cool lance video

Wow, talk about smokin' Ullrich! Once Lance looked back, he was gone!

-Rob 

Anyone know why they're not wearing helmets?  Just curious...

When approaching long climbs, most riders leave their helmets with the team cars and retreive them (the helmets) when they get to the top.  At least, they used to do this.  I just watched the TdF riders riding the Pyrenees today and they had their helmets on.  Maybe the Tour organisors enacted a rule forbidding this practice???

It used to be that helmets were not required.

Then, they started requiring them on the flat stages, but when the road would be over a certain % grade they could take the helmets off.  So you'd see all these riders tossing their helmets.

Then, they could only take them off on the last climb of the day (I think) and now, helmets are required all the time.

It was kind of fun to watch as all these anonymous riders would suddenly appear from underneath their helmets, but I think it was a good thing that they started making the riders wear their helmets 100%

Awesome.  I vaguely remember something from one of his books.  Was it about this climb?  Like people didn't like the way he looked back before he took off like he was showing them up, but he said he was saying to them, "Alright guys, let's go."  Am I remembering this right or was that just a dream I had about myself?

If I remember correctly, even last year, if the last climb was greater than 5K and it finished at the top, you could take your helmet off for the last climb.

Now you can't take your helmet off anytime.

pseudo, this is a famous Lance moment dubbed "The look".  Famous in part b/c his chief rival Jan Ullrich is right there with such a pleading look on his face, as if to say nooo, please don't accelerate.  Lance later said he wasn't looking at ullrich specifically, or even the group.  It was some kind of generic thing he was looking for at the time, and it is escaping me at the moment.

Who wouldn't love that talent to do an in-your-face move to a rival, and then blast him/her into the pavement?

He was looking back to see who else was back there.  It wasn't really a challenge, so much as he was checking out the competition.

This was also the day where he hung back at the back of the field the whole day acting like he was about ready to die , went back and talked to the team car, etc. thus getting T-Mobile (mostly, I think) to set tempo.  Then on the last big climb he started moving up through the field, and you saw the ending.  Brilliant strategy - could only use it once though...

I know it's a gimmicky thing, but I love the juxtaposition of his training ride with the race.  I would have liked to see even a little more of that.

The other guy is always Jan.

The T-mobile outfit is always pink top with black shorts.  BUT, Jan won Worlds (I think) so in part of that video he is wearing the Worlds Jersey.  If a rider wins certain races in that year, then he wears THAT jersey in the Tour instead of the team jersey.  The white jersey with rainbow stripes is one of those.

By the way, it's not only the one race they are showing in this clip, it's about 3 different races, each one where Lance rode away from Jan and left him in the dust.

Am I the only dork who added a few climbs to his ride this morning and did "the look"?

I had that music running through my head the whole time.  Almost swerved into a curb, too.

 da da da da da da da da da

I was thinking about it on my run.  God are we dorks or what?

I had recently re-read "It's not about the bike" and he talks about being able to out-suffer anyone in a sufferfest.  I was telling myself that too....  "If it's a sufferfest...I can out work and out suffer ANYBODY." 

Got me through a long run in the middle of a rogue T-storm, so wtf.  Thanks running2far.

How can you not want to ride after watching that? I will have those words ingrained in my brain for my next hill repeat session, which, unfortunately was last night. "If this don't make your booty move, your booty must be dead!"

I have had the pain and suffering mentality the last few weeks of working out,  as I use that for fuel when I pass people. I keep in mind that I hurt, but as I am passing this person, they will have to hurt more in order to keep up, and I can take the pain more than they can.

It is so testosterone fueled!