Lance. It’s not like Lance has simply scraped by in beating his rivals in the tours, he’s clearly head and shoulders above the rest. Could you, honestly Bill, make a strong argument to suggest that Lance is not the most well conditioned and strongest (overall) cyclist of all time?
Loren
Actually, I think Armstrong’s total focus on the Tour has some other riders focusing their season on other major races, because the odds are better. Why fight Goliath on his sacred territory, when there are other races that Goliath is not interested in?
As you say, nutrition, equipment, weight training are all different today. So if you are talking purely conditioning, I concede your point, Armstrong is the strongest. As with most other sports, today’s competitors are bigger, stronger, faster than their historical counterparts. However, in terms of race wins, pure intimidation, and competitiveness, I believe most cycling fans would put Armstrong down the list, not at the top for all time. Again, Armstrong dominates for three weeks of the year, and uses the rest of the year to prepare for those three weeks.
Americans with their parochial view would skew any kind of survey. I believe that there are probably less than a million cycling fans (vs. Lance Armstrong fans) in the whole United States. To put that number in perspective 900,000 people showed up to watch the Alpe d’Huez time trial.
Again, my analogy to other sports stands. If a tennis player wins Wimbledon seven straight times, but uses all the other events such as the U. S. Open, French Open, Australian Open as tune ups, would that player be considered the best tennis player of all time? If a golfer wins the Master’s golf tournament year after year, but doesn’t try to win any of the other major tournaments, would that golfer be considered the best of all time? The answer in my mind is a clear no. The readers can make up their own minds.
Well, if an athlete chooses only the toughest competition, whips everyone, every year, in that competetion…
You use tennis as an analogy, I’ll use boxing: If the world heavyweight champ fights the top contenders in the world, in 15 round bouts, goes undefeated, and essentially knocks out every contender, then who cares if he only defends his title once a year?
The sport has become such that that’s the way it works, regardless of how many races there are every year, the top riders always make the tour the top priority, it’s the heavyweight championship of the world.
I think it’s very euro centric (and unrealistic) to say that someone like Hinault for example was tougher than than Lance, simply because he grimaced more during races, perhaps if he were better conditioned Lemond wouldn’t have been forced to let him win the tour that year…
Like you said though Bill, everyone will decide for themselves, and I suppose our opinions matter little.
Loren
Just yanking your recorder, anyway. Sorry to hear about your eye.
The team aspect is really interesting, and it frankly makes a bit hard to bandy lables like “greatest of all time” about (no argument that Armstrong is among the contenders, though). Indurain for example could have had more years than he did. I forget what year it was, must have been early nineties, when he got off his bike and waited for something like two minutes for his team leader to catch up, while other team cyclists were passing him by.
All right, let’s take your boxing analogy, though it is something I know little about. That champion that defends his title once a year, and knocks everyone out, would definitely be the best in his era. But best all time? Perhaps, perhaps not. There is a strong argument against.
I still think tennis and golf make much better analogies, because there are there are major events and minor events, with one event clearly rated above the others in each sport, just like cycling. The Vuelta in cycling is comparable to the Australian Open in tennis, a major event by any standard, but clearly less of a prize than the Tour or Wimbledon.
I disagree that all the top racers focus on the Tour. Sure it is the biggest prize and has become more so in recent years. It is also the only race that gets any real media coverage in the States. A rider may plan to peak for the Tour. However, if a team leader is in serious contention in the Giro he may go all out to win that race. Even if digging deep early in the season may damage his Tour de France chances. Not so Lance, he would ease off, or in some years skip the Giro all together, with his sights on the Tour later in the year.