Road Bike Racing - Why isn't Lance in the olympics?

Sorry if it's been asked before but why doesn't Lance feel the need to compete in the olympics? I mean if he can climb le alp d'huez 61 seconds faster than anyone else and winnner the hardest race of them all, surely he can blow them away in a one day road race? Is it a fear of failure or what?

Also i have another question. Why is it that over the course of a long race like the tour that riders accumulate fatigue. I mean i know that they all do and they can't avoid it being so hard but what is it that make their muscles and heart less effective at the end than the start? Do they accumulate an oxygen defeceit or what?

It's not a sure thing that he's going to blow anyone away in a one day race. Bettini, Rebellin and a host of other riders are more than capable of beating him.

Lance only races the TDF and races leading up to the TDF. And the only reason he does those races is to train for the TDF. Now that it's over, his "season" is over also. By the way, there's no reason why he couldn't race in the fall. He's no more tired than any other riders who did the TDF.

There are many riders who lance would not be able to blow away in a 1 day race.

What about the TT? I think he would have to be among the favorites. I think it's a poor choice to bag on the olympics. He said he lacked motivation for the olympics. Lance can and will do what he wants. He doesn't give a thought to what his fans want him to do. No reason why he should. Win TdFx6 and you will have more fans' support than you'll ever need. He can choose when and if he races again. OK take a break, Lance. It's only the olympic games! Like most important races including worlds he opts out.

He stated that he wants to spend more time with his kids.

There's hardly any money in the olympics also. That's why are basketball team doesn't have many of the 'greats' on it. Why would someone go and compete for 'Olympic Gold' if they can make 2 mil doing something else....

Yes, I thought about the lack of prize money. I hope and believe this would not be a big deal for Lance. Spending time with kids is a good reason. Sounds like he will be doing some classics next year. He could retire now as one of the greats but he's not done. Ride on, Lance!

Can't buy an Olympic Gold Medal. Of course you can't buy the TdF Yellow Jersey either (at least not the real one). You only get a shot at the Olympics every 4 years though and I'm doubtful he'll be competing 4 years from now, though you never know.

Can't fault him for wanting to spend time with kids.

Agree that noone is a prohibitive favorite in a 1 day race. Bettini was a fave though and I'm still surprised they let him go.

LA would have been a prohibitive fave in the TT I would think.

:beer:

As Girl27 said, Lance is the only rider in the peloton with kids. Right? :)

He'd be a favorite in the TT, but the Road Race is usually a classics-style crap shoot. Let's let him take a break. The guy just finished a successful campaign to make cycling history, which came with a set of 24/7 pressures, scrutiny, and demands that are a hundredfold to what most Pro cyclists have to endure in a regular season. Yes, he focuses on the Tour--he has himself admitted that he is no Eddy Merckx, and Eddy has admitted that cycling has changed. Lance won his 6th Tour, just like his fans wanted him to do. Be assured, from personal knowledge, that he is in Austin right this moment with his children, being a dad.

For a moment right after the final TDF TT, he reconsidered, as he felt very strong. But he did what he thought was best for his family, as well as in consideration for the other American riders like Levi, Bobby, Tyler, and George, who are trying for gold as well.

6 is a pretty big deal.

Me thinks the family thing is just an excuse not to race any more than you have to.

I like Lance. I respect what he's been through and what he's done. I stood in the rain in '92 to get his damn autograph. However, for a variety of reasons, I do think that his retirement will be a good thing for cycling.

I could be wrong.

I hear you Laggard! You maybe right. True he is not the only rider with children, but maybe he wants to be more than a middle-of-the-pack parent! His children's parents are recently divorced and the children need to know both parents are still supporting, loving, and wanting to spend time with them.

"...an excuse not to race any more than you have to."

He doesn't HAVE to race again ever. I'm glad he still wants to race again. Hopefully he can do well in some races other than TdF to add to his palmieres. He has won some one day races including worlds!

I guess the bronze from Sydney will have to do for olympic results. It's not a horrible record. For road cyclists 6 olympic medals are won every four years, not many and he has one.

Armstrong doesn't have that steroidal body needed to consistantly win single day races.


