David Millar on Armstrong on his chances in this years tour:
It is very hard for other cyclists to relate to Lance Armstrong. We respect him – there is no doubt about that – because of what he has achieved and how he races his bike. He is clearly one of the greatest bicycle racers in history. But outside of that, it is very hard for us to even fathom what he achieves. It is, even for us, his peers, unfathomable what he does.
Before Lance came along, cycling tended to be dominated by riders like Miguel Indurain: very elegant and classy on the bike, silent and dignified off it, the classic great cycling champion. Often that was because they came from simple backgrounds and weren’t very articulate, or they didn’t have many opportunities to speak. Lance from the start was the super-confident American whose style of racing was very domineering. He rarely gave gifts to riders and would take great of pleasure in crushing whoever he was racing against. Not many of the great champions do that.
I turned pro on a team with him in 1997 when he was coming out of his cancer. He must have been at his weakest then – bald, no eyebrows, nothing – but he still had an air of confidence. He was cocky and brash, the all-American sporting jock. He was almost the Lance Armstrong that he is now in fact, just without all the Tour de France wins.
Our relationship has always been close but it is quite complex. We are very different people. I’ve not got that absolutely deep-down need to win. I enjoy it, I love racing, I love winning, but it doesn’t control my whole life. I guarantee that you have never met anybody like him. He is very good at channelling every single element of his being into doing one thing. I don’t know him well enough to know if that costs him anything else in the rest of his life, but he is as close as you get to somebody who is on another level to most human beings. He doesn’t make mistakes, Lance, ever. If he decides to do something, he ends up doing it.
But he is also complex and paradoxical. He can be very unforgiving, and yet at the same time he can be incredibly kind and empathetic. It’s an odd mix. During the Tour de France, just after I’d been banned, he rang me up to make sure I was OK. I think he’s always treated me as a wayward little brother – we understand each other and we agree to disagree.
People talk about his effect on cycling, and when he was riding the Tour de France, he was omnipresent. It was always, “How is Lance going to react? What’s Lance going to do?” And it got to the point towards the end of those seven Tours where everyone knew how it was going to happen: his team, US Postal, were basically going to control the race, he was going to do well in the first time trial, he was going to smash everyone in the first mountain stage and then defend. So everyone’s race became based around Lance’s tactics and style of winning the race. Since he’s left, the race has become a lot more open, less predictable.
I was very surprised when I heard he was coming back. It is easy to stop loving the dieting, the lifestyle, the training, and pushing through the difficult moments when it’s not happening. But all of us love the racing when it’s going well – that’s why you do it. The only thing I can think of is that he missed the racing, which is understandable, because in order to win seven Tours, he has to love it deeply.
His performance at this year’s Giro d’Italia was immense. You have to put it in perspective: he had not raced for three years and he returned to the highest level and in no way made a fool of himself. It wasn’t an easy race, physically or mentally, and he didn’t throw in the towel; in the last week he was even getting stronger. He really believes he is going to be a force to be reckoned with at the Tour, there’s not the slightest iota of doubt there. That is what I think almost everybody does not understand: it’s not ego with Lance, it’s just utter self-belief.
I don’t think he will win this year’s Tour de France, but I wouldn’t put money against him either. He is capable of anything. But I think he is going to be a bit surprised by Alberto Contador. I’ve never seen a rider like him – he is definitely the greatest I’ve ever seen, and I think he will be the greatest ever Grand Tour rider. He’s very dignified, but he’s as driven as Lance, if not more so, and he has that anger streak with possibly more talent. Alberto is on an absolute mission and I think he wants to crush Lance at the Tour. It’s going to make for a great race.
Lance’s legacy is huge – it goes way beyond one race, one Tour de France. And he has the opportunity to cement his legacy, ironically, in defeat. I think this year’s Tour is going to do his popularity in France a world of good, because if he doesn’t win then the French will love him, as long as he shows character and resilience and races with a bit of panache. It will show another side of the man that I’m sure exists.
Taken from here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/jun/28/lance-armstrong-comeback
Posted 15 years ago
