Photographs trigger memories and emotions within the human psyche that last a very long time, and remind us of where we were, what we were doing, and how we felt at any given moment of our lives. The above image, although still fresh in the time/space continuum, nonetheless brings back happy times for myself.
It reminds me of Australia, of my friends, as we watched the late-night telecast of Stage 8. It reminds me of the banter between us, with one member of the viewing audience vehemently trying to defend the merits of Armstrong’s challenge for an eighth win. He was systematically taken apart with vigour, backed up by the performance unfolding on the road before us.
Astana was on the front of the peloton, with Tiralongo driving a frantic pace as they hit the base of the climb to Avoriaz. There was a dark figure sitting on his wheel, with a look on his face that said he was already well into the red, but knew that soon his time would come to up the intensity a notch further and put the other teams a little bit deeper into the box of hurt. I wasn’t sure who he was, but he was soon to be a new hero when he buried himself for kilometre after kilometre in service of his team leader. Daniel Navarro was a stud that day, and for the days to follow.
The heat of the day was intense, and I commented on how the riders must just be about cooking themselves, with whatever enhancements were flowing through their veins adding to the risk of their blood boiling and their hearts exploding out of their chest cavities. I was excited beyond belief; it was top-fueled racing, almost like the old days. But this time, it was Armstrong who was feeling the brunt of a dominant team working against him. I was almost screaming at the tv as he struggled to keep the furious pace being dished out at the front. “Go on, bend him over and fuck him, like he’d do to you!” is a pretty close approximation of the words I used. Did I mention I was excited?
When Pharmy crashed the first time, he was done. He chased back on with all his old vigour, but you could see that the effort had taken its toll on his aging legs, and when Astana turned up the heat again, his Tour glory days were fading rapidly in the rear-view mirror. By the time the above scene took place, he was a well-broken man, a shadow of his former self, an empty shell going through the motions, taking his team mates down with him as he threw in the towel like he’d never even contemplated before.
I wonder if, as he stood there in the middle of the road, without any urgency or desire to get back on the bike, that his famous words were swilling inside his head; “Pain is temporary, quitting is forever”.
Adios, Huevo.
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@cwself
I don't think you will find very many Velominati deny the fact that Phamstrong had dominated the TDF for those seven years.
Rather, it is his persona both on and off the bike that bring out the crickets when you might expect applause. Other than a few noteworthy exceptions, he was simply a machine, w/o style or elan. His treatment and revenge directed at other riders was not sporting.
Hell, even I have defended his comeback in this post. I also gained perverse pleasure during his reign. I liked seeing the ire of the French as an American took position of their most coveted sporting prize seven times. Thus my appreciation for his comeback. He was doomed to failure which in my mind finally made him the tragic figure during the last two tours and thus finally someone to relate to.
@cwself
Welcome mate.
Ok, I am getting good at repeating myself on this subject. Marko and Pakrat have given you great reasons as to why COTHO is such, but the one that really needs to be reinforced is this; He would never, ever, EVER have won one Tour, let alone 7, if he hadn't got cancer. His comeback was the perfect shield to load up on bigger and better doping programs than more naturally talented stage racers like Ullrich. I think he even is arrogant enough to have said at the time, "fuck it, I could die anyway, why not risk it all and if I win the race even once, I will be remembered as a hero."
Anyone who believes that LA was a naturally talented STAGE RACE rider and would've been a contender without his 'miracle' comeback methods, obviously has little knowledge or understanding of his talents and standing among the Pro peloton, and needs to stop being duped by his bullshit.
Reading 'From Lance to Landis' is a good place to start if you need a better perspective.
Cheers, and keep the posts coming!
@Brett
@Marko
@cwself
My two cents on COTHO (which I believe is more of a funny nickname than his true C-rating. Pat McQuaid and Dick Pound get higher ratings to my mind):
I think the worst thing you can presume about COTHO is that he was doped to the gills "just like the others". Not sure it is fair to say that he had "better" doping methods than Ullrich et al (although the fact that he hasn't been done yet would make the methods better on that score). Who is to say that Armstrong only started a GC doping program properly on his comeback and that Ulle had been juicing since day one. So I believe the only thing you can presume about him was that he was doped like all the others? We don't know. In fairness to him, he was the best of that era.
And I don't believe his racing tactics can be criticised. He raced to win and used the right tactics to win given his and his team's strength. Can't knock a bloke for that. He was no less exciting than Indurain, probably more so.
All that aside - and I am an unashamed fan of his riding - Lance will always be a COTHO because of his bullying of riders, not as part of racing, but outside of that. To give an example, looking back I believe what he to Simeoni was inexcusable. Making a public humiliation and persecution of a lowly rider for "spitting in the soup" gives him lifetime COTHO status in my book.
He was juiced pre-cancer too, and wasn't a GC rider. Couldn't climb, couldn't TT. Could ride a one-day race pretty well though...
As a committed member of this community, the last thing I want to have happen is LA debates ad nauseum. Go to the forums at Roadbike Review if you want that. With that said, when Novitsky and the Feds are done there's gonna be a lot of peeps eating crow.
We here at Velominati aspire to a higher aesthete.
@Marcus
Really well said. Were I in his shoes, I would have raced the same way: formulaic and with nothing left to chance. It's a brilliant way to ride. The problem is, for us fans, it sucks ass because it's formulaic and nothing is left to chance. And - as a fan - I feel well within my rights to dislike his style. I also didn't enjoy watching Indurain race. Another boring racer. Same with Cav's sprints (when he's on).
But please don't confuse that with not having respect for the feats. It's impressive stuff.
I don't hate Pharmstrong because he doped or didn't dope or whatever. I hate him because he was a bullying, arrogant asshole who, as @Marcus points out, didn't stop at bullying the little people if they got in his way. I don't like that shit when the mafia does it, I don't like it when an athlete does it.
On the other hand, I feel truly sick about this latest allegation, and how it's showing signs that it may strike a hit. I feel sick for all the people who are fighting cancer and are taking his story as a beacon of hope. He's lied to all of them, and that breaks my heart. Sure, he still beat cancer, but everything after that was a lie, and for the cancer patients, I feel awful.
BTW, I have been waiting my whole life for an opportunity to post this video on this site.
LA was a bad ass junior "triathlete" lapping the cat 1/2's solo BITD. He obviously has a huge engine, but I don't think that's being debated.
So if we disagree with you we don't understand or are being duped? You're either with us or against us? Yeah, right. Heard that one before...
@Oli Brooke-White
No, it has nothing to do with agreeing with me/us, it's a matter of intelligent, knowledgable people like yourself, believing that one man could perform miracles which he clearly wasn't capable of without 'outside assistance', beating a whole peloton of dopers in the process. It's just common sense. Sure, be a fan, but be a fan who acknowledges the truth behind the myth.
I just want to be a fan on my terms, not yours or anyone else's. I guess I'm in the wrong place though lol...