LIVESTRONG
April 18th, 2005 - 8:06 pm
One of the greatest athletes ever is set to retire:
Lance Armstrong, the Texan who became the lone star of cycling’s biggest race, will end his improbable ride from death’s door to cloud nine after a final three-week journey around France.
With emotion in his voice, Armstrong said Monday that the 2005 Tour de France from July 2 to July 24 would be his final race as a professional cyclist, win or lose.
Go out winning, Lance.
May he stick it to the French one more time…
Always an athlete looking for some type of emotional edge (usually anger, at something), you can now expect him to pretty much rip everyone’s legs off come July.
Best one-liner out of this? “Lance to take his ball and go home after Tour.”
Wow, he’s already at the top of the heap being the only man with 6 Tours won and if he gets a 7th it’ll be quite some time before anyone else gets in a position to try to just match him.
Only three or four men have won it 5 times.
I really have a lot of respect for these cyclists as athletes. Go Lance!!
Drug taking cheat. Besides which he isnt an all-round cyclist.
Sorry, as much as I admire what he has done, he is a big fish in a small pond. He has a lot more in common with Eric Heyden than with Ruth, Mays, Bonds, Brown, Jordon, Carl Lewis, etc.
Any sport dominated by the French is not “major league.”
Well, Bob, we’ll now allow you to take your foot out of your mouth, because you have amply demonstrated your knowledge of of the subject, which coincides with the value of the number “0.”
A. It’s Eric Heiden, not Heyden.
B. The TdF is not dominated by the French – a Frenchman has not won the Tour since 1985 (that’s about 20 years ago, in case you have trouble with the math).
C. There has not been a dominant French cyclist since Fingon, and even he couldn’t win the TdF since 1982 (last losing in 1989). This is hardly “dominating” the sport.
So let me guess, what you’re really saying is that the only “real” athletes are the ones that subscribe to the sports you like. Ruth? He played a game, in a park. Sheesh. And he was a lardass. Hardly the picture of athletecism. Sorry, pal. Try again.
Oh, and Monjo? Try getting up and not being an ass for a day. You’re associates might like the change!
Not that Ruth didn’t accomplish an amazing feat, but I’ve never considered him to be a great athlete. Granted the fact that I’m not a huge baseball fan makes a difference…
But the fact remains that all he did was hit. I’ll admit he could hit far… but he had to. Why? Because he couldn’t run.
monjo before you make such claims shouldn’t you have facts the rest of us don’t have such as proof of drug usage. as a “old fart” cyclist myself i ask you who could possibly be an all around great. there are just to many dis ciplines in cycling for that to be possible. c.j.g.
Um, Nick, Ruth was far more than a power hitter. He’s got a career .342 batting average, tied for 9th all time. .474 On base percentage, behind only Ted Williams. Oh, and he also won 94 games as a pitcher including 2 20 win seasons. Ruth is the best baseball player of all time, quite athletic in his prime. Lance does have him beat aerobically though. Comparing ballplayers to cyclists is really comparing apples and oranges. They use different muscles, and test different skills. And while the Babe even in his prime couldn’t win a bike race, neither can Lance hit a 90 mph fastball, or pitch. They’re just different, enjoy them for what they are.
Last Fall I was privileged to meet Lance when he came to Calgary to help raise funds for the cancer research centre here. The man is not only an amazing athlete, he is a real human being. There’s no sense, when talking to him, that one is in the presence of a “star”. His quiet and unassuming manner speaks volumes about his simple humanity.
Lance Armstrong transcends words like “celebrity” and “star”. He is a man in full, and thus a rare and remarkable person these days.
A medical Horatio Alger. Only it ain’t no myth! Go Lance!
Speaking as an Austinite, I hope Lance gets a 7th yellow jersey to set the bar higher than most mortals would dare fear to tread.
From what I hear the French hate him with a passion. Hell thats reason enough. Most importantly I hope that nothing tries or succceedes in interfering with his last race, win or lose.
From what I hear the French hate him with a passion.
In the kingdom of the ball-less, the one-ball man is king.
*All* Babe Ruth did was hit? Name a touger thing to do consistently well in any sport. And say all you want about his weight, but the guy played until he was 40, and even stole an occasional base…
Contemporary accounts of Ruth’s upper-body strengh and quickness were astonishing. Also, Ruth not only was the greatest hitter by an order of magnitude, early in his career he was one of the greatest pitchers. For you ball-kickers, that’s equivalent to being the greatest striker and goalie, at the same time!
