Lance Armstrong... greatest doper there was or ever will be

I'm a good climber by anyone's standard and insanely good for my size... We might be few and far between, but it's a complete myth that "normal" size guys per definition can't climb.
i wouldn"t say its a myth, climbers are usually light & wiry. If weight didn"t matter, Wiggins wouldn"t of talked about how losing the extra weight greatly helped his climbing in the Tour.

I'm a good climber by anyone's standard and insanely good for my size...

...and so modest, too.

"I wouldn"t say its a myth, climbers are usually light & wiry. If weight didn"t matter, Wiggins wouldn"t of talked about how losing the extra weight greatly helped his climbing in the Tour."

Of course weight matters. It matters a lot. Merely saying that some 80kg+ riders can in fact climb.

Maybe I'm wrong, but there wasn't many 80 kg top climbers before the 90s. I see Indurain as the beginning of a change for the body type vs performance relationship, which could be explained by oxygenation enhancing drugs that allowed to irrigate a lot more muscle.

Watched the first half - was very impressed with how candid LA was being throughout the interview. Going to watch the second half in a bit.

Watched the first half - was very impressed with how candid LA was being throughout the interview. Going to watch the second half in a bit.

You're not fussy, are you? :)

If you define "good climber" as demonstrated multiple Tour de France winner, I suppose you have a point. Personally I set the bar slightly lower.

Watched the first half - was very impressed with how candid LA was being throughout the interview. Going to watch the second half in a bit.

Yeah, he's a very honest person isn't he. What a champ.

Watched the first half - was very impressed with how candid LA was being throughout the interview. Going to watch the second half in a bit.

Ah, we've found the audience Lance was hoping to reach.

Picture earlier...

Clearly he has had some deep personal realisation - and has decided to come clean. You can't take that away from him.

Well I could... Not sure I can be bothered though.

Clearly he has had some shallow commercial realisation - and has decided to come partly clean. You can't take that away from him.

True

Maybe I'm wrong, but there wasn't many 80 kg climbers before the 90s. I see Indurain as the beginning of a change for the body type vs performance relationship, which could be explained by oxygenation enhancing drugs that allowed to irrigate a lot more muscle.

I guess it all depends on what you mean by 'climber'. Most people would have defined a climber as being able to produce an explosive acceleration going up hill, creating a gap, and then holding it, and then being able to go again & again as the chasers come back up, with the intent of forcing the pursuers into the red, and provoking a collapse.

Indurain's style was not to attack in the hills (although he did drop LeMond to win a stage in '90, but right at the end of the stage), as he normally had minutes in hand on the climbers by the time the race go to the mountains, but to wait for the attack and then reel them back in by riding a strong tempo, normally with the help of guys like Delgado, J-F Bernard etc, which fits with the feat of oxygen transport that you describe.

He almost always limited the atttacker's gains to a manageable loss in terms, but would often leave the attacker out front, enabling them to win the stage, or accumulate enough KoM points to put them in the jersey, thus leaving the rider with a substantial scrap from his table. This strategy (of allowing other riders & teams to share in the spoils, if they weren't a direct threat on overall) enabled him to muster a successful chase behind Once on the infamous stage to Mende in 94, when he was several minutes down, and without any team-mates.

or he could do it himself

http://www.lfgss.com/misc.php?do=whoposted&t=691

I made those posts 'panicerveza' and I'll sue the fuck out of anyone who says otherwise.

I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. But this is one hell of a forum. This is a great thread and you should stand around and believe it. You should believe in this admin, and you should believe in these posts. I'll be a fan of LFGSS for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard quoting event and hard work wins it.

Clearly he has had some deep personal realisation - and has decided to come clean. You can't take that away from him.

Are there really no other explanations that come to mind?

This arrogant, bullying cowardly shyster has suddenly decided to do the 'right thing' after 40 years of being an arsehole?

And the fact that he's been dropped by his sponsors, widely vilified and is now banned from the City boy sport he wants to compete in has no bearing on his 'contrition'?

Naive isn't the right word...troll?

I made those posts 'panicerveza' and I'll sue the fuck out of anyone who says otherwise.

Liar. I have an eye-witness report that you were snorting tequila, and I also heard that someone heard you say that you were 'made up'.

Are there really no other explanations that come to mind?

This arrogant, bullying cowardly shyster has suddenly decided to do the 'right thing' after 40 years of being an arsehole?

And the fact that he's been dropped by his sponsors, widely vilified and is now banned from the City boy sport he wants to compete in has no bearing on his 'contrition'?

Naive isn't the right word...troll?

I wasn't trolling - but the words sounded more sarcastic in my head.

There is no doubt in my mind he still isn't telling us the whole truth. But what I was getting at in my earlier post was that to outsiders and people that have not been following this for years, is that he does come over as being very 'candid'.

I still haven't watched the second half, but to be honest all I wanted to see was the admission and that came very quickly. I thought there would have been a build up to those questions, but Oprah started straight off with those. But it will be interesting to see if there is any fallout from admitting that he lied in the deposition clips they showed.

I'm currently can't decide if I'm amused or annoyed by BBC news continually calling him the seven-times winner of the TdF. Eg "the second half of Opera Winfrey's interview with the seven times winner of the Tour de France will be broadcast tonight"

Indurain's style was not to attack in the hills (although he did drop LeMond to win a stage in '90, but right at the end of the stage), as he normally had minutes in hand on the climbers by the time the race go to the mountains, but to wait for the attack and then reel them back in by riding a strong tempo, normally with the help of guys like Delgado, J-F Bernard etc, which fits with the feat of oxygen transport that you describe.

Wiggo's method too. Just keep to the plan; keep to the tempo, reel them in. Of course he also lost a shitload of weight.

Wiggo's method too. Just keep to the plan; keep to the tempo, reel them in. Of course he also lost a shitload of weight.
bollocks, as a huge Rob Millar fan, i"ve watched the highlights many times from 93 Tour, stage to isola 2000. Millar is finally caught, then dropped. He then comes back, accelrates at speed. They reel him back in, Rominger & Indurian then put the afterburners on, 2 or 3 times! That aint a diesel, thats a juiced rig..

This is a good read;

http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/jurisprudence/2013/01/lance_armstrong_confession_he_s_a_cheater_and_a_bully_but_letting_the_champ.html

^^ oh, I wasn't saying Big Mig wasn't doped. just agreeing with Bill about the different way he approached the climbs.

Will he really show USADA where the graves are just to compete in some proxy triathlons?