Lance in a NY Times op-ed

Noted author and columnist for the NY Times, Thomas Friedman, wishes America's leaders were more like Lance.  I couldn't agree with him more.

"What I find most impressive about Armstrong, besides his sheer willpower to triumph over cancer, is the strategic focus he brings to his work, from his prerace training regimen to the meticulous way he and his cycling team plot out every leg of the race. It is a sight to behold. I have been thinking about them lately because their abilities to meld strength and strategy - to thoughtfully plan ahead and to sacrifice today for a big gain tomorrow - seem to be such fading virtues in American life."

Comments

[steelrider2]

This is also not a secret; Postal and Discovery have been doing this since 2000. Everyone knew that they rode the course, did windtunnel testing, brought different vendors together for the good of the team and carefully selected team members based on how they could help the team. If its not a secret, then why is everyone else doing it? If any other team put the same effort into winning the Tour that Discovery did, the Tour would be much more interesting and a whole lot less predictable.

[Tim Jackson- Masiguy]

Wow, there's a lot going on there. Maybe Nike can do a "Be Like Lance" ad campaign, like the old "Be Like Mike (Jordan)" campaigns of years ago.

Truthfully, Lance has been the best prepared for the past seven years. That has been the difference.

Though I am extremely flattered that the author uses Lance, rather than another athlete, to pitch a political/ social ideal, it really could have been any winning athlete. If the article spent even more time waxing poetic about Lance and the sport itself, I'd feel even better.

Ultimately, it is nice to see another little crumb of mainstream credibility and recognition. Like millions of other Americans, he happened to catch something about cycling that Lance has brought to the American public. For that, all of us in the sport and business should be thankful.

Tim Jackson
Brand Manager
Masi Bicycles