The man who won this race, Javier Otxoa, was later hit in a car accident about a half a year after this race. His brother (riding with him) died, and Javier was in a coma for a month. The accident left him disabled, but he was successful in the paralympic games. Sad story for a man who had so much promise.
These were great rivalries, however Id also like to point out that these 2 announcers are the finest around in any sport. They have always made these races enjoyable and deserve credit. Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggett
Lance Armstrong’s book and Foundation got me through breast cancer. I started riding during my chemo. 18 years out. I ride every day and I feel great. Thanks Lance. I had hope because of you.
He got lucky with cancer. He returned to cycling because he no longer had cancer. Then he cheated and lied and destroy other people who were threat to his lie. What is so inspiring about that ????
@haroldsmith7044 hence why I said "also took PEDs" ...he wasn't the only one, easily half of the world tour riders were juiced on EPO and other substances...he was iust better than all of them
Really show the proof...Pantani did dope but when ...how do you know...do you know how doping works? Lance had a whole system for doping..it was NOT individual...he had his director, his team, The best Doctor and physiologist in the world telling when and how to use and what to use, etc etc etc...Sorry to pop your bubble. LA was a good pro rider..but TDF champ w/out what I just listed??? Never Never...his Vo2 was measured in the low 80's...he weighed 167 pounds and was 5' 9"...so once again the spin of the everyone was on the same dope etc is how LA tries to spin it and you drank the Kool-aide. Lemond's Vo2 by comparison was 93!! Please do your research and don't just throw out BS ..Read the secret race...Tyler Hamilton lays it all out...LA never sweated doping because he had a whole system to help him do it...Pantani had to worry constantly...he was doing it without his team enabling....and he didn't have Ferrari !!! It was all scientifically planned out..BIG difference. Just look at the comparison of Armstrong after cancer to before and explain to me why he was not crushing it then? HuH? IT IS OBVIOUS
Actually he was crushing it back when he first started as a triathlete prior to doping. What people don’t understand is that there is huge money at play with sponsors / teams. The teams are who organized everything to make sure their riders win. Dope to make millions, or stay natty to be nobody. It’s with every sport. Doping doesn’t make you mentally tough. It give you the extra 1% advantage needed to be at the very top.
Maybe. Armstrong has also put millions off professional cycling. There has been doping left, right and center. But nobody apart from Armstrong went after accusers and tried to destroy them.
@@MarcF.Nielssen theres about 200 riders in the tour bro. Only around 25 world tour teams each with no more than 20 -25 riders. Those millions probably wouldn't have made it anyways
People who watch the tour on television share the responsibility of spoiling this sport. If we didn't watch it there would be no sponsors. No sponsors would mean no money and no money in the sport would mean no doping. No doping means that we would find a true winner with good ethics and moral. It would be a far greater experience for us to see, that these riders were suffering like we would. It is not realistic that they finish with a sprint (to be continued)
You don't judge the things well: you could take, right now, any substance, testosterone, everything, but by sitting next to the tv, won't make you win tdf 7 times. He worked hard, and you tell me that the second, third, and generally top 10 overall weren't doped, but still managed not to lose to much time to him...?
They all doped, but he doped way harder than the others did. Doping isn't a binary thing. There are countless performance enhancing drugs and countless dosages to take them in. And yes, he trained hard as well, but so did all the others. And those who trained hard but did it cleanly are an afterthought at most because they never even got to the TdF or as a domestique at most. And to account for the very likely scenario that everyone used PEDs they decided that noone is awarded with winning those 7 TdF's.
Hey PW, Cancer hasn't missed us but that is not the point. Now Lance has moved from being a promoter of fighting cancer to a pawn. His support of measure 50 in our state could have long lasting negative effects on us. He is promoting changing our constitution to take money from one group of people and send it to another. That is WRONG. Lance has lost credibillity. Now when I see his name associated with a cause, I will no longer give my support. You loose.
Miss these commentators. And prime Armstrong. I was 12 years old when I watched this live. EPO or no - these tour DE France's will always have their mystique 👌🏾
They were all doping, Lance was just more disciplined and had a better "program." It's a shame he had all his wins stripped while others who doped didn't. They just didn't like an 🇺🇲 dominating for 7 years straight.
@@freedomlover24-7 .....Oh hum yet another Armstrong apologist. [are you American by chance?] Yes, by varying accounts 85-90% of the pro peloton were 'juiced' back then. The difference is that unlike Armstrong the other riders weren't sociopathic arseholes determined to destroy anyone or anything that stood in his way.
Ever wonder why none of the 7 tdf titles were not awarded to another rider??????????????????????? The entire top 30 were doing EPO....hypocrites against Lance......yep....HE did epo.....oxygen ...........not will power.
Come on btinder711, why should Lance be any different from other winners of the tour, that is naiv to think! Have you ever heard a rider really condemning what is going on ? No you haven't. Why ? Because cycling is a closed world - Brian Holm Sørensen has expressed this. If I were a pro cyclist and didn't use illegal substances I would be furious to hear about all these scandals (to be continued)
I still find it astonishing, bearing in mind that Pantani was doping also, that Armstrong could ride way from him like that. As much as he was unpleasant, and clearly cheating, he was a tremendous rider
Miguel indurain was the same.... he rarely won anything (using youre same lance logic) because he would peak for the tour. Yet, in his time.... Miguel was considered super human.... Lets not forget his buddy pedro Delgado (also a TDF winner) actually was caught with PEDs. Lance is under fire, but in reality most of the TDF riders are on something. Theres a reason every riders time is crushing all the old greats in time trials, etc. Its not just technology.
Watching his pedals cadence nowadays give rise even to the suspect of using motor like Floyd Landis. Funny to read all the comments before his confession.
