Any cycling fans here?

Now that World Cup Mania is over, we can focus on MY favorite
sporting event of the year-- The Tour de France. USA may be getting
spanked by ROW in the tourney, but American cancer-survivor (and
winner of the three previous Tours) is favored to make it four this
year. He won the first stage, and they haven't even hit the
mountains, where he is nearly unbeatable. I believe he stands in
third or fourth place overall at the moment. Man, the Europeans HATE
it when they get beat by a Yank, especially at an event that they
consider "theirs." The man is superhuman, and one of my personal
heroes. Updates to follow, if anyone other than myself cares about a
bunch of guys riding bikes over 2000 miles in 21 days (two of which
are "rest" days). And they call baseball players "athletes." 😉
Tim
The Dark Squire

I follow the tour - what an event, the biggest number of spectators for
any single sporting event - but these cyclists are freaks - Migual
Inderain - probably the greatest ever cyclist used to look fat because
his lungs came well beneath his rib cage - his rest heart beat was
about 30 bpm - FREAKY.

BUt hell they are fit - it is just a shame that the tour is associated with
drugs over the last few years - nandolone and all the others but even
still 2000 miles averaging about 35 mph (which includes the
pyrennese and alps stage s (where my man pantani has been the
hero over virenque over the last few years).

And just to keep Julia and Gilbert happy - Eddie Merxx (from Belgium)
was also a contender for greatest ever but I think indurain edged him
out overall.

nope, Si. Eddy is by far the best ever, and that's an understatement (and this one too). Indurain didn't win a lot of one-day races. Eddy
did it all.

and he sure looks fat now.

aah, who cares, lol.

sin.

Its the old ... I saw Indurain when I was growing up therefore must be
the best scenario from me .... Merxx is more your era . We will have
to agree to disagree on this one I think.

Indurain was just unflappable at his best - if he had to win a stage in
the Alps he would do it just to demoralise / and elimate on time the
entire peleton if needs be.

Lets just say Indurain and Merxx are two of the best of all time ...
ever.

as a negotiator I am dissapointed you come to a compromise that fast, Si.

but ok.

lets agree ... to disagree

Sin

well I can list a whole heap of stats if you want and then babble on
about how cycling is more competative in this day and age and that
because of the most hectic season these modern day cyclist have to
compete more frequently at a higher standard blah blah blah but I
wont.

just like i wont reply

Gilbert, I have to side with you on this one. Indurain may have been
unflappable, and there is no denying his greatness-- but Eddy had a
desire to not just win, but to destroy his opponents. In my opinion,
he is the greatest rider ever. If he and Lance were contemporaries,
could Lance beat him? I tend to doubt it. But oh, how I would love to
see that race....
Tim
The Dark Squire

Lance is truly running a smart race this year. Last year Lance was
about 35 min behind in the early stages and really had to work in the
mountain stages to catch up. But now, trailing by only seconds and
the team placing 2nd in the team trial... should be his to lose. Still
very early and anything can happen.

The 2 additions to USPS have really helped. If they can keep
improving the team year after year, Lance could win more.

Shame about the drugs - but it seems to becoming more common as
the level of competition becomes more intense. What was Ullrich
thinking? ecstasy He has expressed frustration at not being able to
beat Lance and with his knee problems - a shame.

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