virages et lacets

This set of photos is dedicated to an American rider who often trained on this climb that rises up behind Nice. It’s a curving road that climbs with a regular gradient with a load of hairpin switchbacks. From the top you’re rewarded with an amazing view, though I guess in his day, his mind was focused on the last curve where he’d take his time check. On the way back down he’d have time to enjoy the view of the Alpes-Maritimes, especially in spring it must have been quite a sight indeed. Text & photo Antonello Tabarelli de Fatis.

More pictures after the click…

The rider of course is LANCE ARMSTRONG and the climb is called the ‘Madone d‘Utelle’.
Why should I take time to dedicate this post to him you might ask? Well because right now a lot, too many, bigots and moralists have forgotten who LANCE ARMSTRONG was, what he represented for many and what he did for cycling’s development and popularity.
For me he was the first real modern cyclist, the most important, and it’s thanks to him and thanks to CARMICHAEL, thanks to his first wife KRISTIN, thanks to BRUYNEEL and all the fantastic teams from MOTOROLA to US POSTAL to RADIO SHACK that I was part of this revolution.
Before him, of course there was spectacle, there was the Scalatore that enthused the crowds at the Giro or the Tour, there was the Rouleur that won on the cobbles of Fiandre or Roubaix, and there was the Sprinter, but after the spectacle of the race there was little else. I didn’t learn anything from any of those riders. It was ARMSTRONG that revolutionized the cycling world, who perfected training methods starting from diet all the way to physical and mental training, to the maniacal choosing and caring for bikes and materials. Few remember that before every ride he personally would check saddle height and position, cleat position, every day! Does anyone remember that he helped to develop a lens that helped reduce the strain on the eyes to save an extre bit of energy even there? Who taught us about the rewards of high cadence pedaling? Even a rider like JAN ULLRICH changed his pedaling style, working on raising his cadence. I fondly remember how during his first year as a captain, after the first „ventaglio“ CONTADOR arrived at the finish when ARMSTRONG was already in the shower!
He prepared every stage of the Tour to perfection; in seven years I can’t remember him making any mistakes on a mountain stage as every climb had been previously prepared to perfection. He had already trained on them to the point of nausea, the same goes for the wind strewn flatter stages, he never missed a split, never missed an echelon. In seven years he never fell, his team was quite perfect, from the domestiques to his director BRUYNEEL. Have you noticed how many riders have crashed out in the last few editions of the Giro or the Tour? Riders that don’t know how to ride a Tour, riding in the back and not in front of the peloton like ARMSTRONG for seven years did. Not prepared Gregari, not prepared directors, with the only exception being TEAM SKY that I think, has taken on board all the lessons that ARMSTRONG taught us.
If TEAM SKY has dominated, if WIGGINS has dominated a lot of it is thanks to the lessons of LANCE ARMSTRONG. I’m sure they’ve studied both his books and watched and re watched all the stages from his seven victorious and perfect Tours.
Just a quick anecdote, I met once one of his Gregario and he highlighted Lance’s professionalism with an example from a winter training camp in Nice. Wake up call at 6:30, outside it’s snowing, everyone’s glad to have an easy day with just some gym work and some rollers indoors. At 7:00 along comes “The Boss” dressed and ready to go. In the end they did 6 punishing hours in the snow, this is in my mind a great show of professionalism. LIVESTRONG!