Trek bikes and American cycling exist because of Lance. The Tour de France became an event in America because of him. There was so much drugs in the whole Tour it's stupid to strip the results
Hilarious hearing Phil "Where does he find the strength"....as Tony Stark said to cap, "everything special about you came out of a bottle." While not 100% true as LA clearly has the championship mindset few possess...THAT kind of effort is only achievable through chemistry. And honestly I don't care about that...I care about the lives he's ruined or tried to ruin...but I don't care about professionals doping in sport. It's entertainment, it can be amazing to watch as well. There is simply too much fame and fortune involved to ever think ANY sport, endurance or not, will be truly clean. Too much money.
I was by the roadside on that climb, shivering! We’d done the Tourmalet in the rain that morning, then rode up Hautacam. Tough day for everyone, EPO or not.
@TesterAnimal1.......I was on Mont Ventoux for the following day's stage - when despite yo-yoing 'off the back' all day, the true 'Greatest Climber ever' Marco Pantani won the race [although the ever-sportsmanlike Armstrong claimed he 'gifted' it to the little Italian - arrogant prick!]. I rode up the Ventoux several hours before the race came through and as you exited the forest and emerged into the 'lunar landscape' section the wind was at over 200kph then! [apparently, it got stronger - and if you watch Pantani and Armstrong attacking you can see the effort they are having to make to forge ahead]. It also isn't obvious because of the lovely sunny weather that it was actually only 1 degree centigrade at the top of the mountain! [I have a photo of me crouching against the walls of the weather station with some other riders as we are all having great difficulty staying on our feet due to the strength of the freezing wind!] I was only wearing a Kelme team jersey and shorts and I was absolutely perished! [I had tried to buy an undervest and arm-warmers at a number of bike shops in Carpentras the previous day - but everything was sold out! [The day before, L'etape du tour' was held on the course - but was abandoned due to the severity of the weather]. I heard that only 70 riders [out of nearly 6000] made it to the top and a lot of riders that packed were carted off to hospital with hyperthermia! Mont Ventoux is without doubt the most brutal climb I have ever ridden - and I have done virtually all of Alpes and Pyrenees TDF mountains. I totally understand why the late great 'Mr Tom' [Tommy Simpson] lost his life there and why it is known as the 'Beast of Provence'. One final note - my hero [Marco Pantani] was a fading star by 2000, despite matching and ultimately beating an insanely doped up Armstrong on the Mont Ventoux stage and also winning stage 15. But he was totally off the pace on the Hautacam stage and Armstrong made him pay. A sad end to 'il pirata' I was privileged to not only see, but actually ride alongside Marco and his entire Mercatone-Uno-Bianchi team on their warm-up lap for the first stage of the TDF in Dublin in 1998. Marco won the TDF that year - as well as the Giro d'Italia. A feat that has not been repeated since - or is ever likely to be. He may have been on the 'juice' but he is by far the best climber I ever saw.
Watching Lance pound those pedals with that cadence straight up those hills is a sight to behold and one that we probably never see again. Thank God for reruns and RUclips
That would put me in a bad light (hope this makes any sense in english) because people would throw suspension on me for using doping. And for good reason! I have no doubts about Lances physical attributes, I do not question that, but I find it suspicious that all the big names of cycling has been involved with doping or indicates that they have been....
Particularly near the top, Armstrong is floating up that grade with no discernible strain. He’s on the drops just to stretch his legs and his cadence is high. He looks noticeably leaner than the other riders. His riding style is light, buoyant, even. It’s almost as if at some points he’s holding himself back. Armstrong’s ability to humiliate of some of the best climbers in the sport, as in, Pantani, who looks like an old man when Armstrong breezes past him, was described by Greg LeMond as “Unbelievable!” Make of that choice of words what you will.
like Phil Liggett I believed in Lance..."i don't know where he gets the strength from"... now we all know. love the classic bikes and no helmets though
@@kloschuessel773 Yes it was. Armstrong had the best doctor in cycling working exclusively for him (Michele Ferrari, also known as 'dottore epo') and before he worked with Ferrari he never finished a mountain stage with the top contenders between 1993 and 1996. Armstrong was never a climber and at best average in time trial, but a specialist for one day classics and stage wins at the tour de france.
@@alpha3488 ferrari started doping cyclists when? Late 80s? Indurain himself was doping apparently. Not being among the best when not doped while the best dope… Fuentes cyclists were worse? I dont quite see this bs that he was the best doc and thats why he won. Besides… When everybody is doping, let the best doc win. Why not? I dont see a problem there at all. He probably chose armstrong bcs he thought he would have the best chances to win.
@@alpha3488 i think it is totally stupid to hate and blame armstrong like some folks do. He was neither the first, nor worst. And he dominated despite all of his contenders being on the stuff…
@@kloschuessel773 My point is that despite everyone doping it wasn't an even playing field. I have to admit I hated Armstrong as a kid for his disgusting dominance in the early 2000s. Today I only have a particulary dislike for the things he did to other riders to make them shut up about doping.
Phil and Paul were lionized as announcers, but I will always hold against them their willful naivete about Lance's doping and general thuggishness. The more honest commentators just laughed when Lance, never a climber as a pro, blew past people like Pantani as in this video. Phil and Paul steadfastly defended Lance even when he did outrageous things like the "zip your lip" gesture he made at Simeoni, who threatened the doping regime from which Lance profited so immensely. Lance was worse than a doper, he was the primary exponent of Omerta, lashing out at anyone who told the truth about the scandal that nearly ruined pro cycling.
Still had to ride the bike. Wasn't like he could sit on the couch and then win the Tour. And anyway, was it unfair when everyone was using PEDs? Even some vocal accusers? Magic Coke can my ass!
Me too, but who cares... "The difference in the Speed is remarkable" and the others rode on EPO, too. Just enjoy the wonderful accompanying commentary.
They never should have erased his wins and they never will in my mind everyone was doping it was a fair playing field no doubt about it. It's very strange to see Europeans trying to erase the dark history of the sport, really? That's like America trying to erase slavery from its history.....
