Will Lance be better this year?

The Prodigy

dennisn wrote:

Somebody please give the record player a nudge. The needle is sticking.

But we all enjoy this record so much, you inparticular.

dennisn

The Prodigy wrote:

dennisn wrote:

Somebody please give the record player a nudge. The needle is sticking.

But we all enjoy this record so much, you inparticular.

C'mon, it's Friday. I'm just having fun.
Still no one enjoys a stuck record? Or do they?

iainf72

dennisn wrote:

C'mon, it's Friday. I'm just having fun.
Still no one enjoys a stuck record? Or do they?

Stuck records, no. Locked grooves are alright though.

Abdoujaparov

Reckon Lance will push Contador a little closer this year and might just pip A Schleck to second. He's done a lot more training this year.

On the point about older people training less, older people can often actually train more than youngsters as their bodies have adapted over a longer period of time to deal with high training loads.

You lose explosive power, but your capabilities for things like three week grand tours can continue to increase well after 35. Lance steadily got better over the course of the TdF and Giro last year. There was an element of him riding himself into both races as he hadn't trained enough (this should be rectified this year), but I reckon it was mainly down to the fact that he's got better grand tour endurance than most

BikingBernie

Abdoujaparov wrote:

You lose explosive power, but your capabilities for things like three week grand tours can continue to increase well after 35.

Thing is, even Ferrari recons that the Grand Tours these days are all about aerobic power, and all that really matters is how much power you can put out for the last few km of the summit finishes, not 'old school' endurance. If Ferrari is right an 'old man' like Armstrong shouldn't stand a chance, no matter how good his base endurance. Still, what nature takes away with one hand, I guess the likes of Ferrari can put back!

http://www.53x12.com/do/show?page=article&id=73

blazing_saddles

Abdoujaparov wrote:

Reckon Lance will push Contador a little closer this year and might just pip A Schleck to second. He's done a lot more training this year.

You lose explosive power, but your capabilities for things like three week grand tours can continue to increase well after 35. Lance steadily got better over the course of the TdF and Giro last year. There was an element of him riding himself into both races as he hadn't trained enough (this should be rectified this year), but I reckon it was mainly down to the fact that he's got better grand tour endurance than most

I'm surprised Dennis hasn't picked you up on this. :P
How do you know he's done a lot more training?
Unless you are a close relative/Dr-trainer, you cannot know this for a fact.

Thanks for explaining why so many GT winners have been over 35, btw. :roll:

Abdoujaparov

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Abdoujaparov wrote:

Reckon Lance will push Contador a little closer this year and might just pip A Schleck to second. He's done a lot more training this year.

You lose explosive power, but your capabilities for things like three week grand tours can continue to increase well after 35. Lance steadily got better over the course of the TdF and Giro last year. There was an element of him riding himself into both races as he hadn't trained enough (this should be rectified this year), but I reckon it was mainly down to the fact that he's got better grand tour endurance than most

I'm surprised Dennis hasn't picked you up on this. :P
How do you know he's done a lot more training?
Unless you are a close relative/Dr-trainer, you cannot know this for a fact.

Thanks for explaining why so many GT winners have been over 35, btw. :roll:

Ok, that was a pretty rushed, almost shorthand post, but the point was that he's not got a broken collar bone so will be able to train more.

Explosive power is important for things like grand tours, but I reckon endurance can continue to increase as can training capacity.

Abdoujaparov

"explosive power" - more strength I mean..

dennisn

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Abdoujaparov wrote:

Reckon Lance will push Contador a little closer this year and might just pip A Schleck to second. He's done a lot more training this year.

You lose explosive power, but your capabilities for things like three week grand tours can continue to increase well after 35. Lance steadily got better over the course of the TdF and Giro last year. There was an element of him riding himself into both races as he hadn't trained enough (this should be rectified this year), but I reckon it was mainly down to the fact that he's got better grand tour endurance than most

I'm surprised Dennis hasn't picked you up on this. :P
How do you know he's done a lot more training?
Unless you are a close relative/Dr-trainer, you cannot know this for a fact.

Thanks for explaining why so many GT winners have been over 35, btw. :roll:

All I can say is that after 35, which was a h*ll of a long time ago, I didn't notice an increase in anything, except my pants size.

calvjones

Moray Gub wrote:

calvjones wrote:

He'll need to improve substantially just to recover the losses implied by the ITT (over riders other than AC and Wiggo). Add to this the increased climbing, where he is clearly not as good as Andy or Bertie, and the fact the only ITT comes at the end, when gaps tend to be smaller...