Yes, I thought about the lack of prize money.

Winning the TDF hardly gives any prize money.


As Girl27 said, Lance is the only rider in the peloton with kids. Right? :)

Those other riders don't have the money that Armstrong does.

He could have just retired in 1998. If he can make a career without racing 100 days a year, whats wrong with that? Is it against the cycling dogma that you either have to retire or race all the time? Explain how it is bad for cycling...

i've seen his commercial several times now during olympic coverage. it's almost as if he is part of the olympics regardless of even competing.

Winning the Tour de France gives you about 500,000 Euro. That's a lot of bones, not to mention the prestige that comes with it, which leads to lots and lots of commercial endorsements, plus bragging rights to winning one of the most coveted bike races in the world.

It looks to me like Lance just wants that excuse to skip out of racing again. I think he's just treading water waiting for the season to end. His season was the Tour, and the races he did before it were just training rides to him. To suggest that he wants to be more than a middle of the road parent is ridiculous. What, there aren't other guys who race that aren't great fathers? I particularly remember reading Ullrich's diaries back in late December, and he was raving about how much he couldn't wait to get back to his kid and wife- he looked every bit the doting parent. The problem with Lance is that he can't have it both ways- whereas before, Kiki and the kids would travel and be with him no matter what, now he's divorced, so he doesn't get the kids around him anymore. But when he had the kids and the wife, he STILL wasn't doing a lot of racing either. So I can't see how he can say it's all about the kids, when I think he just doesn't want to race. But that's his own deal. It's not like he's required to race at all, so no big thing.

I'd like to see Lance race more often for at least a few more years and wean the younger riders so there will be a GC replacement that is a strong contender when he does retire. But I'd also like to see the media start to focus on more than Lance, because after all, the public is fickle, and if it's all about Lance, when he retires, any cycling coverage we get will be cut off. *sigh*

Koffee

Well, none of his sponsors can advertise in the olympics, so why would he bother? How much gold is in an Olympic gold medal anyway? :)

one-trick pony.

Also i have another question. Why is it that over the course of a long race like the tour that riders accumulate fatigue. I mean i know that they all do and they can't avoid it being so hard but what is it that make their muscles and heart less effective at the end than the start? Do they accumulate an oxygen defeceit or what?

Muscles break down the same as they do during hard training rides and they need a day or two of rest/light riding to give them time to heal and strengthen, this break down is what makes you sore after a long hard ride, it is actually millions of micro tears in the muscles.
The tour is a hard day every day. Also its hard to eat that many calories everyday so fat reserves get used and so on and so forth.
These are the reasons why 99% of all training programs have light days between the hard days and a series of light days called a 'taper' that starts 10 days before a race to allow for full healing/strenghtening and for nutriant reserves to build up/top off.

In short they use everything a little faster than it can be repaired or replaced, so the debt gets slightly bigger each day. This debt is called fatigue.

one-trick pony.

It's a pretty damn good trick, though! :D

Lance does NOT race for "money" anymore.
He makes something like 16M a year, mostly from his endorsements.
Winning the tour gets him those endorsements.
The money he gets from the Tour purse itself, he doles out to his team, keeping, most likely, none.
He was a millionaire before he ever was diagnosed.
Seriously, Mr. One Trick Pony was blowing the doors off his competition long before he ever became a "one-trick" pony.
I feel pretty confident that if he were to gear his training for 2005 to riding in more Classics, you'd see a different guy entirely.
Seriously, did NONE of you read his book?
He races the tour, because that is what was most important to him. Not just winning the tour, but dominating it. Just to slap the faces of the naysayers who told him he couldn't.
I'd love to see what his palmares would have looked like with out his getting cancer. Seriously, think about the path he was on, and imagine what could have been.
Would he have matured into a great Tour rider? Who knows.
But he'd have won an awful LOT of races.

You can't make any big predictions about what would have happened if he wouldn't have gotten cancer, but he admits that before cancer he hated training. He was also a heavier rider, not just weight wise, but in the chest and shoulders from when he did triathlons. The loss of that weight during cancer treatment made him better in the mountains. Where he had trouble in previous years. So would he have been a better Tour rider if he never would have gotten cancer? It's hard to say. Would he have still been a great rider? Most likely yes.

