Regacy
22 July 2004, 20:57
I've read the books, I'm a keen cyclist and he is a truly inspiring man.
I trust he is drug free.
I'm off to Paris on Sunday to see him cross the line and then back to Blighty to see mr Ladbrokes to collect my winnings.
Just read this report on today’s stage win, thought I'd share.......
Kings Of The Mountains
Moments after Lance Armstrong claimed his fourth successive mountain stage win in the 2004 Tour de France he echoed the sentiment offered to him on the podium by Bernard Hinault. “Perfect! No gifts.” That’s what one of the five five-time Tour champions told the rider who is about to win a sixth title. The Texan had been asked if thought he deserved to inherit the moniker of ‘The Cannibal’, the nickname given to Eddy Merckx who had an insatiable appetite for victories. And Lance was quick to respond, “No.” But that doesn’t mean he’s prepared to offer any other riders the chance to win a stage that’s within his reach.
“I’ve given gifts in the Tour de France and very rarely has it ever come back to help me. This is the biggest bike race in the world,” said Armstrong. “And I want to win. No gifts.” One rider, however, was given the go-ahead to try as hard as he could to win the stage. Floyd Landis is the master’s apprentice. And today The Boss – as Armstrong has become known over the past five years – wanted the 28-year-old to enjoy the sweet taste of success at the Tour. Even if Floyd was able to achieve that, it could not have been called a gift.
Since joining the US Postal team at the start of 2002 Landis has demonstrated that he’s a capable team player. He’s usually strong on the early sections of the high mountains and is then content to get to the finish as best he can. His job description isn’t to be in front at the top of vicious climbs like the Col de la Forclaz or the Col de la Croix-Fry – the two which were tackled by the peloton in the final 50km of stage 17 – but that’s where Floyd was. As he led an elite group of five over the final summit, Armstrong turned to Landis and asked, “How bad do you want to win a stage of the Tour de France?
“Real bad,” came Floyd’s reply.
“How fast can you go down a hill?
“Real fast!
“So,” concluded Armstrong, “run like you stole something!
Landis didn’t need any more prompting. Like a bullet out of a gun he was gone. Real fast was no exaggeration. But, alas poor Floyd, he’s not the only one who had the nerves and the energy to ride that way. On a day that concluded with a 13 kilometer descent Jan Ullrich was another man who doesn’t believe that there’s any place for gifts in the Tour. The German was part of the five man crew that crested the Croix-Fry climb ahead of a peloton that had been shredded from the first of the five mountains in the 204.5km stage.
Floyd had never stolen anything. And in the end it was Ullrich’s compatriot and team-mate, Andreas Kloden, who did attempt to pinch the victory. Sprinting ahead of Armstrong, Landis, Ullrich and Ivan Basso in the final kilometer the German champion held a solid lead with 100m to go. But Lance chased down that bullet and, with a matter of meters remaining, shot past Kloden to win a fine sprint.
Stage 14 might not have finished at the top of a climb, but it was certainly a tough day in the mountains. Armstrong’s might have beaten Kloden may have been in a sprint but the victory set up on the cols of the Savoie. These factors are important to recognize because it means that Lance Armstrong has become the first rider in the history of the Tour to win four successive mountain stages. The Cannibal is a title he may deserve, but he can’t take that from Merckx. Anyway, The Boss suits Armstrong. He dictates terms in the race he loves and the rest the peloton can sort out the minor prizes between them.
Richard Virenque did just that in the 2004 race. He began the event with the hopes of becoming the only rider to win seven King of the Mountains titles. The campaign was put into overdrive on Bastille Day and it ended today when he attained enough points in the climbing classification for him to be unbeatable. Richard has 226 points; Lance 168 and even if the rider in the yellow jersey wanted to emulate Merckx’s achievements from 1970 and claim the polka-dot jersey as well, he no longer can. There’s just aren’t enough mountains left in the race.
There is, however, enough road ahead that an unpredictable event could see Lance lose some of the four minute nine second advantage he has over Basso in the general classification. And for that reason, the celebrations haven’t yet truly begun. There is one more road stage for the rouleurs to try their luck, a time trial that Armstrong surely won’t give away easily and the procession to Paris on Sunday. The sprinters will determine the green classification that day, but right now it’s time to salute the King of the Mountains.
