04/18/24
May 19, 2010
Lance Armstrong: 'I Have Doubts': Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, in the second year of his attempted comeback and 38 years old, is losing his mojo. "I am a rider that a lot of times hasn't had a lot of doubts," he said. "And sometimes, there are days I have doubts, to be honest."
The president he used to trail ride with is no longer in office.
Sometimes it's enjoyable to wear comfortable, loose fitting clothing that is sold in subtle, understated colors.
The beer that is forbidden during training tastes too good to go without for the balance of one's years of peak vigor.
Dates would not likely respond to an eight time Tour winner compared to a seven time winner to a heightened degree that would make an appreciable difference on a practical basis.
posted by beaverboard at 09:04 AM on May 19, 2010
Whatever you think about Armstrong, he's sufficiently mindful of the modern history of cycling to know that there's very little dignity for a champion in the peloton whose legs have gone. The greats know when it's time to get off the bike. He doesn't need to keep riding for the money, and he's already extended his career through a selectivity towards racing that Merckx or Hinault never enjoyed.
Bruyneel hinted at the start of the season that Armstrong would race more of the spring classics than at any time since his return from cancer, and that sounded like a farewell tour; in the end, he took part in the Tour of Flanders, getting some pav kms in ahead of the TdF's cobbled stage, but scratched the others, and he's still never raced Paris-Roubaix. So he knows that there's always going to be an asterisk next to his name (and Indurain's) in the record books: not for the doping allegations, but for stepping away from the racing calendar to focus on the TdF.
posted by etagloh at 12:01 AM on May 20, 2010
There's very few racers still competing at the highest level at Lance's age. I know from experience as a 51 year old masters racer that it takes longer to recover from hard races as you get older. It's amazing Lance can still compete with the best, but I think he's staring Father Time in the face and realizing the end is coming.