Question for Bob Roll

SWEDES,

It's a very unfortunate situation, but not the least bit surprising. The sport of cycling has been riddled with doping scandals for years now. Each year they become more and more complex, intricate and widespread. It is only natural that the sports most visible champion would be linked to accusations, real or otherwise.

That being said, I will say without reservation knowing Lance as I do and having ridden with him on numerous occasions [particularly back in the day when I was a few pounds lighter in the saddle] that no one, and I absolutely 100 percent, unequivocally scream at the top of my lungs that no one, trains or works harder than Lance does at his sport. The man puts in ridiculous amounts of time both on the bike during the off season, as well as vast hours of cross training. He leaves nothing to chance in his preparation not only with fine tuning every aspect of his body and training, but right down to the titanium bolts that go into his stem because they are a micro measure lighter than a steel or aluminum one. He strives to ensure every aspect he can determine the outcome of is taken care of and leaves nothing to chance. For example, how many athletes at the top of their sport (especially in cycling) do you know that go out and swim with the University of Texas men’s swimming team? That is no shabby group to be swimming with either. Personally, I know of one other individual who trains like this first hand and that is Mia Hamm. I was in Chapel Hill a few years back visiting some friends and we were out on a ride and coming back into town. It was pouring down buckets….I am talking catastrophic rains of biblical proportions. About 3 miles outside of town we saw a woman running (not jogging at all) along in the rain. We pulled up along side her to offer her a ride in the sag vehicle that was following us. Guess who it was? Mia Hamm. I had a long conversation with her once we got back to town.

What I gleaned from my conversation with Mia along with talking and observing Lance over the years is that the special superstar talents don’t just coast on their talent alone. The truly great ones train like maniacs sapping every iota of talent they can from their being. Does it surprise me to see people like Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, or Mia Hamm blow away the competition? Absolutely not. They are all extremely gifted at what they do no doubt, but they go those additional steps to climb to the mountain top and achieve unparalleled greatness.

And unfortunately in our society, with greatness comes criticism. When you couple that with the French not being too happy seeing an American dominate their event, it makes things worse and only perpetuates naysayers looking to find chinks in the armor.

This is a special time in the sport of cycling…enjoy every second of it while we still can.

Thanks Bob for the info, amazing how the guy(Armstrong)has to continually defend himself agaisnt unproven accusations.

Why is it hard to believe that Bob Roll is on Letsrun.com?

If it truely is. Bob, do you live in the Chapel Hill area? If so or if you plan to be in the Raleigh area, I have a business proposition that could be discussed over a 5 hour bike ride. It doesn't rest on your laurels, but rather upon your passion for the sport. Please e-mail me.

I find it hard to believe also, however, the writing sure seems like the way Bob talks on OLN.

Had you thought Bob might post on this forum and that is why you posed the question? It does sound like him but seems to be a weird place for him to be crusing a message board.

Bob,

What do you make of Armstrong's decision to go to Italy and meet with a magistrate. It seems clear to me that it's so he has a chance of riding the Giro. And putting two+two together I think his announcment in GA will be that he is riding the Giro.

I believe that this is exactly what Armstrong needs right now, a new challenge to get excited about and work towards in cycling.

Could he even be thinking of winning the Giro, Tour and Vuelta in the same year?

If you are indeed Bob Roll that is pretty awesome! Maybe you can give a hint on one of your broadcasts that you often commment on a message board and give insight to the sport and educate others about the ins and outs of cycling!

Bob ran in Jr. College. No reason why he wouldn't still be a fan of the sport and want to keep abrest of the latest developements in T&F.

I have no idea if this specific post is real or not, but I do ride for a team based out of the midwest and spoke with Bob personally last November at a banquet where he was giving a talk. Having a background in running and what I do in the off season to keep my fitness, I frequent this site and have so for a couple of years. I have seen those postings from "Bob Roll" and asked him directly back in November whether or not it was really him. He said he does frequent this site, among others, particularly when he is on the road. He said he is "greatly entertained" by the outrageous posts, but also found some of the training ones most useful as he is finding it more and more difficult to ride while in Europe traveling to cover the races and running was a way he could maintain his weight. As an aside, the guy is very fit in person...he has a big head, but looks much heavier on TV than he really is. I have no reason to doubt the validity of these postings. The ones I have noticed sure do sound like the way he talks and don't launch into crazy tirades like others do. They seem very inciteful and full of anticdotes that he loves to spew...very animated.

He told me he lives in Colorado...Durango, I think.

Thanks Aspiring Pro! Bob seriously would know who would most likely be using in the sport! I seriously believe and respect his opinion.

What I find refreshing is that Bob's posts aren't filled with a bunch of negative crap. This board used to have quite a few serious runners that would post. However, I think all the negativity has driven them away. Kinda sad.