Just my .02....

Probably because he doesn't want to diminsh his marketability by "failing to win" in a high-profile event. The US market is fickle and has a very short attention span. His 6th Tour Victory would be quickly forgotten or dismissed with anything short of a Gold medal performance in the Olympic Road AND Time Trial events by anyone who is not a devoted cycling fan.

Remember, "the fans" that his sponsors are appealling to are the same consumers who are as likely to be upset by Toyota fielding trucks in NASCAR's Craftsman series while cheering-on the Dodge trucks.... oblivious to the fact that Dodge is owned by DaimlerChrysler and participates in NASCAR's events under the watchful eye of CEO Jürgen E. Schrempp.

Could Lance have won at the 2004 Olympic Games? We'll never know... but it sure won't show up on his palmares as a less than stellar performance.

You can't make any big predictions about what would have happened if he wouldn't have gotten cancer, but he admits that before cancer he hated training. He was also a heavier rider, not just weight wise, but in the chest and shoulders from when he did triathlons. The loss of that weight during cancer treatment made him better in the mountains. Where he had trouble in previous years. So would he have been a better Tour rider if he never would have gotten cancer? It's hard to say. Would he have still been a great rider? Most likely yes.

If Lance wouldn't have gotten cancer and he continued along the path he was, as everybody says, he would have still been a great rider. He would NOT be a Tour contender, at least not at the kind of level he is today, he would have been going for stage wins and the like for the tour, and a serious one-day event contender.

Also keep in mind, Lance already has an Olympic medal from 2000, although he did get beat by Eki and Ullrich in the TT.

I don't buy his "family" excuse, but I think it's more in how competitive he feels. He's not the kind of guy who would want to go into a high profile event like that and not "win". And considering the "post" Tour duties wouldn't have left him much time to properly train for the events to give him the comfort level HE wants to do the event.

Andrew

MSNBC had a decent article about it (I think it was "No Lance. No Big Deal.") that mentioned that his training is so specifically geared toward peaking at the TdF that he peaks HUGE and it takes a long time to recover compared to the more "traditional" season cyclists.

On a slightly different note, I thought it was interesting that Tyler, when asked about LA withdrawing, said "He puts his family first and I respect that" (or something to that effect). Apparently ole TH is dumb as a rock. I really like LA, but I think it's a bit of stretch to say he "puts family first". Nope. Family is second. The TdF is first. You can even hear it in his autobios. His son answers the phone "Daddy" because that's how he talks to him most of the time. Lance and Kik divorced because he's gone so much (is my understanding). Again, I really admire Lance as a person and, in a tough sport on any family, I DO get the sense he cares, but putting his family first...? Come on :p

I didn't want to say Lance would have never been a great tour rider simply because it would have been very sticky with some people stoutly defending the man who's been in yellow for the last six years.

Lance is a professional athlete and is the most successful cyclist ever (in terms of $$$). He's accomplished this by focusing on the most important race in cycling and dominating it. His success has undoubtedly made the professional sport of cycling more profitable for everyone. We all would like to see him race more but it's hard to argue with how well his one race strategy has worked out.

The olympics haven't meant much to me since they let pro athletes in. It has become a big business that tries to sell itself on the olympic ideals which no longer exist. I truly wish it was still only for amateur athletes that competed only for the love of sport and didn't get rich on endorsements when they won a couple of medals.

Lance is a professional athlete and is the most successful cyclist ever (in terms of $$$). He's accomplished this by focusing on the most important race in cycling and dominating it. His success has undoubtedly made the professional sport of cycling more profitable for everyone. We all would like to see him race more but it's hard to argue with how well his one race strategy has worked out.

The olympics haven't meant much to me since they let pro athletes in. It has become a big business that tries to sell itself on the olympic ideals which no longer exist. I truly wish it was still only for amateur athletes that competed only for the love of sport and didn't get rich on endorsements when they won a couple of medals.