Lance shows he has a pair, and runs (and wins) a Triathlon at age 13.
Lance shows he has a pair by qualifying for the US Olympic Team, and ranked as #1 in the World.
Lance shows he has a pair by losing one, and recovering.
Lance shows he has a pair by winning 5 Tour de France. Tour de France
Sheesh. Anybody who has raced a bike (road or mountain) knows how physically and mentally challenging it is.
What Armstrong has done, winning more Tours than anybody else, is a phenomenal athletic achievement.
Just like Ruth’s home run record…
They’re both great.
Yes, Lance is such a great guy. he dropped the wife that stuck with him through his cancer. Not to mention that he was cheating on her at the time.
Yeah, Lance is a great guy. I will settle for him “just going out.”
“Yes, Lance is such a great guy. he dropped the wife that stuck with him through his cancer. Not to mention that he was cheating on her at the time.”
Actually, that’s not true. He didn’t meet his wife until after he was through treatment for cancer. They were only married for a short time (just long enough to pop out those two kids) then divorced. A year or two later he started dating ‘the singer.’ Hardly a louse who cheated on his couragous wife.
Babe Ruth was a fantastic pitcher before he became a full-time hitter.
His lifetime ERA was 2.28, he won 23 games in 1916, and 24 games in 1917. In 163 career games pitched, his record was 94-63. He was also 3-0 in the World Series career (2-0 in 1918, Boston’s last WS win until last year.)
The Babe was a big fella, but he was an athelete to be sure.
Oh, and there is no evidence Lance ever cheated…..except maybe that time he (inadvertantly)went off-road on his bicycle and cut a corner.
Those cyclists get tested dozens of times a year, and one false positive does not a cheater make.
I’m a bit on the anti-Lance bandwagon myself. I heard an interview with anther prominent cyclist (can’t recall the name) who says many inthe cycling community don’t have respect for Armstrong because he ONLY trains and focuses for the Tour de France. As the guy put it: “What if Tiger Woods ONLY played the Masters – that he trained on similar courses all year and participated in no other events, then did the Masters once a year. If he won it six times in a row, would everyone laud him as the greatest golfer?”
Something to think about.
Hey! Heiden’s name must be spelled “Heyden.” I know it’s true ’cause I checked it on the internet before I posted. (Why doesn’t Google screen people like me who can’t spell.)
The France stuff is a joke, but all jokes with France in the punchline are funny. Since the sport has been dominated for the last six years by one guy, it’s hard to lay it off on a country.
Seriously though, I’m willing to be educated. Is the participation/money spent at all levels in cycling anywhere close to soccer, basketball, baseball, track and field, even American football? (Note: I only mentioned the people in the sports I like, because they are the only ones I know about. Soccer is a far better example, but I decided not to show my ignorance (at least of that).)
” “Yes, Lance is such a great guy. he dropped the wife that stuck with him through his cancer. Not to mention that he was cheating on her at the time.”
Actually, that’s not true. He didn’t meet his wife until after he was through treatment for cancer. They were only married for a short time (just long enough to pop out those two kids) then divorced.”
Heh, neither one quite right. Lance has *three* children (a boy and twin girls), and was married to his wife for more like 5 years (ok, so it’s not 20, but not exactly a short time either).
I’ve been on the slightly anti-Lance bandwagon since the divorce. If you read his first book, and then look at how he behaves now… I dunno, seems to me that stardom has definately gone to his head.
I’ve got my money on him. Better to go out on top.
Armstrong is clearly the best today but Merckx was the best of all time. Classics as well as grand tours were dominated ny the “cannibal”.
Todays racer specializes more than in the past and perhaps Armstrong could have won other races but we will never know.