The "greatest" doped up performance ever. That from a 1-Day-Classic-Rider. This wasn´t only Epo, but at least 3 re-filled blood bags. What a cheater... Never seen something like this before and after in the dope full history of cycling.
Pedro Delgado 1988 tour winner : "You can't win the Tour de France on mineral water alone." The real tragedy is Lance Armstrong's character flaw (self doubt) ; he could have been a great stage racer without cheating.
@@karlnordinger5968 that’s the cheapest excuse ever… “Oh he does it so why can’t i cheat”? All of these doped riders should be ashamed of themselves and stripped from all of their achievements
You mad bro? Tell me, when was the last time your good friend died in a bike race. After which you were given a 20% chance to live. No? Then shut up, you don't know him, you don't know his perspective. Fact is everyone was doping, and he was the best of them. I guarantee he would have been the best if no one was doping and all was square. As it stands, he's the greatest competitor the world will ever see.
The reality is they were all doing what Armstrong was doing he was just arrogant about it so when he finally got caught they made him pay not for doping but for his arrogance.
I´d like to make a tribute to Javier Otxoa, the winner of this stage. He had knock by a car when trainned with his brother some years ago, Ricardo died and now Javier is a Paraolimpyc rider with some metals in his track record. Under my point of view Lance was the best rider of his time and nobody can say with proofs that he was under dopping. Just speculations. I´d like to add that for me, cycling (TDF) under Lance rule was extremely boring. Greetings
@hghepo Most cyclists in the peloton have a hard time even completing the tour their first go round at a young age like 22. It takes years to develop the stamina to be a true endurance athlete. If you look at the age of winners for the tour de france, but for a few exceptions most are in their late 20's to early 30's. Lance's training differs from others in his specific studying of the stage routes and the tailoring of his training to peak during the tour. Other teams have adopted this.
@@Liofa73 It was never true to begin with. Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, Fignon won their first tour at the first try and they were only 23-24. Lemond came third at age 23, then 2nd at age 24 and won at 25.
one year after this, Otxoa and his brother were training, and one car hitted them killing Javier Otxoa´s brother Ricardo, now Javi is cycling in paralyimpic games, this is an example of brave, I m from Spain, and we are proud of you Javi
+Allan Bartolini Yes doping is a big part in pro sports, but let's face it- those legs aren't going to get stronger only by staying in bed, using steroids every day and eating bigmacs- it's a system that I call the bermuda triangle- train-eat right-dope=good athlete. everybody dopes- It's just told to the non-athletes as farmateutical business :D. The only reason that athletes get pass doping tests is that the urine samples they give aren't theirs :). The only thing I think is cheating in cycling is using motors in bikes- because you are not using your own effort.
They got that line from Greg LeMond, who answered a reporter’s question about Armstrong’s ability to drop the group at will. Expected to reply with a compliment, LeMond used a left-handed one: “Unbelievable!”
Bet you. 20 if not 30 years from now, Lance would be considered one of the greatest cyclist along with Eddy Merckx. If you put it this way, Merckx got caught multiple times. And yet everyone respects the guy. It wasn't like that when he was racing. There were alot of people against Merckx's ways back in his career. People will soon grow out of it.
How can he be one of the best cyclists of all time? Besides being doped the entire time, after the World Championships, all he ever won was the TdF. He didn't even ride the other Grand Tours until the Giro once during his comeback. He didn't get results in the classics. He was a one trick pony, which hardly qualifies him as one of the greatest.
@markyboy28able99 Well, I agree with you. I started watching when Indurain was on top. I loved the Tour, I couldn't get enough. The climbs, the time trials, the team tactics and the individual efforts. The amazing dramas, the class of the riders who waited for opponents who had mechanicals. Then the doping scandals hit and I just stopped watching. Such a shame. Hopefully they'll fix it and I'll watch again, but it hasn't killed my love of riding.
Was Lance doping? Sure he was. We knew it even back then. BUT SO WAS EVERYONE ELSE. I bet there wasn't a clean rider in the Tour. He was still the greatest rider I've ever seen.
Listen to him get defensive when somebody mentions motordoping. His reaction is an instant rewind to 2003, the only thing missing is the threat of a lawsuit. Take it for what it is, but I’d think an admitted doper would be more inclined to laugh such a thing off, rather than fly into rage.
I agree with you 100%. If Ullrich has done as much training and dieting as Lance had, I believe Ullrich would have won at least 3 TDF. Besides, Lance only focused on Le Tour post-cancer, so he wasn't greedy like Eddy M., nor was he ready to risk dropping his condition by trying to win Giro, either. All he wanted was Le Tour de France yellow jersey. That's it.
I would not characterize Eddy Merkz as “greedy” for having competed through the season. Among the pros there used to be a thing called “honor.” A true champion did not cherry-pick his races. He toughed it out against them all, and this validated his star quality. Plus, racers back in the day made a pittance of what a top pro makes now. Armstrong had so much money coming in from sponsors, he could take his private jet from event to event and take part in celebrity activities. I think Armstrong was grooming himself for public office when his racing career was over.
+grungeabuser that is being ignorant to the extreme. i recommend you read up on steroid use by the eastern bloc nations then you will understand the culture of sports.
Me acuerdo perfectamente de esta etapa, una de las mejores que he visto en mi vida. Que recuerdos, que fuerza y como subía Armstrong por aquel entonces y mítico Chava. DEP Otxoa.
I got to say I will have a significant riding difference if I were 8kg lighter in fat for my endurance race last Sunday. Do anyone of you ride at all? Or you guys just too fit and always been the same weight. My weight yo yo and I can tell how my ride feels when I am fat, even I am strong most of the time.
you know jan ullrich never been tested positive? neither virenque, bjarne riis, valverde, millar and i could go on and on. and you say they are all clean? most of them admited using epo. don't be sad for nobody and also don't be naive. i was a huuuge ullrich fan...but i would say even his earring was doped.
