drug free Tour de France winner seven consecutive times and inventor of the yellow rubber bracelet

Lance is a cycling GOD

I glanced at that photo and thought someone had scrawled a cock on his badge, but no it's his signature. i wish the stockbrokers i work for had photoshop!

I think he's great, by the way.

He didn't go for the hour record. Hmmpf!

"drug free"?

never proven to have taken drugs....so far.

The American justice system and attitude seems to be different to that in Europe....if you've got enough money and influence, you can quite simply buy innocence. Lance and then Floyd imported this attitude to the European peloton and Lance has definitely intimidated and put pressure on certain people (even in front of the cameras ...Simeoni)...

I'm not pointing the finger at Lance but I believe his behaviour to be typical of an American following the above behaviour pattern.

His amazing story of recovery from cancer would still be amazing.....even if did take drugs to succeed....didn't like all the bodyguards and shit....there are much "nicer" and more personable heroes out there.

Is that really Lance's fault though?

this fella might have something to say about that...

he doesnt look very happy about that comment....you better go and hide

I disagree. Lance focussed on the TdF alone. His 'Shock and Awe' tactics at racing leave me cold. Who would you rather have a pint with? Pantani, Armstrong, Merckx or Landis?

tbh he does come across as an arrogant twat. but he came back from a near death situation, not only to ride a bike, but ride the tour and win it seven times. for that reason, he is a cycling god in my mind. but then i'm too young for the other cycling greats, merckx, hinault, bobet... indurain was my first legend.

Pantani would bring loads of coke.. so Pantani! Woo!

By the way, it was "Lance, A cycling god" - I still reckon he's a legend.
Does the Cannibal raise money for cancer research, etc? Does the Cannibal run marathons? Nup. Did he win 7 Tdfs? Nup.
Sure, Merckx might be the greatest cyclist ever, but Lance was the best Tdf rider ever and no one can argue because he's won more which essentially proves it.

Who cares about personality? He could be the biggest wanker for all i care. Fact is, the man won 7 times with no drugs when a lot of his competitors were on them, that's incredibly inspiring and a testament to what the human body can achieve.

Which year were Lance's EPO urine samples from? 1999? The ones that were unfrozen and tested last year by 'Equipe? The testing procedures at the time weren't advanced enough to catch him out. There's no way a clean Armstrong could beat an unclean Ullrich.

In any kind of team sport personality is important. I think in something like the TDF its even more so, as you depend not only on your team but also your competitors to get round alive. I read in an interview with (whoever, can't remember his name) talking about how much the Peleton spirit died when Lance was riding.

$181 million dollars

there are alot of people, me included, who would say that Lance was an awfuly nice chap

You reckon?? Ulrich has to go down as one of my biggest cycling disappointments. He was out of shape more than in shape and never met his potential even if he was doping. Basically, too many Hoffbrau in the off season. I'd love to seen a better challenege as it would have made the lance years even better.

did he achieve amazing feats- undoubtedly

but do i aspire to be an egomaniacal bully, nah.

so for me cycling legend yes, hero no.

You can't win the tour de france with man breasts

"You can't win the tour de france with man breasts"

bugger, i was going to enter next year as well...

you'll never be king of the mountains with titties, which reminds me, it time I went out on the bike

what about not giving a damn about him?

I couldn't care less about this fella, or about pro cycling in general (sorry if this is blasphemy on this forum). OK I like to watch Trial, Downhill or BMX once in a while.. But I have next to no interest in a bunch of identikit dudes following each other on a road, surrounded by more sponsor logos than my eye can fathom, dressed almost as badly as ice-skaters, all on drugs, going back to their hotel rooms after the race, without even drunkenly jumping from rooftops and behaving erratically...
Now if you mention Mark Gonzales I can relate more.
Or Chris Haslam for a modern touch.

The oil company Shell donated £130m to charities supporting sustainable development in the 3rd world. Obviously that makes them completely socially responsible and compassionate ;-p

Maybe Shell's charities are overseeing the redevelopment of rainforests devastated by the global trend in wearing rubber bands...

Does a sporting robot maketh a god? Schumaker? Sampras? Armstrong?
Obllox! All acts of life, including athletic ones, should exhibit a certain flair or artistry. To win is dull, to inspire is ALL!

Yan was a fat bastard - but he was pretty much boobless by the time the tour came around. That photo was from the Tour of Switzerland no? Didn't he win that time trial even though he was about a stone overweight?

My point was that if lance wasn't doping, and still wiping the floor with everybody who was, then it doesn't add up. I've heard that doping gives you an approx 15% advantage, but someone might correct me on that.

Greg Lemond said that a year after his team won the team time trial in the TdF, they rode the tour in the same shape and all had trouble just keeping up with the peloton - he said that for him, that was the year that *everybody* started to dope. If that's the case - there's no way you can win without doping.

I agree with Revmilo about artistry - in spectator sports you want to see something exciting. I loved watching Pantani.

That test was a shambles. He tested negative in the A sample and then, what, 5 years later positive in the B sample? Why was the B sample even kept? If EPO apparently cannot be reliably detected in current users how can they acurately detect it in a frozen 5yo sample? Notice which lab found the EPO? Yeah, the dodgy French one. What did they do? Yep, release their dodgy findings straight to the French press - sounds kinda familiar. A point someone else made is - if Lance WAS positive in 1999.. how then was he negative for the next SEVEN years AND winning the Tour? He was better than the Sausage Man, clean or not.

Do you honestly think you can get to the top of such a hard sport without having a somewhat enlarged sense of self? Did you listen to Cancellara's intro comments to this year's Tour?
Most people at the top of their chosen 'game' are self-centred. They have to be, otherwise they are not putting their all into the task at hand. Ego? Maybe, but it's perhaps necessary.

Have you read It's Not About the Bike? You'll find quite a few people think he's a hero.
On bike forums you'll find people either love him or hate him.

I'm guessing you've not read his book either..

He inspired me.

Lance never tested positive.

Yeah and Pantani was doped to the gills and died of a cocaine overdose.. great to watch.. until he self destructs.

[quote] hippy:Pantani was a FISH? So women DO need men after all...

It's a phrase my old man used.. "doped to the eyeballs" is more common but (insert alternative lifestyle discussion here) ;)

Hate him of course - the real cycling heroes should be european, riding european bicycles, and win other races as well not only the TdF!

To win TdF seven times is a phenomenal achievement especially after his illness. So as a cyclist, he is a legend. But as a person, I've no idea obviously.

I'm going to read his book once I've got through the pile of books I've not read yet...

hahaha :)

I stuggled with this one for a while, but basically came to the conclusion that whatever field someone is successful in and famous for, then that's all they should be judged on. The fact is that whether it's sport, politics, music, whatever, if you're to really succeed and get to the top of your game you have to be unbelievably driven and in a lot of cases that probably reflects your personality - dedicated, introverted, might seem like an arsehole to other people. But at the end of the day that doesn't matter if you're that set on achieving your goals rather than simply achieving fame for fame's sake.
Obviously I have no discernable talent, but if I had a constant barrage of people I didn't know asking me things etc then I expect I'd come off looking like a jerk.

Having said that, weren't the cyclists interviewed after the tour today a frickin miserable bloody bunch???