tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643275154489673929.post6367855403363114732..comments2024-02-23T02:44:26.484-05:00Comments on Miles to the Trials: Science Friday: Inspired by Lance ArmstrongRustyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16634471772166239315noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643275154489673929.post-44302672033697210932012-06-21T10:53:43.768-04:002012-06-21T10:53:43.768-04:00I share your mixed feelings about Lance.
I have s...I share your mixed feelings about Lance.<br /><br />I have slowly/reluctantly drifted more toward the view that he must have doped in some way. There are too many rumors, especially coming from folks who worked on his team (and in one case a wife of a teammate) and they just won't go away. If true (and if we'll ever know for sure), it is a sad twist on what is otherwise an amazing story -- a man coming back from cancer to win what may be the toughest contest in sport seven times! <br /><br />Indirect evidence came up last year, during the Tour de France when the New York Times published a report comparing/analyzing the mountain climbing times of the 2011 cyclists -- most/all of which were much slower than they'd been over the last 15 years or so. The author argued it was a sign the Tour was a cleaner race in 2011 -- otherwise, what was holding the racers back? The comparison also suggested that many/most of the riders were doping during the last 15 or more years. The whole pack of 2011 was slower vs. the packs of previous years, if I remember the details correctly. <br /><br />So, if we can muster any sympathy for Lance as a doper, we can consider what might have been his choice when he returned to the Tour after the cancer bout: Use chemistry/EPO/whatever to stick with the peloton, or try to beat them w/o it? If he did the latter, his achievement is even more of the charts, as we know that several of his rivals have been proven to be dopers. Was he beating them by matching their doping behavior and out-biking them, or was he so much better he could defeat them clean while they were dirty? <br /><br />His story has always been borderline incredible, but maybe the "I am clean and I beat all the dirty guys" is just plain incredible.Nacote Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14363110941285311000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643275154489673929.post-61125804193881135152012-06-16T06:03:07.950-04:002012-06-16T06:03:07.950-04:00brush up on my doping knowledge. You are a specta...brush up on my doping knowledge. You are a spectacular athlete AND writer.GotMyTShirtnoreply@blogger.com