Great feat, but not a great athlete (Lance Armstrong winning Tour impressive, but it’s not athletic)

MSNBC ^ | July 24, 2002 | Ron Borges

[Cagey]

Thanks for the ping, Texas. I have to laugh at "writers" like this idiot for he clearly has no clue to what he penned. When someone writes an article simply to be contrary, it shows they have their own ego problem.

[Cagey]

Hahahaha 2T's. Pee Wee's on the fly.

CC, I hesitate to ping you to this thread, but as long as you have an ample supply of Tums you should be able to get through it. Oh, and if you ever need a new bicycle, 2T's has connections.

[joanie-f]

Lance Armstrong, in ‘It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life’:

You’re on your bike for the whole day, six and seven hours, in all kinds of weather and conditions, over cobblestones and gravel, in mud and wind and rain, and even hail, and you do not give in to pain .... everything hurts .... your back hurts, your feet hurt, your hands hurt, your neck hurts, your legs hurt, and of course, your butt hurts.

Cycling is a sport that rewards mature champions. It takes physical endurance built up over years, and a head for strategy that comes only with experience .... It would be easy to see the Tour de France as a monumentally inconsequential undertaking: two hundred riders cycling the entire circumference of France, mountains included, over three weeks in the heat of the summer. There is no reason to attempt such a feat of idiocy, other than the fact that some people .... have a need to search in the depths of their stamina for self-definition. It’s a contest in purposeless suffering. But for reasons of my own, I think it may be the most gallant athletic endeavor in the world.

And now, on the other end of the intelligence spectrum....

For my money, being the greatest athlete in the world involves strength, speed, agility, hand-eye coordination, mental toughness and the ability to make your body do things that defy description. Chief among them is not pumping your legs up and down while your feet are strapped to bicycle pedals .... (spoken as a true Idiot by the ‘journalist’ (turned sports critic) who wrote this article)

I’d add the ability to consistently analyze one’s performance, and that of one’s opponents, and to create intelligent (ever-changing) winning strategies. Adding that to the idiot’s definition above, Armstrong is indeed one of the greatest athletes alive. And Mr. Borges succeeded in doing nothing but shooting himself in the foot by writing this (purposefully imbecilic, for the sake of controversy) article. I’ve got better things to waste my anger and frustration on than an article that was written simply to evoke those emotions from its readers.

(For what it’s worth, I’m willing to bet that the only regular exercise Mr. Borges takes part in is speed typing. Probably gets quite winded after a session, too ….)

[2Trievers]

I saw Richie this morning ... he said to say "Hi." &;-)

[Cagey]

I knew I liked that guy. He uses Campy headsets.

[2Trievers]

And I can't get him to lower his price ... even for ME! I may have to take matters into my own hands ... if ya' get my drift! &;-)

[mrfixit514]

For my money, being the greatest athlete in the world involves strength, speed, agility, hand-eye coordination, mental toughness and the ability to make your body do things that defy description

This fool has no idea what it would take to win the Tour de France. For mental toughness, I would take Armstrong over Bonds, Rice or the Williams Sisters. Notice all of the athletes he names are black. Maybe Ron has a problem with white athletes.

[Spruce]

I'm assuming the author of this article is trying to be a "funny", "grumpy" sports expert. I bet when he was burning 20 calories poking this out on his computer he was giggling at himself thinking how funny he was. He is not funny and the first thought that came to mind as I read his opinion was "What a D*ldo!". I could go on about how sore a body gets after riding but a few miles for exercise. but why? The author thinks he's funny, any response of mine would just egg him on.

p.s. I have never even heard of this dip-sh*t.

[trueaustinite]

You clearly do not understand a sport about which you have taken the time to write. The tour de france is the most difficult sporting event in the world. Try reading about your subject before you spew about it, you fool.

[conservonator]

ath·lete n A person possessing the natural or acquired traits, such as strength, agility, and endurance, that are necessary for physical exercise or sports, especially those performed in competitive contexts.

Sounds like Lance fits the dictionary definition to me...But then I don't have a story to file and nothing important or interesting to say.