Anonymous
Years ago
just off the topic slightly, does anyone else agree with me that Lance Armstrong is currently the best athlete in the world??
his record speaks for itself, and recently the guy coming second in the tour, Ivan Basso, stated that he is at least a level if not 2 better than anyone else in the tour.
the man is a freak!!
which athlete would be better than him??
Roger Federrer in Tennis? A machine.
Michael Shumaker in F1? Maybe not this season but has been for about 6 years.
Valentino Rossi in GP Bikes? Unbeatable over the last 3/4 years.
Tiger Woods in Golf? Youngest ever to win 10 Majors. Quicker than Nicholas.
Lance by a longshot. Watch the Tour on TV and these sicko's (I mean it in a good way) ride around 150km + a day over 21 stages (the tour is over 3,000km). He's won the last 6 tours, and not to mention he's battled his own personal demons to get to where he is.
Anonymous, your names are impressive as sportspeople, but lets have a look, I know these guys train hard, dedicated to their chosen sport, and are champions, but:
Michael = motor vehicle with engine
Rossi = motorcycle with engine
Both these have had the best support (Ferrari and Honda/Yamaha) whilst both of them have been with the teams.
Avanti
Years ago
Lance's story regarding his battle with cancer is quite amazing.
Before he was diagnosed he wasn't the cyclist he is now. However the treatment he had to go through changed his physiology totally making him much leaner and capable of climbing the moaintains better than ever before.
Does that mean that you do not consider Don Bradman to be the greatest athlete of all time simply becasue he was involved in a sport which does not require a high VO2 max?
Isaac
Years ago
Avanti, that sounds a bit like scenes from Kung Fu Hustle...
Kriss
Years ago
I would think lance just with the amount of guts and pure pain thresh hold you have to have in taking up a grueling sport.
You also have to admire- tri athlons and maybe rowers .hello sally Robbins ; ) sorry
Boonie is the greatest athlete Australian cricket has ever produced.....
MW
Years ago
There would be 6-12 riders on tour that could do what he does if given the same team he has around him. That is the biggest difference.
Avanti
Years ago
I dont think so, Mw...
Even on days when he has been isolated from the rest of his team, Lance has been able to blow away all other rivals whenever it has suited him.
Isaac
Years ago
"In Shanghai, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang" while residents of a housing complex exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf."
Surpassed Siu lam juk kau (2001) (Shaolin Soccer) in February 2005 to become the highest-grossing Hong Kong-made movie in Hong Kong.
As of 2005, this film had the widest cinematic release in the USA of a foreign language film.
Bizzy
Years ago
You'd have to rate Merv Hughes up there wouldn't you? Australia should be proud of the moustache!!
gertrude
Years ago
i must say MW i disagree with you as well. i think if Lance was the focus of any of the top 5 or 6 teams, he would still have seven titles in a row...you only need to have a look at his record in the individual time trials where he has dominated for many years to see this. i agree his team is so strong that it just adds to the impossiblity of beating him, but he is the best, there is no doubt.
with regard to the don bradman...i would not regard him as the greatest athlete of all time.....i think of him more as a sportsperson....i do see some difference between athlete and sportsperson.....not sure why!
athlete more to do with pure fitness....sportsperson involving a higher ratio of skill.
gertrude
Years ago
darren lehmann would have to be close to the greatest athlete australia has produce, between him and baked beans warney i reckon.
TR
Years ago
Sh*t, I finally get a little basketball and I forget to put my name on it. &%#* it!! I hate switching work computers......
Avanti
Years ago
Yeah ok Isaac, maybe it did sound a little "Go on your quest to catch the fry with chopstick, glasshopper"....
Isaac
Years ago
No, more that the "hero" of the movie is utterly useless until he is beaten to a pulp and his body rebuilds itself. Seriously, check the film out -- if you don't mind subtitles (or better yet, speak the language), a few corny jokes and some nice wire-fu, it's very entertaining. Where else do a tailor, a noodle-man and a coolie hook-up to beat up a suited army of axe-wielding nutcases?
Lance is a true legend. If you turn on the SBS each night you will realise this. His ability to climb mountains but be dominant in time trials is incedible to watch. In the time trial to start off this years tour he overtook his arch-rival Jan Ulrich...this is just unheard of considering they have a one minute gap between each person who takes off.
In my opinion, there is nobody that even comes close to comparing themselves with this man. The names are impressive that have been stated, but this man is not to be messed with!!
Honor That Big Man
Years ago
Boonie 52 cans (of VB i think) from syndey to london, now that takes some hardcore traning. Imagnine the pain the next morning aswell !!
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