I don't mean to jack this thread too much. But the ameture only rule was originally ment to allow only people from the rich upper classes as all poor athletes at the time had to be pros just to eat. The 'upper class only' intent was made quite clear by those responsible for starting the modern olympics. The medal winning athletes have been getting rich on endorsments long before they let pros in.

I do disagree with the 2 year split they made between the winter and summer games that is clearly about money as it doubles all the hoopla(advertising) but for me at least it makes it all much more rutine, just squashing the mystique of 'only every four years'

Bonus trivia:The torch run and olympic rings were popularized by the NAZIs in 1936 as a propoganda thing to show their connection to ancient greeks and so forth. It was the first torch run, Germany then invaded all seven countries it went through. The old greeks used no such torch relay.
Nazi archeologists planted the olympic rings at an ancient olympic site and "discovered" them shortly thereafter, although the ring flag was used at the 1920 olympics the NAZIs wanted to make that propaganda link.

As Girl27 said, Lance is the only rider in the peloton with kids. Right? :)

Given the extreme level of difficulty it took to have those three kids, and the fact that they spend most of the year eight thousand miles away from each other, I think I'd cut him a break here...besides, Levi Leipheimer was very happy to go.

Hasn't he done two Olympics? Sydney and Atlanta? Did he race at Barcelona, too?

BTW...I remember the American cycling community coming apart at the seams when George Mount finished, I think it was sixth in Montreal. I knew one of the guys who rode on that team, said it was the toughest ride he'd ever done. Like ten times up Mount Royal.

Winning the Tour de France gives you about 500,000 Euro. That's a lot of bones
Koffee

Not in today's world...

When Tiger Woods wins a mill for four days of golf...when Buddy Rice wins over a milll for the Indy 500..

I'd say that given the work involved, that is chump change in today's sports world. Of course, he takes none of that as his contracts are written to pay him for winning the Tour so all that goes to the team. But considering the level of commitment needed to win the Tour, that's not a lot of $$.

I think 500,000 euro is good money, regardless of what's written in his contract or comparing to other sports. And when you win the Tour, you get money through the back door- endorsements and advertising, plus nice, plush, cushy contracts for your next racing season. The booty for winning is pretty high, as evidenced by LA's yearly income.

Koffee

I think 500,000 euro is good money, regardless of what's written in his contract or comparing to other sports. And when you win the Tour, you get money through the back door- endorsements and advertising, plus nice, plush, cushy contracts for your next racing season. The booty for winning is pretty high, as evidenced by LA's yearly income.

Koffee

So is the sacrifice required to win. Ask Ullrich.

Wow...I can't recall the last time I heard anyone use the words cushy and plush in a sentence with cycle racing... :eek: :D

Have you heard the word "booty" described either?

:D ;)

Koffee

Can I be the first to say that I could care less about Lance Armstrong's participation in the Olympics?

The guy's a grown-up and sufficiently eminent in the sport to choose his own programme. So he decided not to race in Athens. This will be a surprise to few of you, I suspect.

Contrary to some opinions, cycling is not a one man sport and the olympic races are made tough by the riders' attitude, not the course profile alone.

as for:

<Armstrong doesn't have that steroidal body needed to consistantly win single day races.> as Brent puts it-

I'd love to hear the rationale behind this statement. So Bettini and the other World Cup contenders are all cheats but Tour riders are clean? Or all WC contenders are big (except Bettini)? Or just everyone is juicing except Lance?

and
<the Road Race is usually a classics-style crap shoot. > as Blueplate sees it-

Most Classics are attritional. Luck is a factor in all cycle races, as well as tactics, preparation, technique etc., -but a crap shoot? Seriously?

I dont want to be involved in the Ullrich vs Armstrong or Europe vs US type of childish quarrels. Just some facts and rumors from Europe.

Fact: Atlanta TT was took by Indurain, Sidney by Ullrich.

Rumors, not to be believed, just think, why have they been coming arouund:
It's told that LA doesn't challenge the olympics because of very strict anti doping regulations (so strict that the urine needn't be positive tested, they took away the gold from a hungarian discos-thrower just today beacuse of 50 mls urine shortage on the regular quantity). If it is so the clear man has nothing to be afraid of.