They are both, along with others, great champions in a sport of pain and glory.
a little wake up test for those who might be interested in the level of fitness required to be able to function at the level the professional or elite amateurs do, male or female – road, track, mountain, time-trial, cyclo-cross, six-day and so on.find yourself a light bike if you can get onboard find a comfortable gear and go as hard as you can for 3 to 5 minutes on the flat. now as your recovering from that think about being able to maintain that pace for at least a few hours. have fun.c.j.g.
mike the analyst,
“I heard an interview with anther prominent cyclist (can’t recall the name) who says many inthe cycling community don’t have respect for Armstrong because he ONLY trains and focuses for the Tour de France. As the guy put it: ‘What if Tiger Woods ONLY played the Masters – that he trained on similar courses all year and participated in no other events, then did the Masters once a year. If he won it six times in a row, would everyone laud him as the greatest golfer?’”
It sounds like Mr. Armstrong read the same sports physiology/training manual I did. (Big difference: he followed it. I don’t. That’s why he’s a star, and I’m a none-too-fit amateur.) The book was all about building your training regimen and your conditioning in such a way that you would peak right at the key competition you wanted to win.
Guys, guys, guys, guys, guys…
As a local Austinite, an ardent cycling fan, and a former neighbor of Lance (when he lived near Mt. Bonnell)let me be the first to tell you-
Lance Did Not Dump His Wife.
His Wife Dumped Him.
Lance Did Not Dump His Wife.
His Wife Dumped Him.
Lance Did Not Dump His Wife.
His Wife Dumped Him.
Not that I blame her. Lance, at that point, was spending 7-8 months a year abroad, training and competing, leaving her with the young kiddos.
As someone who is fighting cancer, I can only say he is a great inspiration, and despite the debilitating side effects of chemo therapy, I plan to get out on my bike and go for a ride this afternoon myself. Definately not as far or as fast, but at least I’m still here (much to the surprise of my oncologist). For all those bashing Lance, I could care less about his flaws as a human, and will look to his tremendous accomplishments… even if the French don’t like him!
His current record at the TdF is beyond the triple crown or a grand slam. The fact that the frenchies hate him is icing on the cake.
I do love all of the comments about his personnel life. Knowing that Lance is not perfect is a great boost to my self esteem… maybe now I can skip the prozac today.
Did you ever notice how some atheletes play on a level far above the rest?
Gretzsky, Jim Brown, Jordan, Montana, they must all be martians.
Rick — Best of everything to you.
The best athlete of the last decade. When you look at what he did compared to others in his sport may have been the best of the 20th-21st century.
Even more amazing that he did it after almost losing his life to cancer!
Probably not reasonable to compare between sports. And in many sports not between time periods. For instance golf. If you ever played with wood shafted clubs as Bobby Jones did I am sure your score jumjped 20%-25% from todays clubs. Or Pole Vault. Paul Wilson was steady 13FT with bamboo; went to 17 in two years with fiberglass. Same can be said for 100 yeard dash.
Having said that I still think Lance was the best the last 10 years in all sports.
Armstrong Retires
Lance Armstrong will retire from professional cycling after this summer’s Tour de France…
Only three or four men have won it 5 times.
Four men have won it exactly five times: Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain. Of course, if, by “5 times”, you mean “at least five times”, then it’s five men (add Armstrong). Strangely enough, nobody has won it exactly four times. Nobody won it five times until 1964 (Anquetil’s fifth win, and fourth consecutive win).
There are many different styles of cycling competition, most of which bear little resemblance to the Tour de France. If you just asked “who is the greatest runner of all time” you’d have a hard time answering that, because it would be difficult to compare a great sprinter a la Carl Lewis to a great marathoner a la Alberto Salazar. Maybe you’d be tempted to go with a guy who could win at many distances (but the last guy like that was who, Paavo Nurmi??) just because most athletes today specialize in one or two events.
The US press has given the Tour de France a lot of coverage because Americans have done very well there for the past 15 years or so, starting with LeMond. Most of the rest of what goes on in competitive cycling receives zero attention in the US. I have to agree with the gentleman earlier in the thread who stated that the Belgian Eddie Merckx is the best cyclist in history — but Armstrong is on the short list, to be sure.
Lance seems like a ginchy-keen guy and all, and I wish him all the luck in the world, but the cult of personality is starting to worry me. I am beginning to fear that my lack of a yellow arm band may be held against me by the army of adoring supermen…
Lance Armstrong is retiring
One of the greatest athletes of all time is retiring. VodkaPundit has a post about this with a lot of interesting comments. One of the better comments was by RobertJ. He and others were discussing whether or not Lance Armstrong was a real athlete or…