What kind of team leaders were Tyler and Floyd?

[Dr. Maserati]

But to play devil's advocate, while it's uncommon, it's not unique. One could say the same about Laurent Jalabert - there weren't too many who would've predicted that he'd transform from a sprinter/classics rider to a GC rider/Vuelta winner, or one day be finishing 4th on GC and winning the mountains classification in the Tour. He never really showed any sign of being a potential GC rider early on in his career.

Not the same as winning 7 Tours, granted, but a similar trajectory.

The trajectory is the same, as it was fired from an EPO syringe.

I realize that there is nothing more controversial than to suggest that LA was not a genuine GT contender and that this is often viewed as a slight on LA - it isn't.
Pre '96 he was an excellent rider and there was few races up to a week long that he could not be viewed as a potential victor.

His difficulty, like similar type riders was not the mountains or TT's but the cumulative effect of a 3 week race. He lacked that consistency and was prone to at least one bad day.

 

[Velodude]

No, Walsh never said he had the talent to be a GT winner.
In fact in that book Armstrong admits he does not have what it takes to win the Tour.

Indeed LA was pulled out of that Tour in a pre-arranged move.If LA had such talent surely he would have been a lot more competitive in the mountain stages knowing he 'only' had to ride 2 mountain stages. Check his finishing times for those stages.

That is post event face saving propaganda that it was planned for LA to abandon the 1993 Tour.

Graham Fife's 2001 book "Inside the Peloton, Riding Winning and Losing the Tour de France" - "after winning the 1993 stage to Verdun, Lance Armstrong was physically exhausted - so much so that he was incapable of speaking, never mind getting out of bed.
His fellow Motorola colleagues had to persuade him to continue to try to race "
(he dropped out of the TDF a stage later).

David Walsh has a more retrospective view now on Lance Armstrong in this radio interview and discusses his first interview with LA for his book "Inside the Tour De France" where LA was the subject of the "Neopro" chapter.

http://competitorradio.competitor.com/?powerpress_pinw=149-podcast

 

[happychappy]

I don't think for one minute that a clean Armstrong would've won seven tours,

Of course not, he would have been competing against more than a hundred "dopers".

 

[Dr. Maserati]

That is post event face saving propaganda that it was planned for LA to abandon the 1993 Tour.

Graham Fife's 2001 book "Inside the Peloton, Riding Winning and Losing the Tour de France" - "after winning the 1993 stage to Verdun, Lance Armstrong was physically exhausted - so much so that he was incapable of speaking, never mind getting out of bed.
His fellow Motorola colleagues had to persuade him to continue to try to race "
(he dropped out of the TDF a stage later).

David Walsh has a more retrospective view now on Lance Armstrong in this radio interview and discusses his first interview with LA for his book "Inside the Tour De France" where LA was the subject of the "Neopro" chapter.

http://competitorradio.competitor.com/?powerpress_pinw=149-podcast

Yes and no.

It was mentioned at the time that LA was going to be pulled but allowed test himself in the mountains to see what his future capabilities would be.
I understand the Fife comment yet it does not contradict what was known at the time.

 

[Polish]

Of course young Lance had the talent to be a GT champion.

Especially when they changed the rules to include a caged wrestling match halfway up each mountain stage.

The total body transformation pre and post cancer is striking.
The mental focus transformation was just as intense.
GRRRR indeed.

 

[VeloCity]

The general opinion here seems to be that Jalabert was about as credible as Armstrong. Still, while he did a good GC at one Tour, one Vuelta (which he won) and one Giro, he usually failed in the high mountains, and he remained strongest in the classics and one-week stage races, which had always been his forte, sprints aside.

The way he became a world class time-trialist later on was completely ridiculous, though.

Not equating the two, as obviously Armstrong had considerably more success as a GC rider than did Jalabert, just saying that the transformation of a classics rider who hadn't shown much in the way of GC capabilities to becoming a GC competitor is not unique to Armstrong.

Or, to put it another way, no one in 1992 would've predicted that Jalabert would one day win the Vuelta, just as no one in 1993 would've predicted that Armstrong would one day win the Tour.

 

[VeloCity]

His difficulty, like similar type riders was not the mountains or TT's but the cumulative effect of a 3 week race. He lacked that consistency and was prone to at least one bad day.

He also had cancer. It's impossible to know how long he had it and to what effect (if any, mind you) that was having on his abilities - especially endurance - prior to his being diagnosed.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

He also had cancer. It's impossible to know how long he had it and to what effect (if any, mind you) that was having on his abilities - especially endurance - prior to his being diagnosed.

It has been well chronicled how the form of cancer he had would have impacted on his performance and indeed it is noticeable how he struggles after spring 96.

 

[Polish]

He also had cancer. It's impossible to know how long he had it and to what effect (if any, mind you) that was having on his abilities - especially endurance - prior to his being diagnosed.

Of course it affected his performance.

Lance waited WAY too long before seeing a Doctor.
He waited until he was coughing up blood.
Cancer had spread from his nutz to his brain.
And lungs.
Hocking bloody lugies fcol.

I remember when it was announced thinking "Lance is a dead man walking".
Thats when I became a fan.
Was a Big Mig and Greg fan before then.