Other: it's also a rumor about LA divorce from Kiki. After the healing from cancer it was told him to join a super soldier serum experiment which could quickly regenerate his body and more, but it could also cost his life. He took the risk but Kirstin somehow pulled the secret out and decieded for a living father of her children against a TdFwinner father probably under ground. I'ts only an old lady gossip, I will never believe entirely but makes me think.

And even I dislike such comments "nazi olympic habits, steroid voice, doping classics riders, overweighted riders, german riders like more beer than win" circulating at these forums. I think man should respect the weaker also even more when the weaker is only at the TdF weaker anywhere else stronger.

Please, have some lessons of European culture and sport life before the cynic remarks.

There are many riders who lance would not be able to blow away in a 1 day race.


Umm...I'ms sure I'll start a fight here, but did you guys catch the Prologue or any of the individual time trials in the TDF? Each of those was a 1 day race. The Prologue (a 1-day race) LA got 2nd place, missing 1st place by 2 seconds, and beating over a hundred others. Stage 16 (a 1-day race) LA won by more than a minute. Stage 19 (a 1-day race) LA won by more than a minute.

Where were these "many riders" on those days???

What is the difference? Yeah, I realize these 1-day events were part of the larger event, but you can't tell me those guys were just slacking off during the ITTs?

Umm...I'ms sure I'll start a fight here, but did you guys catch the Prologue or any of the individual time trials in the TDF? Each of those was a 1 day race. The Prologue (a 1-day race) LA got 2nd place, missing 1st place by 2 seconds, and beating over a hundred others. Stage 16 (a 1-day race) LA won by more than a minute. Stage 19 (a 1-day race) LA won by more than a minute.

Where were these "many riders" on those days???

What is the difference? Yeah, I realize these 1-day events were part of the larger event, but you can't tell me those guys were just slacking off during the ITTs?


Umm...the Prologue is not really a time trial. It's just a quick show for the spectators. Stage 16, AdH, uphill time trial is not a typical course, especially at that length. I will however concede stage 19. But after 19 days of stage racing is it the same test of time trialling or of attrition?

Have you heard the word "booty" described either?

:D ;)

Koffee


I believe the normal term we use is "eye candy" !! ;)

Umm...I'ms sure I'll start a fight here, but did you guys catch the Prologue or any of the individual time trials in the TDF? Each of those was a 1 day race. The Prologue (a 1-day race) LA got 2nd place, missing 1st place by 2 seconds, and beating over a hundred others. Stage 16 (a 1-day race) LA won by more than a minute. Stage 19 (a 1-day race) LA won by more than a minute.

Where were these "many riders" on those days???

What is the difference? Yeah, I realize these 1-day events were part of the larger event, but you can't tell me those guys were just slacking off during the ITTs?


Are you drunk?

I will however concede stage 19. But after 19 days of stage racing is it the same test of time trialling or of attrition?

But everyone in the race went the same distance and had the same distance to go.


Are you drunk?

Educate me. Are you saying that if they held that Stage 19 today, without the 1st 18 stages, and where everyone had "rested up" (i.e. their typical 600+ mile weeks), that LA would get his ass kicked?

A time trial is MUCH different than riding in a group of riders for a "1-day" race. Which stage of the TdF did Lance win that didn't involve above category climbs or set in Time Trial conditions?

Riding flat out for 30-60 minutes is a bit different than having to ride in a pack for 6 hours and then hit a sprint finish.

Andrew

A

Riding flat out for 30-60 minutes is a bit different than having to ride in a pack for 6 hours and then hit a sprint finish.

Andrew

I'm trying to follow you, but I still don't see the precise distinction. From what I remember, Lance "rode in a pack for 6 hours and then hit a sprint finish" several times during the TDF.

When? Which stage that didn't involve above category climbs or a time trial did he win?

Lance on a good day can push out 30-38mph for an hour or so during a TT, a pack of 100+ riders can go faster while expending much less effort. How exactly is Lance going to get away? Or are you saying that Lance is going to be able to outsprint all of the pro's in the field? Because the field is not going to let somebody "dangerous" get away from them.

Andrew

When? Which stage that didn't involve above category climbs or a time trial did he win?