He's gotta hope for some crashes or echelons in the first few days as he tends to be well placed (and well lucky) compared to other riders.

I think he will be better this year if he has an injury free season and it goes the way he wants it to go. Clearly the two you mention are better than him but the others ? Also when you say lucky you ever considered the possibility maybe other riders arent as good bike handlers as him ? Up until last year i cant recall him having many crashes or at least crashes that meant time off the bilke. I also don't think he was given nearly enough credit for his 3rd last year taking everything in to consideration it was a excellent performance .

\\

Yes, last year was a great performance but I think the parcours, the TTT (no ITT - typo earlier) and the 40s echelon gap helped him, as did Cadel and Sastre having really bad years. I think he'll probably be at the same level as last year but the tougher hills, tougher competition and extra year mean that won't be enough to podium.

He has always been a rider who is well positioned, and who can ride, which means he's likely to benefit from the first couple of days. He's also been lucky though - even the best handlers would expect more than one serious crash over a period of 12 years!

iainf72

calvjones wrote:

Yes, last year was a great performance but I think the parcours, the TTT (no ITT - typo earlier) and the 40s echelon gap helped him!

I think I worked out that without those 2 things he would've finished 6'th or 7'th.

afx237vi

Here's one for Dennis:

“2009 was a special season,” he said. “I returned after having been retired from cycling several years and did not know exactly where I would be. I had more muscle – more like a swimmer than a cyclist. Now, however, I have lost muscle mass – I no longer work out in the gym, and I feel good enough to compete at the highest level.”

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/2853/ ... fraid.aspx

pb21

In that video he has definitely lost some upper body muscle mass, should help his climbing and TTing. I also expect he will be fitter too and more able to match the accelerations he admitted he struggled with last year. Whether he can make any of his own and make them stick is another matter.

He will be a better cyclist than last year, but then so will Contador and particularly A Schleck.

pedro118118

The thread is, "Will Lance be better this year".
Only fair to keep to the thread.

If people want to address, "Did Lance take EPO in 1999", or "Is Bruyneel a master of doping deception", then start a new thread and discuss with like-minded readers.

dennisn

afx237vi wrote:

Here's one for Dennis:

“2009 was a special season,” he said. “I returned after having been retired from cycling several years and did not know exactly where I would be. I had more muscle – more like a swimmer than a cyclist. Now, however, I have lost muscle mass – I no longer work out in the gym, and I feel good enough to compete at the highest level.”

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/2853/ ... fraid.aspx

He does look a little leaner than last year. It would appear that pretty much everyone who
is anyone in racing is going to be at the TDF or at least talking trash about being there. Should be interesting.
As for myself I believe that this year I will feel good enough to compete at the lowest level of club racing. Look for my name on the Maumee Valley Wheelmen's result sheet(near the bottom).

Monkeypump

pedro118118 wrote:

The thread is, "Will Lance be better this year".
Only fair to keep to the thread.

If people want to address, "Did Lance take EPO in 1999", or "Is Bruyneel a master of doping deception", then start a new thread and discuss with like-minded readers.

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou... good sense and good manners prevail at last.

dougzz

pedro118118 wrote:

The thread is, "Will Lance be better this year".
Only fair to keep to the thread.

If people want to address, "Did Lance take EPO in 1999", or "Is Bruyneel a master of doping deception", then start a new thread and discuss with like-minded readers.

Now you mention it of course he did and yes he is...............

dennisn

pb21 wrote:

In that video he has definitely lost some upper body muscle mass, should help his climbing and TTing. I also expect he will be fitter too and more able to match the accelerations he admitted he struggled with last year. Whether he can make any of his own and make them stick is another matter.

He will be a better cyclist than last year, but then so will Contador and particularly A Schleck.

I think that his single mindedness(the TDF) to the exclusion of pretty much all other races
is what helped him win 7 of them. Obviously you need to be in top form for this race and getting there, and staying there, for months at a time, is not something that most racers
are capable of. You can't do everything and every race and then expect to be in tip top form for the Tour when it rolls around(OK, maybe a few could but it's not the norm). He's probably going to do, this year, exactly what won it for him in the past. Everything else will be pretty much training rides in order to peak for the big one. Makes sense to me and if anyone knows how to "peak" for "the big one" it's him. He's also pretty good at putting a d*mn good support team around himself. 3rd. last year sure makes him, at the very least, a contender.

blazing_saddles

Doesn't bode well for we viewing the race. Especially when considering how dull last year's edition was.....

