July 29, 2002

12:59 PM

Armstrong Among Best Ever.Mike Celizic at MSNBC states his case for Lance, counteracting an earlier Ron Borges column questioning if Lance was an athlete at all. I'd like to think Mike went into Ron's office and maybe cuffed him once or twice... Score one for the cyclists (earlier discussion here).
posted by jalexei (13 comments total)

How the hell can anyone even question if Lance Armstrong is an athlete, cycling fan or no?

The mind boggles.
posted by xmutex at 1:16 PM on July 29, 2002

I can't remember where I read it today, but on some blog or other someone wondered whether the author of the idiotic piece had his wife leave him for a cyclist or something... ya gotta wonder sometimes.

I haven't been into town since Lance won, but I imagine on Wednesday when I go I'll see plenty of "Vive Le Lance" and "Congrats Lance!" signs on local restaurants and such.
posted by beth at 1:19 PM on July 29, 2002

Athleticism is "characterized by or involving physical activity or exertion". Cycling falls under that definition -- easily.

It's difficult for me to see how someone can really judge "how athletic" a physical activity it is, especially with something requiring such high endurance and strength like long distance cycling.
posted by puffin at 1:33 PM on July 29, 2002

Oh and this some days ago. Not exactly a retraction, but a step in the right direction.
posted by daver at 1:33 PM on July 29, 2002

Thanks daver, I'd missed that one.
posted by jalexei at 1:39 PM on July 29, 2002

Armstrong is certainly a great winner of that particular race. To be recognised as a genuine great, like Indurain or Merckx, or Hinault, he may have to win a giro or a couple of the one day classics.
posted by Fat Buddha at 1:41 PM on July 29, 2002

so Lance is less of an "athlete" than say, an overweight baseball player who juices? the guy cycles over 2000 miles in 3 weeks and this douchebag... yeah his wife definitely left his fat ass for a cyclist.
posted by aLienated at 1:41 PM on July 29, 2002

Greg Lemond [flash] once said that the Tour is so long and so difficult, and the riders suffer so much, that it is impossible to win without deserving to win. I always thought that was what was so powerful and unique about the Tour.

Also, aside from the physical demands of cycling, the other half is mental (pace, Yogi). The mental toughness of these riders is incredible, and it's his will that Lance (like Merckx) even more great. I'll bet he wins six.
posted by phmk at 1:57 PM on July 29, 2002

Would the strongest women in the world be an athlete?

What I want to know is how tall is Lance? One thing that struck me watching the Tour was that he looked very different from his competition. He looked compact with much straighter back while the other riders looked taller and rode more hunched over.
posted by srboisvert at 2:11 PM on July 29, 2002

If Armstrong is a great athlete, so are marathon runners.

<horse>
My word, Ron. Winning any "purported" sport is physically challenging and even more so, mentally taxing. Marathoning is amazingly intense as is cycling. I remember when Bob Kempainen upchucked during the last two miles of the '96 Olympic Trials and won. Tell me that isn't moxie. Both take unreal physical and mental feats to master—unlike reading the article.
</horse>
posted by pedantic at 2:14 PM on July 29, 2002

Lance is 5'10": maybe most of his height is in his legs?
posted by maudlin at 7:10 PM on July 29, 2002

Cyclists are almost always fairly small. I think LA is actually relatively large for his sport.
posted by ParisParamus at 8:35 PM on July 29, 2002

It's not his height that would change his appearance (straight/hunched) on his bike, it's the way he has the bike set up.

And I remember reading an interview with Lance where he attributed at least some of his post-cancer success to the chemo-induced weight loss. He said he'd been told by other cyclists that he was too heavy to be as successful as he could be, but he didn't debulk himself (it was muscle, not fat, that he needed to get rid of) until the "chemo diet" did it for him. He's stayed lighter since.
posted by biscotti at 8:49 AM on July 30, 2002