@u368 Rubbish. If they were positive they would have caught him by now. I mean...how many TDFs did he win AFTER 1999 when you say he tested positive?? How many times did he get tested every tour? Lots and lots I can tell you that. He is probably the most tested man ever in sport.
your comment is just that, a comment a opinion. nothing more. i doubt there will ever be one winner that every one will love all at one time. i know him and he does not use steroids. let him be. you can have the same thing just get on ur bike a work ur a** off and then do it again and again and again.
HAHAH GO FIND JOBS?! How about YOU finding a job Frenchie with a 56% unemployment rate! AND DID YOU GUYS KNOW THAT THE FRENCH BY LAW CAN ONLY WORK 35 HOURS A WEEK? MWHAHAH I WORK AS MUCH AS 2 FRENCIES LOL! Ironic! wow!
i grew up with him. lived in france where they love/hate him and france loved/hated me. he killed us as a 15 year old triathelete.......i still remember that race in Plano Texas
@hellsadore Are you aware that Armstrong at age 24 was a very promising rider? He won the 1993 World Champ ahead of Indurain, and won a stage in 1995. He was a different type of rider before the cancer (not a stage-race specialist), but he wasn't a chump.
WADA needs to open an unlimited class where the riders can just do want ever they want to and we can just sit back and see how fast these guys can go. It may be impossible to stop all doping I just hope that they catch as many dopers as possible. GO Lance '09
Hey guys i am brit born Nigerian and i respect L Armstrong totally uterly n absolutely pls don't disrespect all the hard work that guy has done, like it or not there will never be another cyclist like him PERIOD!! his ethics n dedication to the sport is no.1 he is hated because he is a perfectonist since when is that a bad thing, if i am anywhere near his approach to applying his his dedication to his sport and life i would be satisfied indeed. This i say with sincerity
when he was in Liberty Seguros!!! Not in Kelme. Like others who were caught in other teams. Probably they did the same, but they seemed cleverer to not be caught.
The man who won this race, Javier Otxoa, was later hit in a car accident about a half a year after this race. His brother (riding with him) died, and Javier was in a coma for a month. The accident left him disabled, but he was successful in the paralympic games. Sad story for a man who had so much promise.
🙏
12 years later how’s it going
@@Lee-One he died in 2018
@@gamingmidgetah really. Must've been fairly young.
@@tubesockets120v 43 years old. "long illness" from obit I read.
These were great rivalries, however Id also like to point out that these 2 announcers are the finest around in any sport. They have always made these races enjoyable and deserve credit. Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggett
And the two protagonists were both juiced out of their brains 😉
Agreed and RIP Paul Sherwen.
Great attack by Lance. All those blood transfusions and illegal shots paying off.
@@sorellman funny how he beat all the other drugged up riders in the tour all those years...so it wasn't 'just the drugs' that helped him win.
@@SteveZ919 You're right, he was the best among the dope users. What a strange world we live in.
Lance Armstrong’s book and Foundation got me through breast cancer. I started riding during my chemo. 18 years out. I ride every day and I feel great. Thanks Lance. I had hope because of you.
Ppl always forget he was more than a guy who ALSO took PEDs. ....he inspired a generation
He got lucky with cancer. He returned to cycling because he no longer had cancer. Then he cheated and lied and destroy other people who were threat to his lie. What is so inspiring about that ????
@@luatala8008 what she said above ^^
@@itstrbo EVERY rider was taking them in those days. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise.
@haroldsmith7044 hence why I said "also took PEDs" ...he wasn't the only one, easily half of the world tour riders were juiced on EPO and other substances...he was iust better than all of them
The thing is everyone was doping, including Pantani….
Really show the proof...Pantani did dope but when ...how do you know...do you know how doping works? Lance had a whole system for doping..it was NOT individual...he had his director, his team, The best Doctor and physiologist in the world telling when and how to use and what to use, etc etc etc...Sorry to pop your bubble. LA was a good pro rider..but TDF champ w/out what I just listed??? Never Never...his Vo2 was measured in the low 80's...he weighed 167 pounds and was 5' 9"...so once again the spin of the everyone was on the same dope etc is how LA tries to spin it and you drank the Kool-aide. Lemond's Vo2 by comparison was 93!! Please do your research and don't just throw out BS ..Read the secret race...Tyler Hamilton lays it all out...LA never sweated doping because he had a whole system to help him do it...Pantani had to worry constantly...he was doing it without his team enabling....and he didn't have Ferrari !!! It was all scientifically planned out..BIG difference. Just look at the comparison of Armstrong after cancer to before and explain to me why he was not crushing it then? HuH? IT IS OBVIOUS
@@joseflemire4284😂😂😂 Doping is cheating. Your argument is, “well, the gunshot victim wasn’t really shot because they lived” 🤡🤡🤡
@@joseflemire4284 YES!!! Absolutely correct!! Every word!! thank you for writing this!!
Actually he was crushing it back when he first started as a triathlete prior to doping. What people don’t understand is that there is huge money at play with sponsors / teams. The teams are who organized everything to make sure their riders win. Dope to make millions, or stay natty to be nobody. It’s with every sport. Doping doesn’t make you mentally tough. It give you the extra 1% advantage needed to be at the very top.
“Where he’s found this strength from I don’t know”.. 😂😂😂
Lol ikr I got a little idea
And probably has battey powered bike also...the man is a disgrace
All on dope so fear enaugh I guess
Hint: Definitely not legal.
All were doping ya dopes.
LA did a lot for Trek bikes and Livestrong...got many off the couch and on a bike.....that will never be erased from history!
Agree! He is the greatest of all time. 💯
Maybe. Armstrong has also put millions off professional cycling. There has been doping left, right and center. But nobody apart from Armstrong went after accusers and tried to destroy them.
