Lance Armstrong

[rcon]

i think hes full of sh*t

I wouldn't - gels with everything friends who've studied sports science (albeit 10 years ago) have had to say about cycling.

[Bacon]

He obviously had a pre-conceived idea that drug taking was the norm.

Whether he got that from fellow cyclers, or from the actual team he was joining, or if it was a media beat up in his head, it is not known.

If his team was telling him he needed to take the drugs, and he declined, well fair enough.

Might have to see if my mum still knows the Dajka family.

[Scotty]

i think hes full of sh*t

I wouldn't - gels with everything friends who've studied sports science (albeit 10 years ago) have had to say about cycling.

I agree - i don't need empirical evidence to buy into this theory.

[Des]

Might have to see if my mum still knows the Dajka family.

I do, and I wouldn't bother.

Jobie doesnt ride much now, and he was a track cyclist, not road. Very talented boy too, just made bad decisions. Think he's in melbourne now.

[bennymacca]

Whether he got that from fellow cyclers, or from the actual team he was joining, or if it was a media beat up in his head, it is not known.

i think its a little more than a media beatup in his head - my impression is that he had raced as a professional a number of times, but not at the very highest level, and that the contract i am speaking of was top flight.

i thought it was very interesting though, and i think i probably believe him


debate away

[David]

Looking forward to seeing the TDU. I wasn't really into cycling at all until last year when the TDF was on. I had a fair obit of spare time on my hands around then, and spent most of it at a mates place to loves cycling. Before long I'd worked out how it all runs, the tactics, how you win, or don't win .. etc.

The TDF is amazing to watch, too - the screnery is amazing. The commentators (Phil, etc) are great and add so much.

I wouldn't really "watch" cycling live I don't think, but to those that do it's more a passion for the event than watching action.

I don't really understand watching car racing live, either. It's 4 seconds as well, over and over again.

[Bob B]

Pete he has actually admitted to taking the banned drug EPO but that was during his cancer battle where his red blood cells were so low he needed it to keep him alive

the main reason why he is so good is he has one of the highest ever V02 Max levels ever recorded which is a measure of how efficiently oxygen is delivered to muscles, his recording is 85 militres, the maximum for a normal person is 60, this means he is able to recover a lot quicker then other riders and also perform at his peak for longer

his book is really amazing

Hi again Steve, it is Steve, yes?? I know you have read his book but was it red or white blood cells that were low?????? I know when Donna was having kemo it was the white cells that get knocked around.

She started taking vitamin "C" and ACE tablets on the advise of our Chinese Chemist to keep the white cell count high. So, over the 12 weeks of kemo and radiation, her white cells came back nicely each time.

They have done some tests recently in the States and say that the vitamin "C" etc, doesn't have any bearing on the Kemo. I find that so hard to accept especially when the medical staff seen how she was responding they advised their other patients who were having low white cell counts to start taking them.

But I do believe the guy is really a legend in his own rights just like my Donna.

[BigPete33]

Could be completely and utterly wrong here, but red blood cells carry oxygen?

Was listening to a fair bit of the commentary for the most recent TDF and Phil made it fairly clear that a lot of pro cyclists are pretty pissed off that it's just assumed they *all* are drug cheats.

I have zero problems believing it's rampant, but I'm not against also believing there is actually a concerted effort to try and get rid of that sort of thing. As to if that is working or not, that's a different debate.

Let's have a look at our very own Cadel Evans. I think he's done pretty well. At the moment there's nothing to suggest he's a drug cheat (other than he's a pro cyclist) so I'm happy to cheer him on, or at least wish him well.

Should he turn out to be a drug cheat though, I'll rate him below little ley ley.

[queen9]

If you are not a reader, but interested enough to learn more about such a great competitor and athlete - perhaps you could wait for ........'Lance Arrnstrong, the musical' ... lol ...

Having said that, if they can do this about shane warne ... anything is possible about lance armstrong .. such a clean, honest and determined competitor .... he deserves a movie deal... then we could all watch it.

[maccatak11]

Yes Red blood cells are the things that carry oxygen.

Cant remember who said it, but VO2 Max isnt about recovering quicker, its about transporting and utilising oxygen by skeltal muscles. Obviously the amount of red blood cells (hematocrit) that you have increases this (which is what EPO does) but things like arterio-venous oxygen difference, which can be trained are also important.

Lance does have a high VO2 Max (as you said about 85 ml/per kilo/ per minute) but a lot of peofessional cyclists would be in this range, and VO2 max alone wont win you a tour-de-france.

The highest VO2 maxes measured in athletes occur in cross country skiiers (because they use more muscle groups - arms and legs - as opposed to cyclists and marathon runners who who legs predominantly).

Incidently, the highest VO2 max recorder has actually been in a non-athlete. this guy was actually a shearer.