Tour de France
Sally Jenkins
Washington Post Sports Columnist
Friday, July 02, 2004; Noon ET
History and half a dozen ambitious rivals stand between Lance Armstrong and his dream of becoming the first man to win six Tours de France. The Texan, winner since 1999 after returning to cycling from a successful cancer treatment, always has outwitted his opponents tactically. However, he is now 32 and many of the legends in cycling -- Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain -- could not win more than five Tours.
Post columnist Sally Jenkins will be online Friday, July 2, at Noon ET, to talk about Armstrong and this weekend's race.
Submit your questions and comments before or during today's discussion.
Jenkins has written five books, including "It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life" and "Every Second Counts" with cyclist Lance Armstrong.
Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Sally Jenkins: Hi all, I'm in the house. Ready, set go.
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Brunswick, Maine:
Ms. Jenkins,
What's your sense of LA's view of the history he is trying to defeat: that no other rider has won 6 Tours? Is that a motivating factor for him? Or is he simply trying to focus on the race day by day? Thanks.
Sally Jenkins: History is definitely motivating for Lance, because he loves nothing better than an artificial limit. To tell him he "can't" do something and his first reaction is to say screw that, and go do it. I think he has almost a knee jerk compulsion in that way.
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Arlington, Va.:
How sure can we be that the allegations about doping aganist Lance are false? If they are false, why do htey keep coming up time and again?
Sally Jenkins: Sorry, my computer screwed up for a minute, so I'll try this reply again.
We can't be utterly sure that any athlete is entirely clean, given the sophistication of doping and masking agents in this day and age. All we can do is look at the preponderance of evidence and make our best guess. Lance himself says, "How do you prove a negative?" The only thing people seem willing to be sure of is a POSITIVE drug test. Negative drugs tests aren't taken as proof anymore, and I think that's at least partly an injustice, tho I do understand dopers are outwitting testing methods.
I'll give you my own judgement: He takes thousands of drug tests, both in and out of season and they all come back clean. His tests during the Tour de France have come back clean when riders around him have tested positive. The test measuring red blood cell count as an indicator of EPO has proven to be pretty effective - it's resulted in riders being kicked out of the Tour over the last , and of athletes being stripped of gold medals in the last Olympics. Also, the Tour took frozen samples from previous Tours and analyzed them using new testing tehcnology, and those came back clean as well.
Furthermore: Lance and his Postal team was investigated for two long years by the French government. Scientists and lab workers scoured his blood and urione samples, looking for evidence of doping. All the best science in France was devoted to catching him -- many in France burn to prove he's doping -- and they found nothing.
Lance's trash has been scoured for evidence as well. A couple of years ago, some of the Postal team aides threw some medical garbage away. A French TV crew reclaimed the garbage and went through it, looking for something illegal. There was nothing in it.
To me, therefore, there is ample room to believe that Lance is clean. I tend to believe him, as an athlete and a person.
But I should add that my view is colored by affection. He's my friend, and he gave me a bestseller.
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Houston, Texas:
Hi Sally:
I am a big Lance fan. But do you think that he realizes that the way he answers the drug questions that he constantly gets, actually fosters more suspicion? By that I mean, he typically answers a question such as "Have you ever taken performance enhancing drugs?" with a reply something like: "I do not take performance enhancing drugs and I have never failed a drug test." This Clintonesque response leaves open whether he has in the past taken such substances.
Sally Jenkins: Actually, what Lance usually says, and which was reprinted in the papers again today, is that allegations he uses performance enhancers are "Utterly untrue." Also, he's sueing the pants off his accusers in both Britain and France at the moment. That's pretty emphatic.
Lance is equivocal about only one thing, accusing others of doping. He's very sensitive about that. He was livid when LeMond questioned publicly whether he is clean, and he would never do that to another athlete or to his sport.
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College Park, Md.:
Cant wait for the tour. Being able to get so much coverage on OLN is awesome. Not so long ago we could only get the half-hour recaps, and before that, weekend recaps on broadcast tv.