@@MarcF.Nielssen Well nobody's claiming that he is a good person lol
@@MarcF.Nielssen theres about 200 riders in the tour bro. Only around 25 world tour teams each with no more than 20 -25 riders. Those millions probably wouldn't have made it anyways
@@abone2pick
I was talking about the spectators, on the road and on TV.
People who watch the tour on television share the responsibility of spoiling this sport. If we didn't watch it there would be no sponsors. No sponsors would mean no money and no money in the sport would mean no doping. No doping means that we would find a true winner with good ethics and moral. It would be a far greater experience for us to see, that these riders were suffering like we would. It is not realistic that they finish with a sprint
(to be continued)
Oh thanks for posting the video, it is refreshing to fing TDF videos without all the stupid background music.
You don't judge the things well: you could take, right now, any substance, testosterone, everything, but by sitting next to the tv, won't make you win tdf 7 times. He worked hard, and you tell me that the second, third, and generally top 10 overall weren't doped, but still managed not to lose to much time to him...?
They all doped, but he doped way harder than the others did. Doping isn't a binary thing. There are countless performance enhancing drugs and countless dosages to take them in.
And yes, he trained hard as well, but so did all the others. And those who trained hard but did it cleanly are an afterthought at most because they never even got to the TdF or as a domestique at most.
And to account for the very likely scenario that everyone used PEDs they decided that noone is awarded with winning those 7 TdF's.
Well.....and well....and a lot of we...llls......and everyone was doped probably?..??
Hey PW,
Cancer hasn't missed us but that is not the point. Now Lance has moved from being a promoter of fighting cancer to a pawn. His support of measure 50 in our state could have long lasting negative effects on us. He is promoting changing our constitution to take money from one group of people and send it to another. That is WRONG. Lance has lost credibillity. Now when I see his name associated with a cause, I will no longer give my support. You loose.
Miss these commentators. And prime Armstrong. I was 12 years old when I watched this live. EPO or no - these tour DE France's will always have their mystique 👌🏾
Phil Liggit and Bob Roll still doing it !!!
They were all doping, Lance was just more disciplined and had a better "program." It's a shame he had all his wins stripped while others who doped didn't. They just didn't like an 🇺🇲 dominating for 7 years straight.
Lance is a disgraced cheater. No untainted results, sorry.
Commentators still commenting on NBC.
@@freedomlover24-7 .....Oh hum yet another Armstrong apologist. [are you American by chance?] Yes, by varying accounts 85-90% of the pro peloton were 'juiced' back then.
The difference is that unlike Armstrong the other riders weren't sociopathic arseholes determined to destroy anyone or anything that stood in his way.
Also, Phil is amazing. I dont think there is a better announcer out there.
Don't forget Paul Sherwin. They're amazing together.
Phil is terrible
Ever wonder why none of the 7 tdf titles were not awarded to another rider???????????????????????
The entire top 30 were doing EPO....hypocrites against Lance......yep....HE did epo.....oxygen ...........not will power.
Such a stupid thing to say...i bet if you did every steroid in the book + epo + ANYTHING. You couldnt even finish the TDF...let alone in good time
Hell LA even cheated better than other teams and riders. I was/am a big fan. Lots of hours watching OLN.
RIP Javier Oxtoa. 1974-2018.
Come on btinder711, why should Lance be any different from other winners of the tour, that is naiv to think!
Have you ever heard a rider really condemning what is going on ? No you haven't. Why ? Because cycling is a closed world - Brian Holm Sørensen has expressed this.
If I were a pro cyclist and didn't use illegal substances I would be furious to hear about all these scandals
(to be continued)
I've seen this stage before and I'm still rooting so hard for Ochoa
Pantani, Oxtoa(brother), Jimenez all sadly dead. RIP forever.
All doped to their eyeballs
But dead none the less!
@@jackdanielss let them rest in peace dip shit . You can take the same shit and you'd still get dropped on the first climb
I rode with Jimenez
Lance crushed all the other dopers, Lance is the greatest cyclists ever.
AppleCoreCafe and you are the greatest Asshole ........
Eddie Merckx, not even close
I still find it astonishing, bearing in mind that Pantani was doping also, that Armstrong could ride way from him like that. As much as he was unpleasant, and clearly cheating, he was a tremendous rider
armo american takes every tip off drugs.why more that anybody else.he was just american puppet
Great druggies. Dopers competing
Lance timed his drugs and miligram perfect.
@@chrisbatson3402 they were all on the same program, using the same doctors. Get over it, LA was the greatest tour rider of all time
@@drvonnostrum2671 they are doping with EPO now. All of them dope
Armstrong, Pantani, Zuelle, Ullrich, Virenque. It's a who's who of doping greats.😂
Lance Armstrong acts as an offended little boy every time he is being asked about his relationship to Michele Ferrari.
Miguel indurain was the same.... he rarely won anything (using youre same lance logic) because he would peak for the tour. Yet, in his time.... Miguel was considered super human.... Lets not forget his buddy pedro Delgado (also a TDF winner) actually was caught with PEDs. Lance is under fire, but in reality most of the TDF riders are on something. Theres a reason every riders time is crushing all the old greats in time trials, etc. Its not just technology.
Era doping
Our roided up guy beat your roided up guy.
Lance was doped like most others and he still hasn't explained how his real relationship with Michele Ferrari was
Lance is no Sportsman. He cheated and bullied. Period.
All of them was cheating...
It wasn't like a small group of cyclist was cheating everyone else was clean
500w FTP @ 7w/kg...apparently Contador got close to 7 at his best
All of the commentators’ “remarkable” are now explainable.
Watching his pedals cadence nowadays give rise even to the suspect of using motor like Floyd Landis. Funny to read all the comments before his confession.
@SkratchD Everyone was doped back then, don't forget that..
