Watching it on the OLN yesterday, they said his heart can pump 7 gallons of blood per minute, which is slightly more than a gas pump can do in the same time frame. The point, besides the obvious fitness issue, was that some guys are born to do this, and he's one of them. He also splits all the prize money up between his teammates, and matches it dollar for dollar, so each of his 8 mates gets $100,000 for helping him win, he takes home ZERO from the actual race winnings. So, there you go. Good guy, good teammate, unbelievable athlete, not a bad package out there promoting the good old USA. Next year, they will all be riding for the Discovery Channel Team. No more US Postal Service team at a cost of $30MM total for the team.
i heard about that; i can't believe some people would actually do that just because he's winning... The world is a sick and twisted place... Congratulations to Lance, he's a real inspiration to many folks and not just in cycling...
Lance is a great athelete. He has made his family and country very proud of him. In the interest of fair sport, it is best to leave international politics out of the picture. I am sure no one on the Tour was thinking anything but cycling. Congratulations to six time champion Lance. Now its time we have an American F1 World Champion. One day, I am sure.
Armstrong wins hearts with historic triumph By Phil Liggett (Filed: 26/07/2004) Lance Armstrong factfile Tour details In October 1996, Lance Armstrong sent out a press release announcing that he had testicular cancer in a very advanced stage, and that he would fight it with the same spirit he had shown when he became cycling's youngest world champion three years earlier. Lance Armstrong leads the peloton Born leader: Lance Armstrong giudes the peloton into the Champs Elysees Yesterday, on the Champs-Elysees on a perfect summer's afternoon in Paris, the Texan saluted a huge crowd as he became the first man to win the Tour de France six times. He compounded his feat by doing it in six successive years. Since 1903 only five riders have managed to win the Tour five times and in moving into his own exclusive club, Armstrong has won the hearts of both the Americans and the perhaps more cynical French. After stepping down from the podium, a hastily-erected covered lorry trailer pulled across the Champs-Elysees moments after Belgian Tom Boonen had won the final stage from Montereau, he smiled. That was something the American rarely does in the heat of battle, but now he smiled and said: "It's special to stand on the most famous boulevard in the world and have your own country's national anthem played six times in six years." Armstrong, who at 32 is the second-oldest post-War winner, triumphed with ease. Having looked fallible for much of last year's event, this time the man from Austin, Texas, was always in control. His winning margin was a massive 6min 19sec over German champion Andreas Kloden and 6-40 ahead of Italian Ivan Basso. Armstrong's main rival over recent years has been Jan Ullrich, but, after having never previously finished lower than second, the German fell to fourth place, losing most of his 8-50 deficit in the Pyrenees, where Armstrong crushed his rivals. Armstrong's secret is that he races to win only one event per year, while the others perform around the world. Instead, he studies the route and then rides all the sections he sees as strategic points. He then learns them by heart, and his stage win at Villard de Lans came because he remembered the sharp turns into the finish there. His ability has never been in doubt and he spends long hours perfecting his racing equipment, hand-picking his team, all of whom finished the three-week race, and above all looking after his body, which is tuned to winning the Tour de France in July. Calories taken in must equal calories given out. He becomes annoyed and animated when people accuse him of taking drugs and at no time has there ever been any proof of this. He is offended by comments such as those made by Greg LeMond, the American who won the event three times. "I'm sorry and disappointed about what Greg has been saying," he said. "If we are all drugged then why is it that Greg still holds the record for the fastest time-trial, done back in 1989? "Sure, I do have fun and I do prepare well, but then I love my job and I love my team," said Armstrong, who celebrated his win with actors Robin Williams and Will Smith, and his girlfriend, the rock star Sheryl Crow. He also took a congratulatory phone call from President George Bush after leaving the podium Armstrong could be said to have come of age in the Tour de France on Saturday, when he won his 21st stage since first taking part in 1993. At the same time, he rubbed salt into the wounds of his rivals, who arrived in Paris broken and many minutes behind this most remarkable champion. In claiming his fifth stage win of this year's race on Saturday in Besancon, Armstrong raced away from