I trust he is drug free.
I'm off to Paris on Sunday to see him cross the line and then back to Blighty to see mr Ladbrokes to collect my winnings.
Just read this report on today’s stage win, thought I'd share.......
Kings Of The Mountains
Moments after Lance Armstrong claimed his fourth successive mountain stage win in the 2004 Tour de France he echoed the sentiment offered to him on the podium by Bernard Hinault. “Perfect! No gifts.” That’s what one of the five five-time Tour champions told the rider who is about to win a sixth title. The Texan had been asked if thought he deserved to inherit the moniker of ‘The Cannibal’, the nickname given to Eddy Merckx who had an insatiable appetite for victories. And Lance was quick to respond, “No.” But that doesn’t mean he’s prepared to offer any other riders the chance to win a stage that’s within his reach.
“I’ve given gifts in the Tour de France and very rarely has it ever come back to help me. This is the biggest bike race in the world,” said Armstrong. “And I want to win. No gifts.” One rider, however, was given the go-ahead to try as hard as he could to win the stage. Floyd Landis is the master’s apprentice. And today The Boss – as Armstrong has become known over the past five years – wanted the 28-year-old to enjoy the sweet taste of success at the Tour. Even if Floyd was able to achieve that, it could not have been called a gift.
Since joining the US Postal team at the start of 2002 Landis has demonstrated that he’s a capable team player. He’s usually strong on the early sections of the high mountains and is then content to get to the finish as best he can. His job description isn’t to be in front at the top of vicious climbs like the Col de la Forclaz or the Col de la Croix-Fry – the two which were tackled by the peloton in the final 50km of stage 17 – but that’s where Floyd was. As he led an elite group of five over the final summit, Armstrong turned to Landis and asked, “How bad do you want to win a stage of the Tour de France?
“Real bad,” came Floyd’s reply.
“How fast can you go down a hill?
“Real fast!
“So,” concluded Armstrong, “run like you stole something!
Landis didn’t need any more prompting. Like a bullet out of a gun he was gone. Real fast was no exaggeration. But, alas poor Floyd, he’s not the only one who had the nerves and the energy to ride that way. On a day that concluded with a 13 kilometer descent Jan Ullrich was another man who doesn’t believe that there’s any place for gifts in the Tour. The German was part of the five man crew that crested the Croix-Fry climb ahead of a peloton that had been shredded from the first of the five mountains in the 204.5km stage.
Floyd had never stolen anything. And in the end it was Ullrich’s compatriot and team-mate, Andreas Kloden, who did attempt to pinch the victory. Sprinting ahead of Armstrong, Landis, Ullrich and Ivan Basso in the final kilometer the German champion held a solid lead with 100m to go. But Lance chased down that bullet and, with a matter of meters remaining, shot past Kloden to win a fine sprint.
Stage 14 might not have finished at the top of a climb, but it was certainly a tough day in the mountains. Armstrong’s might have beaten Kloden may have been in a sprint but the victory set up on the cols of the Savoie. These factors are important to recognize because it means that Lance Armstrong has become the first rider in the history of the Tour to win four successive mountain stages. The Cannibal is a title he may deserve, but he can’t take that from Merckx. Anyway, The Boss suits Armstrong. He dictates terms in the race he loves and the rest the peloton can sort out the minor prizes between them.
Richard Virenque did just that in the 2004 race. He began the event with the hopes of becoming the only rider to win seven King of the Mountains titles. The campaign was put into overdrive on Bastille Day and it ended today when he attained enough points in the climbing classification for him to be unbeatable. Richard has 226 points; Lance 168 and even if the rider in the yellow jersey wanted to emulate Merckx’s achievements from 1970 and claim the polka-dot jersey as well, he no longer can. There’s just aren’t enough mountains left in the race.
There is, however, enough road ahead that an unpredictable event could see Lance lose some of the four minute nine second advantage he has over Basso in the general classification. And for that reason, the celebrations haven’t yet truly begun. There is one more road stage for the rouleurs to try their luck, a time trial that Armstrong surely won’t give away easily and the procession to Paris on Sunday. The sprinters will determine the green classification that day, but right now it’s time to salute the King of the Mountains.