I am rooting for Lance to win his sixth, but I have my doubts. He barely won last year. Tyler Hamilton, Jan Ulrich, Iban Mayo should all be contenders. Who else is consdidered a contender? Joseba Beloki?
I also doubt the race can be as thrilling as last year, with all the drama we had in the mountains, and I cant remember so many riders falling down, and even moreso, riders falling down which very much affected the outcome of stages and the overall race.
Sally Jenkins: Beloki is still recovering from his injuries apparently. The lead contender, as always, is Ullrich. But the difference between them consistently is that Lance has slightly outworked him and paid more attention to detail. Lance prepares exhaustively.
I dunno, this course looks built for drama. We won't know the outcome til those last brutal mountains stages in the final eight days.
Mayo is scary. And you never now, some great young hope could come out of seeming nowhere. It's happened.
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Silver Spring, Md.:
I've read that USPS is dropping the team sponsorship after this year, but haven't seen any details or explanation. I've also read that Lance said he would like to keep riding if he can keep the team together, but would retire if not.
Can you shed any light on this?
Sally Jenkins: USPS is dropping is sponsorship, but just a couple of weeks ago Discovery came onboard as a new multiyear sponsor.
Lance was all set to retire after his attempt at six. He was ready to go. But the notion that his carefully built magnificent team would cease to exist was more than he could bear. I believe what happened was that he decided to keep riding beyond this season as an incentive to potential new sponsors, and it did the trick. The team wil survive with lance, but with new sponsorship. By the way, some of the real money behind the team has long been provided by an investment banker named Thom Weisel, a former athlete and a friend and benefactor of Lance's. He doesn't get enough credit.
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Columbia, Md.:
Is Lance the most compelling ahtlete you have ever covered? There is just such a fascinating quality about him - perhaps it's just hard to conceive someone so dominant in such a difficult sporting event.
Thanks for taking questions.
Sally Jenkins: Yes. He is the most compelling. Also the most complicated. Somebody yesterday, a French journalist, asked me if I found him dificult, because I guess other people do. I said, "No, I don't find him difficult, I find him interesting."
What's fascinating about Lance is that we see him suffer so openly. I think we're all drawn by his human qualities. He is flawed. He's been sick and wounded, and fought back. He has a fighting temper, no fear, and a smart mouth. He works like a dog and you see see every drop of his sweat.
Mosty importantly, he works for others. In an era when most athletes live in gated communities in Orlando for the tax break, and are grasping and self aggrandizing, Lance is something all together different.
The reasons why I'm interested by him personally are that he's a hilarious beer drinking idiot with hidden sensitivities and a great sense of swashbuckling adventure. I adore him.
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Philadelphia, Pa.:
How much do you think the mountain time trial will factor into the overall outcome of the race?
I think it will be huge, and am probably even going to take the day off from work to watch it!
Sally Jenkins: Lance is saying that mountain time trial will be won by Mayo. I think that's gamesmanship. I cannot imagine that Lance Armstrong would concede anything uphill to anyone.
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Philadelphia, Pa.:
Were Armstrong's difficulties last year in winning the Tour de France a simple matter of bad luck or was it symptomatic of his age and the (perhaps) attendant decline in his abilities?
Sally Jenkins: I think his struggles last year were entirely attributable to the fact that his marriage was falling apart and he was utterly heartsick. It's that simple.
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Silver Spring, Md.:
Hello Sally,
If Lance is unsuccesfull winning this year, do you think he will retire, or try again next year? Thanks.
Sally Jenkins: Lance will keep riding next year win or lose, for the sake of his team. Interestingly, Lance likes serving as a domestique to other riders on occasion. He loves the team aspect of the sport. He's devoted to his teammates.
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Rochester, NY:
What are your odds of taking number six given such stiff competition as Gilberto Simoni, and teammate Cunego (winners of the '03 & '04 Giro's respectively) Tyler Hamilton, etc? Also over the course of his five wins did you ever notice there seemed to be (at times) more riders were actually afraid to challenge Lance vs. his actually ability?
Sally Jenkins: I do think othe riders have been afraid to challenge Lance at times. But you have to understand: if you challenge him, he will make you hurt. You won't challenge him without possibly blowing yourself apart.