the field during the 34-mile individual time-trial around the undulating roads, never once being behind at the time checks and ending the day a clear winner over Ullrich by 61sec. If that sounds familiar, it should, as Armstrong beat Ullrich, of the T-Mobile team, by exactly that margin on L'Alpe d'Huez last Wednesday, and a year ago the German also lost the race overall by the same 61sec. The only consolation for Ullrich was that T-Mobile won the team award, but that is far away from the £500,000 taken home by Armstrong's US Postal squad. The sponsors now leave the sport, making way for the Discovery Channel, who will back the team from next season. In the time-trial, Armstrong averaged a staggering 31mph as he swept up the climbs, going through the first time check after 11 miles, 43sec ahead of Ullrich. He continued to gain ground at an amazing rate, and at the final check he was 54sec in front. Kloden, in his third Tour, confirmed he is a better rider than Ullrich on team T-Mobile this year when he was the day's only mover among the leaders. Kloden rode the best time-trial of his career to finish third and condemn Basso to third place in Paris. Behind Armstrong's emphatic stage victory, his fifth in the last seven stages of the race, there was disappointment for Frenchman Thomas Voeckler, who lost his long battle to win the white jersey as best young rider. Voeckler, who wrested the race lead from Armstrong in the opening week, held on for 10 days in the leader's yellow jersey. His effort to stay ahead weakened him enormously for a brutally hard final week and the time-trial gave victory in the newcomers race to the Russian, Vladimir Karpets. Karpets turned his 45sec deficit into a lead of more than five minutes when he beat Voeckler over the course by more than six minutes, finishing eighth in the time-trial. In the other two major competitions, Richard Virenque won the King of the Mountains title for a record seventh time. Virenque, who in 1998 was disqualified for taking drugs, has made a successful comeback and remains the most popular rider in France. Australian Robbie McEwen won the green points jersey for a second time in three years, but was annoyed at losing out to Boonen in the final sprint yesterday. McEwen has won twice before in Paris. Lance Armstrong factfile Name: Lance Armstrong Born: Plano, Texas Age: 32 Height: 5ft 8in (1.77m) Weight: 11st 11lbs (75kg) 1992: Member of US Olympic team. Finishes 12th in Road Race. 1993: Tour de France debut. Wins a stage. 1995: Devastated by death of team-mate Fabio Casartelli during Tour. Wins stage 18 and dedicates it to the Italian. Finishes 36th. 1996: Member of US Olympic team. Diagnosed with testicular cancer, which spreads to brain. 1997: Declared cancer-free. Signs with US Postal Service. 1998: Fourth in road race and time trial at World Championships. 1999: Wins Tour de France for the first time, winning the Prologue, the two time trials and ninth stage. 2000: Wins Tour de France, having suffered 45mph crash during training in Pyrenees. Member of US Olympic team: wins bronze, individual time trial, 13th in road race. 2001: Ranked No 1 in the world for first time. Completes hat-trick of Tour de France victories. 2002: Wins Tour de France, becoming only the fifth man to win the event four times (joining Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil and Miguel Indurain). 2003: Tour win number five. Tour details 20th stage (Montereau to Paris, 102 miles): 1, T Boonen (Belgium, Quick Step-Davitamon) 4h 08m 26s; 2, J-P Nazon (France, AG2R); 3, D Hondo (Germany, Gerolsteiner); 4, R McEwen (Australia, Lotto-Domo); 5, E Zabel (Germany, T-Mobile); 6, J Casper (France, Cofidis); 7, S O'Grady (Australia, Cofidis); 8, B Cooke (Australia, FDJeux.com); 9, M Mori (Italy, Domina Vacanze); 10, B de Groot (Holland, Rabobank); 11, L Brochard (France, AG2R); 12, J Dean (NZ, Credit Agricole); 13, F Baldato (Italy, Alessio-Bianchi); 14, J Engoulvent (France, Cofidis); 15, F Renier (France, Brioches La Boulangere); 37, Scanlon all same time. 114, Armstrong at 19s. Final overall standings: 1, L Armstrong (US, US Postal) 83h 36m 02s; 2, A Kloden (Germany, T-Mobile) at 6h 19m; 3, I Basso (Italy, Team CSC) at 6-40. TEAMS: 1, T-Mobile 248h 58m 43s; 2, US Postal at 2m 42s; 3, Team CSC at 10-33. POINTS: 1, R McEwen (Australia, Lotto-Domo) 272; 2, T Hushovd (Norway, Credit Agricole) 247; 3, E Zabel (Germany, T-Mobile) 245. MOUNTAINS: 1, R Virenque (France, Quick Step-Davitamon) 226; 2, L Armstrong (US, US Postal) 172; 3, M Rasmussen (Denmark, Rabobank) 119. YOUNG RIDER: 1, V Karpets (Russia, Illes Balears-Santander) 84h 01m 13s; 2, S Casar (France, Fdjeux.com) at 3m 42s; 3, T Voeckler (France, Brioches La Boulangere) at 6-01. -------------------------------------------- The yellow badge of courage By Brendan Gallagher in Paris (Filed: 26/07/2004) If Bruce Willis had not gone bald the part would be his already. Die Hard Rides Again how a lone