Lance starting to feel the TDF years...

[Corsaire]

so it seems....

Lance has been twitching, contorting and stretching (back, neck and legs) on the bike like never seen before in his previous TDF years, even after the end of stages (the camera focusing on him walking into his trailer) he kind of walks with certain stiffness not seen before.
My take is that he's retiring just in time, because his body is finally saying: OUCH!

Corsaire

[Crack'n'fail]

I agree. Ligget made it sound like he has always done that, but I have to be honest it's the first I've seen of it.

[SunSwingsLow]

Agreed.

He doesnt have the explosive accelerations anymore either. He used to pounce and not let up. Now the victories come from more of a grinder method. There is only so long your body can perform at this level and I think he is retiring just in time as well.

[NW NJ Biker]

Perhaps you are correct, but he's still faster than everyone else.

[Don Gwinn]

I don't know much about cycling, but are you saying he's going to win at retirement on top of everything else? Geez.

Seriously, if he manages to retire and stay retired at the right time, truly going out on top, that puts him ahead of even the greatest athletes of all time in most sports. I'm thinking of Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali . . . guys who were undeniably dominant, but then they had to retire, come back, retire, go play baseball, come back . . . . and generally that's not considered such a big problem because all the greats seem to do it.

Do you all think Armstrong will break that pattern and actually retire and stay retired?

[Corsaire]

I don't know much about cycling, but are you saying he's going to win at retirement on top of everything else? Geez.

Seriously, if he manages to retire and stay retired at the right time, truly going out on top, that puts him ahead of even the greatest athletes of all time in most sports. I'm thinking of Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali . . . guys who were undeniably dominant, but then they had to retire, come back, retire, go play baseball, come back . . . . and generally that's not considered such a big problem because all the greats seem to do it.

Do you all think Armstrong will break that pattern and actually retire and stay retired?

If he ever comes back, it wouldn't be for the TDF anymore, for sure. He has nothing left to prove there anymore.

Corsaire

[SunSwingsLow]

Do you all think Armstrong will break that pattern and actually retire and stay retired?

I think he will retire from the TdF. But I think he might focus on winning a few other races. Shorter not so grueling races. Lance loves to ride but I think he understands that he has pushed the bar higher than any before him in the Tour and its quite likely none of us will ever see another like him. He is a dynasty unto himself.

[jitteringjr]

If he ever comes back, it wouldn't be for the TDF anymore, for sure. He has nothing left to prove there anymore.

Corsaire

I wonder if well ever see him doing age group triathlons like 20 years from now.

[Dolomiti]

I've be extremely suprised to see him in any pro bike race after this. The 'lesser' Pro Tour races are still extremely difficult, and you have to be the elite of the elite to even finish them. But he seems to enjoy various off-hand events, like possibly triathlons as you say jitteringjr

[shaharidan]

i think he's tired of all the drug tests. he might keep racing if he didn't have to put up with all the B.S. that goes with it these days.

[Laggard]

I'm pretty sure he mentioned that he was retiring from bike racing and that this would be his last/

[661]

Every single rider I've seen get off the bike, after a grueling 4-6hr stage, looks like they have a corn cob stuck up their butt...

[Don Gwinn]

Laggard, I get that he says he's retiring. But that's what Michael Jordan said, too, and I believe he came back and re-retired three times, not counting his foray into pro baseball.

The usual pattern with the truly elite competitors seems to be that no matter how much they want to go out on top, and no matter how certain everyone is that they're better off retired, they seem to be incapable of letting it go. They always seem to have to come back until they get a graphic demonstration that they aren't dominant anymore.

This year, Armstrong retires. But next year the race will come around again, and if he wont this year, who is to say he couldn't come back and win again? Maybe he could win twice more, and doesn't he owe it to everyone to try?
That's the kind of thing that tends to pick away at these guys, 24 hours a day, keeping them up at night, until they give in and come back. It's seductive and it never stops.

[alanbikehouston]

I've been looking for a "loophole" in Lance's retirement announcement. He said he is tired of spending half the year in Europe. Tired of being away from his kids.

So, the "one hour" record could be a loophole. If he is going after the "sea level" record, which is the "gold standard" of one hour records, he could train in Austin or California. No need to travel or be away from the kids.

Breaking the hour record would be a nice hobby for his retirement. A good time to do it might be in November. Rest after the Tour. Three months of training. Get the record. Then, REALLY retire.

[snowy]

If you read his second book he describes all the aches and pains that you all mention, yes this is normal and he has experienced it every year. He talks about how other riders get stuck in the form from riding the bike for 3 solid weeks. I don't know about you but if it was me I would be feeling the pain too. Yea, he is getting older, but he is still a machine!!!!

[97 Teran]

Obviously none of us know what will actually happen, but he's been pretty unequivocal about retiring. I don't see/hear anything that necessarily indicates he'll try anything different.

And by the by, I thought Ali's foray into baseball was good fun :D

[^*^BATMAN^*^]

He said he is retiring from pro racing... He might stil race, like they said, tri's or maby some road races.....who knows...im not Lance Armstong, so I dont..