Lance on a good day can push out 30-38mph for an hour or so during a TT, a pack of 100+ riders can go faster while expending much less effort. How exactly is Lance going to get away? Or are you saying that Lance is going to be able to outsprint all of the pro's in the field? Because the field is not going to let somebody "dangerous" get away from them.

Andrew

OK, I think I understand. Not trying to pick a fight, as I am admittedly new to the world of bike racing, but I just didn't understand logically what the distinction was and wanted to weed out the possibility of sour grapes.

So we have established Lance's strengths are (i.e. Lance will win when):
1) racing in a pack for long distances involving more hills/climbs;
2) racing solo in all-out relatively short (1 hour) jaunts; and
3) racing for 20 days or so, when maybe 1/3 of those days involve hills/climbs.

Lance's weaknesses are (i.e. LA is less certain to win 1st place when):
1) racing in a pack for long distances that avoid hills/climbs.

And there are several, perhaps many riders who do better at racing in a pack for long distances that avoid hills/climbs.

Poll: which set of strengths is more desirable? Just curious. What percent of the world's roadways are hills vs. % flats? Is the TDF representative of those %s, or does the TDF contain a disproportionate number of climbs?

An in-form LA would've been a strong contender in Athens but not a lock for the simple fact that noone is a "lock" in a 1 Day race. Even moreso in the Olympics where teams are only 5 strong and no guarantee everyone will work together. With a chance at Olympic Gold a rider in a break might not be persuaded to sit up for the "leader." Esp. if they don't ride together professionally.

An in-form LA would've been a heavy fave in the TT (won by Tyler Hamilton) as there's no doubt LA is one of, if not the, pre-eminent TTer of current generation.

LA's strength in the TdF is his ability to recover and ride at a high level with very few if any bad days. The fact that the TdF is his "season" no doubt contributes to this but it is a remarkable ability. It doesn't help as much in a 1 day race though when it doesn't matter how tired you are the next day.

Hope this makes a little sense and helps.

:beer:

So we have established Lance's strengths are (i.e. Lance will win when):
1) racing in a pack for long distances involving more hills/climbs;
2) racing solo in all-out relatively short (1 hour) jaunts; and
3) racing for 20 days or so, when maybe 1/3 of those days involve hills/climbs.


I'm not really sure what you're getting at here.

Lance is never certain to win anything. No rider is.

What makes one day races so difficult is that there is no next day. You get dropped on the Mur and you're not going to make it up tomorrow. You're done 'till next year. That's why the Rebellin's and Bettini's of the peloton are so impressive. They consistently are able to keep themselves at front of the race when it counts.

Other: it's also a rumor about LA divorce from Kiki. After the healing from cancer it was told him to join a super soldier serum experiment which could quickly regenerate his body and more, but it could also cost his life. He took the risk but Kirstin somehow pulled the secret out and decieded for a living father of her children against a TdFwinner father probably under ground. I'ts only an old lady gossip, I will never believe entirely but makes me think.

LSD?

May I have some?

Or are you saying that Lance is going to be able to outsprint all of the pro's in the field?

He did it in Georgia...even beat Cippolini... :D

BTW, I found it interesting that Jason McCartney said he was in over his head at the Olympics. Stressing the huge difference between US Pro crit riders and real professionals.

On the course in GA where Lance won the sprint, There was a very steep hill within 800 meters of the line. It killed the legs of the true sprinters, and allowed Lance to win. Take away that hill, and have a 3k flat run to the line, and I don't think he would have won. He is an amazing athlete, but I don't think he has the 1800-2000 watts of peak power needed to outsprint the sprinters does he?

"LSD?

May I have some?"

As I have mentioned it it's only a rumor. But you could consider it as humor aswell.

You may have heard of human experiments in germany during the WWII. The results was taken by american scientists as was Werner Von Braun (Apollo mission, the other Armstrong). Man can never tell what's going on behind the scenes these days.

You had better not reply me highbrow jokes but read about the whole truth at www.secretsofthepeloton.com.

And I also recommend it to everyone for a much clearer vision on pro cycling.

LSD?

May I have some?
Mmmmmmmmm.... trippy.