"Last year I didn't get this right and ended up losing a lot of time in the time trials... Also, my style of riding will be different. I have to be more calculating, more conservative. You could say that I have to be more boring, but that will be better for me," he explained.

Is watching a red train everyday, more boring than a blue train, I ask?
What's more conservative than sucking a team mates wheel to within a couple of kms of an MTF?

teagar

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Doesn't bode well for we viewing the race. Especially when considering how dull last year's edition was.....

"Last year I didn't get this right and ended up losing a lot of time in the time trials... Also, my style of riding will be different. I have to be more calculating, more conservative. You could say that I have to be more boring, but that will be better for me," he explained.

Is watching a red train everyday, more boring than a blue train, I ask?
What's more conservative than sucking a team mates wheel to within a couple of kms of an MTF?

Stick to one-dayers. They're more than just a demonstration of your biological capability.

afx237vi

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Doesn't bode well for we viewing the race. Especially when considering how dull last year's edition was.....

"Last year I didn't get this right and ended up losing a lot of time in the time trials... Also, my style of riding will be different. I have to be more calculating, more conservative. You could say that I have to be more boring, but that will be better for me," he explained.

Is watching a red train everyday, more boring than a blue train, I ask?
What's more conservative than sucking a team mates wheel to within a couple of kms of an MTF?

Lance Armstrong riding more conservatively won't stop others from attacking.

dougzz

Oh Dennis you poor deluded fanboy.

If he wins I'll write on the blackboard 5 million times "I must not doubt Big Tex."

You know what, I won't pre-order any chalk

BikingBernie

pedro118118 wrote:

The thread is, "Will Lance be better this year". Only fair to keep to the thread. If people want to address, "Did Lance take EPO in 1999", or "Is Bruyneel a master of doping deception", then start a new thread and discuss with like-minded readers.

So, I guess it's fine to discuss whether there is room for him to improve on his blood manipulation program, as compared to last year. Here is the data for 2009...



It seems he won't be releasing any blood profile data this year. So, who knows, perhaps this year he will be taking those haemocrit figures right up to 49.9%, if not higher.

dennisn

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Doesn't bode well for we viewing the race. Especially when considering how dull last year's edition was.....

"Last year I didn't get this right and ended up losing a lot of time in the time trials... Also, my style of riding will be different. I have to be more calculating, more conservative. You could say that I have to be more boring, but that will be better for me," he explained.

Is watching a red train everyday, more boring than a blue train, I ask?
What's more conservative than sucking a team mates wheel to within a couple of kms of an MTF?

The possibilities that LA is just "blowin' smoke" or "talkin' trash" can't be overlooked.
I guess the TALK, by everyone, will be put to a test in July.
As for the "sucking.... to within.....". Same rules, same mountains, for everyone. Pick your strategy and if "sucking" gets you the win, so be it. Shame on everyone else for not being able to take advantage of or find a weakness in that strategy.

prb007

BB.......... you say 'Given your lowly post count I can only assume you are unaware of all the debates on here that have considered this very topic, and as such are another of those proving the validity of the old adage 'Ignorance is bliss'. .......like its' a bad thing.
A lowe(er) post count could mean that I have better things to to with my time than waste it on muppets like you.

I dare you, I double dare you MF ( to quote Samuel L. Jackson)... to bet AGAINST LA winning the TdF for a record 8th time, and go down in the history books as the greatest TdF rider who has ever (and will ever) live.

It must be tough to carry all that vitriol around with, as well as the chip on each shoulder!

BikingBernie

You seem to be spitting a fair bit of vitriol there yourself, prb007.

As they say, 'Love is blind'...

sampras38

See, I knew this thread would descend into the same ole crap.

Well done BB

bigmat

dougzz wrote:

Oh Dennis you poor deluded fanboy.

If he wins I'll write on the blackboard 5 million times "I must not doubt Big Tex."

You know what, I won't pre-order any chalk

I've got some Livestrong chalk you can have (seriously!)

blazing_saddles

prb007 wrote:

I dare you, I double dare you MF ( to quote Samuel L. Jackson)... to bet AGAINST LA winning the TdF for a record 8th time, and go down in the history books as the greatest TdF rider who has ever (and will ever) live.

There's a job going for you at Mills and Boon.
So much Lance love juice from a single man crush, is truly touching.
Might even bring a tear to MG's eye. :P

donrhummy

Bhima wrote:

The string idea has been around for years. I believe car companies still use it to get a quick idea of turbulance effects so they can address certain issues before venturing into the wind tunnel for more detailed analysis.

It may have been around for years in some fields, but this is the first I've ever heard of it being used for a road cyclist. It's still impressive of Lim.