A lot of riders in the Tour consider just FINISHING the race a victory. There are only a handful of riders with the all around ability and stamina to try to win the whole thing, and they have to marshall their resources very carefully. Any challenge to Lance will come with a price.
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Baltimore, Md.:
If Lance does win his 6th TDF this year, do you suppose he will support another rider on his team next year in the TDF?
Sally Jenkins: I think that depends entirely on his fitness. Here's a thought: it's possible that the two years Lance spent away from cycling recovering from cancer may have actually bought him some time on the back end. His body doesn't have quite as many miles in it as other Tour riders do at 33.
On the other hand, age can suddenly show in the Tour at any moment, as it did for Indurain. Lance says, "It's like falling off a cliff." One day you are strong, and the next day your body simply gives way.
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Arlington, VA:
Lance may not really be conceding the Alpe d'Huez time trial to Mayo, but I think Mayo will win it. However what will matter more is how Ulrich and Tyler do vs. Lance's time.
And yes, I'm definitely taking that day off from work.
p.s. Beloki will not start the tour. He left his team a week or so ago.
Sally Jenkins: Yes. Exactly right. I think Mayo is real threat. And I think Ullrich is always the one to beat. Tyler will be interesting as well.
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Silver Spring, Md.:
I see in your intro you make note of the fact that Lance is now 32. Who was the oldest competitor to win a modern Tour de France?
Sally Jenkins: Boy, I'd have to double check, but I think 32 may be the oldest.
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Arlington, Va.:
What do you think of the doping scandals involving the British champ David Millar?
washingtonpost.com:
Tour De France Bars British World Champ (AP, June 25)
Sally Jenkins: I think it's really too bad. Millar is apparently a nice guy and a colorful character and has been spectacular to watch in time trials. And I think the huge financial incentives in cycling, as Joean-Marie LeBlanc remarked the other day, are too much for some people to resist.
Finally, I think this: I don't like a justice system that allows the French police to seize a man at dinner and hold him for two days.
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Ann Arbor, Mich.:
Hi Sally,
Biking is my thing and I can't wait for the TdF to start. However, I get the feeling that this year's Tour is more about beating Lance than winning, among theother riders like Ullrich and Mayo. Is that your feeling?
Sally Jenkins: Well, sure. It was that way last year, too. Did you watch the Belmont horse race, when every jockey in the field set out to burn Smarty Jones out before the last quarter mile? That was the strategy last year and it will be the strategy this year. Expect to see other riders and teams gang up and try to wear Lance out.
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Silver Spring, Md:
If Lance does ride next year or the following, and in the role of domestique, who might replace him? Tyler Hamilton? Do they get along?
Sally Jenkins: Tyler and Lance are next door neighbors in Girona, Spain, last I checked, and are great friends. It was Tyler who got the field to wait for Lance when he crashed on Luz Ardiden last year, and it was Tyler who helped pace him back in the race after he went into the cornfield avoiding Beloki's crash.
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Boulder, Colo.:
I just wanted to comment briefly on what you just said about the team aspect of cycling. I'm new to the sport and have just signed up to a ride in two weeks. I don't think I could do it without my teammates. They push me to show up for the practice rides and to get my butt up those mountains. When we ride later this month, we'll spend our breaks cheering for Lance.
Sally Jenkins: Team is everything in the Tour. Lance would b the first to say so. Which is why he gives them huge bonuses out of his own pocket each year.
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Vienna, Austria:
What kinds of effects will the new course changes have on Lance's chances for success?
Of course, the route changes every year, but this year, one of two individual time trials has been changed from being flat, to the 16th stage up the d'Huez. And even though Lance is a master at the d'huez, he isn't even favored to win it...isn't there a young climber lurking in the shadows?
Does it seem at all like course organizers specifically changed this year's course to produce a new winner?
