Editor doesn't think the Tour is that hard - sends his reporter to ride it
- Thread starter Barbaton
- Start date
That makes me want to go climb a hill 
That article is not so bad. For the last 6 years, there has been one sportswriter (typically the horse racing reporter, the lowest rung of sportswriter) who writes how cycling is not a sport because all you do is pedal your bike (seriously!), and how Lance cannot be even considered a great athlete because he doesn't use his hands.
These articles get lots of press because their sheer stupidity. I give this guy some credit because at least he got out and rode. But if he really wanted to find out how tough the TdF, just ride 100 miles a day for 3 weeks.
These articles get lots of press because their sheer stupidity. I give this guy some credit because at least he got out and rode. But if he really wanted to find out how tough the TdF, just ride 100 miles a day for 3 weeks.
I liked that Article ! He got out there and saw what they face! SO what he only did 15 miles , it was more than enought to get him the sense of how tourtous the tour is .
and I agree with Echo, Makes me want to go climb a hill!
and I agree with Echo, Makes me want to go climb a hill!
For those of you who have never read this article, it's a short and somewhat interested read, http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=bayless/041230
I love that rationale. That would make hockey players the best athletes in the world. But hey, if it wasn't an inane article about a totally subjective matter, it wouldn't be written by a sportswriter...reflux said:
That is what I hate about sportswriters. They have to take a stance on a subject which is wholy debatable.Silver said:
Saying Michael Vick is a better athlete supposes that there are things he can do that Lance cannot. Which is pretty ridiculous because Vick could never ride a bike as good as the 9th member of Discovery. However Vick has won nothing, which should shoot him out the running.
On that note, the only recent athletes I can think of with success of Lance are Jordan, Tiger, and Annika. You can make a comparison between the greatest athletes, certainly.
Okay okay, perhaps I should've expanded on my thinking and purpose for linking of the article. I don't necessarily believe that Vick, Ricky Williams, or any single-sport player can be considered the best athlete to ever grace a field, court, road, or mountain. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that Bo Jackson, had he stayed healthy, could have been considered the greatest athlete to ever live. Bo was an elite runner throughout college, while starring in both baseball and football. His accomplishments were only limited by the fact that there were only 24 hours in the day. In cycling, Lance couldn't hold a candle to Mercx in his prime.
We cyclists encounter a few main problems when it comes to comparing our sport's stars with stars from others. As demonstarted by most writers (who aren't cyclists), we bikers often face an uphill battle on two fronts. We are forced to defend cycling as a sport, and the accomplishments of Lance as the greatest Tour rider in history, one of the most difficult races in the world. At the same time though, a lot of cyclists aren't fans of team (aka "ball") sports. So we're in virtually the same position as journalists, just reversed. Maybe that article put some of Lances's accomplishments into perspective, but maybe it didn't, it's your call.
But yeah, mentioning Vick in that article is just lame. Imo, the only one-sport football player who could rightfully be included in that article would be Barry Sanders.
If you're interested in endurance athletes and what the human body is capable of, I'd definitely suggest these two books, "Ultramarathon Man" by Dean Karnazes and "Swimming to Antartica" by Lynne Cox. What Dean has done is entirely beyond my comprehension, I don't even know what to say.
We cyclists encounter a few main problems when it comes to comparing our sport's stars with stars from others. As demonstarted by most writers (who aren't cyclists), we bikers often face an uphill battle on two fronts. We are forced to defend cycling as a sport, and the accomplishments of Lance as the greatest Tour rider in history, one of the most difficult races in the world. At the same time though, a lot of cyclists aren't fans of team (aka "ball") sports. So we're in virtually the same position as journalists, just reversed. Maybe that article put some of Lances's accomplishments into perspective, but maybe it didn't, it's your call.
But yeah, mentioning Vick in that article is just lame. Imo, the only one-sport football player who could rightfully be included in that article would be Barry Sanders.
If you're interested in endurance athletes and what the human body is capable of, I'd definitely suggest these two books, "Ultramarathon Man" by Dean Karnazes and "Swimming to Antartica" by Lynne Cox. What Dean has done is entirely beyond my comprehension, I don't even know what to say.