# LA Just Doesn't Look Right



## scottie (Apr 28, 2004)




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## simonton (Mar 11, 2007)

That photo makes him look like he has quite a large gut. I am sure it is not the case.


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## bahueh (May 11, 2004)

its the position...there area few pics of Cancellara floating around from Paris-Nice which made him look similarly large...I believe its probably an exhale...and relaxing the diaphragm to breath...
also read somewhere a few weeks back he's playing playing with his TT position...he may not be as flexible as he used to be.


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## Dajianshan (Jul 15, 2007)

C'mon! How many times have you been curled up and looked down and said, "Oh my god I am fat!!!"... until you stand up. 

I compared to other pictures of the TT position and everyone has that.


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## Trek491 (Apr 27, 2004)

I was out at the TT today and I thought he lookedeven leaner than he did at Gila last year. It's definitely the picture making it look that way.


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## redlizard (Jul 26, 2007)

I was out there today, too, and he looked fit to me. No sign of a gut.


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## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

From last week, Chris Carmichael on LA's current TT form:


> Not long after the La Ruta Camp, I joined Lance Armstrong in Aspen, Colorado. It was his first time back in the high country for a cycling training camp (he’d been there over the winter for some altitude exposure and time off), and he’s looking very strong. I can’t exactly compare his fitness now to this time last year, though, because at this time last year he was recovering from a broken collarbone. Not so this year, and his power numbers are quite impressive. His time trial training is going better than last year as well, due largely to the fact he has put in more miles on that bike and in an aero position. To go fast a rider must be totally dialed in to his aero position, and last year, after so much time away from the TT bike, it was difficult to get that combination of power, comfort, and aerodynamics totally in line. Having said all that, don’t expect Lance to crush the competition in this week’s Tour of the Gila. Levi Leipheimer is flying right now in the runup to the Tour of California, and Lance is taking a much longer view toward July.


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## Ventruck (Mar 9, 2009)

Don't forget his chest/back is abnormally large in general.


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## gamara (May 20, 2002)

That picture illustrates perfectly deep belly breathing. All pros use this technique to maximize O2 uptake. Its all in the diaphragm.


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## izzyfly (Jul 10, 2009)

gamara said:


> That picture illustrates perfectly deep belly breathing. All pros use this technique to maximize O2 uptake. Its all in the diaphragm.


+1 
shutter caught him in the (air) intake.


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## tone12 (Feb 4, 2007)

He does look a bit higher/cramped on the bike but he's always had that hump in the back. He's also taking a deep breath which makes his belly look extended. Regardless, he'd kick my a$$. I'm slightly jealous, a couple of my friends are down there racing against Mellow Johnny's.


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## The Moontrane (Nov 28, 2005)

Looks to me like his saddle is higher than at the 09 TdF – closer to his 99-05 height. But he’s catching a lot of air like he did at the 09 TdF. He needs to come down a bit or produce Indurain wattage.


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## 3rensho (Aug 26, 2003)

Yes. It's all in the photography. Here's another example. Cyclingnews.com seems to have caught the exact same exhale which obviously is the ONLY reason LA would look like this.


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## Ventruck (Mar 9, 2009)

You can kinda see it in action here. Just wish he'd wear some contrasting colors to make it more clear:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ4oQ03HqyE

Surely fit. To think this was somewhat of an analytical/test run.


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## The Moontrane (Nov 28, 2005)

Ventruck said:


> You can kinda see it in action here. Just wish he'd wear some contrasting colors to make it more clear:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ4oQ03HqyE
> 
> Surely fit. To think this was somewhat of an analytical/test run.


He’s being attacked by really overcooked spaghetti. :ihih:


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## leadag (Jan 4, 2005)

i gotta say, looking through the pics on cyclingnews and velonews, of all the guys riding treks, the bigger pursuit riders, i.e. Sergent and Phinney, have a way better position than lance and levi.. something about small guys and those trek headtubes doesn't seem to work.


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## Salsa_Lover (Jul 6, 2008)

he looks old


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## Dajianshan (Jul 15, 2007)

He is 38 after all.


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## scottie (Apr 28, 2004)




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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

there's a video on youtube about his tt position - he still looks like he's got one of the most unaero positions possible...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-HUdQwZT3Y


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## adimiro (Jun 28, 2007)

I think he is faking his pot belly to bluff his competitors.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*there were photos of him*

like this in the 'he's fat, Jan is gonna kill him this year' era
belly breathing


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## heathb (Nov 1, 2008)

As a saxophonist myself diaphragm breathing is indeed the key to taking in all the air you can with the least amount of effort. High and mid chest choppy breaths take too much effort with too little CO2 exchange.


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## ralph1 (May 20, 2006)

I am exactly the same on the bike....except when I get off and look down it's still BIG!! 

TIC

cheers

Ralph


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

Tons of TT photo's look like that, plus the weird hump has always had in the back adds to it. 

Position does seem a bit high, but tinkering with the position (mentioned earlier) may account for that.

The Trek Speed Concept is one sharp bike.


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## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

I get a kick out of all the 'experts' and critics saying Lance and Levi have the 'wrong' TT riding position. Uhhh, how do they acheive such 'right' results with wrong positions?