Sally Jenkins: Well, I think the organizers have tried for the last four years to design a course that doesn't favor Lance. But I think course changes don't have the desired effect on him for one good reason: he scouts the course thoroughly and prepares for it better than any other rider in the race. He's fanatical about doing his homework. A prime example was last year's final time trial, when he rode the course in the rain, checking out every inch of the road and every manhole cover for slickness. That won the entire Tour for him: he stayed upright and Ullrich fell.
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Bowie, Md.:
It looks like the 2nd Individual Time Trial,
stage 16 will be the key stage being straight uphill. I thought time trials were mostly flat races.
Sally Jenkins: Two or three Tours ago there was another mountain time trial, I forget which year, and it proved to be a critical stage. You can expect the same. It will be a rare stage, and a potentially race-defining one.
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Philadelphia, Pa.:
Happy Day Before the Tour Starts!
I don't know what's wrong with me, but I've never been an Armstrong fan, at all. I think he's an amazing athlete, but there's something about his presence that makes me want to root for just about anyone else. In fact, I will be rooting for Hamilton, Heras and Ulrich. My cycling buds (all three of 'em!) think I am some sort of deviant and un-American. My question is, am I, and what do you think Armstrong's chance of capturing Number Six realistically are?
Sally Jenkins: Well, those are all great guys to root for, and Lance would say so, too.
It's okay to feel that way about Lance, he is forbidding, no question, and he knows it. Everyone should see him out of season, in jeans and flip flops and a five oclock shadow. He's a lot of fun.
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Silver Spring, Md:
Lance is a hero here in the states for beating cancer and for being a remarkable athelete. Is this sentiment shared by Europeans where the sport is much more important? What do they say/write about him?
Sally Jenkins: I think a lot of Europeans are FAR more skeptical about Lance, and don't particularly care for his impassive demeanor. Some of the French clearly resent him. He doesn't emote enough or outwardly suffer enough for them and he beats their riders. It's not unlike how some Americans would feel if a Japanese team dominated the Yankees in the World Series, our own pasttime. Also, cancer has much more of a stigma there, and he is not lionized for being a survivor of illness as he is here.
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Houston, Tex.:
Oldest winner was 36, in 1922. But Lance is the oldest of the 5 time winners to attempt a 6th, and none of the TdF winners in the modern era have been oder than 32.
Sally Jenkins: Excellent! Thanks so much for filling my woeful gaps in cycling history.
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Wilmington, Del.:
A little off-topic, but can you recommend a good book that details the strategy of team bicycle racing? I am not sure what a domestique is, so I would like to better understand the sport. Thank you.
Sally Jenkins: ESPN magazine has a terrific package in the current issue with Lance on the cover that is very nicely done and explanatory. There are dozens of terrific books. I like one about the Tour by a British journalist named Graeme Fife, which is heavily anecdotal.
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Washington, D.C.:
What are you thoughts concerning his recent fifth (or fourth?) place finish to Mayo and Hamilton in a recent race? Is it a sign of real trouble or likely something to not be too concerned about. Also, some of his team from last year have left -- do you think they sense his time is done or do you think they merely want to try their hand as perhaps a number one rider on their own team?
Sally Jenkins: I don't think it's a sign of trouble, I think Lance was faintly worried earlier in the season that he was TOO sharp, and doesn't want peak too early, especially given this year's route and the brutal difficulty of the late stages.
The Postal team changes a bit each year, based on how each guy is riding and what holes they need to fill, given that riders will always depart for the opportunity to be their own team leaders. Lance is the first to encourage a great rider to go on: he certainly felt that way about Tyler and Heras.
As far as age and Lance, I think it's a big question, but I don't think a rider would leave the team because of it, and potentially forfeit making history with a sixth victory, with all the rewards of that.
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Washington, D.C.:
Any news on whether any new sponsors are in line to replace U.S. Postal next year?
Sally Jenkins: Asked and answered: Discovery wil be the new sponsor.
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Houston, Tex.:
On the personal side of things. How is Lance's hyper-public relationship impacting his relationship with his former wife, Kristin. Are they still getting along well enough that his visitations with the three kids are not affected?
