The fall of a hero

What is your life worth , if your entire life’s accomplishments have been on the basis of lies, deceit and intimidation ?

I was so dejected to go through the shockingly clear proof that US anti doping agency has assembled against Lance Armstrong. I think for a person who has supposedly never backed down from a fight, his decision not to fight the charges could indicate that USADA is speaking the truth.

I was so thrilled to read his autobiographical books, I thought this guy must be the greatest ever …... I guess I might never know what prompts someone to do this. I am not an aggressive achiever like Armstrong, I never will be.

However I can look my family in the eye every night and tell them that my life has been built on honesty. I feel that is more than what Mr.Armstrong can manage now !!

Road racing , an interesting quote

I had expressed my new found fascination for the sport of cycling in couple of earlier blogs. I was re-reading a book when I came across this quote.

"Road racing imitates life, the way it would be without the corruptive influence of civilization. When you see an enemy lying on the ground, what's your first reaction ? To help him to his feet ?

In road racing, you kick him to death."

Powerful for the sheer brutality of the quote. Tells you all you need to know about the sport of professional road racing /cycling.

I am limping back to normal after a poor weekend. Again had to come back early from office today as I just could not focus on work. Return to normalcy is taking a lot longer this time :-((

Orkut has again thrown a feel good fortune statement at me : "You have a friendly heart and are well admired". I am sure I have a friendly heart. I think the well admired part would be highly debatable.

Tyler Hamilton

One of my earlier posts was on Jan Ullrich and how he fascinated me. There is one more cyclist mentioned in the same book Lance Armstrong : Tour de Force, Tyler Hamilton.

If Ullrich piqued my curiosity by his apparent utter laziness, Hamilton intrigues me by his sheer unluckiness and threshold for pain.

If you a broken shoulder blade, what would you do ? Probably won't even get out of bed, right ?

Not Tyler Hamilton. He continues on racing to complete one of the most grueling cycling races in history, 2003 Tour De France. Legend is that by the end of the race, he had ground his teeth right down to the nerve ends. And in case some of you are thinking ' ah, he must have been filled to brim with painkillers', the ant-doping regulations prevented him from taking any painkillers during the course of the 3 week race. That is some serious threshold for pain !! 

What motivates these guys to endure so much of pain ? Is it genetic ? Would you or me be able to do this ?

Why I like Jan Ullrich

If there is one sportsman in the world whom I genuinely feel sympathy for, that would be Jan Ullrich. Imagine winning the Tour De France at a very young age, then be hailed as the next big thing in cycling only to never ever win it again !! Always destined to finish second behind the great Lance Armstrong.

I have read Armstrong's books : It's not about the bike & Every second counts. I have tremendous admiration for the way he overcame obstacles. But Ullrich is the one who arouses my curiosity. How can a person who is so talented waste it all by just being lazy ? What goes through his mind, what does he think ? It would be fascinating to know. Unfortunately his Autobiography , aptly titled Ganz oder gar nicht, Meine Geschicte ( All or nothing, My story) , is not available in India . I do not even know if an English edition exists !!

I also read a brilliant book by Daniel Coyle , Lance Armstrong , tour de force in which he traces the fascinating paths of three of Armstrong's 2004 race rivals : Tyler Hamilton , Iban Mayo and Jan Ullrich. This book gave me some insight into Ullrich, but still I yearn for more !!

There is this unforgettable quote by Ullrich's manager when someone asked him the difference between Armstrong and Ullrich. He said "Armstrong lives to race, Ullrich races to live".

Tell me, how can this guy not interest you ? :-))