Originally Posted by gringorio
i find Lance's style of riding extremely uninspiring. sitting in the whole way, hardly attacking, and seemingly getting ahead only through the attrition caused by his team mates doing all the hard work. no wonder he has fresh legs to win a sprint. that opinion stated, is this method of winning a great tour going to be the future of racing or will there be teams and riders that will continue to take chances, race all the big tours and classics and not be afraid to attack?
That is a very good point. It seems like the Tours of old had a lot more individualism and not such domination. Unfortunately for us, Lance is a hell of an athlete and along with the combination of the best team on the planet, there really is no touching him. But who are we to judge. They are there to win the tour and that's what they do. They dominate.
I love Lance, I am inspired by his determination and take no Sh&% attitude. Not just on a bike, but when he fought cancer as well. He seems to attack all challenges in his life that way.
I remember reading an article on him in Sports Illustrated a couple of years back. I think it was just after he won his 3rd or 4th tour. Rick Reilly was interviewing him, (I think that was him), and they were out riding. Lance was riding slow so he wouldn't kill Rick. Lance's phone rings and it is a friend who rides for another team. He wanted to know what Lance was doing. Lance said he was biking. The guy couldn't believe it because he was enjoying getting over the tour and he was out at the bars drinking in Europe. That's just the kind of guy Lance is. The day after the tour he is back on his bike riding. Insane.
I think, and Lance attests to this, that the cancer was the best thing for his cycling career. It broke down all his upper body strength from the tri's and really built him into a tour rider. He never was a tour rider beforehand. Combined with all the other genetically freakish attributes that he has towards cycling, I really don't see why he wouldn't dominate. He has the whole package, mentally and physically.