Armstrong wins Tour de France again!

[Nathan]

No one is saying that VO2_max determines the winner. It may be neccessary, but not sufficient. If two riders with nearly the same VO2_max enter, the one with the better training, strategy, and mental committment will win. However, a guy with 2x the VO2_max of another, might be able to spank his competitors without much effort.

You want to see mental determination? Look at Ultramarathon runners who run from 1000-3000 miles. The 3000 mile trans america race for example, has runners running 45 miles a day for 64+ days.

Err, I think Fred was saying that oxygen ratio, which I suppose means VO2 Max, is the main factor. The reality is, VO2 Max doesn't play a huge role. It's one indicator of fitness, but it doesn't say anything about the althete's efficiency, or their ability to recover after a race (something Jan Ulrich is very good at; it's why he can begin the Tour at a lower fitness level than Lance, yet be very competitive near the end), or how their performance deteriorates with altitude, or how much their immune system is suppressed by hard training.

I've cycled enough to know that even if I could match Lance's VO2 Max, my recovery rate is far too slow for me to ever be able to ride in a tour. (And presumably my mental toughness isn't up to scratch either given how quickly I quit trying to be the uber cyclist )

Yeah, Ultramarathon runners are nutty. Race Across America (RAAM) is another one. It's a non-stop bicycle race across America. The winning solo time is in the order of 8 days.

 

[Fred]

Its not just VO2 max, its recovery rate (that also has a measure.. something in the blood that dissolves those toxins) and the sustained pedal cadence.

For instance Armstrong won nearly every time trial I can remember in his 7tdf wins (except for one off the top of my head). Thats insane, not even the most mentally tough rider could do that all the time unless they were gifted with a potential that was simply superior to the others.

It seems to me cycling is one of those sports that has nearly maximized every riders individual potential, at that point its simply genetics that pulls one over the other time and time again.

People talk about tactics and what not.. Sure its there, but it seems to me its less a factor than when i first started watching back in the day. Lance more or less won this tour on the first mountain stage when his team accelerated the pace and left everyone except 8-9 riders in the dust. Slowly the leaders started dropping one by one (even if they were being led). Then it was all individual effort at that point.

IMO Ullrich would have beaten Basso if he was gunning for him these last few years. Its simply the hard part of attacking Armstrong all the time that eventually wore him out and killed him.

 

[Gollum]

The weird thing about Lance is, that he was a completely different type of rider before his cancer. He was heavier and more suited for 1-day classic races and stage victories. His disease not only made him mentally stronger, but seems to have played a vital role in making him realize his full potential and the need for changing his physique. Whatever he did to achieve that, it gave him a unique combination of physical and psychological strength, that's what made him unbeatable in the Tour. Wether he doped or not I can't say. I hope not and don't think so but sometimes, when you look into his face and compare it to those of his opponents after an extremely tough stage, you can't help but think "damn, how does he do that, why doesn't he look tired at all, how's that possible?".

Ullrich will be a tragic figure in cycling history, despite his many successes. He just wasn't cut out to dominte the Tour in a similar way Lance did, despite being extremely consistent in his good performance. He's got too many tiny character flaws and seems to have an inner magnet for bad luck. Many people like him because of that, he's very human and a bit more down-to-earth than Lance. He's gifted, can fight and punish himself like no other, but he lacks the dedication and will to be the absolute best he can.

Basso still has to prove he can be as consistent as either of these two. Many riders in history were on the podium once or twice, only to never be seen again.

Tactics are immensely important for the Tour, but the dominance of Armstrong kinda made it irelevant in the fight for yellow. No matter what the other riders and their teams tried, he could always fight back, even when his entire team was eliminated like a few times during this tour. Nobody else in the peloton has that strenght IMO. Not Ullrich, Basso nor anybody else. Next year I expect team and tactics to play a more decisive role again...

 

[Druga Runda]

I think they said for Amstrong that he is the most tested athlete ever so he is clean as can be... I think the cancer gave him the edge psychologically, and probably it gave him the "now or never" mentallity which he seems to have when preparing. If ullrich was so dedicated he might have taken him down as I would say he has the physical disposition but mentally noone can touch Amstrong I would say and that is undoubtebly (at least in my mind) a good consequence of his close encounter with death.

 

[Crisidelm]

The weird thing about Lance is, that he was a completely different type of rider before his cancer. He was heavier and more suited for 1-day classic races and stage victories. His disease not only made him mentally stronger, but seems to have played a vital role in making him realize his full potential and the need for changing his physique. Whatever he did to achieve that, it gave him a unique combination of physical and psychological strength, that's what made him unbeatable in the Tour. Wether he doped or not I can't say. I hope not and don't think so but sometimes, when you look into his face and compare it to those of his opponents after an extremely tough stage, you can't help but think "damn, how does he do that, why doesn't he look tired at all, how's that possible?".

Ullrich will be a tragic figure in cycling history, despite his many successes. He just wasn't cut out to dominte the Tour in a similar way Lance did, despite being extremely consistent in his good performance. He's got too many tiny character flaws and seems to have an inner magnet for bad luck. Many people like him because of that, he's very human and a bit more down-to-earth than Lance. He's gifted, can fight and punish himself like no other, but he lacks the dedication and will to be the absolute best he can.

Basso still has to prove he can be as consistent as either of these two. Many riders in history were on the podium once or twice, only to never be seen again.

Tactics are immensely important for the Tour, but the dominance of Armstrong kinda made it irelevant in the fight for yellow. No matter what the other riders and their teams tried, he could always fight back, even when his entire team was eliminated like a few times during this tour. Nobody else in the peloton has that strenght IMO. Not Ullrich, Basso nor anybody else. Next year I expect team and tactics to play a more decisive role again...

On the contrary, I expect next year to be so wide open that teams will not play any big roles: it'll be "every man for himself".

 

[Gollum]

If there's oe thing I've learned in the past years, its that cycling is, against my initial instinct, a team sport... "every man for himself" only really counts during a few select stages of the tour, like tough ramps or time trials. Those usually decide the outcome of the Tour, true, but you have to get there in one piece first! Team interests play a vital role in how the race develops and without a team to prepare/prevent attacks and close gaps, no rider would stand a chance to win the Tour ... IMO.

 

[Nathan]

It seems to me cycling is one of those sports that has nearly maximized every riders individual potential, at that point its simply genetics that pulls one over the other time and time again.

While I agree with this sentiment to a degree, I think it's over simplifying cycling quite a bit. Cycling is one of the few sports where the athletes require all round fitness. They have to be able to sprint, climb and time trial, which all require different physiologies.

The key is that you can't maximise sprinting and climbing at the same time, or any other combination. Robbie McEwen is the fastest man in the Tour, but he'll never win the GC because he can't do anything other than sprint He knows that, so he focuses on sprinting and winning the flat stages. Ramussen is an incredible climber, but lacks the energy reserves to compete at the front for more than a few days. Every rider has their strengths, and they must try to shape the Tour so that it suits them. It requires planning, superb teamwork, and an ability to react to situations without any notice.