Eddy Merckx

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: Blieb
Does he have 6 TDF victories?

NO!

EOS!!!

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: PanzerIV
Fausto, so what kind of training regiment does a guy like Armstrong have to endure? It has to take tremendous dedication and hours upon hours of cycling everyday but in addition to that what do they do?

Basically, guys like Lance live, sleep, eat, and breathe cycling. He'll take a few weeks of chill time each season, but aside from that he and any other pro worth his salt has training and recovery as their #1 priority at all times. I read recently that Tyler's wife is the only one who walks their dog so he can save his legs. I also know that Lance weighs his food to the gram in the leadup to the Tour to make sure he's at fighting weight by the time the race starts. This is part of the reason an amateur racer like me will never reach his level; I just can't devote that kind of time to riding much less all the other stuff.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: PanzerIV
Fausto, so what kind of training regiment does a guy like Armstrong have to endure? It has to take tremendous dedication and hours upon hours of cycling everyday but in addition to that what do they do?

Basically, guys like Lance live, sleep, eat, and breathe cycling. He'll take a few weeks of chill time each season, but aside from that he and any other pro worth his salt has training and recovery as their #1 priority at all times. I read recently that Tyler's wife is the only one who walks their dog so he can save his legs. I also know that Lance weighs his food to the gram in the leadup to the Tour to make sure he's at fighting weight by the time the race starts. This is part of the reason an amateur racer like me will never reach his level; I just can't devote that kind of time to riding much less all the other stuff.

That sounds like Lance is a bit of a nutcase - measuring food to the gram. While it's simple to measure the food to the gram, calculating the bodies needs to the gram is impossible. (if you're calculating the body's dietary needs to the gram, then you're saying you can predict to within 3 calories how many calories your body needs during the next day, including how many to store.

Anyway, for those who don't recognize the difference between the accomplishments of Lance vs those of Merckx,
1. I think someone already mentioned Merckx WOULD have won 6, had it not been for an interfering spectator.

2. Imagine the NFL playing 3 games a week. Lance is on a schedule where his season is a few weeks long. Merckx was on a schedule where his season was year-round.

Look at how much weight the riders lose during the TDF - Lance has a full year to recover. And, that's not stored fat that they're burning up.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Lance is better. They should just rename it the Tour de Lance.

 

[DrPizza]

Oh, and Fausto... I'm getting ready to head into the amateur racing. I'm glad to see that 30's are still among the prime years for cycling. 🙂 I got knocked out of the sport after I had kids and one of them decided to see how long of a skid mark he could leave - right in front of me. So that I didn't kill him running him over, I had a bad dump, taking out part of his bike, as well as ruining both rims, front forks, and a deraileur. I couldn't afford at the time to get the repairs and replacement parts for my bike, so I let it sit in the garage. I have a new bike now, and am back into it.

 

[Ferocious]

1 Eddy Merckx
2 Bernard Hinault
3 Lance Armstrong
4 Miguel Indurain
5 Jacques Anquetil

The top five best ever according to this sports article published yesterday.

click

 

[dr150]

There's virtually no athlete that can pull off what Armstrong did when taking into account that he came back from severe cancer illness.

To me, he is the real "Rocky." There is no other athlete that inspires such dedication and inspiration.

 

[freegeeks]

an Eddy Merckx thread!!!!

I almost got a heart attack when I saw this thread 😉

there is no real contest, Eddy Merckx was not only the greatest cyclist ever but I dare to say he was one of the greatest athletes ever.

The man was just a monster. A pro-cyclist has a successfull career when he wins 1 classic race, the cannibal won almost 30 classic one day races (if not more, I didn't count them), 5 Tdf and the list just goes on and on.

Lance and Eddy are also very good friends. Eddy was on Belgian television yesterday and he said whenever Lance is in Belgium he stays at Eddy's house.

I really recommend to watch one of the classic races if you have a chance (Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold, Milan - SR). I don't know if they show them on North-American networks but these races are really spectacular. I really want to see the nowadays Lance in the Tour or Flanders and/or Paris-Roubaix. That would be interesting 😀

Pro-cycling is so much more then the TdF.

 

[LS20]

Originally posted by: dr150
There's virtually no athlete that can pull off what Armstrong did when taking into account that he came back from severe cancer illness.

To me, he is the real "Rocky." There is no other athlete that inspires such dedication and inspiration.

actually, there was this guy named greg lemond. and he had won a tour de france. the next year, he was shot by a shotgun blast. the pellets were lodged in his intestine and liver...among other places. he lost almost ALL of his blood supply bbefore he made it to the hospital. most of the shotgun pellets were still lodged in his body because of complications, difficulties, and dangers associated with attempts to remove them... oh, and then he came back and won the Tour again... twice

 

[sygyzy]

Greg Lemond LS20? Cmon, dr150 just said that "no athlete" could do what Lance did!

 

[KevinH]

Seems obvious in this thread the fellas who actually know something about cycling and the ones who see a two minute snippet about it on their local sports newscast.