Sally Jenkins: I don't know much about this, only what from Lance himself recently said publicly, which is that he and Kristin are getting along great. They were always been terrific friends, even in the midst of trouble, I've seen that up close. She's swell, by the way, and as for visits with the kids, he altered his training schedule to be here more this year, and I know at one point he bought a house right next door so they could run back and forth.
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Washington, D.C.:
Sally, really enjoyed your and Lance Armstrong's book, "It's Not About the Bike." I continue to highly recommend it to anyone who is struggling with cancer or watching someone do so, as I did with my father.
So I am now a big Lance fan. Here's the question: Does he have a good chance of winning this year? Do you think he will retire after this year's tour, one way or the other?
Thanks very much for taking my question!
Sally Jenkins: Yes, he has a great chance of winning, maybe better than last year because he's in better shape physically and emotionally, tho a year older. No, he won;t retire yet, he will ride for a another year.
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Silver Spring, Md.:
Hey Sally, do you think Lance has been able to maintain his usual spartan-like devotion to training for this Tour? It seems like there are just so many distractions in his life these days...a high-profile romance, separation from his kids, a bevy of endorsements, etc. I was really surprised to read that he was here in town just a few weeks ago to attend a screening at the AFI theater.
Sally Jenkins: That's the trick for any great athlete who starts to enjoy the privileges of celebrity and success. I think it's important for Lance to enjoy some of his life, otherwise he'd burn out and start to hate the bike. I also think it's a balancing act. As for Sheryl Crow somehow distracting him from training, my impression is quite the opposite. And Lance loves it that other riders think he's getting fat and lazy living with the rock star. Makes him want to win more races, frankly, and prove them wrong, which is really his favorite sport.
Lance is back and forth to the States all the time for business appearances and it hasn't hurt him in five other Tours. One of the perks of being immortal is that you get your own jet which can whisk you around.
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Downtown DC:
I think it's less than fifty-fifty that Lance wins this year. I'm a big fan, but there are just too many other people at the top of their respective games right now.
Let's say I'm right and Lance is beaten by, say, Mayo or Hamilton. How does that affect the plan for next year? Does it make it more or less likely that he tries one of the other major tours before he retires?
Also, note to a previous poster: Damiano Cunego is not riding this year's TdF, despite his Giro victory.
Sally Jenkins: Well, the historical odds agree with you. Actually going by history the odds are way less than 50-50.
My own opinion is that Lance may be Secretariat, an evolutionary leap. I'm betting on him.
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Washington, D.C.:
Do Nike and the other sponsors of individual athletes have their own testing regimens for their key athletes, like Marion Jones and Lance Armstrong? It seems like they would do some serious investigating of an athletes habits before investing in a marketing campaign? Do the sponsorship agreements hold back dollars if the athlete tests positive for some kind of dope?
Sally Jenkins: I don't know about the testing thing. I do know most of Lance's contracts include a kind of "morals" clause.
Nike is VERY careful. But I don't know that they go to extremes of private testing. Somebody else on this chat might know better than me; it's a very informed audience.
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Philadelphia, PA:
" I think his struggles last year were entirely attributable to the fact that his marriage was falling apart and he was utterly heartsick. It's that simple."
That being said, do you see anything in his preparation to suggest that he is more focused and in a better state of mind for this year's race?
Sally Jenkins: Yes. He and Kristin are on great terms, he feels much better about his children, he's obviously happy personally, and he's in pretty terrific shape.
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miami:
I have followed Lance Armstrong these past 5 years with great admiration not only for his courage but determination. How is it decided in the team who will be the front runner - what I mean, of all the team members on say Lance's team, how was it decided that 5 years ago he would be the front guy who would be supported by the team, as opposed to one of the other members of the team.
Second question, what do you think Lance's chances are of a 6th win - I know of his age but what about his competitors - is there anyone who can really challenge him? Thanks.
Sally Jenkins: The best rider with the best chance to win stages and take a crack at an overall title is the leader. Altho there have been famous occasions when there are disputes and jealousies over leadership.
As for Lance's chance at 6, there are LOTs of others who can challenge him, Jan Ullrich, Iban Mayo and Tyler Hamilton to name three, and then there is always the chance of a brilliant new talent breaking out.
