Glades2

I'm sure Lance now regrets not retiring after last year's Podium finish - it would have been a good way to end after an even dozen TDF's, but now he (and his Livestrong community and many sponsors) will have to live with his career ending after likely finishing outside the Top 10...

But he can make lemonade out of this lemony situation, because it's a hard lesson learned when it comes to having the wisdom to know when to say when...

As I've always heard, athletes often suffer from that problem, and will try to continue on well past their best years, but athlete comebacks rarely if ever work out as well as their best days, and it's always best to step aside when it's time...

Bernard Hinault is a good example - after his multiple Tour victories he knew it was time to step aside, and as he said in the closing lines of his biography, "it's time for me to ride the broom wagon", and to this day he seems happy in helping to run the Tour...

It's also important for Lance to turn this defeat around with the thousands in his Livestrong community, since battling Cancer is also similar to fighting to win the Tour, but as in my Sister's cancer there is a time to battle and a time to say that's enough, but it's one of the hardest things in life to do, epescially when it comes to doing something we love - or living life itself - since all are finite, as much as we'd like to think they will go on forever, and it takes a great deal of prayer for the wisdom and courage to know that there is a time to battle, but there is also a time when that battle will no longer be necessary...

Hopefully Lance will be able to convey his defeat to his many Livestrong followers in a similar way, and in doing so it will bring peace to the many who battle cancer...

Glades2

merlinextraligh

I don't get this idea that great athletes should step away at the top. It seems based on an idea that they should do what make us happy, not them.

If you still like competing in your sport, and someone is going to pay you very well to do so, and you're still capable of doing it at a reasonable level (albeit not your former level) why not?

And do you think it reallaffects the long term perception anyway? Do people think less of Michael Jordan as a basketball player because of the time he spent in Washington?

Glades2

I've discovered that this applies to every aspect of life, since I had a similar experience not related to cycling...

In 2006 I was of a group that were given a very nice plaque and dinner (or dinner and a plaque - lol) after our many active and successful years at a local camp for children on ventilators, but in 2007 I went against my better judgement and continued on, even though the camp itself had changed (I had moved further away and the volunteer needs of the camp itself had evolved over many years), but...

Because I loved camp so much, as all of our volunteers loved camp, it was very hard for me to feel good about ending on a high note (after the award in 2006, on the camp's 20th anniversary), and struggled on against better judgement in 2007 - and 2008, and 2009, to finally end my long and rewarding years with camp in April 2010, so again had I prayed for the wisdom and courage to know that the changes in camp and in my own life meant that it was time to say enough (a/k/a goodbye), it would have ended on a high note, instead of struggling to attend camp and deal with the changes at camp over the past 4 years...

And when I see Lance's current dilemma (I'm sure he's deep in thought about everything as we speak) it reminds me of my own situation...

If nothing else, this kind of situation is always a tribute to how much a person loves to do something they truly love, whether it be cycling or basketball or camp, since our human nature being what it is, the things we do not love or even enjoy we are always eager to let go of very quickly - but not so with the things that mean so much to us...

Glades2

Fynn

Agreed. Why do super star athletes have to make decisions for themselves that are based on how the rest of the world perceives them now and in the future? Sure Lance isn't as good at almost 39 as he was at 29. Who is? But that doesn't mean he still isn't a very competitive and talented bicycle racer. He is still one of the best in the peloton and I think a great number of people from the non professional world would do well to ride a stage with Lance.

Perhaps after enduring that, one can appreciate that while he may not be the best in the Tour de France this year. He is still very, very strong.

sakonnetclip

I wonder if Lance doesn't race in the tour will Versus offer 10 hours of HD coverage every day? This concerns me...

Glades2

I'm sure the Versus folks are groaning since this is similar to the USA losing in the World Cup - the US television ratings are likley going to dip with the loss of the US favorite, but Versus does have a contract for at least this year...

P.S. And I agree with the other poster that Lance is still very strong - his falls in yesterday's stage were not of his own doing, and do not reflect his age and how that relates to his performance, but when compared to the Lance shown by Versus in the 2001 Tour - certainly there is a difference between then and now, 9 years later...

I'm sure the Lance discussions will go on for years, but as a person over 50 (I'm on that board, too), it becomes very clear that we are not the cyclists we were 15, 20 or more years ago, and in professional cycling, where very ounce and every second counts, 9 extra years on a cyclist will make a very big difference...

A good example are most Olympic sports - a "veteran or master" is often said of an athlete over 25 - just 6 years the other side of being a teenager (ouch)...