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

Gnarly 928 said:


> I get a kick out of all the 'experts' and critics saying Lance and Levi have the 'wrong' TT riding position. Uhhh, how do they acheive such 'right' results with wrong positions?


care to share why they keep on doing wind tunnel testing if they are so perfect. How many years were leipheimer a pro before he adopted a whole new TT position?


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

Aerodynamic position is only an avantage if it's gains are greater than power lost by folding the rider. They go to the wind tunnel to learn instead of guess. They then test for power output with the position changes and decide what to keep, what to omit.

Miguel Indurain was the most dominant TTer of his era and had probably the highest, least aero position in the bunch.


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## Uncle Jam's Army (Aug 1, 2006)

I know this thread seems to be about LA's position on the TT bike, but he definitely doesn't look like he's anywhere near close to having the form necessary to compete (much less win) in the Tour in July. I mean, he finished outside the top 20 in the first stage in the Gila (behind Floyd Landis!), following a subpar Criterium Internacional and Tour de Murcia showing. Seems LA had better form last year recovering from a broken collarbone. 

I am a die-hard LA fan, but it doesn't look good this year. Don't know if he just no longer has it physically, or whether the desire to train hard is gone, or both.


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## leadag (Jan 4, 2005)

Gnarly 928 said:


> I get a kick out of all the 'experts' and critics saying Lance and Levi have the 'wrong' TT riding position. Uhhh, how do they acheive such 'right' results with wrong positions?



what 'right' results has Armstrong achieved in a TT post-comeback? He just doesn't look as good on the TT bike since his return, and yeah, that's speculation on my part. 

I'll admit that Levi clearly has the TT dialed in..


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

leadag said:


> i gotta say, looking through the pics on cyclingnews and velonews, of all the guys riding treks, the bigger pursuit riders, i.e. Sergent and Phinney, have a way better position than lance and levi.. something about small guys and those trek headtubes doesn't seem to work.


why focus only on people riding TREKs? Are TREKs are even good bikes? 

pursuit riders have to ride 5K events. Time trialists on the road have to often face with much longer distances, 40K and above - and Lance/Levi are all-rounders, they have to balance their time trial with ability to climb and endure multi-week events.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

den bakker said:


> care to share why they keep on doing wind tunnel testing if they are so perfect. How many years were leipheimer a pro before he adopted a whole new TT position?


Generally I would guess new equipment, especially in light of the new UCI rules means having to retest quite a bit, as does new position rules like the one killing off the praying mantis position. 

The better question- at this level why _wouldn't_ you be going to the tunnel every year?


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## LostViking (Jul 18, 2008)

I read that he has been training with ice-packs under his TT suit...


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

den bakker said:


> care to share why they keep on doing wind tunnel testing if they are so perfect. How many years were leipheimer a pro before he adopted a whole new TT position?


Wasn't it just after Landis started the "Praying Mantis" style?


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## lesper4 (Jul 15, 2008)

Love the shot of the bike, never seen that before. It is pretty cool to compare the two images from then and now. I always though he had a strange form in TT shape but from what i have heard that is normal..


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

First pic is skewed. The image was stretched horizontally. The wheels aren't round and it's a side-on shot.


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## waldo425 (Sep 22, 2008)

Coolhand said:


> Generally I would guess new equipment, especially in light of the new UCI rules means having to retest quite a bit, as does new position rules like the one killing off the praying mantis position.
> 
> *The better question- at this level why wouldn't you be going to the tunnel every year?*


I can't see why not especially if it is a big budget team. Seems like the body changes so much that it would be a good idea to test out new positions annually.


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## joep721 (May 4, 2009)

I don't know if anyone has read the Allen Lim article in the most recent copy of Bicycling. They talk about Lance wearing a cooling vest while in Hawaii. Maybe, just maybe, this picture was taken while he was wearing the vest, which in the article says it contains ice. That would cause LA torso to appear large.


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

joep721 said:


> I don't know if anyone has read the Allen Lim article in the most recent copy of Bicycling. They talk about Lance wearing a cooling vest while in Hawaii. Maybe, just maybe, this picture was taken while he was wearing the vest, which in the article says it contains ice. That would cause LA torso to appear large.


I didn't read the article, but the vest is worn pre-competition. It would be bizarre to wear it riding - even in a training run.


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## orangeclymer (Aug 18, 2009)

Salsa_Lover said:


> he looks old


sadly for many of his competitors he doesn't ride old..


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## joep721 (May 4, 2009)

AJL, 

It was an interesting read. Talked about how Lim made it to Team Armstrong. 

The article talks about LA doing a 10 mile interval and was "strapped with a pouch full of ice" and that he waddled to his bike looking like Tim Allen in The Santa Clause 3. 

It also talked about LA riding on the road from Kona to Havi and that he would be photographed in the vest. 

Just a thought


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

Then you are probably right joep721. I haven't gotten my copy in the mail yet.

Thanks for the info.


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## cpark (Oct 13, 2004)

If you are talking about the porkiness of LA, I think it's the picture that appears to be vertically skewed. Either that or the oval shape wheel is something new that I'm not familiar with.
If you are takling about the slightly upright position, I would like to believe that he knows a thing or two on most efficient position on the bike.
I remember when a journalist commenting that Miguel Indurain has a very upright position, and could net a better results if he gets lower and narrower.
Indurain responded by saying that the reason for an upright position is due to the size and expansion of his hearts and lungs, a lower/narrower position rstricted the diaphragm and compromise his speed.


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