I know John F. Kennedy wrote the book, Profiles in Courage, but I don't think there's a better profile of courage than the following -- at least in athletics.
The video below is a short overview of Lance Armstrong's amazing climb up Luz Ardiden, one of the highest peaks in the Alps in the 2003 Tour de France. What makes it so remarkable is the freak crash he endured on the way up, and how he recovered and went on to pass his rivals and win the stage alone at the top of the mountain. This is ranked #2 in the 30 greatest moments in the history of the Tour de France.
I hope you'll watch this -- you'll get a quick idea of why Lance Armstrong won an unprecedented seven Tours de France races (1999-2005) AFTER surviving a life-threatening bout with testicular cancer.
The following notes will help you enjoy what you'll see on the video. (I know most Americans are completely unfamiliar with the Tour de France -- you'll see images that show why Europeans are so fanatical about this three-week race.)
1. Armstrong is in the yellow jersey. He is battling his two main rivals, Germany's Jan Ullrich (turquoise jersey) and Spain's Iban Mayo (orange jersey).
2. On the way up a steep climb, Armstrong's handlebar caught on something help by a spectator and it flipped his bike right over. Mayo was right behind him and crashed also. Ullrich manage to avert the crash. (There's a commercial running on this year's Tour broadcasts that has this (paraphrased) line: "If you want to know what it's like to crash in the Tour de France, speed your car up to 40+ miles per hour, strip down to your underwear, open the door, and jump out."
3. Bike-race etiquette says that you don't take advantage of a competitor's crash, but that you slow down and wait for the victim to rejoin the race. Ullrich slowed "a little" but Armstrong quickly caught and passed him. (Armstrong had waited for Ullrich a couple years earlier when Ullrich went off the side of the road and had to climb back up and rejoin the race -- so Ullrich knew he had to wait for Armstrong, though initially he pedaled right past and kept going, perhaps thinking Armstrong would be out of the race since the crash was so hard. Little did he know . . .)
4. Armstrong almost injured himself again when his foot slipped off the pedal.
5. Some kind of fire ignited in Armstrong and he raced, out of the saddle, up the mountain, leaving Ullrich and Mayo in his wake. One of Armstrong's teammates, José Rubiera, began pacing Armstrong up the mountain to catch Ullrich and Mayo.
6. One lone rider had been ahead of the peloton (main group) all day and Armstrong caught and passed him as well. When going past, he gave him a "Good job" pat on the back as he went by.
7. Note the fanaticism of the orange-shirted (Spaniard) Basque fans (Mayo's fans) taunting Armstrong as he rides between them (it's a half-taunt, half-cheer) -- and how these fans paint the names of their favorite riders on the surface of the roads on the way to the top in the mountain stages.
8. The physical strength Armstrong displayed to stand up on his pedals and crank out kilometer after kilometer up the side of this Alps mountain is unequaled. Knowing how painful it is for me to pedal like that for just a short distance, it's amazing what Armstrong did -- like a machine.
There's a level of courage and strength in the human body and spirit that may go unrevealed in most of our lives because it never gets tested. Who's to say what each of us might accomplish in the right moment?
Hope you enjoy:
The video below is a short overview of Lance Armstrong's amazing climb up Luz Ardiden, one of the highest peaks in the Alps in the 2003 Tour de France. What makes it so remarkable is the freak crash he endured on the way up, and how he recovered and went on to pass his rivals and win the stage alone at the top of the mountain. This is ranked #2 in the 30 greatest moments in the history of the Tour de France.
I hope you'll watch this -- you'll get a quick idea of why Lance Armstrong won an unprecedented seven Tours de France races (1999-2005) AFTER surviving a life-threatening bout with testicular cancer.
The following notes will help you enjoy what you'll see on the video. (I know most Americans are completely unfamiliar with the Tour de France -- you'll see images that show why Europeans are so fanatical about this three-week race.)
1. Armstrong is in the yellow jersey. He is battling his two main rivals, Germany's Jan Ullrich (turquoise jersey) and Spain's Iban Mayo (orange jersey).
2. On the way up a steep climb, Armstrong's handlebar caught on something help by a spectator and it flipped his bike right over. Mayo was right behind him and crashed also. Ullrich manage to avert the crash. (There's a commercial running on this year's Tour broadcasts that has this (paraphrased) line: "If you want to know what it's like to crash in the Tour de France, speed your car up to 40+ miles per hour, strip down to your underwear, open the door, and jump out."
3. Bike-race etiquette says that you don't take advantage of a competitor's crash, but that you slow down and wait for the victim to rejoin the race. Ullrich slowed "a little" but Armstrong quickly caught and passed him. (Armstrong had waited for Ullrich a couple years earlier when Ullrich went off the side of the road and had to climb back up and rejoin the race -- so Ullrich knew he had to wait for Armstrong, though initially he pedaled right past and kept going, perhaps thinking Armstrong would be out of the race since the crash was so hard. Little did he know . . .)
4. Armstrong almost injured himself again when his foot slipped off the pedal.
5. Some kind of fire ignited in Armstrong and he raced, out of the saddle, up the mountain, leaving Ullrich and Mayo in his wake. One of Armstrong's teammates, José Rubiera, began pacing Armstrong up the mountain to catch Ullrich and Mayo.
6. One lone rider had been ahead of the peloton (main group) all day and Armstrong caught and passed him as well. When going past, he gave him a "Good job" pat on the back as he went by.
7. Note the fanaticism of the orange-shirted (Spaniard) Basque fans (Mayo's fans) taunting Armstrong as he rides between them (it's a half-taunt, half-cheer) -- and how these fans paint the names of their favorite riders on the surface of the roads on the way to the top in the mountain stages.
8. The physical strength Armstrong displayed to stand up on his pedals and crank out kilometer after kilometer up the side of this Alps mountain is unequaled. Knowing how painful it is for me to pedal like that for just a short distance, it's amazing what Armstrong did -- like a machine.
There's a level of courage and strength in the human body and spirit that may go unrevealed in most of our lives because it never gets tested. Who's to say what each of us might accomplish in the right moment?
Hope you enjoy:
Posts
I remember exactly where I was when Armstrong crashed. Watching him gather his resources internally and win the day was truly one of the great moments in sports.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to revisit that moment.
daniel