關於愛，我是個小學生。

Last week, round table knights and I gathered as usual, chattering this time about the most unlike-human four athletes I've ever known: Tiger Woods, who won already 14 Majors and still counting regardless his sexual addiction disorders; Roger Federer, 16 Majors nice and easy without a trivial injuries. Watching Roger playing grand slams is just like a normal and prosaic scene usually spotted on any local tennis courts. He just won effortlessly each time; Michael Schumacher, former F1 World Champ for over 7 times, getting already used to 5 to 9 G, handling the steer with whistles. Schumacher is the only driver in the human history who could keep 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places within a whole racing year. Wow! How could that be?! However, the last but also the most incredible in my opinion is Lance Armstrong, the cyclist who owns most winnings of Tour de France of all time, 7, and back-to-back from 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005. Yes, I mean it. Don't ever have a slightest doubt about what you're reading now. I personally don't really like cycling for its potential serious injuries on the lower back, nape, and even groin, which interferes with the normal functions of testicles, but I have to admit that Lance is probably the best endurance athlete in the world.

You will hardly know how insane Lance is if you don't have a clue about Tour de France. So, what is a Tour like this? It might as well be the most honorable laurel for every top cyclist to fetch. Take the 2009 Tour de France for instance, it was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on July, 4 in the Principality of Monaco with a 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco. The race visited six countries: Monaco, France, Spain, Andorra, Switzerland and Italy, and finished on 26 July on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The total length was 3,445 kilometres (2,141 mi), including 93 kilometres (58 mi) in time-trials. There were seven mountain stages, three of which had mountaintop finishes, and one medium-mountain stage. The race had a team time trial for the first time since 2005, the shortest distance in individual time trials since 1967, and the first penultimate-day mountain stage in the Tour's history. That would be really hard for a cyclist to go steep mountain climbing, not to mention doing so during the end of the game. Anyone who will win this game should turn himself into a vehicle with a strong engine first.
 
Well, how does Lance really do it? It all starts with his genes. Scientists found out that even at a young age, due to his intense training, he had a very strong heart and was able to consume large amounts of oxygen. Porbable less than one percent of the population would have as much of a genetic head start as Armstrong has, in terms of his extraordinary cardio-vascular metabolism efficiency, not his testicular cancer of course. His heart can pump 9 gallons of blood per minute working at its hardest, compared to 5 gallons per minuteIn addition, Armstrong has recorded an aerobic capacity of 83.8 ml/kg/min (VO2 max), higher than the average person (40-50), but lower than other Tour De France winners, Miguel Indurain (88.0, although reports exist that Indurain tested at 92-94) and Greg LeMond (92.5). He has a resting heart rate of 32-34 beats per minute (bpm) with a maximum heart rate of 201 bpm. That is, in one minute of maximum exertion, Lance's heart can beat twice that of a normal person. His lungs, he gets almost double the amount of oxygen out of every breath that a healthy 20-year-old would. Everyone takes in the same breath, but Lance uses his two times more efficiently. He also has more red blood cells to deliver oxyhen to his body, meaning he can breathe better at higher altitudes. And that's a key in the treacherous Pyrenees and Alps mountains along the route of the Tour de France. Besides, Lance's muscles produce less lactic acid than most people, which means his muscles can go longer and harder without major fatigue.

No wonder this can ultimately make many think he is a superhuman, a member of RPGS Club. ^^

But did he get his way simply by sitting on a couch, devouring potato chips and slurping sodas? Never in a blue moon. Lots of hard work, lots of dedication, even more than any normal athletes without suffering fatal ailment needs to be taken. In fact, Lance trains at least 6 hours a day. And for the Tour de France, which spans less than 4 weeks, he begins training 8 months before its July start date. That's an average of 450 miles a week! A distance of about halfway around the globe pedaled druing a season of training. All that for what would be 7 straight Tour yellow jerseys!