"Jan, could you please pass the donuts?"

[Roy E. Munson]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos.php?id=photos/2004/feb04/algarve/stage4/cycling-portugal-armstro-61 (http://)

I effed this up - cut and paste the link if you like

[BumbleBeeDave]

He does seem to look just tiniest bit porky from this angle . . .

BBDave

[Kevin]

I think that the man on the right is telling Lance that he will be rewarded with THREE Krispy Kremes if he wins the race.

Kevin

[saab2000]

... that LA will not win this years Tour. In Indurain's last Tour he was a couple lbs overweight and lost.

I predict bad things for LA this year unless he is very disciplined about his weight. One or two kilos too much will keep him from winning.

[Ginger]

You know...I was going to say something about his weight the last time he came up in a recent post...but I thought perhaps I was being a typical hypercritical female...

But perhaps he's been hanging out with Mr. Williams and Ms. Crow swilling Bock and pounding Krispy kremes just a little too much...

Ya think?

Of course, if you look at him at the beginning of last year's tour and at the end of last year's tour, you do see the weight loss. And perhaps it is "early in the season"

isn't it?

Of course, if you page through a few more photos you see that Floyd and George don't have quite the gut that Lance is sporting (I know...its not much of one, but that ISN'T and unfortunate photo of "belly breathing"...there's some substance to it)


(yes, I'm working on Sunday and crabby about it)

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . because let’s be realistic--he has a bit over FOUR FULL MONTHS to shed what, maybe 5 pounds?

Let’s check back June 1 and see what he looks like.

BBDave

[Bruce H.]

I would still love to have his body fat percentage.
Even "fat", he is one of the fittest if not the dittest human on earth!
Bruce H.

[Larry]

Lance's upper body, especially through the shoulders, looks strong.
He is doing his weight training perhaps.
He will be ready to fire come late June.

[bostondrunk]

I'm prepared to bet a used pair of nashbar bib shorts that Jan walks all over Lance at the Tour.
On the other hand, Lance gets to go home to one hot babe!

[Sandy]

He certainly, in this photo, looks heavier than he did previously. Hopefully, the difference in his appearance, is not related to any health issues. I am surprised, with his focus on nutrition, that he would gain any weight, if this is the case.

So Super Slim STill Serotta Sandy

[Russ]

Originally posted by BumbleBeeDave
He does seem to look just tiniest bit porky from this angle . . .
BBDave

Hey Bee,

It's my understanding that telephoto lenses make things look bigger and wider. Could this be the case here?

[Larry]

To Bostondrunk,

Do not underestimate Lance.
He is still the best.
Jan still has to attain Lance's level, and he is not the climber that Lance will be at this year's Tour. I think Lance will do something really special on Alpe Duez time trial.
Lance is still the best overall racer. His team strength will be a question mark.
Plus those young guys on other teams are indeed really, really hungry.
Remember...... Lance survived from dehydration, crashes, etc. last year. I think
he has the reserve strength to win number 6.
And.... I think Jan knows, by this time, that Lance is better period........

Larry

[Too Tall]

Lance is dangerous when he's p'd. Keep calling him names.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . You are correct, and that’s why I made sure to mention that he looks a bit porky “from this angle.” A telephoto lens does compress perspective and can make comeone look bigger from this front angle--just like vertical stripes make you look taller and thinner. If you go back to the “TT position” thread and look at the side view photo there, he does not look overweight at all.

If he IS indeed a few pounds above his optimal weight for the Tour, then that does not strike me as unusual for this time of year. Hell, I lost about five pounds myself over the course of last summer while riding--and I was certainly not pursuing and kind of scientific training program designed to have me peaking at any particulat time.

That’s why, to me, it’s interesting and entertaining to talk about this issue right now, but it really means nothing in the context of REAL condition or predictions for the Tour. As I mentioned before, check all these riders out again come June 1 or June 15 and that will be a much better indicator of where they stand.

BBDave

[oracle]

he's diaphram breathing, on the blocks.

[jeffg]

Seriously, I was chuckling at myself after putting down a pint or two of German brew last night. Jan gets knocked for his weight, but he is still pretty slender by any real world measure.

One thing rarely touched on is the tendency towards anorexia in cycling. When doctors push strength/weight ratio the way they do, the amount of underweight cyclists should come as no surprise. Eating disorders are not uncommon in the peloton, male or female, and are common in junior racing as well. Heck, Lance admits that it would be unhealthy for him to be at his TdF weight for the whole year, and tries not to hold it any longer than he has to. At 5'9", 155, I'm just a plain fatso, and a slow one at that.

cheers,

Fat-J

:beer:

[CIII_bill]

I spoke with Ed Matheny last month about breathng techniques for my riding. He talked to me about using my diaphram more in my breathing.

He said:

<quote>
'if you look at certain side views of Jan or Lance time trialing, you can see that their stomachs look distended, almost as if they're fat or have swallowed a watermelon. They aren't fat of course but they are breathing powerfully with the diaphragm making it puff out.'

So that might be what's happening in the picture. Also if he's a little overweight in Feb., I think that's ok. He has a lot of time to get rid of it.

[bostondrunk]

ya, but if there were a picture of Ulrich like that, everyone would accuse him of eating too much sausage and cake and cookies and chips and ecstacy.

"I wonder what Jan [Ullrich] thought when he heard I won in Portugal, that I'm winning in February, when I'm nowhere near my peak," Armstrong said. "I was thinking what would I do if I heard Ullrich had won a time-trial in February... I think I'd get straight down and do 50 sit-ups just to say to myself I was doing something. I didn't expect to win, but I did."

Ulrich is probably thinking
"Haha, Lance beat a bunch of riders who couldn't crack the top 30 at the TDF if their life depended on it!".

I think Lance knows he's in big trouble this year, so he has started the mental game, as well as started making the excuses in case he doesn't win.
I have a lot of respect for Lance. No, not because of cycling, but because he landed that hot babe Sheryl Crow!!