Trek bikes and American cycling exist because of Lance. The Tour de France became an event in America because of him. There was so much drugs in the whole Tour it's stupid to strip the results
Trek we're one of the market leaders and innovators many years before lance Armstrong even became a pro cyclist
Every Pro athlete Juices
Hilarious hearing Phil "Where does he find the strength"....as Tony Stark said to cap, "everything special about you came out of a bottle." While not 100% true as LA clearly has the championship mindset few possess...THAT kind of effort is only achievable through chemistry. And honestly I don't care about that...I care about the lives he's ruined or tried to ruin...but I don't care about professionals doping in sport. It's entertainment, it can be amazing to watch as well. There is simply too much fame and fortune involved to ever think ANY sport, endurance or not, will be truly clean. Too much money.
Still convinced that he was clean?
I have followed this man all his life, the entertainment and the passion I had was amazing, nothing has changed he is still a legend
Agreed. He would have won even without drugs. He has such a passion and brutal commitment to win
@@kusalperera8839 i mean, he wouldn't have. but he would've won if nobody was drugged^^
Bullshit. He was by far the biggest doping cheat of them all. That’s why he won. 😀
I was by the roadside on that climb, shivering! We’d done the Tourmalet in the rain that morning, then rode up Hautacam.
Tough day for everyone, EPO or not.
@TesterAnimal1.......I was on Mont Ventoux for the following day's stage - when despite yo-yoing 'off the back' all day, the true 'Greatest Climber ever' Marco Pantani won the race [although the ever-sportsmanlike Armstrong claimed he 'gifted' it to the little Italian - arrogant prick!].
I rode up the Ventoux several hours before the race came through and as you exited the forest and emerged into the 'lunar landscape' section the wind was at over 200kph then! [apparently, it got stronger - and if you watch Pantani and Armstrong attacking you can see the effort they are having to make to forge ahead].
It also isn't obvious because of the lovely sunny weather that it was actually only 1 degree centigrade at the top of the mountain! [I have a photo of me crouching against the walls of the weather station with some other riders as we are all having great difficulty staying on our feet due to the strength of the freezing wind!]
I was only wearing a Kelme team jersey and shorts and I was absolutely perished! [I had tried to buy an undervest and arm-warmers at a number of bike shops in Carpentras the previous day - but everything was sold out! [The day before, L'etape du tour' was held on the course - but was abandoned due to the severity of the weather].
I heard that only 70 riders [out of nearly 6000] made it to the top and a lot of riders that packed were carted off to hospital with hyperthermia! Mont Ventoux is without doubt the most brutal climb I have ever ridden - and I have done virtually all of Alpes and Pyrenees TDF mountains. I totally understand why the late great 'Mr Tom' [Tommy Simpson] lost his life there and why it is known as the 'Beast of Provence'.
One final note - my hero [Marco Pantani] was a fading star by 2000, despite matching and ultimately beating an insanely doped up Armstrong on the Mont Ventoux stage and also winning stage 15. But he was totally off the pace on the Hautacam stage and Armstrong made him pay. A sad end to 'il pirata'
I was privileged to not only see, but actually ride alongside Marco and his entire Mercatone-Uno-Bianchi team on their warm-up lap for the first stage of the TDF in Dublin in 1998. Marco won the TDF that year - as well as the Giro d'Italia. A feat that has not been repeated since - or is ever likely to be. He may have been on the 'juice' but he is by far the best climber I ever saw.
Watching Lance pound those pedals with that cadence straight up those hills is a sight to behold and one that we probably never see again.
Thank God for reruns and RUclips
Armstrong use electric motor.
@@JUANGARCIA-se4dm Any evidence?
@@Wikato si, ya se sabe toda la verdad.
@@JUANGARCIA-se4dm English please.
@@Wikato What's up? You don't speak Spanish and you think you know about cycling. LOL
That would put me in a bad light (hope this makes any sense in english) because people would throw suspension on me for using doping. And for good reason!
I have no doubts about Lances physical attributes, I do not question that, but I find it suspicious that all the big names of cycling has been involved with doping or indicates that they have been....
Drugs or not, You have to be a complete nut to even finish the race....Props to all of them
Aveva ragione Pantani quando all'arrivo della tappa disse:ma chi è L'Armstrong che è andato sulla luna.Aveva ragione battuto da un super dopato
Callese estupido
Particularly near the top, Armstrong is floating up that grade with no discernible strain. He’s on the drops just to stretch his legs and his cadence is high. He looks noticeably leaner than the other riders. His riding style is light, buoyant, even. It’s almost as if at some points he’s holding himself back.
Armstrong’s ability to humiliate of some of the best climbers in the sport, as in, Pantani, who looks like an old man when Armstrong breezes past him, was described by Greg LeMond as “Unbelievable!” Make of that choice of words what you will.
like Phil Liggett I believed in Lance..."i don't know where he gets the strength from"... now we all know. love the classic bikes and no helmets though
They were all doped so i guess the advantage wasnt just his from the dope
@@kloschuessel773 Yes it was. Armstrong had the best doctor in cycling working exclusively for him (Michele Ferrari, also known as 'dottore epo') and before he worked with Ferrari he never finished a mountain stage with the top contenders between 1993 and 1996. Armstrong was never a climber and at best average in time trial, but a specialist for one day classics and stage wins at the tour de france.
@@alpha3488 ferrari started doping cyclists when? Late 80s?
Indurain himself was doping apparently.
Not being among the best when not doped while the best dope…
Fuentes cyclists were worse?
I dont quite see this bs that he was the best doc and thats why he won.
Besides…
When everybody is doping, let the best doc win. Why not? I dont see a problem there at all. He probably chose armstrong bcs he thought he would have the best chances to win.
@@alpha3488 i think it is totally stupid to hate and blame armstrong like some folks do.
He was neither the first, nor worst. And he dominated despite all of his contenders being on the stuff…
@@kloschuessel773 My point is that despite everyone doping it wasn't an even playing field. I have to admit I hated Armstrong as a kid for his disgusting dominance in the early 2000s. Today I only have a particulary dislike for the things he did to other riders to make them shut up about doping.