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Washington, D.C.:
Do you think this year's course was intentionally set up to provide more riders with a better chance at beating Armstrong?
Sally Jenkins: Yes, and I think the course has been set up that way for the last four consecutive years, to no avail.
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Houston, TX:
Lance's contract with the new sponsor would seem to offer him opportunities to commentate on the sport after he is through riding. Do you think that he has any interest in that?
Thanks for hosting this Live Online.
Sally Jenkins: That's a good question. He's actually shy by temperament, which Europeans have chronically understood. When I first got to know him he was white knuckled at the prospect of public speaking and commercial appearances and all that. He's much better now, even good at it. So I don't know. Five years ago I'd have said never. Now perhaps it would be a nice way for him to stay involved as he gets older, and he has a candor that would be good on air.
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Fairfax, Va.:
I've heard he's in better shape this year then at the beginning of last years tour. It seems to me his biggest fitness issue isn't power or climbing, but rather, as he gets older, his ability to handle the intense heat of the tour and his ability to recover (I'm thinking specifically about the TT last tour when he became dehydrated). Do you know if he has trained specifically with that in mind, to avoid the same problems? How do you expect he'll do?
Sally Jenkins: Heat is always a problem for him. His body doesn't react well to it, generally. He loves a cold rainy day.
As for preparing for heat, I don't know if he has or hasn't. Again, someone else on this chat might know.
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Baltimore, Md.:
Hello Sally,
How much has Lance's media committments affected his training? Could this be his pitfall this year?
Sally Jenkins: Nah. He doesn't do that much, actually. He has a handful of deals and when he does a commercial shoot for Nike, they film several different ads all in a day or two.
He's one of the great efficiency experts. If he loses this Tour, it will be because of age and body failure, not lack of focus or devotion.
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Silver Spring, Md:
Sally, when Lance retires, do you see him dissapearing completely from the public eye, staying involved with cycling, or...what?
Sally Jenkins: I see him drinking a lot of Shiner Bock beer and eating a lot of ice cream and coaching his kids in T ball in Texas. He never craved the spotlight and got famous very late in life comparatively, and he is convinced celebrity is corrosive. He won't stay in the public eye, unless it's as a part time broadcaster simply as a way to go to the Tour each year.
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Arlington, VA:
As an avid cycling fan since the Greg LeMond days, it is very satisfying for me to see the amount of attention this sport has received in the US. The amount of great US riders have increased enormously and that is a testament to Lance's successes. But we should not forget the progress LeMond made during his career as well as Andy Hampsten. Do you think those riders would have gotten more credit if they were racing in today's environment? You would have to admit that they rode in relative (except for LeMond during his Tour wins) obscurity.
Sally Jenkins: well it's hard to imagine Lemond getting more credit. He made about several SPorts Illustrated covers and was Sportsman of the year. As for the others, yes, they laid a lot of groundwork for the U.S. in international cycling.
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Fairfax, Va.:
I know there was extensive testing and development of a new TT bike for Armstrong, yet I've heard that he opted for another version or even his older TT bike, not being comfortable with the new position. Do you know the details on that Sally?
Sally Jenkins: I'm not an expert on his bikes. I THINK what happened was, he was unhappy with his bike in LAST year's Tour, so they went back to the drawing board, and came up with a new Trek climbing bike that you and me will be able to buy in August for about $10,000 grand. That;s more that John Kerry's Serotta.
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Bethesda, Md.:
Ms. Jenkins,
I heard that Lance Armstrong recently signed a 6 year sponsorship deal with the Discovery Channel. Are we going to see him in their outfit this tour, or in his old postal service digs?
Sally Jenkins: Discovery IS the old Postal team
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Vienna, Va.:
Any sense of real animosity on the part of the French toward Armstrong? I was in Paris in 1989 when Le Monde stole the Tour from Laurent Fignon on the last stage, after everyone thought it was all wrapped up. The French were shell-shocked (and some were resentful). The fact that an American is about to become the greatest Tour champion (I think he'll win) has to be sticking in the craws of more than a few French folks.
