I had the chance to talk to Lance Armstrong’s trainer Chris Carmichael about working with Lance, training methods, and his expectations for this year’s Tour de France.
Lance Armstrong and Chris Carmichael at the Tour de France.
How has your relationship with Armstrong developed over the years?
Our relationship has grown into one of friendship as well as a coach/athlete relationship. I've learned to coach Lance Armstrong the person, as well as Lance Armstrong the athlete.
Are you a "crack the whip" trainer when it comes to Lance?
Lance knows what needs to be done. In his younger days I may have had to "crack the whip" but he is so driven to succeed he knows what he has to be done to keep winning and stay on top. He is a 24-7-365 type of athlete.
Armstrong has now won the Tour four times. Does your position as trainer for Armstrong ever get boring? How do you keep motivating yourself from year to year?
Never boring. The desire to succeed keeps you motivated. If you get satisfied or complacent, someone else with more desire will come along and knock you out of the top. When you have an athlete who is at the top of his game, everyone is aiming for him and if you don't work even harder each year, someone will eventually surpass you.
What types of adjustments are made to Lance's training regiment based upon the Tour route from year to year?
To win the tour, you must be a complete rider, strong in the mountains and fast in the time trials. While the routes change each year, there isn't much change in the tour. Lance still rides all the mountain stages a couple months prior to the race so he is extremely familiar with each stage and knows what each takes to ride to victory.
What is the most important way in which the 2003 Tour route differs from the routes of previous Tours? What Tour route feature do you believe will prove to be the biggest challenge for Lance?
The route of the Tour remains nearly the same each year. What makes the race is the intensity that the riders race each day of the Tour.
Armstrong will be facing a broader range of competitors in this year's Tour de France. Riders such as Simoni, Botero, Hamilton and Ullrich will challenge Lance's throne. In what ways did this force you to change Armstrong's training plan and strategy?
There are always rivals every year of the tour. Lance prepares harder than anyone else so he is prepared for whoever issues the challenge. Lance just prepares to be the best so he is able to meet and exceed the challengers.
When analyzing Lance's training plan, do you focus on max heart rate, watts, cadence, recovery time, or a combination of all of these?
We concentrate on a combination of all the factors. Power plays the most significant role in his training as it is a constant we can work on in every training session.
According to my knowledge, Lance opts for a strategy of attacking close to the finish line in order to preserve energy. How do you make sure that he is able to profit fully from his attacks by putting enough distance between himself and his competition before crossing the finish line?
My job is to basically make sure Lance is prepared physically to win the tour. His tactical racing plans are basically worked on by his team director Johan Bruyneel.
When developing the training plan for a peak in July, when does Lance start his build-up, and what are some of his milestones? How do you know when Lance is ready?
He starts his Tour de France preparation in November '02 for the '03 Tour. I look at specific time periods to develop key parts to his training like, Aerobic foundation, aerobic threshold,
Lactate Threshold, VO2 and finally his anaerobic pathways.
With the absence of Mide Libre, has Lance had enough race experience before the tour?
I think Lance's winning of the Dauphine Libere showed he has enough race experience this year and is ready to defend his Tour title.
In order to prepare for the Tour some of Lance's competitors choose to take part in the Tour of Suisse while others opt for the Dauphine Libere. Do other riders choice of race affect Lance's race schedule? Do you consider it likely that other teams take Armstrong's race plan into account when they make race plans?
Lance basically looks at what races will help prepare him best for the Tour. While he has minor goals in his races leading up to the Tour, his only concern is being prepared to win the tour, he is not too concerned with what races other riders are doing, just what will get him ready.
Are you involved in training the other USPS racers as it relates to "team" and its strategy for Lance? I coach George Hincapie also and consult on training for the entire USPS team.
What is your function once the Tour begins? As I indicated earlier, my job is basically done once the Tour begins. During the race, I talk or meet with Lance daily and we might discuss the days stage or we might just talk about things not associated with the race. I'm basically there to offer my support as both his friend and coach.
What are your expectations for this year's Tour?
I would love to see Lance win his 5th.
Thank you for taking the time to talk to Roadcycling.com. I wish you both the best of luck in this year's Tour.
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Roadcycling.com writers Dave Osborne and Ian Melvin contributed to this interview.
