To be a great champion you have to be versatile. Superior strength in just one area of your sport limits your potential. It’s not enough to only excel in perfect conditions; you have to be able to attack in any situation, at any moment.
In winning the 2004 Tour de France, Armstrong becomes the only man ever to win the race six times. He has dominated the race since 1999, but this year may have been the most enjoyable of them all. Years ago, on morning of the first mountain stage in the 1999 Tour de France, Lance was in the yellow jersey and terrified he would lose it. Six Tours later, experience and maturity provided confidence in his abilities, his teammates, and his ability to handle any situation that arose.
Arriving at the Tour in great physical condition also gave Armstrong more tactical freedom throughout the race. He was powerful on flat roads, could sustain a high pace on climbs, could accelerate to attack in any terrain, and he could even sprint. What’s more, he had the strongest team in the race, able to support his efforts at all times. Without any weaknesses, Lance and the US Postal Service seized the opportunity to attack or put pressure on rivals during throughout the race:
·Prologue: Armstrong finishes second and takes 15-plus seconds out his chief rivals in the opening four-mile time trial.
·Stage 3: USPS opened the throttle over two sections of cobblestones and 60 kilometers of flat roads to eliminate Iban Mayo from contention.
·Stage 4: USPS won the rainy and slick team time trial by over a minute.
·Stages 12 and 13: The pace set by Lance’s teammates shattered all the pre-race favorites, with the exception of Ivan Basso. Finishing within one bike length of each other, the Italian won at La Mongie, Lance finished first at Plateau de Beille.
·Stage 15: Armstrong won a sprint finish ahead of Basso, Jan Ullrich, and Andreas Klöden because he studied the corners in the final kilometer and knew he had to be first into the final left-hand corner in order to win.
·Stage 16: In the climbing individual time trial up the 21 switchbacks to Alp d’Huez, Lance caught and passed Basso for more than two minutes and won the stage by 61 seconds over Ullrich.
·Stage 17: The last day in the mountains, Lance tried to let teammate Floyd Landis take the stage. Once Landis was chased down, Lance took over and caught up to a flying Andreas Klöden to sprint by him in the final meters for his third stage win in as many days.
·Stage 19: For the fifth time in six years, Armstrong won the final individual time trial, riding 34 miles in less than 67 minutes. He extended his lead in the yellow jersey to six minutes and 38 seconds and confirmed his sixth victory in the Tour de France.
Being completely prepared for competition has benefits beyond just physical performance. When you’re struggling to keep up, as Ullrich, Klöden, and Basso were in the USPS team’s wake going up major climbs, you’re just focused on survival. You’re body and brain are doing everything possible to maintain contact with the rider in front of you. Since the pace was more comfortable for Armstrong, he could focus his attention on strategies for winning the stages while his rivals were trying to avoid being left behind.
When you’re not fully prepared for competition, you have fewer opportunities to win. In the Tour de France, if you’re very strong in the climbs but less prepared for the flat stages, you can only take advantage of your strengths on five or six of the 21 days of racing. Likewise, if you come to the Tour believing you can win just by crushing people in time trials, you’re limited to three opportunities. Lance’s fitness and the collective strength of his team meant every single day suited their strengths.
The men closest behind Armstrong in the Tour de France all have the potential to win the yellow jersey, but to do so they have to arrive at the start more prepared than Armstrong, and that’s a tall order.
Lance focuses on the Tour de France for 12 months a year. He never gets very far out of shape, never lets his weight get out of control, and never allows wavers his commitment to training. In the dead of winter, Lance is out there doing intervals and long hours on the bike because they build a foundation strong enough to support his efforts through the spring and summer. During the early season, Armstrong may not be in his best condition but he’s a factor in races and usually places in the top ten. Starting from that fitness level, you can improve to Tour condition gradually and maintain that form all the way through the race. You can’t go from struggling to hang on at the back of races to leading the Tour de France in just two month’s time, and expect that form to last for three weeks.
Food, including carbohydrate, provides the fuel for athletic performance. I match Lance’s nutrient intake to the demands of his training throughout the year in order to keep his weight under control while still ensuring he gets the fuel he needs for optimal performance. As a result, he doesn’t have to waste time and effort cutting calories or increasing training hours to lose a lot of weight in the month prior to the Tour. At this level of sport, the effort necessary to actively lose weight can be detrimental to training performance. Jan Ullrich lost 11 pounds in the weeks prior to the Tour this year and the rapid weight loss may have been partially responsible for his lackluster performance in the mountains.
Lance Armstrong’s attention to training, nutrition, equipment choices, and team selection make him the perfect predator at the Tour de France. Like a wolf, lion or tiger, he doesn’t pass up a chance to go for the throat when he’s hungry; and he’s always hungry.