Phil and Paul were lionized as announcers, but I will always hold against them their willful naivete about Lance's doping and general thuggishness. The more honest commentators just laughed when Lance, never a climber as a pro, blew past people like Pantani as in this video. Phil and Paul steadfastly defended Lance even when he did outrageous things like the "zip your lip" gesture he made at Simeoni, who threatened the doping regime from which Lance profited so immensely. Lance was worse than a doper, he was the primary exponent of Omerta, lashing out at anyone who told the truth about the scandal that nearly ruined pro cycling.
Still had to ride the bike. Wasn't like he could sit on the couch and then win the Tour. And anyway, was it unfair when everyone was using PEDs? Even some vocal accusers? Magic Coke can my ass!
Me too, but who cares... "The difference in the Speed is remarkable" and the others rode on EPO, too.
Just enjoy the wonderful accompanying commentary.
I get winded going up a 50 meter hill.. how these guys do it is beyond me.
Epo, roids ,6 hours of training a day. And a lot sugar and carbs
@hellsadore 'dominated because of epo' even if so he won from a lot of other cheaters so he was still the best right?
They never should have erased his wins and they never will in my mind everyone was doping it was a fair playing field no doubt about it. It's very strange to see Europeans trying to erase the dark history of the sport, really? That's like America trying to erase slavery from its history.....
Lot of people don’t walk straight after cancer . Do u think only epos can make him ride like this?
The "greatest" doped up performance ever. That from a 1-Day-Classic-Rider. This wasn´t only Epo, but at least 3 re-filled blood bags. What a cheater... Never seen something like this before and after in the dope full history of cycling.
Pedro Delgado 1988 tour winner : "You can't win the Tour de France on mineral water alone." The real tragedy is Lance Armstrong's character flaw (self doubt) ; he could have been a great stage racer without cheating.
@@karlnordinger5968 that’s the cheapest excuse ever… “Oh he does it so why can’t i cheat”? All of these doped riders should be ashamed of themselves and stripped from all of their achievements
You mad bro? Tell me, when was the last time your good friend died in a bike race. After which you were given a 20% chance to live. No? Then shut up, you don't know him, you don't know his perspective. Fact is everyone was doping, and he was the best of them. I guarantee he would have been the best if no one was doping and all was square. As it stands, he's the greatest competitor the world will ever see.
The reality is they were all doing what Armstrong was doing he was just arrogant about it so when he finally got caught they made him pay not for doping but for his arrogance.
Mr. All-Time Dope. Shame on you. Epo-Lance destroyed cycling (and still does)
I´d like to make a tribute to Javier Otxoa, the winner of this stage. He had knock by a car when trainned with his brother some years ago, Ricardo died and now Javier is a Paraolimpyc rider with some metals in his track record.
Under my point of view Lance was the best rider of his time and nobody can say with proofs that he was under dopping. Just speculations. I´d like to add that for me, cycling (TDF) under Lance rule was extremely boring.
Greetings
No, there is definitely proof now😅
@hghepo Most cyclists in the peloton have a hard time even completing the tour their first go round at a young age like 22. It takes years to develop the stamina to be a true endurance athlete. If you look at the age of winners for the tour de france, but for a few exceptions most are in their late 20's to early 30's. Lance's training differs from others in his specific studying of the stage routes and the tailoring of his training to peak during the tour. Other teams have adopted this.
2022 -- Well this didn't age well... Pogacar... Roglic, Vingergaarde... that fuck times have changed.
@@Liofa73 It was never true to begin with. Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, Fignon won their first tour at the first try and they were only 23-24. Lemond came third at age 23, then 2nd at age 24 and won at 25.
@@ElderNerwal. They are the exceptions that prove the rule.
“This is unbelievable” yep, you could say that
one year after this, Otxoa and his brother were training, and one car hitted them killing Javier Otxoa´s brother Ricardo, now Javi is cycling in paralyimpic games, this is an example of brave, I m from Spain, and we are proud of you Javi
Funny to see those pictures today.
One question . Who wasn't doped ?
6:26 we do now
Atleast He is a legend....7 time TOD winner......1st in history atleast give him some credit...
Man the steroids really worked hard on that climb. Good work
I guess the real question is not who is the best cyclist but who is the best doper.....think !
+Allan Bartolini Yes doping is a big part in pro sports, but let's face it- those legs aren't going to get stronger only by staying in bed, using steroids every day and eating bigmacs- it's a system that I call the bermuda triangle- train-eat right-dope=good athlete. everybody dopes- It's just told to the non-athletes as farmateutical business :D. The only reason that athletes get pass doping tests is that the urine samples they give aren't theirs :). The only thing I think is cheating in cycling is using motors in bikes- because you are not using your own effort.
The amount of times the commentators said the word unbelievable about Armstrong's performance. It sure was unbelievable.
They got that line from Greg LeMond, who answered a reporter’s question about Armstrong’s ability to drop the group at will. Expected to reply with a compliment, LeMond used a left-handed one: “Unbelievable!”
Never testing positive he is the goat final lance my idole
Still the champ
Armstrong, the shame of cyclism
I must admit that even though we know they use drugs it still is fascinating to look at
@htg1313
But Merckx did dope.. They caught him doping a few times too. Love the guy though. A complete legend.
2.40 'this is unbelievable'
6:31: "Where he's found the strength from I don't know." SMH lol
Winners do not cheat and take drugs! Wake up
Bet you. 20 if not 30 years from now, Lance would be considered one of the greatest cyclist along with Eddy Merckx.
If you put it this way, Merckx got caught multiple times. And yet everyone respects the guy. It wasn't like that when he was racing. There were alot of people against Merckx's ways back in his career.
People will soon grow out of it.