star Texan took on the world, not to mention terminal cancer, and kicked ass from dawn to dusk. Instead the Hollywood moguls will have to scour the agencies for a suitable lantern-jawed hero when the moment comes, which it surely will, to bring us the Lance Armstrong Story Parts One, Two and Three. Lance Armstrong Tourist class: Lance Armstrong said total commitment is his key "Go hard or Go home" how Willis would have milked that line is Armstrong's favourite racing mantra, indeed the slogan he adopts in life generally, and it goes a long way to explaining a complex and unyielding character who inspires and repels in the same instant. Raw, close to the edge, driven, very angry, selfish, a bully, ruthless, obsessed, incredibly brave, obstinate, brutally honest, articulate, ambitious, single-minded and proud American. Armstrong is all of the above and we shouldn't expect him to mellow just because we want him to conform to a more sympathetic Corinthian template. He clearly functions best when angry, which is why he never backs off from a fight. Last year it was his painful marital break up and an accident with a spectator on the horrendous Luz Ardiden climb that sparked him, this year he used Greg LeMond's derogatory comments going into the Pyrenees to turn up the wick. He brilliantly turns negatives into positives, in fact he almost seeks out adversity. Let's face it, what can be more negative than a diagnosis of terminal cancer? And what could be more triumphant than winning six consecutive Tours? His modest Tour record pre-cancer he didn't finish in three of the four years he competed though there was a stage win which suggested exceptional talent is undeniably curious and has led to a whispering campaign questioning the legality of his subsequent achievements. "Lance Tell us the truth" said one poster on L'Alpe d'Huez last Wednesday. Armstrong, who has never failed a dope test, indignantly insists he is 100 per cent innocent and fights every accusation in court. Given cycling's lamentable record in such matters, however, the doubters can still be seen muttering in dark corners. Let's leave them muttering for the time being and paint another picture. Having unleashed the life-force needed to combat cancer it is no surprise, surely, that Armstrong returned to the competitive fray an infinitely more dedicated and resilient animal. Even the cynics must concede that away from the public spotlight we all know of unsung heroes who have been transformed totally by a successful fight against illness. So no matter what the pain Armstrong encounters during those extraordinary mountain climbs and lung-bursting time-trials, it's nothing compared with fighting for life itself. He is now afraid of absolutely nothing and nobody. Perhaps that's what we find scary. "The man that works the hardest is the man who deserves to win," explains Armstrong after his latest win. "Sometimes it can be hard to convince certain people of that. But the mere fact they doubt just motivates me more and spurs me on. "It's a mixture of talent and work. Am I riding my bike on Christmas Day and New Year's Day? Absolutely. Six weeks before the Tour de France am I 10 kilos overweight? No way. There's no mystery. It's a 365-day-a-year programme. Complete commitment and hard work." As for his place in cycling's pantheon, Armstrong will probably never be top of the pile, something he readily acknowledges. His Tour victories have not come in a truly golden era for road racing; there are probably more good riders but fewer great riders than ever before, with only Jan Ullrich consistently providing serious opposition. In cycling's hall of fame Eddie Merckx remains the Olympian figure, the greatest all-rounder and most respected maillot jaune by a Normandy country mile. He didn't just perform in the Tour de France, he blazed an incredible trail, winning on average a race every week for six years at his peak. He was insatiable. Armstrong, by contrast, has become a Tour de France specialist, his entire year planned with this one event in mind and his powerful US Postal team are totally dedicated to ensuring that their leader prevails. Teamwork of the highest order has ensured that one man can take all the glory. It's the great paradox of the Tour de France. So Armstrong happily tucks in behind the great Belgian, but alongside the other five-time winners he has now surpassed: Frenchmen Bernard Hinault and Jacques Anquetil and Spain's Miguel Indurain. Ultimately to quote the title of Armstrong's biography, a best-seller worldwide it's not about the bike. His fight against illness will always set Armstrong apart for the general sports fan. His book has become a bible, and crutch, for those in pain and people trying to cheat death. Even those blessed with good health are invigorated and energised by the story. The human spirit, as typified by Armstrong, is endlessly strong and powerful if directed relentlessly towards a cause.
