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Lance Armstrong vs. Dave Wiens this Saturday - Rematch at Leadville 100 (Read 1331 times)


Right on Hereford...

    Armstrong is back this year for the Leadville Trail 100 ultra endurance mountain bike race. Lance is obviously very fit, coming off an incredible 3rd place finish at Le Tour, but some are still predicting he'll be beaten (again) at Leadville...

     

    Lance’s Chances: Preview of 2009 Leadville 100

     

    Top Ten Reasons Dave Wiens Will Beat Lance Armstrong at the Leadville 100

     

    Personally, I think the author of the Bike Intelligencer article ("Lance's Chances...") gives way too much weight to the MTB skills required for the Leadville course (which isn't particularly technical), and to the fact that Wiens is a "local," (Wiens lives in Gunnison, 118 miles from Leadville). On the latter point, the author apparently isn't aware that Lance now lives part time in Aspen, only 58 miles away. Sure, the differences between mountain biking and road biking are valid, for the most part, but let's not forget that Lance is not the typical roadie on a mountain bike. He's clearly been riding MTBs for many years, and he's got real bike handling skills.

     

    Then there's the quote, "There’s no drafting in mountain biking."

     

    Um, yes there is. Drafting is pretty damn effective on a trail, and it's certainly not illegal. On a fast, wide course like Leadville, there is plenty of opportunity to draft. This could favor either rider, of course. I just wanted to point it out as an inane statement.

     

    On the question of bike setup, Lance "doesn't have the data" to set up his mountain bike properly? He's been riding mountain bikes for at least 10 years, and has the best experts available to assist with setup. I think he'll be fine.

     

    Ok, my prediction is that Lance will beat Dave Wiens on Saturday and beat the course record by 15 minutes. Anyone else want to put in a guess?

    xor


      I want to see a UFC match between Lance and Michael Phelps.

       

        Lance will stomp his .... .. ... ....! 

        Ricky

        —our ability to perform up to our physiological potential in a race is determined by whether or not we truly psychologically believe that what we are attempting is realistic. Anton Krupicka

        Trent


        Good Bad & The Monkey

          Another One is running that course a week later.  He needs to go out and try and kill pride against these bikers as part of his last training run.
            Another One is a killer.

            "If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus

              Todd Croke is going to take them both...   it will be utter domination.

               

               

               

               

               

               

               

               

               

               

               

               

               

               

               

               

               

               

               

              Ok, maybe not..but I'm crewing Todd and rooting for him to ride it 4 hours faster than he expects to. 


              Imminent Catastrophe

                The Tarahumara will win.

                "Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"

                 "To obtain the air that angels breathe you must come to Tahoe"--Mark Twain

                "The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.

                 

                √ Javelina Jundred Jalloween 2015

                Cruel Jewel 50 mile May 2016

                Western States 100 June 2016

                  Dude there is no drafting in mountain biking.  At least not any that really helps.

                   

                  But having said that top roadies always kill in mountian biking--they're generally just way fitter athletes and the technical parts of mountain biking are way overstated.  Or at least they were back in the day when I knew a little bit about cycling and and raced mountain bikes and stuff.  I can't see the guy who finished 3rd in the TDF losing 100 mle race to a mountain biker on any kind of bike.

                   

                  As long as Lance tries that is.

                  Runners run

                    Dude there is no drafting in mountain biking.  At least not any that really helps.

                     

                     

                     

                    There is at Leadville... 75% of it is basically a road course.  Dirt and gravel roads, flat, and very fast.  There's very little singletrack or climbing there.

                     

                     

                    They are planning to ride it in 6 hours.  That's flying on a mt bike... there will be plenty of spots for drafting.


                    Right on Hereford...

                      Dude there is no drafting in mountain biking.  At least not any that really helps.

                       

                      What cgerber said.

                       

                      But having said that top roadies always kill in mountian biking--they're generally just way fitter athletes and the technical parts of mountain biking are way overstated.  Or at least they were back in the day when I knew a little bit about cycling and and raced mountain bikes and stuff.  I can't see the guy who finished 3rd in the TDF losing 100 mle race to a mountain biker on any kind of bike.

                       

                      But can you see the guy who finished 1st in the TDF losing a 26 mile MTB race? Cuz that happened already.

                       

                      As far as the technical parts of mountain biking being way overstated, I'd disagree for most of the trails around here. The Crested Butte Xterra (off-road triathlon) decided to offer prize money to the pros one year, and a bunch of roadies showed up, hoping for easy money. They got their asses handed to them on the Upper Upper Loop. On a technical trail, I'll put my money on the fit mountain biker with skills, far ahead of the fitter roadie without the skills.

                       

                      That has almost nothing to do with Leadville, though, which isn't very technical, as already noted.


                         

                        As long as Lance tries that is.

                         Heh.

                        "If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus

                        Lane


                          I want to see a UFC match between Lance and Michael Phelps.

                           

                          Add in Usain Bolt, Haile Gabreselassie, and a rabid grizzley bear and I would definitely pay serious money to watch.

                          db7


                            LA was on 850 KOA this am.  He sounded pretty laid back about it.  Should be fun.

                             

                            DB

                            Tougher than most, dumber than the rest. "You can not count the miles until you feel them" TVZ

                              LA was on 850 KOA this am.  He sounded pretty laid back about it.  Should be fun.

                               

                              DB

                               

                               I liked how he dodged the question about "breaking bread with Contador"  

                              db7


                                 

                                 I liked how he dodged the question about "breaking bread with Contador"  

                                 

                                He knows how to do an interview after all this time.

                                 

                                DB

                                Tougher than most, dumber than the rest. "You can not count the miles until you feel them" TVZ

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