This comment hasn't aged well haha
How can he be one of the best cyclists of all time? Besides being doped the entire time, after the World Championships, all he ever won was the TdF. He didn't even ride the other Grand Tours until the Giro once during his comeback. He didn't get results in the classics. He was a one trick pony, which hardly qualifies him as one of the greatest.
Every one is beatable with the right tablets
EPO riding at his best lol 😂
still the best rider ever!
manly anfernee alcomendas hardly the best
Eddie Merckx is the greatest cyclist of all time, no one, including Lance, would argue that
@markyboy28able99 Well, I agree with you. I started watching when Indurain was on top. I loved the Tour, I couldn't get enough. The climbs, the time trials, the team tactics and the individual efforts. The amazing dramas, the class of the riders who waited for opponents who had mechanicals. Then the doping scandals hit and I just stopped watching. Such a shame. Hopefully they'll fix it and I'll watch again, but it hasn't killed my love of riding.
Chava Jimenez RIP
Was Lance doping? Sure he was. We knew it even back then. BUT SO WAS EVERYONE ELSE. I bet there wasn't a clean rider in the Tour. He was still the greatest rider I've ever seen.
Listen to him get defensive when somebody mentions motordoping. His reaction is an instant rewind to 2003, the only thing missing is the threat of a lawsuit. Take it for what it is, but I’d think an admitted doper would be more inclined to laugh such a thing off, rather than fly into rage.
I agree with you 100%. If Ullrich has done as much training and dieting as Lance had, I believe Ullrich would have won at least 3 TDF. Besides, Lance only focused on Le Tour post-cancer, so he wasn't greedy like Eddy M., nor was he ready to risk dropping his condition by trying to win Giro, either. All he wanted was Le Tour de France yellow jersey. That's it.
How’s life 16 years later?
I would not characterize Eddy Merkz as “greedy” for having competed through the season. Among the pros there used to be a thing called “honor.” A true champion did not cherry-pick his races. He toughed it out against them all, and this validated his star quality. Plus, racers back in the day made a pittance of what a top pro makes now.
Armstrong had so much money coming in from sponsors, he could take his private jet from event to event and take part in celebrity activities. I think Armstrong was grooming himself for public office when his racing career was over.
Still epic ...
True Champ hoping we get to see another as dominate as Lance was. He enjoyed crushing the opposition
look man the field was even in alot of respects, the europeans were always doping
and the Americans were on pani agua? Armstrong=biggest cheater in cycling history
+grungeabuser that is being ignorant to the extreme. i recommend you read up on steroid use by the eastern bloc nations then you will understand the culture of sports.
ele é o melhor ciclista de todos os tempos... e quem ta a dizer mal dele é porque tem raiva de ele ter conseguido aquilo que conseguio
I think it was more fun when they were on EPO, ask Froom he knows!
Hé is the goat final
Me acuerdo perfectamente de esta etapa, una de las mejores que he visto en mi vida.
Que recuerdos, que fuerza y como subía Armstrong por aquel entonces y mítico Chava.
DEP Otxoa.
Un mounstro Lance ...
Phil meant to say "tremendous turn of growth hormone and EPO"
Hgh does absolutely nothing for power
Lance Armstrong el Dios del ciclismo
Back in the days when they had to slow down in the corners riding up the mountain hahaha funny to see
I got to say I will have a significant riding difference if I were 8kg lighter in fat for my endurance race last Sunday.
Do anyone of you ride at all? Or you guys just too fit and always been the same weight.
My weight yo yo and I can tell how my ride feels when I am fat, even I am strong most of the time.
you know jan ullrich never been tested positive? neither virenque, bjarne riis, valverde, millar and i could go on and on. and you say they are all clean? most of them admited using epo. don't be sad for nobody and also don't be naive. i was a huuuge ullrich fan...but i would say even his earring was doped.
@u368 Rubbish. If they were positive they would have caught him by now. I mean...how many TDFs did he win AFTER 1999 when you say he tested positive?? How many times did he get tested every tour? Lots and lots I can tell you that. He is probably the most tested man ever in sport.
your comment is just that, a comment a opinion. nothing more. i doubt there will ever be one winner that every one will love all at one time.
i know him and he does not use steroids. let him be. you can have the same thing just get on ur bike a work ur a** off and then do it again and again and again.
What a fake
HAHAH GO FIND JOBS?! How about YOU finding a job Frenchie with a 56% unemployment rate! AND DID YOU GUYS KNOW THAT THE FRENCH BY LAW CAN ONLY WORK 35 HOURS A WEEK? MWHAHAH I WORK AS MUCH AS 2 FRENCIES LOL! Ironic! wow!
i grew up with him. lived in france where they love/hate him and france loved/hated me. he killed us as a 15 year old triathelete.......i still remember that race in Plano Texas
Phil Liggett…the best thing about this video. One of the best sportscasters ever. His long-term, continuing presence at Le Tour is amazing.
@hellsadore Are you aware that Armstrong at age 24 was a very promising rider? He won the 1993 World Champ ahead of Indurain, and won a stage in 1995. He was a different type of rider before the cancer (not a stage-race specialist), but he wasn't a chump.
WADA needs to open an unlimited class where the riders can just do want ever they want to and we can just sit back and see how fast these guys can go. It may be impossible to stop all doping I just hope that they catch as many dopers as possible. GO Lance '09
Hey guys i am brit born Nigerian and i respect L Armstrong totally uterly n absolutely pls don't disrespect all the hard work that guy has done, like it or not there will never be another cyclist like him PERIOD!! his ethics n dedication to the sport is no.1 he is hated because he is a perfectonist since when is that a bad thing, if i am anywhere near his approach to applying his his dedication to his sport and life i would be satisfied indeed. This i say with sincerity
when he was in Liberty Seguros!!! Not in Kelme. Like others who were caught in other teams.
Probably they did the same, but they seemed cleverer to not be caught.