Sally Jenkins: The French have a love hate relationship with him, because he beats French riders and because he has tested cleanly while other riders have been convicted of doping. They also have their own distinct sensibility about winning too much. I remember Yannick Noah once remarking that the French love to be runnerups, or something to that effect. They are sentimental about noble failures. One French rider was asked if he wanted to see Armstrong win six, and he replied, "I'd like to see him tie the record, but not break it." In that respect Lance and the French maybe oil and water. On the other hand, he loves the country, loves their culture, and his reception in Paris is always lovely.
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McLean, Va.:
Hi Sally - It took 4 consecutive Tour wins and quite a bit of "suffering" on the road to the 5th win (2003) for the French to finally warm-up to (and embrace) Lance. Will the allegations of drug use in "LA Confidential" single-handedly erase the goodwill with the French fans that took so long to generate? Will he be continually taunted, or supported on his historic attempt for 6? Thanks.
Sally Jenkins: See my previous answer -- the French will have mixed feelings. And as far as I can tell, nothing in LA COnfidential is really new, the same basic allegations have been floating around for years. Lance's reception will be about the same.
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Santa Monica, Calif.:
Hi Sally,
I've loved both of your books with Lance and have given the first one as a gift to many people, all of whom have been surprised at how moved they were both by the story and your account of it. Lance is truly my hero, in no small measure thanks to your helping bring his story to me.
That having been said, I am worried: even more disturbing than yet another round of doping allegations, which I've given up trying to make sense of, I worry that the Lance Armstrong we read about in the two books is somehow not the REAL Lance Armstrong, that your elegant prose sugar coats his personality in a way that distorts the picture.
In a nutshell, how could someone who went through what he went through, who married the person who helped him through it, who fathered three children presumably through IVF since he himself is now sterile, how could that Lance Armstrong turn his back on that primary relationship? I remember reading about their separation in 2003 and thinking that it couldn't be true, that it must be scandal-mongering. The Lance Armstrong of "It's Not About the Bike" would never do that. And yet, in the new book, he (and you) never really tell us what went wrong. It's told as this wispy, "we drifted apart" story. Can you tell us what went wrong? If he had time to help you write another book, how come he didn't have time to save his marriage?
I know heroes aren't perfect, but somehow I thought this one was.
Thanks for your great writing and reporting. Come Saturday, we're all still going to be pulling for him to make history again.
- David K.
Sally Jenkins: One small correction: Kristin is a wonderful person who supported Lance wholly. But they met after the cancer. Lance had been cancer free for a year and was awaiting his tests declaring him cured when they began courting. It's a common misconception that she nursed him through the disease.
The only people who can tell you the precise details of what went wrong with the marriage are Lance and Kristin, and I wouldn't dream of violating a confidence.
But anybody who has been married with three small children and a difficult career deals with a a level of numbing fatigue that the rest of us don't.
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Anonymous:
In her Thursday column, Ann Killion (SJ Mercury) mentioned that Sheryl Crow is being referred to as "the Yoko Ono of cycling." Your thoughts?
Sally Jenkins: HAHAHA! I hadn't heard that one.
I haven't met Sheryl Crow. But the people closest to Lance, such as his mother Linda and his friend and agent Bill Stapleton, think a lot of her. They say she's real regular, takes care of herself and has her own life apart from Lance, and is sort of a jock. That's all I know. They really like her.
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Downtown DC:
Sally, what do you think is the likelihood that LA tries another tour, eg the Giro, next year? Is it more or less likely if he doesn't win the TdF this year? Thanks.
Sally Jenkins: Don't know the answer to that one.
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Falls Church, Va.:
Will the anti-American sentiment in France translate into an anti-Armstrong sentiment, particularly if he's in contention to win toward the end of the Tour?
Sally Jenkins: Some anti-Lance sentiment has been a constant at every Tour, whereas anti-American sentiment did not show its face at last year's Tour. The crowds were very polite in that way.
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washingtonpost.com:
That's it for today's questions. Thanks for your participation.
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