Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France

The 2009 Tour de France cycling race has been underway for a few days, and I was fortunate enough to get to ask a few questions of the pre-eminent Tour de France commentators: Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggett courtesy VERSUS. The race is 3500 kilometres (2188 miles) in length and comprises 21 daily stages.

What's weight training got to do with Le Tour? Well . . . there is an ongoing debate about whether endurance cyclists, like those in the Tour, need to do weight training -- and if so, what type. Of course, there is also great interest in whether Lance Armstrong, 7-times champion returning from retirement, can win again.

This wasn't the time or the opportunity for a long technical discussion, but here is what I asked and the replies.

Intro. "Thanks for the opportunity to ask you guys some questions about the 2009 Tour and especially Lance's chances. I'm the Weight Training Guide at About.com, so I'll try to get some focus on that if possible. I'm a Tour "nut" and former triathlete and I watch and listen to your commentary each year."

Q1. "First up is the obvious question: Can Lance do it an 8th time? I suspect the odds are against it, but as we all know, he's an incredible athlete; however the (Astana) team will be important no doubt."

A1. "I think that physically Lance has the ability to win but it may depend on how the race unfolds, he was impressive at the Giro d’Italia and I think there were days when he road well within himself. He knows himself very well and I think that will help in the last week of the race which is going to be very hard this year."

Q2. "When you read the cycling magazines and forums, there is a lot of discussion of the value of weight training in the gym for road cyclists and many diverse opinions exist. Lance actually was responsible for much of the interest in weight training with his well-publicized gym work. Is Lance still doing gym now and what do you think of weight training for cyclists?"

A2. "It depends on the discipline of the sport that the athlete is in. For track (cycling) sprinters it is obligatory to build up muscle mass, especially on the legs. Whereas for climbers I think they can all benefit from upper body work which gets left behind sometimes from just working on the bike."

Q3. "It looks like Robbie McEwen is out after his fall, but what about the road sprinters and their training . . . I know that Robbie did a lot of weights in his early years, do you think weight training is more important for road sprinters? And who do you favor to win the Green jersey this year? Cavendish seems hot favorite . . . who's his biggest threat?"

A3. "As above, I think it is very important for sprinters to build up the muscles mass in the legs for their explosive efforts. It's a pity that Robbie is missing this Tour because of injury. Cavendish is the big favorite for the Green jersey but his most dangerous rival will be Oscar Freire. The Spaniard has the chance to get points on the hilly stages as opposed to the other sprinters whose chances are limited only to the flat days."

End. "Thanks very much for your comments and the chance to talk."

Photo: (c) Tour de France 2009 Stage Four - Team Trial By: Jasper Juinen Getty Images Sport People: Lance Armstrong